Ironman and Batman. Both are summer box-office heroes but neither is a woman. With the arrival of The X-Files’ Special Agent Dana Scully to the big screen Friday, that's set to change. Scully reminds us there are female protagonists who aren’t interested in Manolo Blahniks.
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The Dark Knight broke box-office records on its opening day ($68 million) and opening weekend ($155 million). Critics praised the ensemble cast including the late Heath Ledger for his portrayal of the unhinged Bat-nemesis, The Joker. The Takeaway goes to Gotham for a movie review from the man who’s keeping the streets safe at night (it's not Batman), Deputy Sheriff Kevin Melby, in Gotham, Wisc.
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While filming a documentary on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, Sean Langan ("Fighting the Taliban") was abducted and held captive by the Taliban for three months. His captors were his contacts. Three weeks after his release, Langan speaks about his harrowing experience.
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It took documentary filmmaker Sabiha Sumar six months to persuade President Musharraf of Pakistan to have dinner with her and film it. In “Dinner with the President: A Nation’s Journey,” Sumar traveled around Pakistan, trying to work out why democracy is so elusive in her country. Sumar talked with clerics, farmers, youngsters partying, truckers and the liberal elite in her quest.
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After countless movies about Iraq and Afghanistan, Lt. Col. J. Todd Breasseale just wants filmmakers to tell it like it is… or perhaps how the Army says it is. But is Breasseale’s Army Media Relations division concerned with telling the truth, or promoting its own agenda?
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Will Smith's conflicted, alcoholic superhero “Hancock” hits the big screen this holiday weekend. To help review the film, the Takeaway talks to Jeffrey Roberson, a hero who has a lot in common with Hancock.
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Democracy is messy business and few places illustrate that better than the polls. On November 2, 2004, director Katy Chevigny set out to capture a cross-section of American voters, in hopes of moving beyond the horse race and red-state–blue-state debates. “Election Day” focuses on 11 American stories and locales, where Chevigny’s team shot simultaneously from dawn into midnight. The director says the issues and problems she captured four years ago are even more relevant today. “Election Day” airs tonight on PBS on P.O.V.
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Pixar's latest movie, WALL-E, is an environmental fable about a lonely robot who is left to clean up the rusty debris of a vacant Earth. Two real-life Wallys review the film for The Takeaway.
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The Screen Actors Guild's contract with the studios expires Monday and there are reasons to fear a repeat of the crippling 14-week writers strike that ended in February. Some observers say Hollywood is already in a de facto strike, with productions rushing to wrap up ahead of next week.
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Every Monday, The Takeaway plays your comments about new movies. This week, some not so fuzzy feelings for The Love Guru and Get Smart. Send your comments about next week's releases, WALL-E and Wanted, by Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern (noon Pacific).

Don't know what movie to see this weekend? The Takeaway is here to help. It's the Mother of All Trailers. This week: Get Smart, The Love Guru, Brick Lane and Kit Kittredge.
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Your reviews of "The Incredible Hulk"

Liz Ball, cinemahype.com
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Karen Dahlstrom, bigpicturebigsound.com
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Frank Ochieng, movieeye.com
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Dan Lybarger, eFilmCritic.com

Nell Minow, Beliefnet
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Scooter Thompson, movieeveryday.com
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Steve Yarifh, incrediblehulkonline.com
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Deborah Young, eKC online
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Your reviews of "The Happening"

Susan Granger, susangranger.com
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Joe Lozito, bigpicturebigsound.com

Prairie Miller, wbai.com
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This Monday, we want to highlight your thoughts on the weekend's biggest releases: The Incredible Hulk and The Happening.

Record your comment by calling 1-877-8-MY-TAKE. Spell your name and Web site so we can link to it. There's a 60 second limit on the call, so you probably won't have more than 125 words.

Or... Email an MP3 to mytake@thetakeaway.org. Include your name and Web site so we can link to it.

What to include in your review

By Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern, tell us two things about whichever movie you saw (or avoided seeing):

1. ONE-PHRASE CAPSULE REVIEW -- IT'S QUICK AND EASY!

Say, "It was __________." Put an adjective or capsule review in the blank: "Good," "terrible," "a waste of money," "smashingly awesome," "not 'happening' for me," "a tradeoff between going to a movie with bad reviews or renting The Sixth Sense. I chose the Sixth
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The Incredible Hulk, the do-over of 2003's Hulk, opens this weekend. The Takeaway sent nuclear physicist Tim Halpin-Healy, who (we think) has no anger management issues, to a press screening.
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In You Don't Mess With the Zohan, Adam Sandler plays an Israeli martial-artist-turned-hairdresser. On The Takeaway this morning, we spoke with Oded Gabay, a real-life Israeli hairdresser ... with a black belt.
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Dreamworks press photo

Over the weekend, the animated flick Kung Fu Panda got the top spot at the box office … and Hillary Clinton gave her support to Barack Obama as the top Democrat in the presidential primary. If you caught a movie over the weekend, which one do you think the also-rans should catch up on? Our listeners have some suggestions.
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Quiet as it's kept, Nigeria's film industry is the third largest in the world. Films such as Mummy's Daughter Part 4, Beyonce: The President's Daughter, and End of Dreams are part of a booming $250-million business that has produced its own roster of stars in front of and behind the scenes. ESSENCE Senior Editor Patrik Henry Bass offers his Nollywood DVD picks.

Movie review by: Chris Barsanti

Movie review by: Susan Granger

Movie review by: Dan Lybarger

Movie review by: Prairie Miller

Movie review by: Nell Minow

Movie review by: Kent Turner

The big-screen treatment of Sex and the City hits theaters to the joy of show fans. The Takeaway gets a review from the founder of the Sex and the City bus tour in New York City, who's gearing up for her busiest day yet. And, this weekend’s movies aren’t all about love and lightness. We fuse romantic comedy with horror in this week's preview, The Mother of All Trailers.

Selected films:

• Michael Clayton (producer/actor, 2007)
• Sketches of Frank Gehry (director/producer/cinematographer, 2005)
• Cold Mountain (producer, 2003)
• The Firm (director/producer, 1993)
• Out of Africa (director, 1985)
• Tootsie (director/actor, 1982)
• Absence of Malice (director, 1981)
• Three Days of the Condor (director, 1975)
• They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (director, 1969)

View a slideshow of Sydney Pollack's life in movies, produced by The New York Times.

After 19 years, the world's most famous archaeologist is back on the silver screen, bullwhip and all. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" hits theaters nationwide this week. To get a reality check on the Indiana Jones franchise, The Takeaway talks with a very real Indiana Jones: Rick Jones, Indiana's State Archaeologist.
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Contract negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and major Hollywood studios broke down earlier this week. The studios have offered to resume talks on May 28. The actor's contract terminates on June 30.
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Warner Bros., Fox

The Takeaway gives you the trailer of all trailers... of trailers. On the big screen this week: Surfwise, Speed Racer and What Happens in Vegas.
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