Cool: There’s no denying that Will Farrell is a funny guy. From his time on Saturday Night Live to early movies like A Night at the Roxbury and Zoolander, the guy is funny in nearly every role he’s in. Who really knows if the “Cowbell” skit would have been as funny had Horatio Sanz or Jimmy Fallon been the one knocking away on it rather than Farrell? If anyone can pull out a cliché looking movie like this (see below), it's Farrell.

Suck: Kicking and Screaming is just one of the film’s Will Farrell is in this summer (with the culmination being Bewitched in July) and it looks like the weakest one. For starters the movie come across as a hodgepodge of a feel good kids movie coupled with the cliché storylines of “father who learns about himself” and “sports aren’t everything, but the team of losers finally wins.” We’ve seen these types of movies all over the place and, frankly, its time for Hollywood to stop. We really want to see a Will Farrell like we did in Old School, one who gets away with anything and becomes one of the most quoted characters in movie history (“I’ll do one!”). I think we’d be better off putting this one off and waiting for something much better with a sharper edge to it.

Cool: Jet Li kicking serious ass. What else can you say about a film where the martial artist lays the smack down in the persona of a man, treated like a dog, and trained to kill? Jet Li has some serious skills, and while he lacks the comedic quality of Jackie Chan, the Romeo Must Die star has the skills. Unleashed looks “interesting,” especially the premise of Li being a “human-dog” trained to kill by his owner, only to be thrown into the real world where he must forget about this past. While the plot seems vaguely familiar for nearly half-a-dozen other films boasting the same storyline, the star power associated with this one could lead it to the winner’s circle, but it definitely won’t beat out a Will Farrell vehicle.

Suck: This movie has been waiting around for a while. I remember seeing trailers and reading articles about it years ago which leads me to believe there’s been some serious reworking over that time. The film doesn’t come to the theaters light in the star department with both Morgan Freeman and Li capable of supporting it themselves but the smell of stagnation and the aura of Guy Ritchie-copycat-film-school reek from the trailers and promotional material. It remains to be seen just how much of the original script is left intact, or if it was any good in the first place, but we’ll see this month.

Cool: Having not seen Episode I and Episode II until a few months ago I prepared for the worst based on the buzz created by the two over the last six years. Episode I had its moments, but was mostly and underwhelming launch pad for Episode II and Episode III. Early pre-release buzz pegs Revenge of teh Sith as a film finally living up to that of the original trilogy and the darker tone (as shown in the trailers and press material) will have the fan-boys grabbing for handfuls of tissues as Darth Vader returns to the big screen for the first time since the Special Editions. There’s quite a bit to look forward to, even for causal fans of the series. The bridging of the gab between Episodes III and A New Hope will be interesting to see and the ability to finally link the two trilogies will undoubtedly satisfy many fantasies. If anything the movie will finally provide some conclusions for people who bleed Star Wars. Regardless of my personal opinions about the series and its status against Star Trek, everyone will see this one eventually with Lucas making tons of money on the deal.

Suck: I have to play Devil’s Advocate here people, and no, it’s not a pinball game. The last two movies have plain sucked when compared to the original trilogy. I’d take the craptacular Ewoks over the wooden acting of Hayden Christensen and his total lack of chemistry with Natalie Portman. There just isn’t a whole lot to like about Episodes I and II besides their setting up of the events for Episode III. I’m sure the droves of emails I’m going to receive based purely on those last few sentences will solidify my point that Star Wars fanatics really do have to get a life. I’m a die hard Trekker, but sometimes fans from both series over do it and we’re left in an awkward situation not unlike a recent Robot Chicken sketch. However, that is beside the point, as Episode III is posed to culminate the limp trilogy with a powerful climax. I’m just hoping it doesn’t blow it early and limp to the finish line with endless crying and retrospective on the characters. We know who dies, we know who lives, and we know who is born. Shock and awe us George, don’t make us reach for the Kleenex.

Cool: Adam Sandler and Chris Rock…together…in a movie remake of a film that originally starred Burt Reynolds…and stars him again? Sign me up for that. Or so it would seem from the buzz surrounding this upcoming SNL alumni team up as two of the funniest actors to come off that show finally make a movie together. Sure it’s a sports film, but now their in prison and are forced to play against the prison guards. Add in the zany humor of Sandler, the racial undertones of Rock, and a cast of funny people prepared to make us laugh and I’ll take a ticket please…or not.

Suck: Another remake? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Hollywood is getting so obscure in these remakes that I’m not even sure they are remakes until I do my research about the release. I didn’t know there was another film of the same name and premise starring Burt Reynolds, did any of you under 25 know? This time around the film looks to have a much stronger cast, especially in the informed pairing of Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, but the stench of Little Nicky and Down to Earth have yet to subside over their respective careers and usually when we get a huge comedic team-up the results have been lukewarm. The story isn’t going to help the film out too much, another of the “team of losers overcomes adversity and wins” variety, only this time the team is in prison, and they have Nelly! Watch me wet myself. Finally, the trailer isn’t helping the cause by blowing, seemingly, the best sequence of the film (Sandler’s drunken car chase), but we’ll see how things go in a few weeks time.

Cool: From the studio that brought us Shrek and Shrek 2, now we get Madagascar the story of four zoo animals transplanted to the jungle only to be the fish out of water. Regardless of how cliché (May’s word of the month) the story will be when it comes together the added dosage of pop culture references, gross-out humor, and penguins will keep us entertained for the film’s running time. How long it will last in our minds remains to be seen, but at least we’ll be laughing this month, and today in general with both The Longest Yard and this film popping up on the silver screen.

Suck: The awe has finally worn off of computer generated films and now the studios are faced with making films with quality stories and keeping up the high production values we’ve seen from Pixar and PDI since their inception. Madagascar, coming to us from DreamWorks PDI and the newly public DreamWorks Animation has some big, green shoes to fill when compared to the likes of its predecessor. Shrek, and the writing team behind it, really had the knack for finding pop culture references and nailing them into your head in a very funny, and sometimes subtle way. So far Madagascar looks to have the same blood running through its veins, and I’d really like to think the film will be one of the biggest of the year after the successful Robots in March. For those who never tire of Chris Rock (me being one of them) this is his second film opening today. I can’t really find anything to bitch about here, it looks like The Incredibles and Shrek where the gross-out jokes coupled with more sophisticated “adult” humor will keep young and old entertained.