It’s “Let “The Games” begin” Weekend! “The Hunger Games” is set to open on Friday – but already the film is setting box office records: – 15th largest # of theaters (over 4,000) for an opening. – Largest pre-sale for a non-sequel in movie history With over 2000 screening already sold out (as of Wednesday […]

I’ve been writing this for years, (so accuse me for being repetitive) but the problem isn’t getting any better: Where is the originality among Hollywood movie studios? Just look at this past year’s Best Picture Oscar nominees: 6 of them were based on novels (including “War Horse”, which is also a play). Only three were […]

I’ve gotten to see the new documentary, “Bully” (opening March 30th). The film is getting a lot of attention for two reasons: 1) It focuses on the important topic of bullying in schools and communities around the country. 2) It’s been given an ‘R’ rating by the MPAA for “some language”, and the ‘R’ rating […]

News of the sequels front: – “Journey 3” is already in the works. New Line Cinema announcing that the third installment in the series will come-out in 2014. The story will center around the Jules Verne book From the Earth to the Moon, which appears in the final scene of “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.” […]

Last summer, when I interviewed him before the release of “Winnie the Pooh”, Tom Kenny mentioned that there were discussions underway about the making of another SpongeBob SquarePants movie. Happily those discussions have turned into plans, with the announcement that there will be a “SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2”, scheduled to be released in late 2014. […]

What a Night! The 84th annual Academy Awards were full of laughs and surprises: – Billy Crystal was great with hilarious one-liners, including re-naming the Kodak Theatre the “Chapter 11 Theatre” and the “Your Name Here” theatre; His musical number was good but the music overpowered him; He will return next year – “The Artist” […]

Here are my predictions for this Sunday’s Academy Awards. All 24. “The Artist” will win the night with 6 statues, while “Hugo” will win only 2. Best Picture – “The Artist” Best Actor – George Clooney – “The Descendants” Best Actress – Viola Davis – “The Help” Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer – “Beginners” […]

We’re just a week away from the Academy Awards. But before the big night, here are my picks for the Best of 2011. Yes, it’s time for the annual LCJ Movie Awards. There are 25 categories with the winner of each. Be prepared for some surprises: 2012 LCJ MOVIE AWARDS WINNERS AND NOMINEES Best Picture: […]

One former Disney Channel star out…another former Disney Channel star in! Selena Gomez’s selection to take-over for Miley Cyrus as the voice of Dracula’s daughter in this year’s “Hotel Transylvania” is an interesting one. Sony Pictures Animation had to act fast, as the film was already well into production. Online rumors say that Cyrus was […]

UPDATE: “The Vow” wins the weekend with $41.7M. “Safe House” comes in at a close second with $39.3M. “Journey 2” opens in third with $27.6M (Dwayne Johnson’s highest family film opening). “Star Wars 3D” comes in fourth with $23M (a little lower than I expected). ——————————————————————————————————————————– Four new movies (well three are actually new, but […]