I don’t even know what to say. Or why to bother. To stare into the void that is Disney’s soul-sucked remake of its cinematic safari The Lion King is to come face to face with a profound and overwhelming sense of meaninglessness. It’s the same movie they released in 1994, only worse in all ways…
The continued effort to update and bring “live-action” realism to their classics (e.g., “Dumbo,” “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast,”) continues for Disney with The Lion King. It follows the same premise as the 1994 animated feature (as well as “Kimba the White Lion” from which it was lifted) in which a young lion…
Time to head to port. Now. With its “final adventure” tag, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales glows with a compelling enough reason to re-rendezvous with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, “Alice Through the Looking Glass”), omitting how it will reward attendance with hollowed-out booty. Though ridding the stifled scope and static…
What I loved about 1997’s “Men in Black” was it embraced its own corniness. The aliens were over-the-top and blew up like Jello molds; the sets had a distinct comic book feel to them; and the story balanced workplace comedy with fantastical backdrops. The style worked, propelling the film to financial and critical greatness. But…
Men in Black 3 is looking better than I anticipated. I was quietly concerned the premise had worn out its welcome, but the new trailer released today by Columbia Pictures looks fresh and fun. Will Smith as agent J is slick as ever and Josh Brolin as the young agent K makes a fine straight…
How does one inject new life into a successful franchise that has laid dormant for nine years? In the case of Men in Black 3, the answer is to introduce time travel! In this installment, agent J goes back in time to work with a younger agent K to uncover deeply guarded secrets pertinent to…
Tower Heist enjoys a coincidence of sorts in its choice of opening weekend. The Occupy Wall Street protest is alive and well not too far from where this film is set and hundreds of other Occupy protests are simultaneously happening around the world. Tapping into a particular segment of that angst, Tower Heist is about…
