New In Theaters - February 18th, 2011

BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson, Jessica Lucas & Faizon Love

Directed by John Whitesell for distribution by 20^th Century Fox

The Plot: FBI agent Michael Turner (Lawrence) and his stepson Trent (Jackson) must go undercover in drag after Trent witnesses a murder on his college campus.

The Final Word: Believe it or not, this franchise started back in 2000 and has somehow thrived at the box office, despite only putting out a new movie (almost) every six years. Now, Lawrence returns to cinemas across the country to reprise one of his most popular and profitable roles with newcomer Brandon T. Jackson joining the cast. With three tentpole pics slated to bow this President’s Day weekend, it will be interesting to see how well this latest installment does considering its predecessor failed to break the $100 million mark, which the original one had no problem surpassing.

I AM NUMBER FOUR

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, 
Dianna Agron & Kevin Durand

Directed by D.J. Caruso for distribution by DreamWorks

The Plot: A teenager (Pettyfer) with superpowers travels from town to town with his guardian (Olyphant) trying to escape from extra-terrestrial assassins sent to kill his kind.

The Final Word: Rising star Alex Pettyfer headlines this movie as John Smith, the fourth of nine super-talented teens who can only be killed in the order of their number. Directed by DreamWorks go-to director D. J. Caruso (“Distrubia,” “Eagle Eye”), this super-natural action film also stars “Justified’s” Timothy Olyphant and “Glee’s” Dianna Agron; both of whom the studio hopes will bring their TV viewers into theatres.

UNKNOWN

Starring: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones,
 Aidan Quinn & Frank Langella

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra for distribution by Warner Brothers

The Plot: A doctor (Nesson) wakes up in Berlin after a car accident to find out that a new man (Quinn) has claimed his identity and his wife (Jones).

The Final Word: While we’ve seen this “identity wiped away and nobody believes it” premise a thousand times, there is just something about it that always seems to capture our attention. Even more promising is the presence of lead actor Liam Nesson, who also starred in “Taken,” which operated on a just as overly used premise, but did so with great success. With a solid supporting cast, Warner Brothers could find the same level success FOX found with the 2008 hit. Also working in its favor is that of the three films opening President’s Day weekend, this is the only one directly geared to adults.

Previewed next week: Drive Angry 3D, Hall Pass, Shelter