“Are We Done Yet?,” the family-comedy sequel to “Are We There Yet?,” follows the basic premise of its predecessors, “Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House,” and the 1986 Tom Hanks vehicle, “The Money Pit.” Starring Ice Cube (now somehow family friendly), the film plays out in highly predictable fashion, providing little laughter and entertainment. Understanding that I wasn’t the film’s target market, I was skeptical if I would enjoy the movie even as a youngster. While I didn’t hold any private screenings for children, I talked to a couple parents that made the mistake of seeing this in the theater with their kids. The consensus seemed to be an unsatisfying and painful experience. One mom said, “My kids hated it and we wasted $70.00. We should’ve gone to Chuck-E-Cheese.” Thank heavens for home video. I only had to sacrifice two hours of my life and the extra few minutes it took to watch ...

  Tim Allen is back in the third installment of the Santa Clause saga, over 12 years after the original. Direct-to-video, this film didn't make a whole lot of waves with its release. While not a complete disaster, the film only proved to be mediocre. This installment picks up where "Santa Clause 2" left off. Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is in his twelfth year as Father Christmas and is loved by all at the North Pole. He and Mrs. Claus [Carol Calvin] (Elizabeth Mitchell), along with everyone at the North Pole, are eagerly expecting the arrival of their first baby. Mrs. Claus is feeling a bit neglected as Scott is constantly busy running the toy factory and checking the list, not once but twice. Scott's brilliant idea is to bring the in-laws to help Carol relax as the baby is about ready to be born. With the help of The Sandman (Michael Dorn), Santa ...

  Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is a loving father and husband but his overscheduled workaholic nature and his career ambitions are gradually alienating him from his family. While searching for a universal remote to help him manage all his various gadgets, he enters “Bed Bath and Beyond,” and in the “Beyond” workshop comes across Morty (Christopher Walken), who offers him a high-end prototype to help him get control of his life. Back at home, Michael finds that the amazing remote allows him to control his world, and he starts using it to fast-forward his way through the tedious parts of his life: arguments with his wife, illnesses, traffic and his long wait for a promotion. Adam Sandler is a nice fit for Michael Newman, in a role that requires a greater range (as in “Punch Drunk Love”) than his typical vehicles. Henry Winkler and Julie Kavner are adorable as Michael’s parents and Christopher ...

  “Clerks,” “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma” all featured appearances by Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith)-- two crude, drug-dealing layabouts. “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” takes these two peripheral characters and makes them the central characters in their own film. Jay and Silent Bob discover that the comic book, “Bluntman and Chronic” (which is based on them) is being made into a big budget Hollywood movie without their permission, so the duo head off on a road trip Tinseltown to either shut down the production or get their fare share of the pie… Kevin Smith’s previous films mostly used these two characters sparingly and to good effect. When they’ve been featured in brief bits of business their overwhelming crudity, bald-faced immaturity, appalling sexist diatribes and grating catchphrases tend to elevate the surrounding material. While the rest of the films where they appear all have liberal doses of foul-mouthed crudity and bathroom ...

  Is Sony rushing films out to Blu-Ray willy-nilly? It would seem to make good business sense to begin with (a) popular films (b) whose appeal is heightened by being in high definition video. So far, Columbia’s selection of films to treat in this manner seems confusing—although it must be said that once “RV” reaches the Colorado Rockies (played by the Canadian Rockies), the high-definition virtues are realized. But a lot of it takes place inside the bus-like vehicle of the title, with the views out the windows largely added by blue-screen matting. As we all have come to understand, nothing, absolutely nothing, says “family comedy” more than a good supply of poop jokes, a family and lots of slapstick. By this standard, the perfect family comedy would be mom and dad having a pie fight with junior in a cess pool. But until that happy time arrives, “RV” is an ideal family ...