Ben Affleck Still Plans To Make A Sequel To The Accountant

Ben Affleck Still Plans To Make A Sequel To The Accountant

Ben Affleck has ridden some rocky blockbuster waves in recent years, but one film that was really an undeniable success arrived in the fall of 2016. Gavin O'Connor's The Accountant is one of the rare recent original action titles to actually perform really well at the box office, making $155.1 million globally on a $44 million budget. The performance was significant enough to immediately start some sequel chatter, and while we haven't heard much about the project in a minute, it's apparently a project that Affleck is still interested in pursuing.

It was last reported that The Accountant 2 was in the works with Gavin O'Connor returning to direct and Bill Dubuque (the original's screenwriter) taking care of the script, but that was in the summer of 2017. Nearly two year's worth of silence is quite a lot, but thankfully Ben Affleck has now provided us an update, via Collider - explaining that the film is definitely one that he wants to pursue:

Yeah, I hope so. I would love to. We’ve talked about kicking some ideas around, this last movie we just did. We talked to the studio and they seemed interested, and they kind of brought it up so, we’re looking to do that. I think it would be fun. I love Gavin, I love the movie I just did with him. I had a great experience and I love the character in The Accountant. I’d certainly be open to it.

The project that Ben Affleck is referring to is the film Torrance, which completed filming last year. A completely different kind of story and genre than The Accountant, the movie is a sports drama that follows a former star basketball player who tries to get his life back together by becoming the coach of the team at his old high school. The film is produced by Warner Bros. - the same studio behind Affleck and O'Connor's previous collaboration - and while a release date has not yet been announced, one can probably predict that we'll be seeing it come out some time in the fall.

As for The Accountant 2, it's actually a pretty exciting prospect, and right now could be a perfect project for Ben Affleck. Christian Wolff is a legitimately fascinating character - a public accountant with high-functioning autism who moonlights as an assassin - and the first movie really makes for a cool origin story. There are hundreds of stories that could be told with him going forward, and it could become a fun franchise role for the star.

For what it's worth, we might already have an inkling of a plot for the proposed sequel, as Gavin O'Connor talked out some ideas with me when I interviewed him about The Accountant back in 2016. Discussing potential story ideas, he put forward a really dark direction for the world in which Christian Wolff lives, saying,

In the second one, if we're ever fortunate to do it, I keep having this idea of a Catcher in the Rye kind of thing. He's surrounded by children, dealing with slavery and these kids that are sex slaves and things like that... If there's a way to deal with that subject matter and him saving children, that's something I'd be really interested in doing.

For now, though, The Accountant 2 merely exists in theory. Of course, if we get any more details about it you'll be sure to find them here on CinemaBlend.

Why James Gunn’s Brightburn Is Rated R

Why James Gunn’s Brightburn Is Rated R

Currently there are two movie genres especially blowing up box office numbers and discussion amongst moviegoers: superheroes and horror. The upcoming James Gunn-produced film Brightburn will explore a bit of both genres by putting a terrifying spin on the Superman origin story. The horror flick starring David Denman and Elizabeth Banks looks to be leaning a lot more into its horror elements, per the recent release of its rating. Check it out:

Rated R for horror violence/bloody images, and language.

The Motion Picture Association of America has deemed Brightburn with a rating only fit for mature audiences, so get ready for some serious frights and gore. The horror will be set off by a young boy named Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) who mysteriously falls to Earth in a spaceship as a baby, is found by the Breyers and raised as their own. The story is quite reminiscent of Clark Kent, right down to having superpowers such as super strength, flight and heat vision. There’s a twist though: instead of becoming a boy scout superhero who saves the world time after time, the boy starts using his powers to inflict pain on others and looks to become the evil entity of Brightburn.

From the trailers that have been released for Brightburn so far, it looks terrifying. So it doesn’t come as much of a surprise the flick would receive an R-rating ahead of its spring release. The footage sees Brandon transform from an unassuming kid who is bullied to one who resorts to violently breaking the hand of a classmate and testing the limits of his powers. Once he gets the gist of his strength, he starts to use it to wreak havoc on people all over town in a red mask, even putting in danger his adopted parents.

