Seattle Surf's Up

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Free Classifieds Seattle, WA

Genre: Action/Adventure, Family
Release Date: 06/08/2007
Running Time: 85 mins
Director: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, James Woods, Jane Krakowski, Jon Heder, Mario Cantone, Brian Benben, Michael McKean
Producer: Christopher Jenkins
Writer: Christian Darren, Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Offical Site: Click Here
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Box Office

Michael Jackson's This Is It, 23.2 mil, 34.4 mil
Paranormal Activity, 16.4 mil, 84.6 mil
Law Abiding Citizen, 7.4 mil, 51.5 mil
Couples Retreat, 6.5 mil, 87.0 mil
Where the Wild Things Are, 5.9 mil, 62.7 mil
Saw VI, 5.3 mil, 22.5 mil
Astro Boy, 3.5 mil, 11.3 mil
The Stepfather, 3.2 mil, 24.6 mil
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, 3.1 mil, 10.8 mil
Amelia, 3.0 mil, 8.3 mil

Movie Title, Weekly Earnings, Total Earnings

Surf's Up

The cash-cow flippered ones rise again, this time as yellow-tufted surfer dudes riding the waves of life off the coast of an island that looks like a cross between Hawaii and Venice Beach. If you have to see another penguin blockbuster, you could do worse than this loose-limbed charmer written by, oh, a lot of jokesters and directed by a scant two, Ash Brannon and Chris Buck. The gimmick is a reality-television premise -- just how knowingly ironic do we want our kids to be before they even hit their tweens? -- but don't expect much fresh by way of plot, which is almost identical to that of Cars and every bit as pregnant with wholesome messaging. Shia LaBeouf voices Cody, a cocky but insecure Rockhopper penguin sorely in need of a father figure, who bonds with a washed-up old champion surfer (a delightful Jeff Bridges) to train for a big surf-off, during which, it goes without saying, both learn to redefine the meaning of winning. As always, the energy comes from a manic supporting cast, of whom the funniest hands-down is James Woods' Don King-like surf promoter. Surf's Up is copycat moviemaking at its smoothest; its one imaginative innovation -- billowing, silky, utterly sexy waves -- is technical. — Ella Taylor