The first Ben Stiller directed comedy since Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, makes its bow this weekend in America to much fanfare and controversy. Elsewhere, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Woody Allen comedy Vicky Christina Barcelona both open also. 'Thunder' has garnered extreme praise for its satirical and brave approach to comedy, with Robert Downey Jnr. in particular picking up some glowing notices; Rolling Stone all out loved it saying: "Think of all the ways you can hurt yourself laughing, as in fall down, split your sides, bust a gut, blow your mind. You get it all in Tropic Thunder, a knockout of a comedy that keeps you laughing constantly." While New York Magazine thinks we should “marvel at the genius of Robert Downey Jr." ‘Barcelona’ is another one of those much publicised "return to forms" for Allen and the critics have generally loved the film with Penelope Cruz gaining early momentum with the scribes for an Oscar Nomination: Roger Ebert wrote: " Cruz deserves a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her fiery, crazy, sexy work." Attack of the Clones hasn’t fared nearly as well though, with the vast majority of scribes slaughtering the production. Variety pretty much summed it up when they said "This isn't the Star Wars we've always known and at least sometimes loved."