Movie Review: "Death at a Funeral" (2010)

Seen on: April 16, 2010

The players: Director: Neil LaBute, Writer: Dean Craig, Cast: Peter Dinklage, Chris Rock, Regina Hall, Keith David, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana

Facts of interest: Remake of Frank Oz's 2007 comedy.

The plot: The film tells the story of a family desperately trying to make it through a funeral ceremony.

Our thoughts: If you’ve seen Frank Oz’s 2007 British comedy “Death at a Funeral,” you may as well stick with it and skip Neil LaBute’s American remake, because the new “Death at a Funeral” is so close to the original one, it almost becomes a completely unnecessary viewing experience. Okay, maybe this one’s a tad raunchier, but in my book, it’s not exactly funnier.

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Casting alert: Tracy Morgan joins 'Son of No One'

Tracy Morgan and Juliette Binoche are the latest to join Dito Montiel's upcoming police thriller "Son of No One," which also stars Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Ray Liotta, and Katie Holmes. Tatum plays a young cop (Tatum) who gets into trouble after he ends up working at a precinct in the working class neighborhood he grew up in. The Hollywood Reporter says Morgan will replace Terence Howard as Tatum's friend. Binoche plays a reporter.

Shitty red band clip from 'Death at a Funeral'

Neil LaBute's remake of Frank Oz's 2007 hit comedy "Death at a Funeral" is opening in theaters April 16, 2010, and, well... it doesn't exactly look hilarious. There are parts about the trailer I liked, but in general, I'm still not convinced this one will deliver the goods.

A new red band clip has just shown up on the Web, and you can check it out after the jump. What starts as a silly sequence quickly turns into a shitty (literally) moment: Tracy Morgan's hand gets stuck in Danny Glover's ass. The result is anything but funny.

Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Regina Hall, Columbus Short, Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, James Marsden, Peter Dinklage and Loretta Devine are part of the cast. The film  follows a family stumbling across all sorts of weird secrets during a funeral that quickly turns into a disaster.

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'Shutter Island' slashes new releases Friday

'Shutter Island' holds on to No. 1 for now...

Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" defended the No. 1 spot at the North American box office Friday with a solid $6.6 million in ticket sales, according to early studio estimates. Ever since its release last weekend, "Island" has reached a cumulative gross of $59.5 million.

New entry "Cop Out," the new comedy directed by Kevin Smith, finished second Friday, earning $5.975 million. The film, which is now playing at 3,150 locations, stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as two buddy cops trying to find a stolen baseball card. Read my review here.

Following closely in third place was Breck Eisner's horror remake "The Crazies," which bagged $5.970 million from ticket sales at 2,476 locations. The film follows a group of people trying to stay alive while everyone else in their small town goes crazy and turns to brutal violence.

Meanwhile, James Cameron's "Avatar" landed in fourth place with $3.1 million, reaching a domestic total of $696 million after a superb 71-day run. "Valentine's Day" followed at No. 5, generating $2.9 million for a total haul of $93.7 million.

'Death at a Funeral' remake trailer is kinda funny

I still have not seen Frank Oz's 2007 hit comedy "Death at a Funeral," but the remake is already heading towards a release. It will open April 16, 2010, and first trailer has now shown up online!

Much like the original, this new version follows a family stumbling across all sorts of weird secrets during a funeral ceremony that quickly turns into a disaster. Neil LaBute directed a script by Dean Craig.

The cast includes some big names: Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Columbus Short, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Luke Wilson, James Marsden, Peter Dinklage and Loretta Devine.

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More great 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' clips

I'm really excited to see Phil Lord and Chris Miller's upcoming 3D animated adventure "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" in 3D Sept. 18, 2009, and I really enjoyed the several film clips I've seen so far.

Today, I stumbled across two more, and they sure made my mouth water. In the first one you can check out after the jump, main character Flint discovers his new invention actually works.

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Set photos from Kevin Smith's 'Couple of Dicks'

Kevin Smith is currently shooting his upcoming comedy "A Couple of Dicks" for Warner Bros., and ComingSoon has posted several set photos. Check out two here and more in this gallery.

In the film, Bruce Willis (pictured) plays a cop who, along with his partner (Tracy Morgan), encounters a mysterious gangster and rescues a Mexican chick during their investigation into the theft of a valuable baseball card.

Seann William Scott plays a thief known as Shit Bandit, while Adam Brody is on board to play a detective. Jason Lee and Michelle Trachtenberg (pictured below) co-star.

"A Couple of Dicks" is set to open Feb. 26, 2009. Smith last helmed "Zack and Miri Make A Porno."

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Lawrence, Morgan join 'Death at a Funeral'

Tracy Morgan and Martin Lawrence are gearing up to star alongside Chris Rock in the remake of Frank Oz’s 2007 comedy “Death at a Funeral."

Loretta Devine, Ron Glass, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, James Marsden, Zoe Saldana and Columbus Short are also part of the acting crew, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The story focuses on a funeral ceremony during which cadavers are misplaced, people engage in indecent exposure, and dirty family secrets suddenly come to light.

Neil LaBute is directing a script by Rock and Ayesha Carr (“Everybody Hates Chris”). Dean Craig, writer of the original British comedy, is on board to executive produce the project.

Morgan, who can be seen on "30 Rock," has a couple of projects coming up, including "Nailed" and "Freshman Roommates." Rock recently joined the cast of an untitled comedy for Columbia Pictures.

I still have to watch the original "Death at a Funeral," but I hear it's a wildly funny comedy.

Tracy Morgan boards 'Freshman Roommates'

Tracy Morgan is set to produce and star in Paramount's upcoming comedy "Freshman Roommates," according to Variety.

Written by John Mulaney and Nick Kroll, the film follows a young man who answers a strange email while he's drunk. Shortly after, the son of an African dictator (Morgan) shows up at his door, seeking help in accessing his inheritance.

Also starring is TJ Miller, who starred in "Cloverfield" and recently wrapped "She's Out of My League."

As for Morgan, his recent big-screen appearances include "First Sunday" and "Superhero Movie." The former "Saturday Night Life" comedian also stars as Tracy Jordan on TV's "30 Rock."

Bill Hader, Anna Faris to taste ‘Meatballs’

Bill Hader and Anna Faris are set to voice the leads in Sony Pictures Animations’s upcoming 3D project “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” according to Variety.

Mr. T, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Tracy Morgan and Bruce Campbell are already on board. Not bad for a voice cast.

The film, which is based on Judi Barrett’s popular children’s book, focuses on a group of characters living in a town where food falls from the sky just like rain. Imagine how cool this would look like in live-action flick.

The trade says Hader will play a character trying to invent something that could improve everybody’s life. Faris voices a weathergirl covering the strange happening.

Chris Miller and Phil Lord are directing their own script. If all goes well, the film is expected to hit theaters early 2010.

Bill Hader recently completed Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland.” Faris is currently onscreen in “The House Bunny.”