Here are the Mini Reviews presented by Cineman Syndicate for the week of August 18, 2008:

THE ROCKER. The story of a washed-up fortysomething who nabs a second shot at stardom by collaborating with some wannabe emo stars, The Rocker boasts a set-up on loan from the far superior School of Rock. Wilson stars as a buffoonish almost-was who is recruited by his dorky nephew's band to play drums at a prom gig, thus initiating an unlikely rise to MTV glory full of semi-amusing escapades and drab dramatic subplots. Despite his performance's (and the story's) derivativeness, Wilson's idiot enthusiasm is so aggressive it eventually wears down one's defenses, but it's not enough to elevate the film above being merely a passable goof-off. (PG-13) FAIR COMEDY. Director - Peter Cattaneo; Lead - Rainn Wilson; Running Time -102 minutes. Capsule review by Nick Schager. (August 20)

THE LONGSHOTS. Directed by Fred Durst (of the band "Limp Bizkit"), this cookie-cutter feel-good kid's movie feels like it was made by a faulty gadget stuck on auto-pilot. The film's basis in reality -- a teenaged girl in Harvey, Illinois who played quarterback on her high school's football team -- is submerged beneath a sheen of slapdash filmmaking. Only Keke Palmer's performance as gifted athlete Jasmine Plumber keeps the movie afloat in the face of its lacking sense of realism, humor, or dynamics. Ice Cube decreases his already thin acting range as Jasmine's Uncle, who rises to the occasion by helping coach her football team. (PG) BORING SPORTS DRAMA. Director - Fred Durst; Lead - Keke Palmer; Running Time - 94 minutes. Capsule review by Cole Smithey. (August 22)

HAMLET 2. Between Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder and The Rocker, August has been a great month for comedies and Hamlet 2 is arguably the best of the bunch. This hilarious spoof of inspirational teacher movies casts Brit comic Steve Coogan as a high-school drama instructor who pens a sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet that involves, among other things, time-travel and a Grease-style tune entitled "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." While some viewers might find the first half a little too weird for their tastes, once the curtain goes up on the show-within-the-film, the theater will be alive with the sound of laughter. Co-starring Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Shue. (R) GREAT COMEDY. Directed by Andrew Fleming; Lead - Steve Coogan; Running Time - 92 minutes. Capsule review by Ethan Alter. (August 22)

COPYRIGHT 2008 BY CINEMAN SYNDICATE LLC

Submitted by John P. McCarthy, Editor of Cineman Syndicate LLC.

(Photo: Rainn Wilson in The Rocker. © 2008 Fox Atomic. All Rights Reserved.)