Adam Sandler has a few good points that make him different from all the other actors out there. As a comedian, he isn’t afraid to go the extra mile for the laugh. As a Jew, he isn’t afraid to flaunt his heritage in almost every movie he makes. These are all things that I can respect. As a woman, he falls just a little flat. Truth time: the only Adam Sandler movies I liked were “50 First Dates” and “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” When I saw the previews for “Jack and Jill” I immediately saw one actor trying to piggy-back on another actor’s thing. We all know the only actor that ever pulled a good gender-bender and made it funny was Eddie Murphy. But as a comedian, Adam Sandler was going to try.

The story is about a pair of twins, one guy, one girl (both played by Adam Sandler with the help of some movie magic). Jack was always the bright and popular twin. Jill was always socially awkward and constantly clung to her brother. The portrayal of their relationship was over the top. Jack was the level-headed busy-body, while Jill was made to look like a needy, passive-aggressive attention lover. But I saw a hint of reality in it that hit home. I turned to my movie +1 and told him “I used to hang on my brother all the time like that. I guess I can see why he got so annoyed.” 30 years later, Jack is a successful advertizing producer, whereas Jill’s still lives at home with a pet Cockatoo. Jill comes over for her annual visit that turns Jack’s life upside-down.

The plot is driven by a hitch in one of Jack’s ads for Dunkin Donuts. He needs to get a famous actor to sponsor the new Dunkaccino. And they get someone I never expected…Al Pacino…as himself. The plan was to get Pacino to go along with an ad where he changes his name to match the product. Al Pacino…Dunkaccino. Yeah, I guess they sound similar enough. But according to a fellow reviewer, Al Pacino was a back-up plan. The original actor for that role was supposed to be Jack Nicholson, but he’s MIA for some secretive health issue. Besides, how were the writers going to make Nicholson sound like Dunkaccino.

In order for Jack to succeed with his donut coffee commercial, he meets Pacino with Jill tagging along. And guess what happens…cliché alert… you probably guessed it…Pacino falls in love with the quirky Jill and won’t do the commercial unless Jill reciprocates. Meanwhile, Jack, as one of the few normal people in this movie, has to keep his sister happy so she will like Pacino back. The twins argue and fight and hate each other, but this follows another old formula: the twins realize how much they really love each other and make up in the enc. Things get a little crazy in between, but I won’t spoil those moments here. However, they are worth bringing up.

Adam Sandler does one thing well: making disgusting comedic moments seem tolerable enough to enjoy. The key is timing, and Adam Sandler has that down to a T. Maybe it’s because he is self-aware. Maybe he has a formula for how long his gags should last. Whatever he is doing, I got to say I am pretty pleased with the punch-lines and slap-stick…even if the movie as a whole was pretty bad. They never last longer than the length of an audience’s laughter. And even the length of the entire movie was appropriate. It was pretty short by comparison of other comedies out there.

“Jack and Jill” was a pretty bad movie if you wanted something meaningful. If you just wanted a little mindless humor then this is the movie for you. There was some adorable acting by Katie Holmes and some cute children making their debut. There were also some surprising celebrity cameos that redeemed the movie a little bit. It wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t that good. Don’t think to hard about this movie. See it later if you have too. In fact, use your DVD or streaming video services. “Jack and Jill” isn’t worth more than that.

The New York City mansion with eight bedrooms used in the 1972 film, “The Godfather,” is currently for sale.

The owners of the Staten Island home are offering a price of $2.9 million.

The film “The Godfather” starred Marlon Brando as the fictitious mobster Vito Corleone and actors Al Pacino and Robert Duvall. Scenes were filmed inside and outside of the expansive house.

The house has two fireplaces, a basement pub, a four-car garage and an in-ground pool. Also, there are many artifacts from the movie, including Brando’s cue cards.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Golden Raspberry Awards do not derive their name from the delicious summer-and-early-autumn fruit; instead, it refers to what the‚ plebeians call “blowing a raspberry,” whatever that means.

In any case, it is better that the complex politics of awards season is left up to we cinematic aristocrats; after all, the delicate process of viewing film and having an opinion is best left to the professionals. Who but we enlightened elite could know to pass on the critically-acclaimed box-office smash hit in favor of the ignored art house film about a cold stream or something?

As such, it is is my privilege to give my attention to the esteemed candidates for this year’s Golden Raspberry Awards.

Cinema’s favorite growly over-actor garnered a stunning two nominations for “88 Minutes” and “Righteous Kill.” Not to be confused with the excellent Alpa Chino from the nuanced depiction of behind-the-scenes Hollywood in “Tropic Thunder,” Al Pacino is a third- and fourth-time nominee, having been snubbed for the little golden fruit statue in the past for his remarkable roles in “Gigli” and “Revolution.”

However, Pacino’s competition includes the notable Mike Myers, who in this year’s “The Love Guru” employed several (if not all) of his array of humorous talents, all of which are familiar to audiences after viewing them many times before in such comedic gems as “View From the Top,” “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” and “The Cat in the Hat.” In fact the touching “Love Guru” is also a nominee for the main film category, and shares its spotlight with several other serious contenders.

