The LEGO Movie 2 Works Well As An Allegory, Less So As A Comedy

Considering how many modern-day American computer-animated movies primarily concentrate on how much dabbing, celebrity voice-overs and Minions going "BANANA!!" they can shove into their runtime, it feels like declaring that the biggest problem with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is that it leans too heavily on its central allegory at the expense of humor should be a compliment disguised as a critique. Can something like The Emoji Movie even spell allegory, let alone execute one? But The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, though not devoid of entertainment, does feel like a movie so wrapped up in its central allegory that its attempts at humor feel more obligatory rather than actually entertaining.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Is Pure Cinematic Joy

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse feels like a movie just made for me. The heavy usage of hand-drawn animation, its specific style of humor that's both extremely self-referential yet avoids becoming arrogantly snarky, the various actors in its voice cast and its heartfelt attitude towards its characters, it's all just like catnip for me. No wonder then that I fell head over heels for Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, a movie that allows the animation studio behind (shudder) The Emoji Movie the chance to step up their game to the next level and deliver something special both in terms of actual story and in terms of animation.

Oh Hey, J.J Abrams Is Now The Director Of Star Wars: Episode IX

Hey, remember when I used to do news pieces on a regular basis on this website? Ah, 2014 memories....

So, real quickly, it appears J.J. Abrams is in the bag to direct Star Wars: Episode IX, stepping in for Collin Trevorrow who departed the project last week over "Creative differences". The predominant rumor had been that Rian Johnson may stick around after The Last Jedi to help wrap up this trilogy, but nope, looks like J.J. Abrams is coming back to the fold. As a major fan of J.J. Abrams as a director (Super 8 is one of my favorite movies of 2011), I'm OK with this news but also kinda wishing we could have gotten someone a bit more bold and unexpected to help this forthcoming Star Wars movie.

The Animated Spider-Man Movie Gets Miles Morales As A Lead Character And Nabs Two Promising Directors

While this summer's Spider-Man: Homecoming will be a collaborative effort between Sony and Marvel Studios, there is a Spider-Man movie coming in December 2018 that's wholly a Sony effort. This untitled project is an entirely animated Spider-Man movie from Sony Pictures Animation that two fellows by the name of Phil Lord & Chris Miller are writing and executive producing. Today, Sony officially announced that the lead character of this movie would be Miles Morales, something that had been rumored for ages now but was a welcome sight to see made official.

Four Helpful Tips For That Han Solo Movie

With Alden Ehrenreich confirmed this weekend at Star Wars Celebration to be playing the role of Han Solo in Phil Lord and Chris Millers spin-off Han Solo motion picture, one big piece of the massive puzzle that is this Han Solo movie has fallen into place. Plenty of names in the cast will be announced prior to the movies January 2017 start date (can we get Nate Parker or Michael B. Jordan as Lando Calrissian please?) as will big filming locations, but for now, the movie is shrouded in secrecy. But because this is the internet, an aimless land filled with speculation and Star Wars related content, I've decided to compile four helpful tips that writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller should keep in mind as they make the Han Solo movie. I'm sure this extremely accomplished writer/director duo that has experienced endless success in the past decade would love to hear advice on filmmaking from a nerdy 20-year-old Texan.

Something Cool! 23 Jump Street Is A-Go!

Few filmmakers have had a better 2014 than Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The duo brought The LEGO Movie to glorious life earlier in 2014, and they were also in charge of one of the summers biggest hits, 22 Jump Street. Man, that was a great film. Hilarious, inventive, smartly script, just a terrific movie. And despite what the entertaining credits for that film implied, it looks like another Jump Street adventure is on the way.

22 Jump Street Review

SOMETHING AWESOME!!!

The one problem with many comedies throughout the ages is their ability to just settle. They go with the overly obvious jokes and story choices that just suck all the fun out of the proceedings. Recent great comedies (like The Other Guys, Ted, This Is The End and anything from Edgar Wright) smartly go in unique directions that help strengthen the characters, which helps infinitely in making the jokes land in the best possible fashion. To say 22 Jump Street goes in unexpected directions is an understatement.