Enter the “Brutal Thoughts” series. Jack Black, as you know, is the man providing a voice to Brutal Legend’s Eddie Riggs, but he’s also an on-screen actor, and is doing his darnedest to promote the game for EA.

Have a look at the series of Brutal Thoughts and look for our review of the game next Tuesday at 3PM Boston time!

Brütal Legend is coming. A playable demo for the Xbox 360 and PS3 will be released in September for anyone who wants to play it. The game itself will be released on October 13th in North America and the 16th for Europe. For more information on the demo be sure to check out the demo website!

If “Arrested Development” fans went wild over the idea of Michael Cera and Jason Bateman teaming up again in 2007’s “Juno” (the duo weren’t in a single scene together, to the disappointment of many hoping for a Michael/George Michael reunion) then the prospect of Michael Cera and David Cross actually interacting in a film — especially with an “Arrested Development” movie looming on the horizon — should have been enough to whip them into a frenzy.

In fact, the combination of any number of the impressive supporting cast for “Year One” should get comedy fans excited. In addition to leads Michael Cera and Jack Black, there’s Paul Rudd, David Cross, Bill Hader, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Adrian Brody, Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt, Vinnie Jones… well, you get the idea.

Then there is the premise: Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) leave their woodland tribe and travel through the year one, interacting with a number of biblical stories. With the expansive cast, there was plenty of room for the script to pan out and enjoy numerous discourses with the various biblical stories. Instead, only about a few biblical stories were touched upon during the film: eating the forbidden fruit, Abraham and Jacob, Cain and Abel and Sodom and Gomorrah, to name some.

It’s not just that all of the funny parts in “Year One” are shown in the commercials (along with the majority of the plot lines), it’s that the scenes are less funny in the actual film than they are in the trailers. What seems like a great teaser for an epic comedy instead is a basic synopsis for a film that barely expands beyond the premise set up in its two minute long trailer.

“Year One” tried too hard to have a plot when it should have been a heavily comedic, somewhat episodic road movie. Relying too heavily on its leads, “Year One” let its fantastic array of supporting actors fall flat: Rudd and Brody should have had much more screen time, to name a few under-appreciated actors.

Black spends too much time being his loud obnoxious self, while Cera plays a pre-historic — albeit funny — version of himself. What could have been a great ensemble film along the lines of “Knocked Up” and “Anchorman” was shadowed by the star power of its two leads, and Ramis did not work hard enough to make sure his prize supporting comedians shone when they had their screen time.

Instead, “Year One” is just another mediocre comedy to come out of Judd Apatow-related production that had the potential to be something glorious but didn’t have his finishing touch.

Submit the biblical story you would most like to see brought to the big screen — and which Hollywood actors you would cast as its characters — for a chance to win a pass to a Boston screening of the film. Send your entries to schwartz.t@blastmagazine.com. This contest ends Friday, June 12.

“Year One” stars Michael Cera and Jack Black and hits theaters June 19.

The story works for a kid’s game, as it is full of light-hearted humor, most of which is provided by the voice of Jack Black. The presentation is also solid, with quality graphics and cutscenes presented in a nifty art style that contrast the actual look of the characters in an appealing way. The other voice actors are nowhere as easy on the ears as Black, though.

You can play the story mode with a single player, or you can play it co-op, using two of the four available characters. This is the best way to play Legendary Warriors, as you can pick two complimentary fighters with opposing skill sets in order to progress through battles more efficiently. Co-op can be initiated at any time as well, meaning you do not have to start a new game to play with a friend.

Your moves themselves are performed with gestures, whether it be to strike an enemy or use a Chi attack, which requires you to simulate an on-screen symbol of your choosing. This can become tiring in some action games, and this goes double for a brawler where your primary goal is to beat the multitudes of foes that appear on screen. Despite this, the fighting itself has its merits, though the lack of a targeting system can make some of your waggling random and ineffective.

Playing through the story mode allows you to unlock playable characters for the other multiplayer mode, one that can be enjoyed with up to four players. This mode is more fighting game than brawler, as you pick your favorite (unlocked) characters from the Kung Fu Panda universe and try to come away victorious, along the lines of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This feature was also available in the first game though, and since this title offers little new over it’s predecessor, it’s not a reason to purchase this version if you already own the older one.

If you own the DS version of the game, there is Nintendo Wi-Fi connectivity, which will allow you to unlock multiplayer content on any Wii system. It’s a neat feature, though it’s a shame that acquiring this exclusive content is such a pricey endeavor.

“Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors” has its merits, as it is at times a charming brawler that young fans of the movie may be excited to play. There are non-licensed titles that do all of the good things “Kung Fu Panda” does (and better) out there though, so if your kid isn’t dying to revisit the world of Po and his pals once more, you are better off shopping elsewhere, especially since this sequel came so soon after the original hit shelves.

