The Lair of the Movie Man - Reviews, Previews, Blogs, and More

BAND OF ROBBERS  Running time: 95 minutes Rated: Not Rated Theatrical Release Date: January 15, 2016 ”Band of Robbers” is, by all means, an updated re-telling of two of the most celebrated works by legendary author Mark Twain. The concept itself is may be familiar to some, but it somewhat succeeds thanks to its outlandish brand of quackish behavior. Even the film itself starts with a quote from Twain himself, which showcases the brand of humor itself.  Brothers Aaron and Nee have taken the characters of both Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and reworked them into a plot that even Twain himself would be proud of. Huckleberry Finn (Kyle Gallner) is a free-spirited convict released from a prison stint, and attempts at making a descent effort into following straight. He gets roped into a scheme by Tom Sawyer (Adam Nee) involving a clerk store robbery where it is believed a legendary treasure is hidden. He recruits his bumbling friends Joe Harper (Matthew Gray Gubler) and

ALIENS WINNER! 2 of 7 Academy Awards = Best Actress (Sigourney Weaver), Film Editing, Original Score (James Horner), Art Direction, Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects Nominated for Golden Globe = Best Actress (Sigourney Weaver) “Aliens” is a prime example of a movie whose sequel surpasses the original beyond expectations. I saw it years later when I was older, but when it was released back in 1986, there were only three sequels that stood this honor: this being one of them, the other two being “The Godfather, Part II” and “The Empire Strikes Back” (one can also put up an argument for the best Bond sequels up to 1986, but that’s another best of list) The list still grows this day, but one of the reasons why “Aliens” is a sequel rarity is that it is one of the most definitive of sequels, improving upon the storyline of the first. Director James Cameron, who previously helmed “The Terminator” before tackling this one, seems the perfect choice for blending a

M OONWALKERS Running time: 107 minutes Rated: R (for strong bloody violence, graphic nudity, plentiful drug use and language) Theatrical Release Date: January 15, 2016 For many years after the first Apollo spaced program that successfully launched two men on the moon, in order to ensure that the United States would win the “space-race” portion of the Cold War, there were many moon landing conspiracy theories as to whether or not it actually happened or whether they were all staged. The moon landing theory actually sounds like a great concept for a film, just not for this one. “Moonwalkers” -- actually a great movie title -- is one in which fires on all the wrong cylinders, resulting in a very flat movie in which not all of the weirdness can save itself from. It also suffers from poor casting. It revolves around CIA agent Kidman (Ron Perlman) takes on a mission to locate the famed director Stanley Kubrick for a “highly classified, top secretive project”. When Kidnam quest

NORM OF THE NORTH Rated: PG (for mild rude humor and action) Running time: 86 minutes Released thru: Lionsgate Theatrical Release Date: January 15, 2016 “Hey everybody, here’s a cute little animated film about a polar bear who can actually talk, and oh yeah, while we’re at it, let’s give him a message about climate change and the importance of enjoying nature’s beauty.” Yeah, they’re taking the “Happy Feet” route. Except the problem is: that film was way more successful than “Norm of the North” will ever amount to. In fact, the problem is that it doesn’t even compare when the finished product looks like a rashly made direct to DVD product. Norm (Rob Schneider) is a polar bear of the north pole who lives the life of luxury, except for one thing: he doesn’t know how to hunt. He does possess an inept ability to talk to humans. So when the human start invading his world, he travels to New York to try and speak to the human population when he realizes his home is in je

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE Rated: PG-13 (for crude and suggestive humor, some nudity, action violence and brief strong language) Running time: 107 minutes Released thru: Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema Theatrical Release Date: June 17, 2016 “Central Intelligence” is one of those movies where you just sit back and enjoy the ride, and I actually will admit that I liked it more that I was planning on. Sure, it’s a long way off from being an original comedy as this concept has been done before, but it does offer its own fresh spin on the genre. Plus, the on-screen combo of Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson really clicked. It does deliver a lot more slapstick than the trailers led to believe. Hart and Johnson play former high school buddies Calvin Joyner and Bob Stone, respectively, who get together after twenty years to reminisce about the high school days when Joyner was once a popular student nicknamed “The Golden Jet” and Stone was actually a fat kid by the name of Ro

INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE Running time:  120 minutes Rated: PG-13 (for sequences of  sci-fi  action and destruction, some violence and language) Distributed by: 20th Century Fox @2016 Release Date: June 24, 2016 I remember watching the first “Independence Day” in theaters not one, but twice: once on the actual title day itself. It was so phenomenal, so unbelievable, at a time where practical effects and not overblown CGI ruled the Hollywood scene. It was regarded as a tentpole movie that revived the event disaster genre. The image of seeing the White House blowing up was etched in everyone’s minds for those who remember the 1996 Super Bowl. The hype paid off: not only was it fun to see landmarks and countries blown up, it was actually an enjoying roller-coaster ride. One could even go further and make a claim that the film (along with 1993’s “Jurassic Park”) helped to jumpstart the current wave that the summer movie season would ultimately come to deliver.

KINDERGARTEN COP 2 Running time:  100 minutes Rated: PG-13 (for language and violence) Distributed by: Universal 1440 Entertainment @2016 Release Date: May 17, 2016 (DVD premiere) Twenty-five years after we were graced with the presence of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action/comedy “Kindergarten Cop”, someone goes and makes a sequel that no one really wanted. Not only did we get it, but we got a half-assed dog of a movie whose script could’ve literally been done by a kindergartner….in crayons. Yes, Universal’s direct-to-video distribution is responsible for this latest debacle. Instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger this one around (who wisely turned down a role or even a cameo appearance for this one), we get Dolph Lundgren as a no-nonsense FBI agent Reed. He and his partner Sanders (Bill Bellamy) have just taken down an Armenian dealer. and now they need to acquire a flash drive containing the downloadable names of those placed under the Witness Protection Program. Thanks

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens  Nominated for 5 Academy Awards = Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score (John Williams), Best Visual Effects Nominated for 11 MTV Movie Awards = Best Movie, Best Female Performance (Daisy Ridley), Best Breakthrough Performances (Daisy Ridley & John Boyega), Best Ensemble Cast, Best Virtual Performances (Andy Serkis & Lupita Wyong’o), Best Hero (Daisy Ridley), Best Action Performance (John Boyega), Best Villain (Adam Driver), Best Fight (Daisy Ridley vs. Adam Driver)  I think I’m going to get a lot of flack for this, but let me start the review by getting it off my chest: “YAHOO!! George Lucas has finally done it. He's redeemed the series back to it's former glory.” O.K. That’s over with, back to my review. It has been ten years since Lucas gave us “Revenge of the Sith”, a movie that was surprisingly not bad as people claimed it to be (but then again the prequel trilogy wa

DEADPOOL Nominated for 8 MTV Movie Awards = Best Movie, Best Male Performance (Ryan Reynolds), Best Female Performance (Morena Baccarin), Best Comedic Performance (Ryan Reynolds), Best Female Performance (Morena Baccarat & Ryan Reynolds), Best Villain (Ed Skrein), Best Action Performance (Ryan Reynolds), Best Fight (Ryan Reynolds vs. Ed Skrein) Running time:  108 minutes Rated: R (for strong violence and language throughout; sexual content and graphic nudity) Distributed by: 20th Century Fox/Marvel Entertainment Release Date: February 12, 2016 After years in the making, the Marvel comic property “Deadpool” finally graces the big screen in all its fantastic glory. However it is a unique take on the superhero genre for two reasons: 1) it’s an action comedy and 2) unlike most superhero flicks nowadays that garner a PG-13 rating (ahem, looking at you Disney), this one delivers a hard R that does deliver when it comes to foul language and plenty of gore. It gains a

CAROL Nominated for 5 Golden Globe Awards = Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Actresses (Cate Blanchett & Rooney Mara), Best Director (Todd Haynes), Best Original Score (Carter Burwell) Nominated for 6 Academy Awards = Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Supporting Actress (Rooney Mara), Best Adapted Screenplay (Phylis Nagy), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score (Carter Burwell) Nominated for 2 SAG Awards = Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Supporting Actress (Rooney Mara) Release Dates:      November 20, 2015 (limited)                              January 15, 2016 (wide) Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy Genre: Drama Rated: R (for a scene of sexuality/nudity and brief language) Running time: 118 minutes Todd Haynes’ latest screen effort evokes that of a prior film in which he directed: 2003’s “Far From Heaven”, in which similar themes of homosexuality and social structures are addr