Beauty and the Beast is the fifth live-action adaptation of a Disney animated classic following Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), and Pete’s Dragon (2016) (we don’t count 2010’s candy-colored Alice and Wonderland).  When it comes to these remakes, what exactly are we looking for?  Are we looking for a near shot-for-shot remake of the original animated film?  A reinvention of the classic story?  A little bit of both?  Cinderella was closer to the shot-for-shot version, as was The…

Kong: Skull Island is the fourth incarnation of the infamous giant ape, following the original classic from 1933, the 1976 version starring Jeff Bridges, and Peter Jackson’s 2005 version.  Those 1976 and 2005 versions are both remakes of the 1933 film, all being essentially the same movie with a few story changes and new technology for each film.  But in Kong: Skull Island, we get something that is both original, yet keeps the same spirit and similar…

‘An old man dies, a little girl lives. Fair trade.’ Hugh Jackman graces us as Wolverine for the final time in Logan, James Mangold’s epic, violent, emotional finale that sends the legendary superhero off in a blaze of blood and glory. Logan, inspired by the Old Man Logan comic series, takes place in 2029, where mutants are few and far between, as Logan/Wolverine (Jackman), now limping, scarred, grayed, and disheveled, is taking care of an ailing Professor Xavier…

Table 19 is about sad people on a happy day.  Table 19 represents the very last table at a wedding reception, a sort-of “rejects” table where you dump random business friends, distant family members, and friendly ex’s at. At this table, we have Eloise (Anna Kendrick), the ex-girlfriend of the best man in the wedding and a long-time friend of the bride, Jerry and Bina Kepp (Craig Robinson and Lisa Kudrow), a dysfunctional married couple…