Movie Review: “The Spy Next Door”

Seen on: January 9, 2010

The players: Director: Brian Levant, Writers: Jonathan Bernstein, James Greer, Gregory Poirier, Cast: Jackie Chan, Amber Valletta, Alina Foley, George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus

Facts of interest: Brian Levant also directed "Are We There Yet?"

The plot: A former CIA spy has to babysit his girlfriend's kids and protect them from a bunch of weird terrorists at the same time.

Our thoughts: Brian Levant’s “The Spy Next Door” is a terrible film. It’s as dry as a family comedy can get, and it suffers mainly from a chaotic plot, monotonous story and a handful of poor acting performances. Children of a certain age may appreciate Jackie Chan jumping around the screen for 90 minutes, but I stopped caring after the first five minutes.

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Movie Review: “Gamer”

Seen on: September 4, 2009

The players: Directors: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, Writers: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, Cast: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Michael C. Hall, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Kyra Sedgwick

Facts of interest: Mark Neveldinea and Brian Taylor also directed the "Crank" flicks.

The plot: In a future world, humans spend their time controlling other humans in a deadly online multiplayer game... until one player manages to escape.

Our thoughts: Up-and-coming filmmakers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor delivered some highly enjoyable big-screen entertainment in “Crank” and “Crank 2: High Voltage,” but in their latest action spectacle “Gamer,” they fail to deliver the goods. This is by no means a terrible experience, but it’s just not as vibrant as their previous two efforts.

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Four more join Jackie Chan in 'Spy Next Door'

George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus, Amber Valletta and Katherine Boecher are the latest to join Jackie Chan in Brian Levant's new comedy "The Spy Next Door."

Chan plays a man who babysits his neighbor’s kids and ends up batting a bunch of secret agents after one of the youngsters accidentally downloads a secret code from the Web.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lopez and Cyrus star as two CIA agents, while Valletta plays the children's mother. Boecher is on board as a Russian operative.

Valletta's credits include "Hitch" and "Transporter 2." She will next star in Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine's "Game." As for Lopez, he most recently did some voice work in Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." Cyrus will next be seen in "Hannah Montana: The Movie."

Chan recently starred in “The Forbidden Kingdom.” He also recently completed filming “The Shinjuku Incident,” an action drama about a Chinese immigrant who travels to Japan to follow his ex-girlfriend.