Ferrell's Career Looks Lost Indeed

Comedian lands film that could—or could not—be an insightful look at race relations

(NEWSER) - Now’s your chance to make Chris Rock your black friend: the comedian will star in Will You Be My Black Friend? The film's based on the GQ article of the same name, chronicling author Devin Friedman’s attempt to diversify his circle of white buddies. More»

Will Ferrell not enough to save picture

(NEWSER) - Land of the Lost remakes the 1970s TV series, sucking Will Ferrell into a parallel universe that mushes past, present, and future together. Keep this flick out of your own future, critics say:

• “The only marginally interesting, if unsurprising, thing about the pricey movie spinoff is that a lot of money has been spent on yet another cultural throwaway,” writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. “Not that I didn’t sometimes laugh anyway.”

But Nicolas Cage seems to get it: critics

(NEWSER) - Critics agree: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is ridiculous. But they're divided over whether the silliness of the sequel, once again starring Nicolas Cage as the devilish superhero, is funny or just bad.

• In the Merced Sun-Star , Roger Moore calls the movie "a profoundly silly mash-up of comic book and quasi-religious 'prophecy' about a motorcyclist who sold his soul to the devil." It beats the original: "This time around, Cage and everybody else on board are in on the joke," and that makes it "almost a great bad movie."

Movie reviews: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum can't save amnesia romance

(NEWSER) - In The Vow, Rachel McAdams plays a woman who must learn to love her husband again after amnesia wipes her memory. It's no surprise it was released ahead of Valentine's Day: It's pure mushiness, critics say.

• In the New York Daily News , Elizabeth Weitzman calls the film a "down-the-middle, by-the-numbers fantasy, in which no one is too quirky or interesting or challenging in any way." Still, "there’s no shortage of viewers ready to embrace an old-fashioned, guilty-pleasure romance."

Peter King thinks White House gave too much access to Hollywood

(NEWSER) - The Defense Department is investigating claims that the White House gave classified information about the Osama bin Laden raid ... to Hollywood. GOP Rep. Peter King sought the investigation following allegations that the administration provided Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow with privileged information for her upcoming film on the raid, reports CNN . (It's due out in December 2012.) King charges that the White House gave Bigelow access because it expects a glowing portrayal of its actions on film. More»