1. The Smurfs 2 (Opened Wednesday, Sony/Columbia, 3,866 Theaters, 105 Minutes, Rated PG): The Smurf was a sterling example of a critically lambasted kiddie film that not even kids should have liked. Well, they liked it well enough to earn $563 million worldwide, which was quintuple its budget. So it was a no-brainer that we would get a no-brainer sequel to that film.
In this one, the Smurfs will have to come back to our world to rescue Smurfette, who has been kidnapped by Gargamel (Hank Azaria) in a ploy to create a new batch of evil Smurfs called the Naughties. Yes, you read that right.
And it appears that the chase will take place in Europe. I hope this means that the live-action cast got a nice vacation out of the deal.
2. 2 Guns (Universal, 3,025 Theaters, 109 Minutes, Rated R): I thought I’d live my entire life without ever seeing Denzel Washington in a comic book movie. Some of you might still think you will never see him in one. Well, here’s a hint–he’s in one this week.
While it might not feature him wearing a cape and spandex, this film was adapted from a 2007 Boom! Studios comic book series written by Steven Grant and drawn by Mateus Santolouco. It is the first film made from a Boom! series.
The plot involves two undercover law-enforcement agents who have been set up to take each other out. When they discover that they were meant to kill one another, they team up to find out who masterminded that plot and take him down instead.
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