Brightburn was written by James Gunn’s two brothers Mark and Brianz and is directed by David Yarovesky, who helmed The Hive in 2014. As mentioned earlier, Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn is also on as producer for this intriguing take on a familiar origin story that is usually much more innocent. The movie certainly looks to be a fun take on the Superman story that flips it on its head and goes for a much more mature and frighteningly dark tale. How else will it use its comic book roots, I wonder?

Brightburn was originally set to come out in fall of 2018, but with the controversy surrounding James Gunn's firing from Disney possibly factoring in, the film was pushed back to May 24, alongside the live-action remake of Aladdin. Since the date shift, Gunn has been hired to helm The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros and rehired for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, putting the filmmaker’s name in much better condition to be slapped on marketing for Brightburn, beside the many other exciting 2019 releases coming this spring.

Dumbo Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of The Disney Live-Action Remake

Dumbo Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of The Disney Live-Action Remake

Disney's next big live-action remake of its animated classics is here in the form of Dumbo. For the most part, Disney has had great success with both critics and fans when it comes to these remakes, but here at CinemaBlend, we're not quite sure that Dumbo is going to be the next big Disney hit. Feelings are pretty mixed here between those that feel Dumbo is a fun time spent with a very cute elephant, and those that feel the film simply fails to soar.

News Director Jessica Rawden wrote the official CinemaBlend review and while she gave it only a slight recommendation at three stars out of five, she found the film to have more going for it than against it, saying...

Although not flawless, Dumbo is genuinely enjoyable, deliciously dark and yet appropriate for kids of most ages.

The original Disney animated classic ends at the point when the world discovers that Dumbo can fly. In the new live-action version, that's only the beginning. The revelation that a circus has a flying elephant, obviously, makes the big eared pachyderm a major attraction, but it also draws the attention of others, like theme park impresario V.A. Vandevere, played by Michael Keaton. Colin Ferrell stars as the World War I vet who returns to the circus he left to find himself, and his children, put in a position to care for the baby elephant.

The one thing potentially more surprising than Disney choosing Dumbo for the remake treatment at all may have been the decision to hire Tim Burton to direct the film. Burton is known for his bringing a very dark tone to his films, and while some Disney movies have their dark moments, Dumbo isn't the first one you might think of, (although the Pink Elephants sequence is the stuff of little kids' nightmares).

Staff writer Mike Reyes felt that Dumbo was a return to form for Burton, showing us a side we haven't seen in a long time.

Tim Burton's remake of Dumbo is absolutely beautiful. While it takes a little while to get off the ground, this family drama shows the power of community, and the magic of personal belief, in a way that Burton himself hasn't shown the world in some time. This film doesn't feel like a modern cash-in, but a reimagining that takes the heart of the original and honors it with the depth it deserves.

On the whole, CinemaBlend project manager Cody Beck felt that Burton's take on the material worked, largely thanks to another solid score from longtime Burton collaborator Danny Elfman and some of the best CGI we've seen to date.

I was curious going in how the remake would handle the story and not surprisingly, Dumbo is pretty dark for a PG Movie- but that should be expected from Tim Burton. The CGI is top notch. Michael Keaton is unhinged and entertaining. A few lines and characters were a little flat with the delivery, but overall, it was a heartfelt good time. And, of course, Danny Elfman crushes it, as usual.

While some at CinemaBlend felt that the good outweighed the rougher parts of Dumbo, not everybody here agrees. Events Editor Eric Eisenberg felt that, while there were certainly some positive elements, the film as a whole just ended up average as a result. Certainly not the worst of the Disney remakes, but not the best by a long shot. According to Eric...

The live-action versions of animated Disney classics have run the gamut in terms of quality thus far, and Tim Burton's Dumbo basically lands square in the middle of that scale. It has its moments of wonder, as well as some remarkable cuteness, but it also isn't tremendously substantial. One certainly has to appreciate it's level of chutzpah to, as it's surprisingly bold in the way it takes direct aim at the studio that created it.

