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It was a weak week at theaters. Forgive the double wording, but the lack of creativity and depth in this week's releases has sapped my own creativity... Let the horror begin.

MacGruber

Starring: Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Powers Boothe, Val Kilmer, and Ryan Phillippe

Quick Take: Based on a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, this movie is about 90 minutes too long. It's total run time is 99 minutes. There are probably nine minutes worth of jokes if I'm being optimistic, the rest is pretty bad. And, to spice it up, the writing team — Forte and a pair of other SNL scribes — decided to veer into hard R territory because swearing, violence, and nudity always make up for gaps in a story... Two summers ago when I reviewed "Tropic Thunder" I gave the film four stars despite the fact the Jack Black segments were in poor taste. The rest of the film was funny enough to make up for it. With "MacGruber," it's like 99 minutes of Jack Black segments with a couple funny lines from Phillippe and Wiig to try and bail them out. I like both those actors, but they were trapped in a film concept that just doesn't work. There is a reason that skits on SNL are limited, and when you take one that's especially small like "MacGruber" and try to make it feature length you run into problems. Very SNL sketches have survived the transition, and there is a reason for that. This movie is largely a waste of time.

Rating: R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language, and some nudity.

Verdict: One star out of four.

Shrek Forever After

Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Antonio Banderas

Quick Take: When "Shrek" debuted in 2001, it was a different take on the traditional animated fairy tale. Featuring a quirky story and some solid voice work from Myers and Murphy, it became a hit with fans and established a franchise. "Shrek 2" built on that when it was released in 2004 and "Shrek The Third" seemed to reveal the franchise was fatigued when it debuted in 2007. Now, in 2010, "Shrek Forever After" has emerged to strike a death-blow for the franchise. It isn't funny. It isn't cute. And it isn't clever. It's 93 predictable minutes with a few recycled jokes thrown in. That's enough to entertain children 10 and under, but it's not enough to grab any kind of real audience. Maybe the cast wanted to get back together because they enjoy making these films. Maybe they just needed money. I don't know what the reason is, but since producers have promised this is the last installment of the franchise let's hope they keep their word. Whatever creativity once shined through the on screen production in this film franchise has vanished. What we're left with is a plodding, predictable story that seems to go around in circles until enough time has passed that it can safely come in for a landing. Shrek's new nemesis, Rumpelstilskin (voiced by Walt Dohrn), is somewhat entertaining, but not enough to justify sitting through this snooze fest. Audiences deserve better and, even though "Shrek's" never been my favorite franchise, you have to feel these characters deserve better.

Rating: PG for mild action, some rude humor, and brief language

Verdict: One star out of four.