Friday movie roundup – Feb. 25

Two new wide releases this weekend, and they’re both super R-rated. But a couple weeks ago there were two G-rated releases at once (“Gnomeo and Juliet” and the Justin Bieber thing), so it balances out.

“Hall Pass” (review at Film.com) is a not-very-good comedy about some married men who get permission from their wives to have all the extramarital sex they can for a week. (You know, a “hall pass.” People totally do that.) “Drive Angry” is an insane work of grindhouse trash — note that this is not necessarily a bad thing — starring Nicolas Cage as a man determined to save a baby from a satanic cult.

Also this week: At Film.com, I considered what message the Academy would be sending by choosing each of the nominees as Best Picture; “What’s the Big Deal?” addressed “A Streetcar Named Desire”; and “Eric’s Bad Movies” tackled “The Saint.” I thought I had vague memories of seeing “The Saint” in theaters in 1997, but then I thought maybe I was remembering “The Jackal” instead, but then I read about “The Jackal,” and I think it was actually “The Saint.” 1997 was not a good year for movies.

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