From there, however, we get to the voices who felt the Dumbo crashed and burned more than he flew. CB's Braden Roberts felt that for a movie that was designed to be a spectacle, there just wasn't anything there to wow the audience...

Dumbo left me a bit dissapointed. The movie, at its core, is a spectacle. However, it’s a shallow and lack-luster display that fails to capitalize on director Tim Burton’s signature weirdness. A few one liners had me chuckling but ultimately Dumbo left me uninspired for future live-action Disney remakes.

Disappointment is apparently the word of the day, as CinemaBlend Managing Director Sean O'Connell used the exact same word to open his comments about Dumbo. In the end, a remake needs to do something to justify the decision to remake it, and in his eyes Dumbo failed to do that.

Dumbo disappoints. Like a few of the live-action remakes that have preceded it, Dumbo failed to convince me, over the course of its run time, that it needed to exist. It trades on the mild nostalgia that the audience has for its main character, but never figures out its own reason for being. Tim Burton also was the wrong choice, as his macabre instincts make for a too-dark "family" story that's hampered by overly-broad performances and under-developed characters. A misfire from the House of Mouse.

As for me, I land somewhere on the "slightly positive" side of the big top. I appreciated the fact that Dumbo was actually more sequel than remake, something future films in this vein might consider, and I think the movie should be absolutely commended for making one particular decision that just blew me away for most of the film (no spoilers). I do also think that while the film does have dark elements, for a certain generation of kids, this movie could be one of those films they watch on an endless loop. For the older set, however, it's not going to become a new Disney classic. In the end, it reminded me of another Disney remake that I appreciated, but didn't love...

Dumbo suffers from what I will call the "Maleficent Effect." Somebody had a bold, bordering on insane, idea for a movie that feels ultimately hamstrung by the need to waste screen time retelling the plot of the original Disney movie.

Few at CinemaBlend are likely to tell their friends to rush out and see Dumbo, though some would certainly recommend seeing it, one way or another. It has elements worth appreciating, but it's not likely to be a memorable Disney remake, even if you're only comparing it to the films coming out this year.

Why Daisy Ridley Loves Rey's Shot At The Start Of The Rise Of Skywalker Trailer

Why Daisy Ridley Loves Rey's Shot At The Start Of The Rise Of Skywalker Trailer

After over a year of anticipation and speculation, the first trailer for the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, was revealed last month at the Star Wars Celebration in Chicago. As expected, the The Rise of Skywalker reveal has only increased anticipation and speculation from fans as the release date approaches at the end of the year.

There's especially a lot of interest surrounding Rey, who is in possession of Luke Skywalker’s legendary lightsaber and showed off a badass flip to dodge Kylo Ren’s TIE Silencer. The scene is a standout moment from The Rise of Skywalker teaser. Daisy Ridley recently gushed about her character’s presence in the record-breaking trailer, even nudging at its significance to the upcoming installment. In her words:

It’s nice having that shot at the beginning of the teaser, because I think it’s quite a good visual representation of where she is now: confident, calm, less fearful.… It’s still sort of overwhelming, but in a different way. It feels more right—less like inevitable and more like there’s a focus to the journey.

When Rey was introduced in The Force Awakens, she was discovering her powers and starting her journey that has since had her training the ways of the Jedi with Luke and going head-to-head with Kylo Ren. After finding her place with the resistance, Episode IX looks to show her with a more defined role in the story and with more control over her strengths. It’ll be exciting to see Rey finally shine to the best of her abilities now that she really knows what she’s capable of!

There are some other questions floating around concerning Rey as well though. The Last Jedi revealed that Rey is not a Skywalker, she’s the daughter of “no one,” i.e. her parents were insignificant. After the divisive response of Episode VIII, some think the film will retcon some of Rian Johnson’s choices, including Rey’s lineage. J.J. Abrams did recently tease that there is more to the story then what was revealed in The Last Jedi, so the film will likely explore her past more in depth.

