> > June 17 - Green Lantern
> > My best guess is that Green Lantern stands a slightly better chance
> > of breaking out than Thor does. Partly that's because Martin Campbell is
> > behind the camera. He's not infallible (see "The Legend of Zorro"), but he's
> > on a hot streak now, with his last two films being the surprisingly terrific
> > Edge of Darkness and the transcendent Casino Royale.
>
> Aside from the fact that this looks horrible*, I think it's funny that you cite Edge of Darkness as a reason this movie could break out. I haven't seen Edge of Darkness, but it wasn't exactly a smash hit.

You're right -- somewhere in the middle of that sentence I forgot I was talking about box office instead of quality. If you'll permit me to backpedal a bit: a post-scandals Mel Gibson thriller was probably never going to break out no matter how good it was, but superhero movie might easily jump from big to huge on the basis of quality.

> I watched the trailer for this and had a weird reaction. It seemed like it might be funny, but I didn't laugh at any jokes. I think it's because Cameron Diaz is completely unfunny, and is some kind of comedy black hole.

I think Cameron Diaz is a victim of star promotion syndrome. Whereas the great comedic character actors of yesteryear (Charles Coburn, Francis Pangborn, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and so many other now-unknowns) used to spend their whole careers doing what they did well, now they get promoted to main star, where they may not be as well suited.

Jack Black is another victim. School of Rock excepted, he's never been as great in a leading role as he was in High Fidelity. Cameron Diaz, likewise, was brilliant in My Best Friend's Wedding and very good in There's Something About Mary (which was also a supporting role, despite her character's name being in the title). The rest of the time she's been either outright bad (Charlie's Angels) or solid in a purely functional sort of way (Knight and Day).

What we need is a classic screwball type of comedy where you have a pair of romantic leads and a wacky sidekick couple. Jack Black and Cameron Diaz play the sidekicks.