The Lion King brings one of Disney’s most beloved animated films to life in visually stunning photo-realistic CGI adaptation. I’ve kept a close eye since Disney decided to update their library in a contemporary manner. I remember how impressed I was with The Jungle Book‘s Oscar-winning visual effects in 2016. Where these two Jon Favreau-directed films differ are that there is no motion-capture performances in The Lion King. It would have surely made a difference…
"The Lion King Is My Favorite Film This Year"Month: July 2019
Stuber is a well-made action comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista as the film throws it back to the great action comedies of the 1980s. In a summer full of remakes and sequels, Stuber is a fresh offering. At the same time, the film is such a throwback to the great action comedies that we love so much. It is going to offer us a nostalgic feeling. A different type than what we typically…
"Stuber: A Throwback 80s Action Comedy"
The Art of Self-Defense takes a dark comedic look at toxic masculinity but does so while grounding it in the world of karate. Accountant Casey Davies (Jesse Eisenberg) is forced to sign up for karate classes after a he gets jumped by a motorcycle gang. It’s only because there’s no more dog food. Man’s best friend comes first, right?!? Casey does the first logical thing he can think of when he leaves the hospital: buy…
"The Art of Self-Defense: A Dark Comedy"
Sword of Trust, brilliantly written by Lynn Shelton and Mike O’Brien, finds a way to mix both the political with the funny in this ensemble comedy. Pawnshop owner Mel (Marc Maron) has one of the most inept employees in Nathaniel (Jon Bass). When it comes to his shop’s customers, Mel is the type who deceives them. Mel hits the jackpot one day when married lesbian couple Cynthia (Jillian Bell) and Mary (Michaela Watkins) enter the…
"Sword of Trust: Wait, WHO won the war?"
With a photo-realistic adaptation on the way, beloved Disney animated classic The Lion King celebrated 25 years last month. Once upon a time, filmmakers John Musker and Ron Clements passed on doing The Lion King. Their loss is Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff’s gain. While the duo went on to give us Aladdin, they felt that nobody wanted to see a movie about lions in the jungle. How did this work out? Not only would…
"The Lion King: A Beloved Disney Animated Classic"
WarnerMedia officially announced today that HBO Max is the name of their new streaming service, bringing together networks of the WarnerMedia family. In addition to bringing together the best of programming from their network families, the service will offer original programming. The direct-to-consumer service will launch in spring 2020. “HBO Max will bring together the diverse riches of WarnerMedia to create programming and user experiences not seen before in a streaming platform, said Robert Greenblatt, chairman,…
"HBO Max: WarnerMedia names Streaming Service"
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is still a comedy classic some fifteen years following its theatrical release in July 2004. The KVWN Channel 4 newsroom certainly may be one of the most sexist in cinematic history. Things are changing in 1973 and leading news anchorman Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is not ready. Nor is the rest of the Channel 4 news team: Champ Kind (David Koechner), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), and Brick Tamland (Steve…
"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy marks 15"
Summer Night is a coming-of-age story about finding love in a small Northern California town towards the last days of the summer. While the evening’s headliner is a concert at The Alamo, just about everyone is dealing with something going into the night. On the one hand, we have Jameson (Ellar Coltrane) torn between Harmony (Victoria Justice) and Corin (Elena Kampouris). Yeah, there’s certainly something going on here when Jameson isn’t completely over Corin. I’m…
"Summer Night: Coming of Age in California"
My Days of Mercy is one of those coming-of-age love stories that happens to see love coming from the strangest of all places. Lucy Moro (Ellen Page) is an anti-death penalty activist traveling with her sister, Martha (Amy Seimetz), and younger brother, Benjamin (Charlie Shotwell). While outside of a Kentucky penitentiary, Lucy meets attorney Mercy Bromage (Kate Mara) during a protest. There is a strong bond between the two women even though they are on…
"My Days of Mercy: A Coming-Of-Age Love Story"
Independence Day may be the typical Roland Emmerich disaster film but Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum lift it up. “We will not go quietly into the night!” President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) declares. Whitmore’s speech will go down in history as one of the greatest presidential speeches of all time. All across the world, mankind must come together to find for survival. As with any presidential speech, David Arnold’s score gives the film the…
"Independence Day Remains A Classic"
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