‘Death at a Funeral'

Frank Oz made this small-scale farce about two brothers who learn several unsavory facts about their dearly departed dad on the eve of his funeral. The ensemble cast includes a number of familiar British faces, including Matthew Macfadyen, Ewen Bremmer and Rupert Graves, as well as a handful of Americans. Someone remember to ask one of them whether Oz likes to call “Action” using his Yoda voice. 1 hr. 30 mins.
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‘Superbad'

Looking back, 2007 has been a pretty great year for comedies. So far this year we've laughed our way through “Hot Fuzz,” “Knocked Up,” “The Simpsons Movie” and now here comes the film that may be the funniest of the lot. It's certainly the best teen comedy to come along since ..... well, since forever. “Superbad” casts the hilarious Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as two best buddies who are legends in their own minds but total geeks to the rest of their high school. Despite their outcast status, they manage to score an invite to a big house party ..... provided they show up with booze. But what begins as a simple operation to score some alcohol quickly leads to a long, crazy night. In addition to Hill and Cera, the movie's stellar ensemble includes Seth Rogen (who co-wrote the script), Bill Hader and, best of all, newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who makes one of that all-time great movie debuts as Fogell, aka McLovin. Remember that name — you'll be quoting it for the rest of the summer. 1 hr. 54 mins.
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‘The Invasion'

What if a major studio produced a big-budget update of the classic sci-fi tale “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” with stars like Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig but then barely advertised its release? Rumor has it that “The Invasion” producer Joel Silver was so dissatisfied with the original cut, he hired the Matrix's Wachowski Brothers to film a new ending and “V for Vendetta” director James McTeigue for extensive reshoots. 1 hr. 33 mins.
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‘The Last Legion'

Speaking of movies that are being released with zero advertising, has anyone seen a trailer or even a poster for this swords-and-sandals epic? Thomas Sangster plays a young Roman soldier who flees the city ahead of invading barbarians and travels to raise an army strong enough to reclaim his homeland. He encounters slumming actors such as Colin Firth, Sir Ben Kingsley, Peter Mullan and Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai, all of whom hopefully bought something really nice with the paycheck they made from this belly flop of a film. 1 hr. 50 mins.
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Ethan Alter | McClatchy Newspapers