Carmike 10 theaters on Pulsar Drive off of south Academy are a much overlooked and under rated theatre for that movie lover who wants a good deal and plenty of entertainment choices on the big screen. After today I see I will be spending some green at least one day a week through Fall with a variety of good movies coming out over the next few months.

Today I spent an entire day as a friend and I sat through a triple feature with our "Indiana Jones" popcorn buckets with the convenient handle and a large ice cold Coke (with free refills) to keep us company. Recently Carmike 10 began a new promotion as they brought back the popcorn bucket to their clientele. For $8 for the first bucket, refills through April 30, 2009 are just .50, yes...fifty cents! Today I put myself to the test and enjoyed as much popcorn as I possibly could while we began our day with Mike Meyer's "The Love Guru" (PG-13) also starring the very sexy Jessica Alba.

I had read other reviews about this movie and I figured it was what it was, and the need to get the stupid funny movie out of the way first became the priority. Based on what I had read I was expecting to laugh more than I did. Mike Meyers has a following as all successful comedians have; unfortunately I am not one of them. The movie has some wonderful location shots and backgrounds and Jessica is very easy on the eyes, but this movie has a sophomoric wit as most of his movies have. Scheduled to be the first of three movies rolling in Mike's head, I was not as amused as I would have liked.

This time Mike plays the part of a boy who grew up studying the paths of enlightenment after being abandoned at the gates of an Indian ashram while secured in an elephant adorned chastity belt. Called upon to fix what ails the star "Tiger Woods of hockey" before the Stanley Cup finals begin for team owner Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba) who thinks she is cursed and hated by all of Toronto because they haven't won the cup since her father took over the team.

Coached by little man Coach Cherkov played by Verne Troyer of the Austin Powers films, the team struggles as their star player tanks because his ex is dating the opponents' goalie Jacques Grand (Justin Timberlake) who is well endowed and struts his nickname to even include his guard rooster instead of the proverbial guard dog. It is then up to the second best Guru stateside who struggles to be number one with a spot on Oprah as his reward to get the star back on his "A" game.

Filled with many, many jokes geared toward the male anatomy, such as his mentor's name Guru Tugginmypudda (Ben Kingsley), and a 14-year-old's libido, this movie has a few bright moments sprinkled here and there. The fact that Jessica Alba struggles in one scene to keep her legs closed and her tight black dress from riding up while in the miniature office of the coach was a feat many up and coming actresses don't seem to be able to accomplish. The music score has many good choices throughout and the guitar work by Guru Pitka's assistant, Rajneesh (Manu Narayan) are amazing as well as the choice to play many familiar tunes on the Sitar. At one point while in the car trying to teach the Maple Leaf's star player, Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco), Mike throws in a bit reference to "Wayne's World" for his fans. I did enjoy the astounding acrobatics on the ice and trick shots into the net.

Other joke references to drug use, sexual innuendo, and the smattering of violence (it is based on hockey) are to be duly noted for parents and those easily offended.

All in all if you are a fan of Mike's work, you won't be disappointed, and then there are the rest of us!

After a short break as we watched the staff construct a new cardboard display featuring the new "Mummy 3" due out August 1, 2008 we discussed this fourth movie with Jet Li after his announced retirement in "Fearless" with the very pleasant staff; we headed in for the second part of our triple feature - "The Incredible Hulk" (PG-13).

This new feature stars Edward Norton as Bruce Banner a.k.a The Hulk, Liv Tyler as his love interest Dr. Betty Ross and William Hurt as her estranged 3 star General Dad whose sights are set on a new biological weapon in the green goliath. Tim Roth joins the cast as the power hungry Captain Emil Blonsky, playing another bad guy as he does it so very well. Also joining the cast in cameo appearances are Stan Lee, Lou Ferrigno, and Morton Downey Junior ("Ironman") as Tony Stark.

As the general hunts down the fugitive Banner, Blonsky is brought in as a specialist who takes things to a new level that turns the renegade Hulk into the hero once the Capt. becomes an abomination hell bent on destruction. As Bruce attempts to control the raging beast within him in Rio de Janeiro, he can't count on martial art body control to keep the days without incidents at zero.

This one is an action packed thrill ride with the entire background story flying by in the opening credits to the point of Banner leaving a much wounded Betty in the hospital after the experiment went very wrong. The story opens in a drink factory in Brazil where Bruce Banner tries to stay off the radar while attempting to find a cure. Only to be discovered after a gamma poisoned drink makes it to the US market and into an unsuspecting consumer played by Stan Lee. Once on the run after being forced to shift into the Hulk, Banner must return home to recover needed data he left behind. The battles rage back and forth with some tender moments in between as the star crossed lovers reunite and band together until the climax battle scene with the abomination and the tie in to Nick Fury and "The Avengers" just as in "Ironman".

I liked this one much better than the last attempt at The Hulk even though they use nearly the same animated behemoth. The flow was better as well as the action sequences, dialogue and even the acting. Hot on the heels of "Ironman", the world of Marvel has begun its move toward The Avengers series that is yet to come.

The last movie on our viewing list for the day was the homage to the 60's TV hit series written by Buck Henry "Get Smart" with Don Adams.

Steve Carrell takes on the title role, originally slated for Jim Carrey, as the newly promoted agent 86 while being assisted by the very beautiful Anne Hathaway as agent 99 who is less than thrilled to have the inexperienced former analyst as her new partner.

Kaos is back and this time Siegfried is being played by Terrence Stamp, although the original actor does a cameo late in the film. The cold war is over and with Kaos gone as far as the world is concerned a museum is filled with all of the gadgets and wardrobe of the TV series down to the red convertible driven in the show.

With the series signature long walk with heavy metal door slams and phone booth, analyst Smart enters the covert world of Control. This Maxwell is ever the bumbler and not the established agent of the sixties. It isn't until Kaos attacks headquarters itself and all the field agents identities are compromised, that Max gets his long awaited promotion and appointment. With the help of gadget nerds Bruce (TV's "Heroes" Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence, the born loser intern on the Capital One commercials) the Chief (Alan Arkin) teams Max up with the only unknown (to Kaos) agent left to uncover the plot, agent 99.

With beautiful on location shots of Moscow and Red Square, the team ends up in the usual strange predicaments those who watched the series came to love. This film was a laugh a minute thrill that mixed slapstick humor, action, romance, and nostalgia with seamless execution. I even liked it better than the last Bond film with the new and not so improved 007. There is a wonderfully choreographed dance number that is just amazing.

From Red Square to Los Angeles, to sewers and rooftops, this film was another success from Mel Brooks and Buck Henry and it was a nice touch at the end of the credits to dedicate the film to the late Don Adams and the late Edward Platt.

With films like Disney/Pixar's release of "Wall-E" this next weekend, "Hancock" with Will Smith the following weekend, "Wanted" with Anjolina Jolie, "The Dark Knight" with Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, "X-Files 2; I Want To Believe" starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Amanda Peet (the new trailer is fantastic), "Hellboy 2; The Golden Army with Ron Perlman, "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince", "He's Just Not That Into You" starring Jennifer Anniston, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly, and Scarlett Johansson, "My Best Friend's Girl" with Kate Hudson, And "Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa" on November 7 to name but a few gems and not to forget the new James bond movie "Quantum of Solace" due out also on November 7, the new Star Trek 11 movie on May 8, 2009, "Wolverine", "Terminator: Salvation", "Toy Story 3", and "The Hobbit" for future releases.