A key reason for fans’ speculation that Rey is actually a Skywalker after all is the film’s title, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about the upcoming release, and may details will likely be under wraps until the movie hits theaters. Another loose end fans will be looking to be addressed is the fate of Rey and Kylo’s relationship. While some have dreamt up a budding romance, Daisy Ridley has voiced her disinterest in this because of the emotional abuse and violence Kylo has shown.

Per Daisy Ridley's words to Vanity Fair, The Rise of Skywalker will show off a more confident and capable Rey. Daisy Ridley returns alongside John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson and Kelly Marie Tran when the Star Wars conclusion hits theaters on December 20.

Iron Man’s Endgame Fate Was Destiny, According To The Russo Brothers

Iron Man’s Endgame Fate Was Destiny, According To The Russo Brothers

Avengers: Endgame marked the end of several stories of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but among them was the story that started it all. Robert Downey Jr. played Tony Stark in Iron Man, the very first MCU film, and Endgame saw him sacrifice himself so that the universe might survive.

For the Russo Brothers, that end was something that was always going to happen. Joe Russo told our own Sean O' Connell on the Reelblend podcast that Tony Stark was always going to be looking toward to the potential dangers of humanity and would never be able to rest until he had done whatever he could to protect people, so the way to let him rest was to let him do that. According to Russo...

In a certain sense, Tony Stark was always meant to die. He’s a very complicated character who had a haunted existence. And I think as a futurist, he could always see that the end of humanity was on the horizon, and he could not rest, spiritually, until he defeated what was coming for humanity: Thanos.

Tony Stark certainly has one of the more interesting character arcs over the course of the MCU. In the first Iron Man he comes face to face with the damage that his products are actually capable of, and decides to do something about it. From that point forward, he becomes essentially obsessed with making up for the destruction he has caused.

Even Tony Stark's apparent mistakes, like the creation of Ultron, are part of a desire to protect the world. In Captain America: Civil War Tony is even willing to take steps to help protect the world from himself when he questions how much good he is actually doing.

In the end, as Joe Russo says, the story had to come down to Tony putting himself between the world and the threat that wanted to destroy it. Tony sacrificing himself to do that not only makes sense, it's the only thing that really does. If Tony survives then he'll probably just start looking for the next threat, and the man would never find peace.

It's an ending that many saw coming. Because we knew that Robert Downey Jr. was wrapping up his time in the MCU, it was clear that Iron Man would be written out of the universe in some way, and as sad as his death was, it's difficult to be too upset about it, because it feels like a satisfying conclusion to his story,

The death of Tony Stark isn't entirely the end of the story, however. The event itself is going to weigh heavily on Peter Parker, as we've seen in the newest trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home. It's possible his death could have other repercussions as well as we get into the MCU's Phase 4 starting next year.

Best Kids Movies: Films The Whole Family Will Love

Best Kids Movies: Films The Whole Family Will Love

The phrase “kids movie” does not always have the best reputation these days. For some grown-ups, it can feel like a sacrificial task to take your children to whatever new film the big studios have released with younger audiences in mind.

That is exactly the issue. Movies made just for kids, with no attention brought to the adult purchasing the ticket or pressing PLAY on the remote, lack the appeal to satisfy audiences of all ages. However, when you replace the word “kids” with, say, “Pixar” or “Spielberg-produced,” that is usually enough to get the parents’ eyes to light up at least a little.

The best kids movies could be more accurately described as family movies, films with stories and themes that can appeal not just to an adult's inner child, but a grown-up’s mature mind as well, which makes for a fun time for everyone.

I have compiled a list of the best kids movies (or best family movies) that you will be proud to share with your children. Some of these are just one Netflix click away. Enjoy!

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

For decades, society cowered at the thought of visitors from other planets touching down on Earth. Thanks in no small part to H.G. Wells, aliens were associated with sinister intentions, like human extinction or vile experimentation.

In the early 1980s, director Steven Spielberg wanted to tell a much different story.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a story about a boy (Henry Thomas) who is emotionally abandoned by his family who meets an alien literally abandoned by his family, on accident, of course. The unlikely pair rely on each for support, which proves tricky when the government gets involved and E.T. begins suffering from a deadly case of homesickness.

