Greetings movie lovers, it's time to take a look at what the cinema has in store for us this weekend.

     Total Recall

Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he's got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life - real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police - controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world - Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen.

     My Take

     Here we go again with another pointless remake of a film that came out just over twenty years ago. I got a kick out of the original Arnie flick from 1990 as it was a fun, violent, action packed sci-fi movie that didn't pull any punches. It was directed by Paul Verhoeven, who doesn't shy away from rated R fare like Basic Instinct, Robocop, Showgirls and Starship Troopers and his style was well suited to this tale based on a Phillip K. Dick short story.

Unfortunately this new version appears to have been cleaned up somewhat to get a PG-13 rating and even though it will likely have superior special effects, it is doubtful that it will have the visceral punch of the original. It's directed by Len Wiseman (maker of the Underworld films), who also happens to be married to the leading lady Kate Beckinsale. I suppose this will appeal to hardcore sci-fi fans, and anyone who hasn't seen the original might find something new here, but I'm not overly optimistic that this will be anything more than a redundant waste of time. Hey, at least it's not in 3D though.

     Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

During his summer vacation, "Wimpy Kid" Greg Heffley, the hero of the phenomenally successful book series, hatches a plan to pretend he has a job at a ritzy country club - which fails to keep him away from the season's dog days, including embarrassing mishaps at a public pool and a camping trip that goes horribly wrong.

     My Take

This one is strictly for the kids out there and that's fine with me. I haven't seen any of the "Wimpy" movies before so I don't really have a frame of reference to go by. I know that the books by author Jeff Kinney are very popular with the youngsters and I've heard that they are far better than the films thus far. I don't think younger children will care though and they will be bugging mom and dad to take them to see this over the weekend.

Good times for the whole family no doubt.

     Hysteria

Set in the late 19th century, this mischievously inspired romantic comedy is based on the surprising truth of how Mortimer Granville invented the world's first electromechanical vibrator in the name of medical science despite it being at the very peak of Victorian prudishness.

     My Take

This will most likely be light hearted adult fare containing just enough ribald and risqué humour to keep things entertaining and amusing. It features a stellar cast that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Rupert Everett and Felicity Jones. I don't usually go nuts for period films set during the Victorian era as I find most of them to be often times stuffy and dull, but I'm hoping that this film about female sexual liberation will provide some solid laughs since it's dealing with a topic that was quite taboo at that time. It looks like there is a bit of everything for film goers to choose from this weekend, so if Hysteria looks appealing you can head down to the Paramount Theatre and hopefully experience some "Good Vibrations".

     Six Degrees of Chuck Norris

Colin Farrell from Total Recall was in Hart's War (2002) with Bruce Willis, who is in the upcoming film The Expendables 2 (2012) with Chuck Norris.

Zachary Gordon from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days was in Georgia Rule (2007) with Lindsay Lohan, who was in Machete (2010) with Danny Trejo, who was in two episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger (1998/99) with Chuck Norris.

Maggie Gyllenhaal from Hysteria was in Casa de los babys (2003) with Daryl Hannah, who was in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) with David Carradine, who was in Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) with Chuck Norris.

     Chuck Norris Fun Fact:

     Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick through all six degrees of separation, hitting anyone, anywhere, in the face, at any time.