Yeah, we’ve been on a bit of a hiatus here at the PSB World Headquarters, following Jebus calling the final Grandma Sick-Boy home last month.  Our crack staff saw plenty of films over the last few weeks, but weren’t exactly inspired enough to write a single word about any of ‘em.  Even that gay porno with the Spartan soldiers, or the real-time tale of the Zodiac killings.  And what’s our reward for our first week back to the fold?  Fucking mutant turtles and an un-screened sequel to a shitty horror flick.  Welcome to hell, douche-bags.

What’s the deal with Shooter?  It’s a movie about a guy (Mark Wahlberg) smart enough to help the government stop an assassination attempt on the President of the United States, but not smart enough to realize he’s being set up for the very same shooting.  Smart enough to be able to remain undetected despite being the most wanted man in the world, but not smart enough to realize that laying the man-gristle to his dead buddy’s widow (Kate Mara) isn’t exactly going to be able to build a whole lot of empathy with the audience.

The real question is how a scene – and this might be considered a spoiler – that features a fugitive maliciously murdering a United States Senator could draw a near-standing ovation from the folks at my screening.  Or maybe the question should have something to do with how someone as drab and monotone and Wahlberg could have ever been nominated for an Oscar.  No, I’ve got it: The question should totally be about when the sequel is going to be released.  PSB says 4

What’s the rub with Pride?  For its entire 104 minute running time, there wasn’t a second that went by where I wasn’t thinking about how absolutely awful it would have been with Cuba Gooding, Jr. playing the lead (or Denzzzzel, if it was 1993).  The fact that Pride – a tried-and-true formulaic sports cliché “inspired” by a true story – is almost decent is a real testament to the acting prowess of Mr. Terrence Howard, who plays a down on his luck former swimming champ who turns a bunch of “urban” Philly miscreants into a school of Marc Spitz clones.

Aside from a wince-worthy “Captain, my captain” scene, Pride surprises by not being half-bad, with special attention paid to make the film look like it was legitimately filmed in 1974 (aside from the length of the shorts of the kids playing hoops).  The swimmers are a quaint bunch of friendly stereotypes who garner chuckles while Howard acts circles around Bernie Mac and the woefully inept Kimberly Elise.  PSB says 6

Why should you spend your cheese on The Lookout?  Because it’s the directorial debut of Scott Frank, who penned/adapted PSB faves like Out of Sight, Minority Report, Little Man Tate, and Dead Again.  It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the most promising young American actor since Marlon Brando.  Also, it’s a tight, solid little picture, which is more than you can say about most releases this time of year.

Levitt plays Chris Pratt, a former high school hockey star badly injured in a prom night automobile accident in rural Kansas.  Chris might appear to be recovered, but still has frontal lobe issues that keep him from being able to identify everyday objects, and easily lose his train of thought.  When a shady-looking character (Matthew Goode) with an even shadier-looking crew befriends the protagonist and introduces him to a beautiful sexually-aggressive redhead (Isla Fisher), you know it’s only a matter of time before Chris finds himself in a world of trouble.  But will it be a con involving Chris and his rich family, or is it some kind of revenge scheme carried out by one of the loved ones that didn’t survive Chris’s prom night accident?  Or something else?  Not knowing was half of the fun.  PSB says 7

What's the situation with Reign Over Me?  It's writer-director Mike Binder's latest about a married guy  frustrated over his lack of freedom and his former college roommate who has nothing but freedom in his life.  The film's trailer doesn't really give the impression Reign is going to be one of those pictures about two unhappy half-men who help themselves realize that maybe their lives aren't really so bad after all.

That's how the first half of Reign plays out, before becoming the film it's really about: Alan (Don Cheadle) trying to get Charlie (Adam Sandler) to open up about losing his entire family during 9/11.  Twelve big thumbs up for reversing the race of the roles, as we'd generally see a black actor playing the weird, homeless-looking, potentially dangerous "mystical negro" who helps Whitey figure out his life.  Fourteen big thumbs down for using 9/11 to make Charlie more sympathetic -- his family could have died in a million other ways.  Thankfully, Cheadle and Sandler both have very strong performances to overcome any major issues, aside from the silly courtroom finale.  PSB says 7