Well, now that I've already previewed The Dark Knight, it's tough to dispel a certain sense of melancholy. The best of the summer is now behind us, and all that remains among the summer films are the ones that are basically sneaking in through the back door, trying to grab what little attention, interest or cash we have left before school starts again, the leaves start falling off the trees, and nine-digit-grossing films become fewer and farther between. To that end, I will be previewing the two wide-release films coming out on July 25, the last weekend of the month.

Those of you who visited Fantasy Moguls's main page early last week probably noticed that one of the plugs for the new July leagues came with a question: "Have you forgiven Will Ferrell for Semi-Pro?" Which is a pretty good question, actually. Having hyped the merits of Will Ferrell sports comedies a mere five months ago, my predictions (not to mention every slate I picked it for) came crashing down around me, as Ferrell's amazing hot streak come to a very ignominious end, barely grossing $33 million and becoming one of the worst picks in Fantasy Moguls history. Ferrell's Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby co-star, John C. Reilly, didn't fare much better this past Christmas. He did garner plenty of critical praise for his spoof of inspirational biopics, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but even Judd Apatow's name couldn't stop the belly flop that the film took in theaters, as it raked in only $18.3 million.

So what are we to make of Step Brothers, another comedy reuniting the formerly dynamic duo? Do we assume that the characters, or rather caricatures, that they are playing, a pair of obnoxious, immature grown men acting like loud, spoiled kids, have fallen out of favor with the moviegoing public? Or do we chalk up their most recent outings as an aberration, a mere stumbling block on the road to redemption? Can these two actors, who teamed up in 2006 to make Talladega Nights a runaway hit, recapture the magic that they lost? I want to believe that they can.

I, personally, am not a fan of Ferrell's. Watching him do his shtick in film after film got tiresome early on (which is why Stranger Than Fiction was such a welcome change of pace to many, yet also perhaps why that film was something of a commercial flop), and Step Brothers basically looks like more of the same. I am also not a fan of Reilly ... as a comedian. I think he is a very good actor, and his dramatic turns in films like What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Boogie Nights, The Thin Red Line, Gangs of New York and Chicago were very enjoyable. I'm just not sure what he brings as a comedian, given that he seems to be a pallid copy of his friend Will more often than not.

The story: Ferrell and Reilly play Brennan and Dale, two still-living-at-home 40-somethings whose lives are turned upside down when Dale's father (played by The Visitor star Richard Jenkins) unexpectedly weds Brennan's mom (Mary Steenburgen). Being forced to share a room, the two men instantly become bitter rivals, regressing to prepubescent behavior as they take out their frustrations on each other, much to the chagrin of Mom 'n' Dad, who desperately want them both out of the house. Go figure.

As much as I want to pooh-pooh this premise with all guns blazing, I can't. A couple of weeks ago, I saw the trailer for this film in front of You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and everyone in the theater laughed. Repeatedly, and loudly. And this was a packed house, folks. Try as I might, I just can't ignore that. Neither can I ignore the fact that Brothers was directed (and written) by Adam McKay, who directed two of Ferrell's biggest hits, Talladega Nights and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The point is: if anyone knows how do direct Ferrell's boundless energy in a positive way, it's this guy.

Since the summer started, the only film that has been the box-office champion in both its first and its second weekend has been Iron Man. Given the absolutely crazy predictions that I have heard for The Dark Knight's first few days, it seems that it will take an absolutely Herculean effort for Step Brothers to even come close to preventing Christopher Nolan's masterpiece from being the second repeater (or the third, if Hancock really, uh, takes off). I do think that $40 million in its first three days is not totally out of the realm of possibility for Step Brothers, but I doubt it will do much more than that.

Fantasy Moguls predicts only four Top 5 points, two PTA, a rating of 7.2 and only $80 million in grosses. I'm thinking that six or seven Top 5 points are more likely, the rating will be slightly lower and the total output slightly higher. It has a definite crack at $100 million if it can pull that $40 million on its opening weekend. But the drawback is its asking price: $19 in Ultimate and $21 in Box Office. It will have to do significantly better than Fantasy Moguls's predictions to be worth that much, so pay careful attention to how this film tracks in the weeks leadingup to its release. If you don't like how it's looking, I'd ditch it and go with The Pineapple Express, which seems to have more going for it.

I can only think of two television series in history that had full-length feature films created for them while the original show was still on the air (and no, Hannah Montana doesn't count). Perhaps not coincidentally, both shows were products of the FOX network. The first is The Simpsons, which scored mega-success last summer. The second, of course, was The X-Files, the show that really first put the network on the map during its early years. The series debuted in 1993 and ran for ten seasons, during which time it developed a massively hard-core fan base.

