Action Comedy

A New Jersey rent-a-cop gets his moment to shine as the holidays approach and Santa's little helpers stage a coup at the local shopping mall in this comedy starring King of Queens' Kevin James. Paul Blart (James) is a single suburban dad attempting to make ends meet by working as a mall security guard. Paul takes his job very seriously; unfortunately the same can't be said for the shoppers he deals with on a daily basis. That all changes the day that Santa's little helpers shut down the mall and start taking hostages, including Paul's daughter and his main squeeze. Realizing that no one knows the mall better than the man who's paid to guard it, Paul mounts his Segway and speeds to the rescue. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An action comedy in the tradition of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, Afro Ninja: Destiny follows the journey of a hapless hero who's transformed into an unstoppable warrior after receiving an ancient magical sword. YouTube sensation Mark Hicks stars as Reggie Carson, a longtime martial artist who has just become the laughing stock of the entire internet. The joke is on the bad guys, however, when Reggie transforms into the formidable warrior known as Afro Ninja after coming into possession of a mystical sword and growing an instant afro haircut. Now, as gangsters move into his neighborhood to spread greed and corruption, it's up to Afro Ninja to keep the streets safe. Marla Gibb, Jim Kelly, and Natascha Hopkins co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A kickboxing hero with a difference arises in this action saga from Thailand. Japanese mobster Masashi (Hiroshi Abe) and his Thai partner and girlfriend, Zin (Ammara Siripong), narrowly escape death at the hands of underworld boss Number 8 (Pongpat Wachirabunjong) and his bodyguard Priscilla (Sirimongkol Iamthuam), but the scuffle has unexpected consequences -- Masashi's superiors order him to return to Japan, and Zin finds she's pregnant with his child. Zin raises their daughter, Zen (Yanin Vismitananda), on her own and discovers she's autistic; one of the few things that helps bring Zen out of her inner world is chocolate, and in time the girl develops a remarkable skill in the martial arts. When Zin is diagnosed with cancer, the family cannot afford the chemotherapy that could save her life until her friend Moom (Taphon Phopwandee) comes up with a plan -- plenty of people still owe Zin money from her days as an outlaw, and with Zen as a candy-fueled enforcer, he might be able to get them to pay up and raise the funds for Zin's medical bills. Chokgohlaet (aka Chocolate) was directed by Prachya Pinkaew, who previously made several pictures starring Thai martial arts master Tony Jaa. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Critically acclaimed director David Gordon Green takes a break from the brooding drama that defined such early efforts as George Washington and Undertow for this action-flavored buddy comedy concerning two pot-smoking friends (Seth Rogen and James Franco) who unwittingly become involved with a vicious gang of drug dealers. Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson produce a script co-penned by star Rogen and Evan Goldberg. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Ben Stiller's satirical look at Hollywood, Tropic Thunder concerns the production of an epic Vietnam War film that quickly derails thanks to the giant egos of everyone involved in the production. Stiller stars as Tugg Speedman, an action hero trying to segue out of that genre. Jack Black plays Jeff Portnoy, a drug-addicted fat comic also attempting to change his image by taking on such a serious film. They star alongside Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), one of the world's most awarded actors, and a man who insists on immersing himself totally in a role. In this case, that means Lazarus has had his skin dyed in order to portray an African-American soldier. After their outrageous behavior lands the film's director, Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan), in very hot water with producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise), Cockburn takes the advice of grizzled Vietnam vet Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte); in order to gain control of his performers, Cockburn drops the actors off in the jungle, planning to film the movie guerrilla-style with hidden cameras. When the group stumbles upon a heroin production camp, the actors are unaware that they are in very real danger. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Two washed-up snowboarders hatch an ingenious scheme to restore their reputations and get back on top of the snowboarding scene in this chilly comedy starring Tom Green and Dave England. Back in the 1990s, you couldn't pick up an extreme sports magazine without seeing glossy pictures of Max (England) and Eddie shredding it up on the snowy half-pipe. But these days things are different; a decade of reckless behavior has left them terminally hung over and hopelessly off-balance. Max and Eddie now work as lift operators at Stubby Peaks ski hill, and they hate their lives. Realizing that the only way to regain their status as kings of the hill is to take the top prize at the upcoming snowboarding event, the two longtime pals decide to form the ultimate snowboard team. But their old arch-nemesis Kingsley Brown (Green) is now the head of the National Snowboard Association, and he's seen the chaos these two boozy buddies are capable of causing. In order to keep Max and Eddie out of the sport for good, he blackballs their camp with all of his power. The big event is coming up fast, and if they don't form a team before it's too late, Max and Eddie might just miss their last shot at true redemption. