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.

"DARKNESS!" and "NO PARENTS!!" Inform The Incredibly Fun LEGO Batman Movie

With The LEGO Batman Movie, we've now had eleven theatrically released movies starring Batman (the number goes up to twelve if ya wanna count Batman: The Killing Joke, which received a limited two-night long theatrical run last summer). Considering the characters been romping around in comics for nearly eight whole decades now, you can imagine there's plenty of fodder in the universe of Batman for way more than just eleven movies, but a large portion of his mythos has been swept aside in recent theatrical film depictions of the character, namely the presence of the Bat-Family, which consists of characters like Robin and Bat-Girl.

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.

Zootopia Begins To Roar With Sizable Thursday Night Grosses

Last nights Thursday night numbers are in for Zootopia (which I won't be seeing and reviewing until Tuesday), as well as London Has Fallen, though I'm still waiting on figures for the third new release of this weekend, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Anywho, looks like Zootopia is about be a huge box office hit is its Thursday night grosses are anything to go by. It grossed $1.7 million last night, a major improvement on all comparable titles. 

Scooby-Doo Is Returning To The Big Screen In 2018

The two live-action Scooby-Doo films always confused me as a kid for a number of reasons; for one thing, as a young animation and Hanna-Barbara buff, I was always curious why Frank Welker couldn't come back to voice the titular pooch. Not the new guy did notably bad work as the hungry canine, but would it be too much to ask to get a talented guy like Welker to come aboard the project? Other notable queries that I wondered when watching the movies included why the movies went for actual scares instead of just goofiness and who on Earth was this wooden guy playing Fred.

Come On And Grab Your Friends...And Go See The Adventure Time Movie!

I've always thought Adventure Time would make a damn fine, with my dream scenario being that Guillermo Del Toro would handle a ballsy live-action version of the program. The next thing has just been announced though, as Deadline reports an animated feature film based on Adventure Time is in development.

This Week, The Oscars Demonstrated Extremely Troubling Regress

This week, perhaps the most notable and talked about snub (aside from The LEGO Movie bizarrely not getting into Best Animated Feature) was Ava Duvernay not getting into Best Director for her superb work in Selma. Many complained, noting that the Academy Awards had displayed sexist and racist tendencies in the past. Other retorted to this, stating 12 Years A Slave winning Best Picture last year eradicated any possibility of those voting for the awards demonstrating racist tendencies, while also noting that the Academy should focus on voting for quality films instead of looking to "fill some quota".

Will Arnetts Lego Batman Is Getting His Own Movie!

Adam West. Michael Keaton. Val Kilmer. Kevin Conroy. George Clooney. Christian Bale. Ben Affleck. These are the men who have brought Batman to life over the years through various mediums, with their interpretations of the Caped Crusader ranging from great (Bale, Conroy) to unknown (Affleck) to abysmal (Kilmer, Clooney). But the best version of him yet is the most recent, Will Arnetts turn as Lego Batman in this years spectacular The Lego Movie. And now, that particular version is getting its own film!

Liam Neeson Returns for More Taking In First Trailer For Taken 3

Liam Neeson has certainly been busy with a bunch of action flicks recently. While they're not the only films he acts in (he was one of the best best parts of The LEGO Movie, and he stars in the next Martin Scorsese Movie) he's been primarily known for doing films where he beats up bad guys while sayings things in that intimidating voice of his. These kinds of movies started due to the popularity of Taken, which is getting second sequel called (no joking here) Tak3n. The first trailer for it has just arrived and you can watch it below.

Box Office Analysis: 2014 Has Been Rough For Family Movies

A lot of things have gone over spectacularly in 2014 cinema, but weirdly, family movies have been having one of their worst years in recent memory. It's not that any of them are tanking in a "Lone Ranger" style, it's just that they're certainly underwhelming mightily compared to years past. The main problem is the huge amount of lazy sequels made this year.

Here It Is! The Newest Version of The Batmobile, Zack Snyder Style!

March 2016 isn't too far, in fact, there's only 18 months until it arrives, so by definition, there isn't too much time until Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice arrives (it comes out March 25, 2016 dontcha know). The epic Zack Snyder film has Superman interacting with numerous people from DC Comics, most notably Batman. I'm sure everyone is completely unaware of the fact that Ben Affleck is playing the Caped Crusader, but now we have the first official images of the vehicle Afflecks Batman will drive in the feature.

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.

Summer Movie Memories: No Monkeying Around For This Franchise

Up until Labor Day, I'll be looking at seven different summer movies from Summer 2014 and analyzing what really made them stand out this summer, for reasons both good and bad. Obviously, SPOILERS for Dawn of the Planet of The Apes, as well as Godzilla, lie ahead. 

The Newest LEGO Batman Video Game Gets New Cosmic Trailer

2014 has been mighty kind to LEGO, and for good reason! The LEGO Movie not only wound up being on of the most thoughtful and brilliant movies in recent years, but it also made a ton of cash that renewed interest in LEGO as a brand. Still, that doesn't mean LEGO had been collecting dust on a shelf somewhere prior to Emmet and his escapades. On the contrary, their toys have been consistently popular for decades now, and the critically and financially successful video games have only helped bolstered their impeccable track record. The newest video game, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, just dropped a new trailer and you can watch it below.

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.

Box Office Analysis: What May Movies Tells Us About The Rest Of The Summer

Well, May 2014 sure was huge. With 4 movies hitting $60+ million openings, it was the 5th biggest May on record and a rollicking start to the summer movie going season. Going forward, it must be said that there are certainly more larger tentpoles in the back half of the summer than last year, with Transformers: Age of Extinction, Dawn of The Planet Of The Apes and Guardians of The Galaxy still likely to rake in big bucks for studios.

Still, the large amount of those gives me pause, simply because many of the May movies didn't seem to have a lot of stamina, despite good word of mouth and reviews. This can be mainly attributed to the fact that a new summer blockbuster emerged each and every week; who has time to see Godzilla when X-Men just popped up?? It's a real shame, as it's rendered a film like Godzilla (my favorite movie of the summer so far) into the Ang Lee's Hulk of the summer through its disastrous plummets from week to week (the mixed reception it's received from the fanboy community also adds to this perception).

June is a bit more level, but there's really only one guaranteed conventional blockbuster that month; Transformers: Age of Extinction. Then, two weeks later, a constant barrage of summer blockbusters arrive. For six weeks straight, one big movie after another opens up. This is gonna make it difficult for non-sequels like Jupiter Ascending who have to contend with proven franchises like the Ninja Turtles and Planet of The Apes. Even then, those sequels will have to make as much money as possible in their first week before new releases come and steal some of the spotlight (the good news for these six major releases is that they'll have summer weekdays where they can make some extra cash)

Frankly, the situation isn't terrible, especially since we've always had to contend with a jam packed schedule in the summertime. But with all these giant tentpoles fighting for space, I just wish studios could be more flexible with their scheduling, which would allow greater opportunities for all. Consider this; The Lego Movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Gravity all opened outside of summer (February, April and October respectively) and are going to make more money than any movie released in May.