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(For ages 6-11) Underdog Opens Aug. 3, Rated PG disney.go.com/disneypictures/underdog In this CGI – live-action variation of the animated TV series that ran from 1964 to 1973 – Jason Lee replaces the late, great Wally Cox as the voice of the titled superheroic hound. The villain, of course, is Dr. Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage), who terrorizes Underdog’s spaniel sweetie Polly Purebread (voiced by Amy Adams) and the other citizens of Capitol City. (For ages 6-11) Daddy Day Camp Opens Aug. 8, Rated PG sonypictures.com/movies/daddydaycamp Eddie Murphy and Cuba Gooding Jr. are going in opposite directions, which explains why the latter is taking on the former’s role in this not-so-promising sequel. Murphy, “Norbit” aside, is using his Oscar nomination to take on more serious roles while Gooding, who has an Oscar, is again going for a paycheck instead of rescuing his drowning career by playing the man in charge of a daycare center run by fathers. For this go-around, Charlie relocates his home-based operations to Camp Driftwood. Joining him for the summer is his business partner (Paul Rae), a squadron of bratty kids and a healthy supply of poop and crotch jokes. (For ages 7-14) Bratz: The Movie Opens Aug. 3, Rated PG thebratzfilm.com Oh, you living dolls. That’s exactly what Nathalia Ramos, Janel Parrish, Logan Browning and Skyler Shaye are, though in plastic form they’re better known among young girls as Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe, respectively. Those are the names of the original characters of the popular doll line famous for their oversized heads, full lips, big eyes, petite nose, short body and fashions that have been described as trendy or trashy, depending on how cool the parents are. The live-action movie follows four “BFFs” (Best Friends Forever) who deal with high school life and the social cliques that come with it. Paula Abdul takes a break from acting like a nutcase on “American Idol” to take a cameo role in a movie that sounds like a poor-girl’s “Mean Girls.” [dvds]this month Berenstain Bears: Get Organized! (Not rated; Aug. 21; ages 3-5): Another DVD filled with episodes from the PBS KIDS Series based on Stan and Jan Berenstain’s popular bear-brimming books. Strong messages, weak animation. Grade: B+ CliffNotes Ultimate Study Guides (Not rated; now available; ages 12-18): I never used CliffNotes when doing book reports, but these DVDs might have tempted me had they been around when I was in school. Aiding the time-strapped student with a full-length Hollywood classic movie and complete corresponding CliffNotes materials are such titles as “Henry V,” “Wuthering Heights,” “Lord of the Flies” and “Jane Eyre.” Grade: A Growing Up Creepie (Not rated; Aug. 28; for ages 6 -11): Getting an early jump on Halloween is the first volume of the animated Discovery Kids’ show. The six 11-minute episodes star a young girl named Creepie who was abandoned at the doorstep of an equally abandoned mansion and raised by insects. Grade: B Are We Done Yet? (PG; Aug. 7; ages 5-10): We teach our children to not use the word “hate,” so let me say that I loathed the sequel to “Are We There Yet?” as much as I loathed the 2005 original. Ice Cube again plays the fool for zero laughs, only this time away from the big city and in the suburbs where he buys a fixer-upper for his new wife (Nia Long) and wicked stepchildren. Grade: D- – Regular contributor David Dickstein is the father of two boys, 11 and 13, and the husband of a schoolteacher. |
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