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The popular British troupe The Crazy Gang do their zany thing in this fast-paced comedy adventure. The story begins as the Gang balloon themselves over enemy lines. There they become friends with a crazy old prisoner who has the plans for a tunnel-boring tank tattooed upon his back. To get him out, they dress him up as Hitler. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Having just carried out a particularly difficult hit in London, two hitmen seek shelter in Bruges, Belgium, only to find their views on life and death permanently altered by their interactions with the locals, the tourists, and a film crew. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes star in an action comedy from director Martin McDonagh. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two twins with very diverse lifestyles and hopelessly disparate problems find their lives set for a head on collision due to a simple case of mistaken identity in this action comedy that proves sometimes sibling similarities only run skin deep. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A nebbish father and schoolteacher finds the courage to face both his personal issues and a horde of invading aliens after assuming the guise of an unpopular television superhero in maverick Japanese director Takashi Miike's warmhearted comedy. Nice guy Shinichi (Sho Aikawa) just can't seem to find the respect he so readily deserves: he's cuckold at home, his son is constantly harassed by bullies, and is teenage daughter is always willing to sell her body to the highest bidder. In order to escape from his depressive reality, Shinichi frequently slips into his private room and dons his patchwork Zebraman costume. As a child Shinichi loved Zebraman, and despite the fact that six episodes of the series ever aired the nobility of the character has stuck with the Shinichi well into adulthood. One night, while Shinichi is prowling the streets in his Zebraman costume, he comes across the frightful Crabman - a perverted villain with crab head and a dangerous pair of scissors. Already in character, Shinichi acts on his Zebraman instincts and effectively employs the Zebraman back kick. Later, Shinichi strikes up a friendship with handicapped transfer student and fellow Zebraman fan Asano, and begins to develop feelings for the boy's pretty and kindhearted mother. Suspecting that an alien takeover may be at hand when a horde of squishy extraterrestrial invaders begin possessing the locals and claiming the lives of young girls, the fledgling superhero leaps into action. While at first Shinchi bumbles in his attempts to keep the town safe from these strange beings, it doesn't take long for him to develop the confidence that will allow him to truly take on the persona of his childhood hero and fully realize his Zebraman powers. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Michael Lehmann directed this post-modernist hash of To Catch a Thief and The Naked Gun starring Bruce Willis as Hudson Hawk, a cat burglar who wants to go straight, but the circumstances won't allow it. The story begins in a pre-credit sequence that takes place in the renaissance. Leonardo Da Vinci (Stefano Molinari) is rushing through his Mona Lisa painting to work on his latest invention -- a machine to turn lead into bronze. But Da Vinci makes a mistake and, instead of bronze, the machine turns the lead into gold. Realizing the danger of his invention if the contraption gets into the wrong hands, he hides three parts of the apparatus inside three of his other works. Four hundred years later, Hudson Hawk, the world's greatest cat burglar, is being released from jail after pulling a ten-year stretch. He wants to retire from the profession of cat burglary and drink some cappuccino, but two screwball billionaires -- Darwin and Minerva Mayflower (Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard) -- won't let him. Their nefarious plot is to steal the three Da Vinci works, restore Da Vinci's gold-making machine, and destroy the world's monetary system. They blackmail Hawks into working with them to steal the Da Vincis by threatening the life of Hawks's pal Tommy Five-Tone (Danny Aiello). Along with the power-mad billionaires, Hawks has to deal with the CIA, in the person of George Kaplan (James Coburn), breathing down his neck. He also has Vatican art restorer Anna Baragli (Andie MacDowell) falling for his smirk. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The supremely nutty sci-fi martial arts action comedy Hidden Heroes follows the adventures of Yohji Ho (Ronald Cheng, a policeman with a taste for getting on other people's nerves as much as humanly possible. He soon encounters a sexy schoolgirl (Charlene Choi) who immediately tries to get physically involved with him. Little does he realize that she's actually an android in human guise, programmed to protect him until the date of his assigned death; she will then turn and kill him. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Neophyte writer-director Rafael Riera helms the rollicking direct-to-video comedy Bunny Whipped. Traveling in the footsteps of Blankman and Hero at Large , Riera brings us yet another masked crusader sans any superhuman powers. By day, he's Bob Whipple (Esteban Powell), sportscaster extraordinaire stuck in a dead-end existence; by moonlight, he's The Whip (also Powell), a generally helpless superhero nonetheless determined to bring the men to justice who rubbed out a white rap star. Bob's adventures soon bring him into close proximity with his high school flame, Anne (Chasing Amy's Joey-Lauren Adams) who tries to recruit him to help her save a bunch of endangered rabbits. He agrees, but - horror of horrors! - must face down the chief suspect in the rap star's murder when that shady character decides to kidnap Anne. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide