Drew Barrymore

CHICAGO – Whale of a tale (chuckle), no other headline writer has thought of that. “Big Miracle” is a family movie with Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson and the voice of Ronald Reagan, that will not have adults seeking the emergency exits. It’s about whales.

CHICAGO – Out of all the franchises recently resurrected on the small screen, “Charlie’s Angels” is perhaps the least necessary. Does the world really need yet another rehash of the hit ’70s show that has been hailed for its female empowerment but was mainly popular because of its scantily clad female ensemble?

CHICAGO – Wes Craven’s “Scream” is one of the most influential horror films of all time. And it’s one of the best of its era. The film has held up remarkably well in the fifteen years since it was released and is a must-own for fans of the genre, especially with an extras-laden Blu-ray release timed to coincide with the upcoming April 15th release of “Scream 4.” The sequels are inferior but more worthwhile than average horror sequels. Why not own ‘em all?

CHICAGO – It’s far from a perfect comedy but considering the amazingly-broken state of the romantic comedy genre, the wasteland of horrendous films that have continued to give talentless stars like Katherine Heigl a career, “Going the Distance,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, is a surprisingly-effective flick. A somewhat-bizarre blend of “dude humor” with typical genre cliches may turn some viewers off but this flick is two things most romantic comedies aren’t — romantic and funny.

CHICAGO – Drew Barrymore no doubt is working hard to become Queen of the Romantic Comedy. She has done over ten of them, more if you count “Bad Girls.” (kidding) When recycling themes even the best of them can get redundant when seeing the same actress involved. “Going the Distance” is not even among the best of them.

CHICAGO – The personal life of an entertainer shouldn’t be of any entertainment value, regardless of how celebrity gossip columns and the paparazzi would like to convince the general public otherwise. Who cares if two famous people have chemistry if it doesn’t show up onscreen?

CHICAGO – Nanette Burstein, known mostly for her excellent documentaries “The Kid Stays in the Picture” and “American Teen,” makes her narrative feature film director debut with the comedy “Going the Distance,” with Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate and Jim Gaffigan.

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Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

CHICAGO – This 18-image slideshow contains the official press images for Warner Brothers’ Summer 2010 slate including “Sex and the City 2,” “Splice,” “Jonah Hex,” “Inception,” “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore,” “Lottery Ticket,” and “Going the Distance”. Stars featured include Sarah Jessica Parker, Adrien Brody, Megan Fox, Josh Brolin, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Drew Barrymore.

CHICAGO – Is there any cinematic prize less prestigious than the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award? Most of the films honored by this group tend to be simple-minded, cloying and thoroughly manipulative. Any group that names “The Blind Side” as “the best film of 2009” seriously needs its head examined. The Heartland award emblem gracing the DVD box of “Everybody’s Fine” is sure to scare off serious fans of its legendary lead actor.

CHICAGO – Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” is the kind of fun, girl-power driven comedy that I honestly expected would find a huge word-of-mouth audience in theaters. Its absolutely dismal box office ($13 million) was one of the biggest financial surprises of 2009. People are likely to catch up with the Ellen Page comedy on Blu-ray and DVD.