Nominated for nine Academy Awards and the winner of four, E.T. is a timeless classic still, decades after entrancing the world with its charm and heart wrenching drama. It is impossible for the whole family to not get swept up in John William’s rousing score, themes of loneliness and friendship, and the heartbreaking final line E.T. says to Elliott, “I’ll be right here,” as he points to his forehead.

The Goonies (1985)

It is the film that launched the careers of a few notable (and some infamous) names in Hollywood. It is also the movie that has allowed audiences to keep doing the Truffle Shuffle for decades.

The Goonies, from director Richard Donner and executive producer Steven Spielberg, is the kind of classic adventure involving police chases, booby traps, mutants, and other thrills all from a child’s point of view. Follow the titular group of youngsters as they get into more trouble than ever searching for a pirate’s treasure buried somewhere beneath their hometown.

As you watch (whether it is your first or 50th time), take a closer look at brothers Mikey and Brand. They are Sean Astin (Samwise in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Josh Brolin (Thanos in Avengers: Endgame) making their feature film debuts.

The Sandlot (1993)

Is there a film that captures the joys of summer, the thrill of the game, and the perils of childhood more authentically than The Sandlot? I do not think so, given that the movie was already a nostalgia juggernaut upon release.

The Sandlot is a celebration of an era in which young boys lived out their fantasy of playing America’s favorite pastime, baseball, for no other reason than the love of the game. They never kept score, they never stopped playing until the day is done, and they were willing to risk their lives facing a “beast” on the other side of the fence to retrieve a baseball signed by Babe Ruth.

This is the kind of movie for children that a father would willfully take their kids to upon release, and those kids would grow up to show it to their kids. The Sandlot is the rare kind of family film that genuinely appeals to the whole family because everyone has a memory they associate with it.

Toy Story (1995)

One of the great things about Pixar’s trilogy (and soon to be four-part franchise) revealing the secret world of children’s playthings is that you can make an argument for why each movie is the best. This is my argument for why the first Toy Story is one of the best family movies (and movies in general) ever, period.

Pixar changed the world with this film, the first full-length computer animated feature of all time. Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz headline a story that not only changes your perspective of how you treat your toy collection, but is a relatable tale about hubris, disillusionment, petty ignorance, jealousy, and other common human flaws one would not expect from a kids movie.

Toy Story was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1996. Had the Academy developed the Best Animated Feature category back then, I believe it would have been a slam dunk.

Shrek (2001)

Speaking of the Academy Awards’ Best Animated Feature category, this reinvention of the children’s fantasy genre from Dreamworks was the first recipient of that award. A slam dunk, it was.

Never has an ogre been the subject of such widespread love and admiration, almost to uncomfortable levels, before Mike Myers’ Scotch-accented, green curmudgeon teamed up with an Eddie Murphy-like donkey to rescue a heavily guarded princess (Cameron Diaz) by request of the petty Lord Farquad (John Lithgow). Furthermore, animated films, and lighthearted bedtime stories, were never seen the same again after Shrek.

Best of all, Shrek provides the audience with a lesson, as most bedtime stories do, about believing in oneself despite how others may see you and that love is not just true in fairy tales. Yeah, I just quoted Smash Mouth’s “I’m A Believer” cover. Does not make it any less true.

The Incredibles (2004)

As far as superhero movies go, there lies a debate of which tone is more appropriate: light or dark? Some go too dark (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) and some go too light (Green Lantern). Writer and director Brad Bird figured out a way to make his costumed avenger story just right.

Bob Parr (Craig T. Nelson) is having a mid-life crisis and longs to relive his days as Mr. Incredible, before costumed vigilantes were outlawed. When he gets a second chance to relive the glory days, his family is accidentally put in peril by a ruthless villain. Good thing his family has powers, too.