Fresh off a disappointing foray into presidential politics, Paris Hilton’s “The Hottie and the Nottie” garnered several nominations including honors for direction, lead actress, screenwriting as well as a place in the film category.

One-time wunderkind and since-then so-soerkind, M. Night Shyamalan surged back into the Razzie arena with “The Happening,” whose star Mark Wahlberg received a nod in the acting category.‚ 

While I was able to reach Mr. Wahlberg for comment, he made it expressly known that he had no desire to jinx his chances for the win by speaking prematurely about the honor. He will be pleased to know, however, that I have since conveyed his best wishes to my mother.

“Disaster Spartans” and “Meet the Movie” shared most categories, a meaningful acknowledgment to their identical and incredibly hard-working crews, who hope to celebrate twice as hard on the night of the award ceremony at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater.

Though this year’s field is no doubt competitive, experts are confident that the Golden Raspberry Committee will come away with deserving winners – and expect to see a lot of emotion when the ‚ crƒ¨me de la crƒ¨me brulƒ©e is finally revealed on Saturday night, February 21.

Full list of nominees on the next page.

These are the movies Blast is excited about seeing in the month of September:

The Women

Who: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Candice Bergen, Carrie Fisher

What: Ryan plays a clothing designer who finds out that her husband is cheating on her with another woman (Mendes) and then, with the help of her friends, all hell breaks loose.

When: September 12

Why: Meg Ryan hasn’t had a good chick flick since “Kate & Leopold” in 2001, but this movie looks like it could be her big comeback. The cast is fantastic and looks to have great chemistry. Plus, the whole “Sex and the City” vibe it is channeling is so in this year.

Burn After Reading

This is a redband trailer and not suitable for all audiences

Who: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons

What: The Coen brothers’ latest flick about two gym employees (Pitt and McDormand) who get their hands on the memoir of an ex-CIA official (Malkovich) and plan to take advantage of their discovery.

When: September 12

Why: The Coen brothers look like they’re going more for “O Brother, Where Art Thou” than “No Country For Old Men” in this one, but the change of pace is nice.. The cast is beyond A-list; this is Clooney and Pitt’s first movie together since “Ocean’s Thirteen,” and Swinton and Clooney are reunited after last year’s “Michael Clayton.” Plus, when have the Coen brothers ever failed to deliver?

Righteous Kill

Who: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Carla Gugino, 50 Cent, Donnie Wahlberg

What: Two veteran detectives (De Niro and Pacino) work to identify whether there is a connection between their current murder case and one they put to rest years before.

When: September 12

Why: This is De Niro and Pacino’s second movie together, but unlike “Heat” where they only had about five minutes of mutual face time; “Righteous Kill” looks like it will really show of their chemistry. Plus the good cop/bad copy storyline has “Oscar” written all over it.

The Duchess

Who: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Hayley Atwell, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Rampling

What: Knightly plays Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire, the head of high society who proved she could out-gamble, out-drink, and outwit most of the men she surrounded herself with. However, when she tries to follow an illicit love, she brings upon the wrath of her husband (Fiennes) and all of London.

When: September 19

Why: Keira Knightly looks fascinating and ravishing as the Duchess. Plus, the “it-girl” vibe has been a bit outdone this year when taking place in modern times, so why not watch the same story take place in regency era England?

Choke

Who: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, Brad Henke, Clark Gregg

What: An adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, Choke is the story of a sex-addicted colonial theme park worker (Rockwell) who creates an elaborate scheme to pay for his mother’s hospital bills.

When: September 26

Why: It’s based on a Chuck Palahniuk book. Remember “Fight Club”? Yeah, it’s enough to make me go see it too.

Igor

Who: John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Eddie Izzard, Arsenio Hall, Sean Hayes

What: A hunchbacked lab assistant, or Igor (Cusack), breaks away from his traditional role in society and tries to win Malaria’s annual science fair.

When: September 19

Why: Sure it won’t beat “WALL-E”, but the voice talents are funny in real life, so why not in a movie too?

Miracle at St. Anna

Who: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi

What: Spike Lee’s story of four black American soldiers find themselves separated from their unit and trapped behind enemy lines in Italy during World War II. Working with a village of Italian rebels, they try to avoid the Nazis and save the life of an Italian boy.

When: September 26

Why: The trailer is really intriguing in a kind of skip-to-the-last-scene kind of way. Spike Lee has a good track record too.

Eagle Eye

Who: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Chiklis

What:  Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan are two strangers being manipulated by a mysterious woman via cell phone who controls their every move. Together they must outwit the woman and outrun the FBI who thinks that they are responsible for crimes they did not commit.

When:  September 26

Why: Apparently this has been Steven Spielberg’s brain child for years, and the trailers look promising. It could end up being a total flop, but LaBeouf has been having good (on screen) luck this year.