“Mr. Popper” is the tale of a house painter whose dreams of Arctic exploration prompt him to write letters to real explorers. One of them sends him a penguin, which he keeps in an icebox. Soon, Mr. Popper receives a female penguin from a zoo and before he knows it, he has a litter of 12 beaked birds. When the penguins start to eat him out of house and home, Mr. Popper forms Popper’s Performing Penguins, a stage act that goes on tour and causes mayhem at every stop (Variety).

Stiller can next be seen in the third film of the Meet the Parents franchise Little Fockers on December 22nd.

Greenberg is far from perfect, and not as funny as the trailer suggested, but it is sincere. Sincerity is a rare bird in films now days, and the film really feels alive when it focuses on the two main character separately rather than together. Greenberg is immediately unlikable. He’s like that one guest at a party, everyone’s asking why was he inivited? Florence (Greta Gerwig), the film’s other main focus, is equally the opposite of Greenberg. She’s immediately likable and sweet. Yet, they both are stuck. Greenberg is easier to figure out. He’s bitter and disgusted. Perhaps the live he wanted, he (obviously) never got, and that irritates him to no end. It’s this consumption of his past, that doesn’t allow him to move on. With Florence, it’s way more difficult to figure her out. Clearly, she’s doing things to make ends meet, yet has an odd time connecting with people. She’s not anti-social, but clearly makes excuses to avoid commitment. Hmm.

Co-written by Baumbach’s wife, Jennifer Jason Leigh, the film never gels with their romance, but as parts they are far more interesting than as a whole. The sly look at suffering intellectuals isn’t new territory for Baumbach, but it’s one he’s about done telling, in my opinion. Greenberg works since maybe it can hit close to home. For some, it won’t. In a scene where Greenberg is hanging at a party with a ton of early college kids, his analytical eye seems on. I hope I die before I see any of you in a job interview. Harsh, but precise. Baumbach’s eye turns to these kids, our youth, and at one hand points out their generation as scary as it is for a young person to think about getting old, yet is also appreciative of their youth. Greenberg balances some keen looks at times in our lives we aren’t self-aware too.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Greenberg

There is beautiful, sophisticated Marina Thwaite — an “It” girl finishing her first book; the daughter of Murray Thwaite, celebrated intellectual and journalist — and her two closest friends from Brown, Danielle, a quietly appealing television producer, and Julius, a cash-strapped freelance critic. The delicious complications that arise among them become dangerous when Murray’s nephew, Frederick “Bootie” Tubb, an idealistic college dropout determined to make his mark, comes to town. As the skies darken, it is Bootie’s unexpected decisions — and their stunning, heartbreaking outcome — that will change each of their lives forever.

If Gere does climb onboard this picture, he would be taking on a supporting role. Producing the film so far is Brian Grazer for Imagine Entertainment with a yet to be specified release date from the studio.

The cast also includes Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Juno Temple and Brie Larson. Greenberg comes out in theaters on March 26th. Look at the new clips below and let us know what you think. If you like what you see, make sure you sign up on the official Facebook page.:

“The Thing About You Kids” clip:

“Musso and Frank” clip:

“How Long Do We Wait” clip:

The picture stars Ben Stiller as Roger Greenberg who’s a singe, forty-ish and at crossroads in his life. He finds himself in Los Angeles, house-sitting for six weeks for his more successful/married-with-children brother (Chris Messina). In search of a place to restart his life, Greenberg tries to reconnect with old friends including his former bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans). But old friends aren’t necessarily still best friends, and Greenberg soon finds himself spending more and more time with his brother’s personal assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring singer and also something of a lost soul. Despite his best attempt not to be drawn in, Greenberg and Florence manage to forge a connection, and Greenberg realizes he may at last have found a reason to be happy.

Greenberg comes out in theaters on March 26th. Watch the brand new featurette below from Yahoo! Movies. If you want to keep up to date with all things pertaining to this film, make sure you follow the Focus Features Twitter or Facebook page.:

Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), single, fortyish and at a crossroads in his life, finds himself in Los Angeles , house-sitting for six weeks for his more successful/married-with-children brother. In search of a place to restart his life, Greenberg tries to reconnect with old friends including his former bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans). But old friends aren’t necessarily still best friends, and Greenberg soon finds himself spending more and more time with his brother’s personal assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring singer and also something of a lost soul. Despite his best attempts not to be drawn in, Greenberg and Florence manage to forge a connection, and Greenberg realizes he may at last have found a reason to be happy.

The cast also includes the talents of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chris Messina, Brie Larson and Juno Temple. Want to know more about Greenberg? Well if you go and sign up on the official Facebook page you can be completely up to date with the feature that’ll include more pictures, videos and what have you.

Greenberg (Ben Stiller) is at a crossroads in his life. Out of a job and none too interested in finding one, he agrees to housesit for his younger and more successful brother, thereby getting a free place to stay in Los Angeles. Once settled in, Greenberg sets out to reconnect with his old friend and former bandmate Ivan (Rhys Ifans). But times have changed, and old friends aren’t necessarily still best friends, so Greenberg finds himself spending more and more time instead with his brother’s personal assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig), an aspiring singer and herself something of a lost soul. As their relationship develops through a series of embarrassingly awkward romantic encounters, even someone as irascible as Greenberg might have at last found a reason to be happy.

Greenberg comes out on March 12th, 2010 in theaters everywhere.

Greenberg First Trailer