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Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried (Full Cast)
Studio: Universal Pictures

The Plot: In an attempt to suss out her father’s identity, a bride-to-be (Seyfried) invites three likely candidates to her wedding, resulting in a wild familial encounter that incorporates the hits of ABBA.

THE BUZZ: Mamma Mia! / Here we go again / An-o-ther / Musical a-dapta-tion! / Mamma Mia! / Will folks show again? / Why, why? / Maybe Streep can make it happen!

As expected, Amanda Seyfried (can you ask for an awesomer new It Girl?) and company stormed Europe last week, where they dazzled audiences and danced away with a few million dollars. In a femme-friendly year for movies, look for this fairy tale to register on this side of the Atlantic. Look for Seyfried next in Jennifer’s Body, Diablo Cody’s Juno follow-up!

Message Boards: CROWD REPORT: for those who have seen it | TO THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN IT, I NEED YOUR ADVICE!!!!

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Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: The Caped Crusader (Bale) teams ups with Gotham’s Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) to take on the city’s newest villain — The Joker (Ledger).

THE BUZZ: Capitalizing on one of the most effective online viral campaigns of all time, it’s no wonder theaters are piling on additional screenings (with 3am & 6am showtimes!?) and estimating an opening weekend north of $130 million. Nolan’s previous Batman gave the familiar franchise a much needed ka-blam by ditching the vivid Technicolor and rubber cod pieces for softer sepia tones and a beefed-up Bale. Now, we’ve got a new Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal), a wicked new Joker (Ledger, in one of his two final roles) and more websites than we can keep track of (Gotham Cable News, Remembering Gina and Why So Serious? to name a few). With apologies to Iron Man, Hancock and The Incredible Hulk (don’t want to get him angry), this will likely be the superhero movie event of the summer.

Message Boards: How many are watching Batman Begins this week? | Any movie coming this year you expect might be better than this?

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Director: Brian Robbins
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks (Full Cast)
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

The Plot: Tiny aliens pilot a spacecraft that takes the form of a human (Murphy), while the captain of the ship jeopardizes his crew and their mission to save their planet when he falls for beautiful earthling (Banks).

THE BUZZ: We interrupt Elizabeth Banks’s apparent temporary insanity to pose this question: What part of Pluto Nash did studios not recall when Murphy’s name came up for another sci-fi comedy? We’re guessing it’s not the $4 million gross. Not that Murphy fans care, they turned Norbit into a number one hit. Apparently the more characters he plays in a movie, the more it makes. So, here’s another guess: he plays ten in this one?

Message Boards: Saw the screening today | Is anybody genuinely excited for this?

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