2014 Movie Preview: #7 - Muppets Most Wanted

Release date: March 21

Plot summary: Disney's "Muppets Most Wanted" takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe's most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine—the World's Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit—and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais. The film stars Tina Fey as Nadya, a feisty prison guard, and Ty Burrell as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon.

My take: The relaunch of the Muppets franchise was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2011. So I am now really excited to see what they do for a follow-up. Granted some of the elements from the 2011 film are gone, like Jason Segal. However, the plot seems like the madcap type of story that is perfectly suited for the Muppets. They have also done a nice job of bringing in a lot of human actors to fill out the cast and produce some laughs as well. It's currently scheduled to come out on a competitive weekend, so I hope it either changes dates or offers enough marketing to make sure people go check it out.

The host with the Most

Kermit and the gang are heading back to the big screen and this time they are taking their adventures overseas. Here's the newest trailer for Muppets Most Wanted.

Feeling froggy

After their successful comeback a couple of years ago, Kermit and the gang are heading back to the big screen and bringing a whole new crop of famous faces along with them. Here's your first look at Muppets Most Wanted set to come out next spring.

RBR: Butter

After waiting through several delays, I was dismayed when this small comedy about a butter carving competition came out only to be blasted by several critics. Many chastised it for its poor effort at political satire and lampooning of small town America. Though disappointed, I still decided to give it a try and found that I did not share a lot of the critics' complaints. If you look for it, there are some definite parallels between two of the competitions' contestants and Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. When I watched the film though, I didn't really focus on that comparison and found it much more palatable as a result. The film is far from perfect, however. There are subplots, like one involving Olivia Wilde as a stripper that really feel superfluous. It's hard to complain though about seeing her scantily clad for 90 minutes. There's also a little too much of Jennifer Garner, who plays the phony sweet ultra Conservative Palin-esque competitor. Those flaws aside, I will admit to laughing a lot, which is always an essential component to any comedy. I also found the butter carving concept fascinating and frankly wished there had been more of it. If you don't read too much into the film's message, this works as a quirky indie comedy. If you look for sharp satire, then you may want to save your cholesterol and just skip Butter. Rating: ****

Butter late than never

This film was filmed two years ago, screened at the Toronto Film Festival last year and now finally seems to be set for release to the public. Here's a trailer for the satirical film, Butter starring Jennifer Garner, Ty Burrell, Hugh Jackman, Olivia Wilde, and Rob Corddry.