It’s official: “Thor 2” will open on July 26th, 2013. WHY???!!! Well, it all has to do with money, and apparently $437 million worldwide is good enough for a sequel to this summer’s 2nd worst superhero film. However, Kenneth Branagh (who directed “Thor”) will not direct the sequel, which will make it three years in […]

With the release of “Cars 2”, I thought it was time to look back at the 25 years of Pixar. Here is the list of my favorite Pixar films in order; I couldn’t do a Top 10 and exclude 2, so I’m including them all: 1. “Cars” (2006) 2. “Ratatouille” (2007) 3. “Toy Story 3” […]

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “Cars 2” is by far the worst-reviewed Disney/Pixar movie to date, with between a 30% and 40% approval rating. Before “Cars 2”, Pixar’s film with the lowest score was the original “Cars”, with a still modest 74%. For some reason critics just aren’t comfortable with the idea of talking cars. There’ve […]

Last year I interviewed Larry the Cable Guy during a stop on his comedy tour with Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall. Now, with “Cars 2” about to hit theaters, I chat again with the voice of Mater. LCJ: You’ve been doing a lot of publicity for “Cars 2”. I’ve seen you on a bunch of […]

First it was 5. Then it became 10. And now, starting next year, the number of movies that can be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar will be somewhere between 5 and 10. This interesting decision by the Academy of Art and Sciences is a reaction to the move to expand the field of nominees […]

Young Australian actress Jordana Beatty beat out dozens of kids to win the title role in “Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer.” Beatty has been working on TV in her home country for several years, but this is he first starring role in a U.S. film. LCJ: You’re 13 years old and a seventh […]

Warner Brothers has announced that because of the success of the three CGI Wile. E. Coyote and Road Runner “Looney Tunes” shorts that were shown before “Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”, “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” and “Yogi Bear” last year, three more shorts will be shown before three […]

“Green Lantern” opens nationwide a week from Friday. Warner Bros. has done a great job promoting the DC Comic adaptation, starring Ryan Reynolds. But in one location in New York City they’ve taken the film’s marketing plan to a whole new level: the lower level. Inside Penn Station – “In brighest day, in darkest night, […]

A couple of big announcements from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences concerning the Best Animated Feature category. First, the length a film needs to be to be eligible for an Oscar nomination has been shortened from 70-minutes to only 40-minutes. This means the upcoming “Winnie the Pooh” will have a chance to […]

Jennifer Yuh Nelson joined DreamWorks Animation in the late 1990’s and worked in the story department on both “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” (2002) and the original “Madagascar” (2005). But her next job would help lead to her latest, director of “Kung Fu Panda 2”. I spoke with her this week about here career and […]