The Lion King Will Leave You Feline Nothing

So, quick recap for those who aren't familiar with the original Lion King: Simba (voiced by JD McCrary as a child and Donald Glover as an adult) is the son of Mufasa (James Earl Jones), the king of the Pride Lands. Simba is immensely excited to assume the throne, but his nefarious Uncle Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has other dastardly plans in mind. He plans to usurp the throne by killing Mufasa and Simba, a plan that leaves Mufasa dead and Simba feeling so guilty that he runs away from his home. Out on his own, Simba ignores his past and lives a care-free life but he'll soon discover that you can't outrun your responsibilities.

Give The Orville And Its Tedious & Confused Take On The Final Frontier Some Space

Even hearing for months on end that The Orville as a TV show had a more serious tone than its heavily comedic ads would suggest didn't prepare me for what a tonally odd creation it is. It's trying to actually be a new straight-up science-fiction program that heavily homages Star Trek to a fault but it's also one with recurring comedic elements that just don't work at all. If the attempt here was to make something either as comedically strong as Ted or as thoughtful & exciting as the best elements of Star Trek, then the folks behind The Orville have miscalculated greatly and wound up with a science-fiction equivalent to Seth MacFarlane's major movie misfire A Million Ways To Die In The West.

"The King....Has Returned": Disney And Elf/Iron Man/The Jungle Book Director Jon Favreau Are Doing A Lion King Remake

I saw Jon Favreau post an image of Simba on Pride Rock on Instagram with the caption "Super excited for my next project" about half an hour ago and, honest to God, I thought it was a joke. It left my mind real quickly until, a few minutes later, I saw people discussing it on Facebook. The validity of it was unknown to us until someone pointed out a press release Disney oddly released at Midnight last night (normally such announcements are made during the day when entertainment news outlets can cover them) that confirmed it; Disney is doing a remake of The Lion King.

The Jungle Book Review

I'm a hardcore Disney fan (my first word as a human being, believe it or not, was Disney), but, to be perfectly frank, this new wave of live-action adaptations of classic Disney cartoons hasn't really done much for me. Alice In Wonderland was typical modern day Tim Burton pablum, Maleficent's few interesting ideas (namely weaving in a metaphor for rape into the backstory of its titular character) were severely overshadowed by how tedious and uninspired the rest of the film's story and characters were and Cinderella was only inoffensive at best. But finally, oh finally, one of these live-action adaptations has finally turned out to be a well-made movie in its own right.

The First Trailer For The New Jungle Book Movie Has Arrived!

The Jungle Book is one of my favorite films of all-time, full stop. It's a magnificent showcase for the incredible hand-drawn animation Disney was capable of in its heyday (every one of the minor mannerisms of Shere Kahn are amazing and even subtle moment like Kaa shrugging shows an immensely inventive spirit), as well as some insanely lovable characters like Baloo and Bagheera. The best part? This isn't all bad on childhood nostalgia; rewatching it last year, I discovered that not only did the motion picture hold up, but there were more subtle elements of it that stood out to me as an adult viewer that only enhanced my enormous appreciation for this 1967 film.

Iron Man's Influence Spread Far Beyond Its Own Cinematic Universe (Make Mine Marvel #1)

PHASE ONE

Discovery

"Iron Man. That's kind of catchy!"

Looking over the history of superhero films, there is no more important time period than the summer of 2008, wherein five very different superhero films debuted over the course of 12 weeks. One, Hancock, was not based on any preexisting property, while another, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, delved into Guillermo Del Toro style fantasy with aplomb. The differences between just these two movies is vast, but tossing in the other three that premiered over the summer just shows how wide in storytelling scope the framework of superhero cinema can be.

Elf Finds The Joy In Both Christmas And Humanity

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Elf is a prime example of a movie that shouldn't, under any circumstances, work. A comedian mugging it in a family movie? That always works out well. A sequence where the main character spies on a woman in the ladies locker room? Creep central. A lead character so optimistic and spunky should be aggravating. Instead, it's a treat of film, one of the very best features centered around the holiday of Christmas.

New Jungle Book Movie Adds Ben Kingsley To Awesome Cast!

Ben Kingsley?Trevor Slattery 

I absolutely love Disney (which, interestingly enough, was my first word spoken as a human being!), but I'm especially fond of their work on the animated side of things. Out of all 53 animated features Walt Disney Animation Studios has made though, my all-time favorite may be The Jungle Book, a superbly crafted masterpiece that just has no shortage of energy, fun and engrossing characters. That classic film is the next Disney animated film in line to be given the live-action/CGI treatment that was bestowed upon Alice In Wonderland and Maleficent. A remake of this movie should make my blood boil, but with the talent already lined up for it (and plenty more to come!) the project so far sounds delightful.

Chef Review

It must be said that Jon Favreau has probably has had the most unexpected career trajectory in Hollywood except for maybe Neil Patrick Harris. Who would have thought the dude who played a recurring character on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command would end up directing the best Christmas (Elf) and Superhero (Iron Man) movies of all-time? Of course, he's had his struggles, with him squaring off against Marvel Studios over the direction of Iron Man 2 and Cowboys and Aliens becoming a major financial failure.

Peyton Reed, The Director of Bring It On, To Direct Marvel's Ant-Man

For Ant-Man, it's been a rough few weeks. Edgar Wright, the original director of the film, left the project leaving Marvel with a PR headache and the internet to quiver in rage. Despite my undying love of Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is one of the best movies ever made), I did feel like some of the fanboy communities indignant responses were starting to be hyperbolic. After all, some of the new directors tossed around included Adam McKay, David Wain and Nicholas Stoller sounded more than capable of handling a Marvel feature.

Putting an end to one of the most anticipated directing announcements ever, today, they've confirmed who will now handle Ant-Man's first cinematic journey.