'The Proposal,' 'Year One' & 'Whatever Works': Movie Reviews for June 19

The Best Movies in Theaters

'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3'

Release Date: June 12

Denzel Washington and John Travolta are worthy adversaries -- one may go so far as to call them frenemies -- in Tony Scott's highly stylized remake of the 1974 subway-hostage drama. Washington is his usual, a good man (but with some complicating issues), while Travolta plays his freewheelin' domestic terrorist with some of the same swagger as his 'Pulp Fiction' hitman, Vincent Vega. You can probably guess which of the two men prevail, but the ride to the end of this line is actually pretty entertaining. -- Angie Argabrite



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'The Hangover'

Release Date: June 5

In director Todd Phillips' best flick since 'Old School,' three buddies (the perfectly matched Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) wake up the morning after their pal's (Justin Bartha) Vegas BP to find that while their hotel room now contains a chicken, a tiger and a human infant, two things they're missing are their memory of the previous night ... and the groom. As our guys try to reconstruct their lost evening, find the bachelor and kick those nasty headaches, Phillips takes audiences on a whirlwind tour of Sin City that involves Mike Tyson, a naked Asian man with a crowbar and plenty of other hilarious surprises that ensure this is one 'Hangover' you won't regret. -- Tom DiChiara



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'Land of the Lost'

Release Date: June 5

Considering the cheesy Saturday-morning kids' show this flick is based on, no one should go in with expectations too high. Now that we've set the bar low, move it a little lower, and then think of this Will Ferrell laffer as great fun for 14-year-old boys. The rest of us? Eh, it has its moments, but mainly it's for the boys (or anyone with the mindset of a teen boy -- come to think of it, that could mean we'll find that 'Lost' is a big hit). -- Angie Argabrite



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'Away We Go''

Release Date: June 5

John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph give deep, heartfelt performances as a thirtysomething couple searching for the perfect place to raise their soon-to-arrive baby. It's 'On the Road' meets 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' crossed with a smart adult love story. And no wonder -- award-winning director Sam Mendes directs a script written by married lit hipsters Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, and all the players step up their game.-- Angie Argabrite



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'Up'

Release Date: May 29

OK, this is starting to get a little ridiculous ... The masters of animation Pixar hit yet another one out of the park, maintaining their 1.000 batting average (they're now 10/10 for those keeping score at home) with this latest romp -- a hilarious, beautiful and heartbreaking adventure that ranks among their very best. You just can't go wrong with intelligent storytelling and lovable characters, and the Ed Asner-voiced 78-year-old Carl ranks right up there with Maude, Alfred Pennyworth and those crazy 'Cocoon' kids as our favorite old-timers ever to hit the big screen. (The young-in Russell, female snipe Kevin and talking dog Dug aren't so bad, either.) -- Kevin Polowy



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'Drag Me to Hell'

Release Date: May 29

Didn't like 'Spider-Man 3'? Prepare to rejoin the Sam Raimi fan club. The 'Evil Dead' auteur returns to his B-movie horror roots with a hellfire-singed bang in this flick that stars a very game Alison Lohman as a loan officer who refuses to grant an old Gypsy woman an extension on her home lone and, as a result, has three days to break a deadly curse before she's dragged to you-know-where. Leaps and bounds better than the torture porn and tired remakes that pass for horror these days, 'Hell' shines because it's genuinely scary and because it never forgets that this genre is also supposed to be fun. Damned if this isn't the best horror movie in a hell of a long time. -- Tom DiChiara



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'Terminator Salvation'

Release Date: May 22

Christian Bale as a grown John Connor -- how can you go wrong with that? McG's brave undertaking, adding a new chapter to the 'Terminator' story, pays off big for fans. This is the first of the 'T' flicks set completely in the man vs. robots war, with Sam Worthington as Marcus, an entirely new kind of cyborg, and Anton Yelchin as a young Kyle Reese, ready to grow up, kick mechanical ass ... and (in his not-so-distant future) father John Connor. That's what we'd call a circle of life. -- Angie Argabrite



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'The Girlfriend Experience'

Release Date: May 22

There are two Steven Soderberghs: the director who makes star-studded movies like 'Ocean's Eleven,' and the one who makes improvisational indies starring "regular people" -- i.e., nobody you've ever heard of. Well, unless you watch a lot of porn, in which case you have heard of Sasha Grey, adult film star and the heroine of Soderbergh's newest indie. As an escort who provides not just sex but also companionship, Grey is intriguingly enigmatic; and whether or not that's a conscious acting choice, it's perfect for a film that's less about titillation than the blurry perils of inhabiting two lives: businesswoman and lover, tramp and sweetheart, the voyeur and the viewed. -- Patricia Chui



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'The Brothers Bloom'

Release Date: May 15

Writer-director Rian Johnson's follow-up to the undeniably unique high-school noir 'Brick' is just as original and twice as accessible. The film, which follows lifelong scam artists Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) as they attempt to relieve a quirky heiress (the beautifully zany Rachel Weisz) of her fortune, plays like 'The Royal Tenenbaums' meets 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.' It works as a twisty caper, a sweet romance and a sibling dramedy. And, most importantly, it never cons the audience into caring about the characters because, well, it doesn't have to. -- Tom DiChiara



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'Management'

Release Date: May 15

Steve Zahn and Jennifer Aniston make the year's oddest pairing in this sweet but still run-of-the-mill romantic comedy disguised as a quirky indie. Zahn is an Arizonan man-child who still lives with his parents (albeit in their motel); Aniston is the visiting businesswoman he falls madly in love with. It all starts with a "touch of the butt" -- and that alone should tell you something about the movie's broad comedy leanings. Drink every time "butt touching" is mentioned thereafter. -- Kevin Polowy



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