i>BOURNE TO CHASE SIMPSONS

The reign of the Simpsons at the box office is likely to be shortlived as Matt Damon arrives with The Bourne Ultimatumthis weekend. Most analysts are predicting that the thriller will wind up with about $60 million, while The Simpsons Movie will slip to second place with $35-40 million. (It crossed the $100-million mark on Thursday.) Three other films will be making their debut this weekend, including Disney’s Underdog, which was not screened for critics (“a sure sign that the movie is a dog,” remarked Kyle Smith in the New York Post). It’s expected to place third with about $15 million. Expectations are not high for the other two, either. Paramount’s Hot Rodand Lionsgate’s Bratz: The two movies are each expected to earn less than $10 million.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

MOVIE REVIEWS: BRATZ

A day after the recall of millions of Chinese-made toys because of the lead content of their paint, critics are trashing Bratz,based on a line fashion dolls and a kids TV series, because of the lead content of its story. Ty Burr in the Boston Globedescribes it this way: “It’s pure marketing chum for tweeners: a proudly shallow, purposefully bland ode to girly-girl narcissism. I could actually feel my brain stem shrivel up as I watched it.” Amy Biancolli in the Houston Chronicle begins her review this way: “O.M.G. ! This movie is SO BAD! I can’t believe I just spent an hour and a half of my life, like, watching it, when I could have been totally trying on hairbands instead!” And Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribunedismisses it as “the most horrifying film of 2007.”

MOVIE REVIEWS: HOT ROD

Hot Rodis the latest movie to be ripped from the pages of Saturday Night Live. It stars SNLregular Andy Samberg as an Evel Knievel-wannabe. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Timespredicts that the movie will make Samberg a star. “With a trusting face, a gigantic smile and an occasional Burt Reynolds mustache, he has the innocence of many great comedians who always seem surprised at the way their schemes turn out.” On the other hand, A.O. Scott in the New York Timeswrites: “Mr. Samberg’s wide smile and eager manner are engaging, but he labors under the misapprehension that he is automatically, innately funny. There is a difference between finding humor in laziness and self-delusion and lazily deluding yourself that anything you do will bring big laughs.” And Desson Thomson concludes in the Washington Post: “There’s no question Samberg has a future in movie comedy, but this caper amounts to a false start.”

PRODUCER LADD BEATS HOLLYWOOD’S ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

In the latest blow to Hollywood’s notorious accounting system, a Los Angeles jury on Thursday awarded veteran producers Alan Ladd Jr. and Jay Kanter $3.2 million on their claims that they were cheated by Warner Bros. The studio’s attorneys immediately announced plans to appeal unless the judge throws out the verdict. “I’m thrilled,” Ladd told the Los Angeles Timesfollowing the decision. “I hope that other people will start doing the same thing – taking on the studios instead of being afraid of the big, bad bosses.” Separately, he told the Hollywood Reporter: “I hope it makes a difference in the accounting process in this business. … The studios should stop being corrupt. When they start being honest, this business will change.”

FEUD ERUPTS IN INDIA OVER GANDHI FILM

The great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi has defended a film about the turbulent relationship between modern India’s founder and his son Harilal, even as prominent figures in India called for it to be banned. Tusher Gandhi told the London Daily Telegraph that he wept when he viewed the movie, Gandhi, My Father,which is being released in some countries today (Friday). “It was deeply moving and very finely balanced. It would be too easy to seek controversy and portray Gandhi as a ‘bad’ father. This film makes you feel the pain on both sides, for father and son.” But Razi Ahmad, secretary of a major Gandhi research center in India and one of the protesters, said, “We are of the view that any attempt to tarnish the image of national heroes should not be permitted.”