This week, Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and pal Cory Olsen cut through the hype in the New Movies Podcast by addressing a big question: Is "Iron Man 2" all that we expect it to be? In addition to what could be the year's biggest movie, they discuss new documentary "Babies" and director Bong Joon-ho's excellent "Mother" (which opens this weekend at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids).

So, how does the new remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" stack up to the original? That's the topic addressed this week in the New Movies Podcast. Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and producer pal Cory Olsen tackle Freddy Krueger, new releases "Furry Vengeance," "Greenberg" and "The Art of the Steal," and new DVD titles.

Is Jennifer Lopez's "The Back-up Plan" yet another formulaic romantic comedy? Is Disney's Earth Day doc "Oceans" yet another boring nature documentary? Is the entire "Red Riding" trilogy worth the time and effort? Do we really need to buy "Avatar" on DVD? Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba answers these questions and more in the New Movies Podcast with producer Cory Olsen adding his commentary, too.

So, does "Kick-Ass" live up to its title? Yes. No. Maybe. The critics are divided, and Grand Rapids Press film reviewer John Serba and podcast pal Cory Olsen discuss the more controversial elements of the new teen-superhero satire. Also on the agenda are "Red Riding: 1974," which opens at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts this weekend, "Death at a Funeral" and new DVD releases.

This week's New Movies Podcast is all about dynamic duos: One is comedic, as Steve Carell and Tina Fey have a quip-off in "Date Night." The other is dramatic and musical, as Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart play punk rockers Cherie Currie and Joan Jett in "The Runaways." Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and producer Cory Olsen discuss the aforementioned in this week's New Movies Podcast. Serba also raves about the pairing of Nicolas Cage and director Werner Herzog in "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," new on DVD.

Does "Clash of the Titans" live up to the hype? Does Miley Cyrus have the chops to handle weepie Nicholas Sparks adaptation "The Last Song"? Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and podcast producer pal Cory Olsen address these questions -- and peruse new DVD offerings -- in this week's New Movies Podcast.

Dreamworks is almost, but not quite, at Pixar's level when it comes to animated films. So says Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba in this week's New Movies Podcast. He and producer/commentator Cory Olsen also discuss crass comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine," erotic thriller "Chloe," British drama "Fish Tank" and new DVD releases.

A full slate of new releases for this week's New Movies Podcast includes Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler in "The Bounty Hunter," Roman Polanski's latest film "The Ghost Writer," comedy "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," gory thriller "Repo Men" and German adventure "North Face." Notably, one of them is proclaimed the best film of 2010 so far by Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba. He and podcast pal Cory Olsen also mull over new DVDs.

There's an odd conglomeration of new movies in theaters this week: Action with "Green Zone," starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass. Romance with "Remember Me," starring "Twilight" hunk Robert Pattinson. And comedy, some more desperate ("Our Family Wedding") than others ("She's Out of My League"). Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba teams up with podcast producer pal Cory Olsen to discuss all of 'em, as well as several new and notable titles on DVD.

Skewed perspectives on a skewed perspective: That's what's going on in this week's New Movies Podcast. Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and producer/sidekick Cory Olsen discuss oddball director Tim Burton's skewed interpretation of "Alice in Wonderland," which puts Johnny Depp in the Mad Hatter's headgear. They also tackle "Me and Orson Welles," Romanian art film "Police, Adjective," cop drama "Brooklyn's Finest" and new DVDs "Ponyo" and "Where the Wild Things Are."

Filmmaker Kevin Smith takes another stab at the mainstream with "Cop Out," the new buddy comedy starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, which leads the New Movies Podcast discussion this week. Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and fellow commenter Cory Olsen also tackle period drama "The Last Station," overlooked animated delight "A Town Called Panic," documentary "Lord, Save Us from Your Followers" and new DVDs.

So, "Shutter Island": we've watched the trailers for months, and the anticipation of another Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio collaboration kept growing. Does it live up to the hype? Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba answers that question in the New Movies Podcast. He also defers to podcast producer/Robert De Niro expert Cory Olsen during a discussion of Scorsese's work with his two muses. And together they tackle new DVD releases.

Can Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba recite the very long list of principal stars in "Valentine's Day" by memory? (Probably not.) Will the film live up to the hype of the holiday? (Mmmmmaybe.) What argument will Serba and fellow podcaster Cory Olsen get into this time? (Hint: It involves the Coen Brothers.) Give the New Movies Podcast a listen, and find out. They'll also go over new releases "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," "The Wolfman," two new documentaries opening in Grand Rapids and new DVD releases.

So Woody Harrelson and Colin Firth are Oscar nominees for "The Messenger" and "A Single Man" respectively -- are they deserving? Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba addresses the question, with producer Cory Olsen adding commentary, in the New Movies Podcast. Both films open in Grand Rapids this weekend, along with wide releases "Dear John" and "From Paris With Love."

Does "Avatar" have a shot at winning a pile of Oscars? What the heck is "The Secret of Kells"? Is Sandra Bullock really the frontrunner for Best Actress? All questions posed by Tuesday's Oscar nominations, and addressed by Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and producer Cory Olsen in a special edition of the New Movies Podcast.

So, does Jeff Bridges deserve all the hype, praise and awards he's received for "Crazy Heart"? That's the focus of conversation from Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and producer Cory Olsen in this week's New Movies Podcast. Also discussed: New releases "Edge of Darkness," "When in Rome" and "The Yes Men Fix the World."

Things (almost) get nasty in the New Movies Podcast this week. Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and producer pal Cory Olsen watched "Extraordinary Measures" -- the new drama starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford -- and walked out with clashing opinions of the talent on hand. They also mull over kid flick "Tooth Fairy," Pedro Almodovar-Penelope Cruz collaboration "Broken Embraces," top-shelf sports drama "The Damned United" starring Michael Sheen and new faith-based indie drama "To Save a Life." Oh, and Serba makes a must-see recommendation among new DVD releases. Give it a listen:

"The Lovely Bones" doesn't always work, but Peter "Lord of the Rings" Jackson creates an ambitious adaptation of the bestselling Alice Sebold novel. So says John Serba, film critic for The Grand Rapids Press, in this week's New Movies Podcast. He also discusses Denzel Washington thriller "The Book of Eli," Jackie Chan comedy "The Spy next Door," Lars von Trier's controversial "Antichrist" and a slew of new DVD releases, including "The Hurt Locker" and "Moon" -- all with podcast producer extraordinaire Cory Olsen adding commentary.

Michael Cera, Amy Adams and Heath Ledger headline three new movies this week: "Youth in Revolt" (which was filmed in Michigan), "Leap Year" and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (featuring Ledger's last role), respectively. Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba and producer Cory Olsen discuss these actors' performances in the New Movies Podcast, as well as "Daybreakers" and French film "35 Shots of Rum" (which opens at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts).

Regular listeners of this podcast might have an inkling as to what Grand Rapids Press film critic John Serba's favorite, and most hated, films of the year are. Perhaps you've already read his complete list, but he elaborates further -- and, notably, acts out the best movie line of the year -- in a special version of this week's New Movies Podcast, with producer-sidekick Cory Olsen chiming in.