Win a Date With Tad Hamilton (3 out of 5 stars)
Universal Pictures/ Release Date: April 20, 2004

While the plotline and jokes in this film are very clichéd, the wonderful performances from Kate Bosworth and Topher Grace make this a movie worth taking a look at.
Small-town girl Rosalee (Bosworth) enters and wins a contest that sends her to Hollywood for a date with her favourite actor, Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel). While she is excited beyond belief, her best friend Pete (Topher Grace) is miserable since he is still trying to get up the nerve to tell Rosalee he is in love with her.
Grace gives a great performance as the love-struck Pete, and although he lapses into his That 70’s Show character a couple of times, he shows that he has the possibility of transferring onto the big screen (even thought right now we can really only imagine him in similar roles.)
Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes make appearances as Tad’s manager and publicist and are predictably funny. Bonus features include a gag reel and 15 deleted scenes.
If you’re a chick flick fan, you’ll probably get some enjoyment out of this movie although it doesn’t even come minutely close to the director’s previous work, Legally Blonde.

The Haunted Mansion (2 out of 5 stars)
Disney/ Release Date: April 20, 2004

This is Disney’s third foray into films based on theme park rides, while it’s not AS bad as some make it out to be, it’s no so good either.
The first tip off of a mediocre film is the presence of Eddie Murphy, who hasn’t done a good movie in eons. While he stands around and mugs for the camera, the special effects and cinematography around him are pretty impressive. Gracey Manor looks ominous and creepy, with its long dark corridors and decrepit furnishings. Everything looks grand, but at the same time, looks pretty eerie.
But the film is very lacking. It’s not a comedy, since it’s not funny and it’s not a horror movie since, well, it’s not scary.
Besides the cinematography and special effects, this film is nothing to write home about and while younger children might enjoy it, the older ones out there will probably find it pretty much horrible.