Welcome to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game that's so much more dope than it is wacked. Last week, we asked you to bend down, lean forward and give us your best captions for a photo from The Love Guru. I don't know if you all brought in your own Caption Gurus (or if there was some other mystical power at work), but we received some of the most awesomest captions yet. Good job!

1. "This is hard to say, but the reason I called the four of you in to my office is to let you know that you are being downsized." -- Anthony G.

2. "We're sorry, we thought this was a shrink's office." -- Kurt P.

3. "Honey, I shrunk the agent." -- Suraj C.

See full image and all captions



This week, you're gonna have to bring out those mad skillz for a movie that's hotter than a McSkillet, ya dig? (What does that even mean?) Yup, we're shellin' out some lovin' for a little indie called The Wackness, featuring mad rhymes, dope flava ... Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen and Ben Kingsley. Holla! But check it: One grand prize winner will take away a ridiculous Sony DVP-FX820 portable DVD player. Word. Seriously, though, The Wackness is a blast -- great soundtrack, fun movie, take your friends, the whole nine. Flick hits theaters on July 3. Sound off punks!



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I noticed an unusual number of young girls clutching dolls at a multiplex on Saturday afternoon. This made me very nervous. I know it's summer and school's out, but the early Saturday crowd tends to be non-teenage people like me who try and catch up with the latest Hollywood releases without the distractions of the Friday/Saturday night teen crowd. What were all the young girls coming to see? Kung Fu Panda? Get Smart? Sex and the City?

Nope, the hordes of girls were lining up politely to see the latest trendy indie release: Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. One of the last three releases from distributor Picturehouse, which is due to shut down completely very soon, Kit Kittredge may be based on a doll, yet has further indie cred thanks to Little Miss Sunshine star Abigail Breslin. And maybe all those little girls will grow up to write their own Juno some day? In any case, the film opened in five theaters in five cities, two weeks in advance of a wide release, and grossed a super impressive $44,600 per screen, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo.

Picturehouse also scored with another one of their last-gasp releases, the Mongolian war-mongering Mongol, which expanded to 94 screens and turned in a muscular performance of $7,914 per screen.

In the prologue for Brick Lane, young Nazneen and her beloved sister Hasina (Zafreen) play together during what will be their last carefree moments on this earth. Their mother looks at them sullenly, and through a series of close-ups and cuts, the film practically screams out: Mom's going to commit suicide! She does, and the film expects us to be surprised and shocked. Nazneen is shipped off to London for an arranged marriage, and by the time the credits finish, Nazneen has been there long enough to raise two 'tween girls.

The time jump is a bit jarring, and it's done with the same carelessness as the prologue. But soon we meet Nazneen's husband, a fat, cartoonish lout, Chanu (Satish Kaushik), who is apparently educated and well-read but who lacks the most basic elements of common sense. When he mentions the promotion that he's sure to get at his job, we know it's all over for him. Nobody ever gets a promotion in the first reel of a movie, but Chanu doesn't know that, nor do the filmmakers. It's as infuriating as watching teenagers in horror films split up to search the woods.

Here it is, the groove, slightly transformed ... and another trailer for The Wackness has hit the net. I'm not sure why folks were all over Sony Pictures Classics when they picked this flick up at Sundance, because, not for nothing, but they've promoted the hell out of it ever since. This is, like, the fifth or sixth trailer I'm seeing ... for a Sundance film! They've done viral videos, photos, posters -- props definitely go out to the fine folks over at SPC, and now it's our turn to tell all you crackerjacks to go see this dope show when it hits theaters on July 3rd.

Featuring one of the best soundtracks I've heard in quite some time, The Wackness tells of the quirky relationship between a pot dealer (Josh Peck) and his therapist (Ben Kingsley) -- both of whom have no friends and no sex life. There's a cute summer crush (Olivia Thirlby), an ex wife who's barely "there" (Famke Janssen) and a hippie chick (Mary-Kate Olsen) who likes to swing her arms a lot. The film takes place in 1994, so if you grew up in the '90s, there's a ton here to relate to. I had fun with it, I know a lot of other people had fun with it, so if you're just chillin' over Fourth of July weekend, take it over to the theater and settle in for some dopeness, er, wackness.

Red Band trailer (which is also available over at IGN in a larger size) posted after the jump due to random drug use and a little foul language.

An epic tale of a famed warrior edged out the modern explorations of a Bavarian filmmaker. Sergei Bodrov's Mongol (Picturehouse) earned $21,400 per screen in its second week of release at five theaters, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. Does this prove that indie film lovers like their blockbuster-style movies, too? If nothing else, I think it shows that people like a wide variety of movies, no matter if they're heading to the arthouse or the multiplex.

Unlikely as it seems, Werner Herzog has made a G-rated film, suitable for the entire film. Encounters at the End of the World (ThinkFilm) moved Jeffrey M. Anderson to write: "Herzog's film is something closer to art; it has a direct line to its creator's soul. If you see a lot of documentaries and that tired, old PBS format with the talking heads, narrator and clips has started to wear thin, Herzog's open, honest film is as refreshing as an icy breeze." The film grossed $17,500 at one theater in Manhattan.

Opening at two theaters in Austin, rather than the tired old Manhattan and Hollywood, Baghead (Sony Pictures Classics) did very nicely, thank you, earning $4,450 per screen. Jette Kernion commented recently on the unusual release pattern. At Sundance, Eric D. Snider reviewed it ("a blast of fresh air"). James Rocchi interviewed filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass. We even premiered the poster. All I'm saying is: Go Baghead!

Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) has added an educational element to their Cannes booty. Previously they picked up Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's drama Lorna's Silence, Norwegian director Bent Hamer's comedy/drama O'Horten, and animated Israeli doc Waltz with Bashir. (Eric Kohn explained why the latter deal was an especially good match of film with distributor.)

Variety reports that SPC's latest deal is their acquisition of US distribution rights for Laurent Cantet's The Class, which won the most coveted prize at Cannes, the Palme d'Or. The film was inspired by Francois Begaudeau's book based on his experiences teaching class in a rough section of Paris. The French-language title, Entre les Murs literally means "between the walls" or "inside the walls," which may give a further hint as to its concerns. (Thanks to commenter Céline for the linguistic assist.)

Genghis Khan rules! Sergei Bodrov's Mongol (Picturehouse), the first installment of a planned trilogy covering the Mongolian military leader, cleaned up at the indie box office, taking in $25,360 per screen, according to estimates compiled by Leonard Klady at Movie City News. Our own Jeffrey M. Anderson didn't even like the battle scenes -- "polite and observant rather than reckless or exciting" -- much less the movie as a whole. Eric D. Snider was more admiring, if not wildly enthusiastic, as were most critics (per Rotten Tomatoes).

Two films that opened at one theater each performed quite well. Take Out (Cavu Pictures) earned $9,900. Directed by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou, the film depicts a day in the life of an illegal Chinese immigrant who must pay off a large debt to his smugglers or face the consequences. The only way to pay the debt? Get good tips from his wealthy delivery route. Both the New York Times and Village Voice were complimentary.

Eric Guirado's Grocer's Son (Film Movement) made $9,500. The titular character must leave the city to return to the country and care for his sick father's duties. Gradually he finds that the villagers are not so gruff after all, and romance might be blooming too. Slant Magazine and Variety published positive reviews, though noting various flaws.

A couple of months ago, I heard some New Yorkers who are involved in the film industry talk about dealing with changing release strategies. At one point, one of them said in a horrified voice, "And remember There Will Be Blood? It opened in ... Austin!" We were all supposed to look shocked, I suppose, but instead a voice in my head shouted "Hah!" in triumph (not aloud). Austin landed the Paul Thomas Anderson movie during Fantastic Fest, before any other city, and it was a rare treat for us to be ahead of the game. Usually we are late in getting limited-release films, waiting enviously while the East and West Coasters have all the fun.

Now New Yorkers are in a dither again because Baghead, the latest film from Jay and Mark Duplass, is opening in limited release on June 13 in which city? Austin! New York and Los Angeles won't see the indie film until July. The reason Sony Pictures Classics is citing for this "reverse rollout" is that they want to build word-of-mouth more effectively, and build a following before Baghead reaches the largest media markets. The New York Times published a long article today about the ramifications of releases that start outside of their fair city, questioning whether this will become a trend or if Baghead is an "aberration." Over at Variety's blog The Circuit, Michael Jones reminds us that Austin isn't like the rest of Texas, and wonders if word-of-mouth can spread effectively from the city of slackers to places like Dallas and Houston.

I opened up my email before to see a new arrival from someone named Luke Shapiro that went something like, "Yo, yo, yo, check out this video. I found it in the archives. My doorman and super are crazy dope. Stay tuned for more episodes of my flyness." For a brief second, I totally thought it was spam -- until I realized Luke Shapiro was the name of the lead character in The Wackness. Then I clicked over to the video above, which confirmed this was indeed created by one Mr. Shapiro (Josh Peck).

The video, titled Luke's Dope Show, is reminiscent of those old public access shows with colorful, scrolling graphics and 90's style wipes, fades, what have you. The first part of Luke's Dope Show features Luke, Miguel (Luke's Doorman and resident DJ), and Tony (Luke's Super). What do they talk about? You'll have to watch the video above. And if I receive anymore emails from Luke, I'll be sure to let you know.

The Wackness hits theaters on July 3rd.

Among the handful of titles Sony Pictures Classics snatched up for American distribution at the conclusion of the Cannes Film Festival, the animated Israeli documentary Waltz with Bashir makes the most sense. While Tyson certainly has potential to alter the public perception of the country's infamous boxer, and Lorna's Silence has appeal for crime fans and art house aficionados alike, both movies could perform well regardless of which distributor picked them up (more or less). Bashir, on the other hand, has SPC written all over it: Relentlessly downbeat and frequently unsettling, Bashir is director Ari Folman's account of his 1982 experience in the Israeli military during the infamous massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The animated approach sometimes has a gimmicky feel to it, but that's probably the point; Folman's memories are so foggy that his reconstructions of them seem plausibly unrealistic.

Bashir isn't easy to get into, but you could say that about Thomas Pynchon, too. What we have here is an animated movie for grown-ups, which puts it squarely in SPC's line of expertise. The company has guided many mature animated films to audiences in a manner unparalleled by their colleagues. Last year, talented SPC co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard commandeered the releases of the outlandish anime Paprika and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, and the latter film very nearly won an Oscar. Remember The Triplets of Belleville? That was them, too. These people know their stuff. Listen up, guys: I hear Bill Plympton's new movie is quite good.