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.