I remember thinking, back in 1998, how odd it was that they would create a big-screen version of the show to tie in with various plot lines that were taking place on the small screen. The X-Files movie came out in June of that year to mostly mixed reviews, and left with over $83 million and a lot of unanswered questions. Now, anyone who was a regular watcher knows that the main thread of the show was the great big alien invasion that had been commencing for decades, and the shadowy government cabal that was created to fight it (or help it along, I'm not sure, the whole thing got so murky and convoluted by the end that I just gave up trying to make sense of it all). It's been six years since I watched the series finale, and all I remember about it was that the final stage of the invasion was supposed to occur at a specific date around ... well, around now, I guess.

Now, how much will The X:Files: I Want to Believe touch on that? Not much, according to IMDb, which states with some authority that this film is "NOT structured to be a sequel to the original, but rather a stand-alone story," and "could be an experiment to see if other sequels may be possible." I, for one, hope they at least devote some time to that story, given that it's where we left off, along with Agents Mulder and Scully finally sharing a motel room, after firing up their on-again/off-again relationship with a passionate smooch in front of their former boss.

As you might expect, this film was directed and co-written by series creator Chris Carter, who doesn't seem to have been doing much over the last six years apart from tinkering with this script and teasing the fanboys with rumors of another film for about the same amount of time. And of course, you couldn't have an X-Files anything without inviting David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who, also, have met with only middling success in the intervening years since their meal ticket went off the air. Along for the ride is series regular Mitch Pileggi, along with Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet and rapper Xzibit.

As the Die Hard and Rush Hour franchises proved last summer, it is possible to have great success with a sequel despite a long dormancy period. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Lucas-fied MacGuffin Monster (which, ironically, would have tied in almost perfectly with the whole X-Files premise) proved that no amount of dust can keep the truly ardent fans at home. "The truth is out there," which was the show's tagline, may be as true as ever, but I have to wonder ... does anybody really give a crap anymore?

Even though the show took many years to garner any sort of decent ratings, the rabid core group of watchers are what helped keep this show around for a decade, and it was a watershed event for bringing the FOX Network to a level almost equal (at the time) with the other three major networks. However, this show was, and is, a product of the '90s, and will probably always be synonymous with that decade, along with Friends, Alanis Morrisette and "Read my lips!" Hence, I predict that this film will join the many others that simply waited ... too ... long.

If there is any sort of buzz for this film, then I certainly haven't heard it. I will probably see it out of curiosity, just to see what direction they're trying to take the franchise (if one can still call it that), but I honestly believe that most of the sci-fi geeks who made The X-Files a staple of their Friday (or Sunday) nights for 10 years have probably moved on with their lives, found new things to geek out about, or actually gone out on a date with a woman (KIDDING)!

Fantasy Moguls predicts three Top 5 points, only one PTA, a User Rating of 6.3 (which is just below what the original film got), and $45 million in box office. The asking price in both types of leagues is $12, which is just about right for the way the July leagues are priced. It will finish no higher than third on its opening weekend (possibly lower depending on how Mamma Mia! plays), so most of the stats seem about right. I still wouldn't take it, however. I'd much rather spend the extra $3 for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, or maybe even take a gamble on a possible PTA gold mine like Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I imagine it will top out somewhere in the neighborhood of $50-$60 million, respectable but not noteworthy.

Props Department: I've got a whole boatload to give out today, so here goes. Congratulations to ashkul88, for winning not only Round Four of the Super Leagues Ultimate FY tournament, but also the April Regulars League Happy Accidents. Well done, sir! Kudos also to The_Sham for taking first in Round Four of the Box Office FY, as well as BarcaRulz for his victory in the B.O. league Counter Clockwise. Special commendations to the 19 players (each) in both of the 1st-Half HY tournaments who survived the fourth cut, and now have one month left to duke it out before a champion is crowned.

A special mention to five players in the Super leagues who had the guts to enter all four tournaments (both FY and both HY), and, six months into the year, have still NEVER BEEN CUT from any of them. They are: annyonggob888, Chienfantome, codeslinger, geezer9687 and pulpclub. I hope all of you appreciate just how difficult this feat is. And speaking of Chienfantome, I simply must mention that as of last Sunday, he is the very first Mogul in history (that I know of) to have one of his slates cross $1 billion in earnings. Due to the liberal pricing of the May leagues, I'm sure he won't be the last, but it is a noteworthy occasion. Well done, everybody!

Well, that will wrap it up for me for another week. Please return next week when I will be ushering in the month of August with three films slated for release in the first week of that month: The Rocker, a Wednesday release about a washed-up rock star drummer (played by The Office's Rainn Wilson) who decides to make a comeback by joining his nephew's garage band; Swing Vote, an election-year comedy about an All-American working stiff (Kevin Costner) who, through a technical contrivance, is called upon to determine the winner of the presidential election; and, seven years after the last installment, Brendan Fraser returns as Rick O'Connell, leaving the Middle East for the Far East but still finding plenty of undead mischief in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

TTFN!

The symbolic irony of Will Ferrell, as seen in the Step Brothers trailer, burying someone alive, is almost too painful for Shrykespeare, and probably anyone else who owned Semi-Pro, to take. Take the first step to recovery by acknowledging your higher power at shrykespeare42@gmail.com.