Credits: Conceived and Written (six weeks later than he shoulda) by-Marc Shaiman Directed and Staged by: Adam Shankman Produced by Adam Shankman, Marc Shaiman and Mike Farah Edited by Bradly Schulz and Drew Antzis Cast (in order of appearance) California Gays and The People That Love Them Jordan Ballard, Margaret Cho, Barrett Foa, J.B. Ghuman, John Hill, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Rashad Naylor, Nicole Parker Proposition 8′ers and The People That Follow Them Prop 8 Leader- John C. Reilly Prop 8 Leader’s #1 Wife- Allison Janney Prop 8 Leader’s #2 Wife- Kathy Najimy Riffing Prop 8′er-Jenifer Lewis A Preacher- Craig Robinson Scary Catholic School Girls From Hell-Rashida Jones, Lake Bell, Sarah Chalke The Frightened Villagers Katharine “Kooks” Leonard, Seth Morris, Denise “Esi!” Piane, Lucian Piane, Richard Read, Seth Redford, Quinton Strack, Tate Taylor, Brunson Green Jesus Christ Jack Black A Very Smart Fellow Neil Patrick Harris Piano Player Marc “Marc” Shaiman —- Co-Choreographer: Anne “Mama” Fletcher Recorded and Mixed by Frank Wolfe & Greg Hayes Director of Photography: Michael Barrett Camera Operators: Jake Szymanski, Bradly Schulz and Drew Antzis Production designer: Nelson Coates Costume designer: Shanna Knecht Costume assistants: Leslie Schilling, Annalisa Adams, Elizabeth Abate Hair: Laura Sanchez Make-up: Shauna O’Toole, Atticuss Sharp Production sound: Bradford Craig Music editor: Lisa Jaime Music assistant: Brian Naguit Snacky: “Snacky” Special Thanks to Adam McKay for the nudge

Proposition 8 opposition in Boston

Ben Stiller might not act in the greatest movies, but he sure knows how to write and direct them. With ‘Tropic Thunder’, Stiller creates an explosive new comedy that’s sure to blow anyone’s socks off.

‘Thunder’ starts off right from what its trailer sets up: director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) wants to create the greatest war movie of all time, but his lead actors in his film-based-on-a-book-based-on-a-true-story (but is it?) don’t have the emotional scope needed to understand the complexities behind the Vietnam War.

After some difficult struggles with his prima donna actors: Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) and Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), Cockburn is convinced by the author of the book Four Leaf Tayback (Nick Nolte) to drop the actors in the middle of Vietnam and shoot the movie ‘guerilla-style’. Both the film and the book in the movie are named ‘Tropic Thunder’, which is where the title of the actual film comes from.

It takes about 20 minutes for Lazarus, Portnoy, Speedman, Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel) to be stranded in the middle of nowhere in Vietnam, thinking that they are filming a movie that had suddenly become very real. The movie just becomes funnier as it goes along, with the actors never being quite sure whether or not they are actually in a movie or not.

Also, as a slightly-spoilerish warning, the ad you will see for “Booty Sweat” is not the cinema going insane, but rather marks the completely inventive and perfectly hysterical introduction to “Tropic Thunder”. You have been warned.

While not as outlandish as ‘Zoolander’ was, ‘Tropic Thunder’ is set outside our reality in a way that everyone can understand. Ben Stiller has said in previous interviews that he wrote ‘Thunder’ as a parody of the movie business and, even if no one in the audience understood it, it would still be hysterical to him. Well Ben, we get it, and it’s still pretty funny.

Unexpected were the many cameos, both big and small, made by some of Hollywood’s biggest actors. Matthew McConaughey has a surprisingly big role as Speedman’s agent, and Tom Cruise definitely deserves all the buzz he’s been getting as the big-time film executive behind ‘Tropic Thunder’. Danny McBride was hysterical as the pyromaniac effects guy Cody. Also keep an eye out for Bill Hader, Tyra Banks, Maria Menunos, Jason Bateman, Lance Bass, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jon Voight, Christine Taylor and an I-can’t-believe-he-did-that Tobey Maguire (don’t be late or you’ll miss that one). Oh yeah, Stiller got them all.

Sure it may not be the most outright intelligent film to make a mockery of Hollywood, but there is plenty of insider humor that can be relished by all. The scene where Lazarus explains to Speedman why he didn’t get an Oscar for his role as the mentally retarded boy Jack in his film ‘Simple Jack’ because he went “full retard” was one of the funniest scenes in the film.

Downey was hysterical as Lazarus who becomes so immersed in his role that he changed his skin color in order to become more in character. Black was very two dimensional and not funny as Portnoy, the heroine-addicted fat guy. And Stiller was, well, Stiller.

The most break-out role in the film was hands-down Jay Baruchel, who many will recognize from “Knocked Up” and “Million Dollar Baby” but who has not landed a leading role since Judd Aptow’s lesser known but just as short-lived TV series, “Undeclared”. Baruchel’s character Kevin Sandusky is very similar to Baruchel in real life: he is an actor who has gotten his first big role and is playing everything by the book, like going to the boot camp training that had been assigned and learning how to read a map, while his fellow actors just brushed everything off. As the only one with a lick of common sense, Baruchel has some definite potential and it seems like we can expect big things from him in the future.

‘Tropic Thunder’ so far has been the best comedy of 2008, and it very much deserves that title. While the movie will keep audiences laughing well into the credits, it brings about two important questions: Why hasn’t Ben Stiller written and directed more movies, and will this be Tom Cruise’s big comeback (in more than one way)?

The not-so-viral stunt that made going to see “Tropic Thunder” a must. This clip is property of MTV Networks, no copyright infringement intended.

Oh yeah, Carl makes a cameo too. See if you can spot him!