I do not believe for a second that Brad Bird made The Incredibles for kids. If this were not a Pixar movie and Disney went the live-action route, the movie’s grim, high-stakes violence (the villain dies from getting his cape caught in a jet propeller) and adult themes (Helen Parr thinks Bob is cheating on her at one point) would keep it from barely making the PG-13 cut. Yet, that is what makes it a blast for everyone.

Best Kids Movies On Netflix

Sometimes you don't have the time for a night at the movie theater and would rather settle for family night in the comfort of your own home. Of course, there are also times when you may not own the movie of your choice and your town's lone surviving video rental store does not have a copy.

Fortunately, Netflix has some of the best kids movies available and these are a few choice recommendations:

Mulan (1998)

Do you consider Mulan a Disney princess? I struggle with associating her with the traditional, definitive characteristics of that title because she does not represent any of them.

Mulan is not the story of a privileged woman in a war torn China who needs a manly warrior to rescue her. It is the story of a country that needs a woman to save it, a task she takes upon herself to prevent her elderly father from serving in the fight against the Huns.

Mulan is a role model like no other Disney character whose belief in her own strengths and perseverance against traditional gender roles makes her a legend in battle. She is a great heroine to take inspiration from and her movie is a perfect choice for a family Netflix night.

Tarzan (1999)

Tarzan is an iconic character of adventure fiction who has existed since Edward Rice Burroughs first introduced him in his 1914 novel Tarzan of the Apes. While Burroughs deserves all the credit, if you ask nearly anyone nowadays who the definitive image of the human jungle king is, it’s not Alexander Skarsgard in 2016’s The Legend of Tarzan. It’s Tony Goldwyn in Disney’s animated interpretation.

Goldwyn provides the voice of Tarzan, a man raised by apes since infancy with acrobatic skills of navigating the jungle by vine swinging who go through a bit of an identity crisis when he discovers a lost woman, Jane (Minnie Driver), whose species better resembles he than his animal allies. On top of that, his adoptive mother, Kala (Glenn Close), has to face the reality that her human cub has grown up and it may be time for him to flee the nest.

When Phil Collins’ Oscar-winning original song “You’ll Be In My Heart” plays over Tarzan’s emotional goodbye to Kala, there is not a dry eye in the house, no matter your age. Of course, he and Jane decide to stay in the jungle in the end, making for a happy ending to a wonderful adventure perfect for children.

Not to mention, you have the lead singer of Genesis providing the music, so the parents are happy.

Stuart Little (1999)

Say, speaking of interspecies adoption, how wonderfully weird was Stuart Little? Michael J. Fox provided the voice of an impressively animated CGI mouse invited into the house and lives of a well-to-do family of New Yorkers, which turns out to be a challenging transition for all, especially with the Littles’ mischievous cat, Snowbell (Nathan Lane) stirring the pot.

Did you know that the original 1945 novel by E.B. White is even stranger and darker?

In the book, Stuart is not a talking mouse lucky enough to be adopted by human parents. He is a boy born to human parents who, by a bizarre defect, bears the resemblance of a rat. The 1999 interpretation from director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King) changes it up a bit, into a story easier for children, and parents, to swallow.

I have always found that Stuart Little was an impressive achievement in production design, taking place mostly in a house of elegant aesthetic, but what I really admire it for is what great role models the Littles (Hugh Laurie, Geena Davis, and young Jonathan Lipnicki) are. The parents recognize their adoptive son’s human qualities and encourage him to achieve goals much, much bigger than he is.

Stuart Little is a family movie that makes you proud of your family, no matter how you define yours.

Spy Kids (2001)

I grew up with James Bond and always found him to be the definitive spy, with Aston Martins loaded with lethal features, conveniently handy gadgetry, and a smooth talker with ladies. However, the life of James Bond is not at all how children really envision the life of espionage. It would be a lot wackier than that.

That is why Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids is the ultimate childhood spy fantasy. The dream-like plot is complete with impossibly complex gadgets, gravity-defying martial arts, and a villain with an incomprehensibly bizarre plan for world domination that does not even require covert intrigue to put a stop to. You just have to be good at sneaking into places and pushing the right buttons before the clock runs out on the “bad guy” device.

Spy Kids is a riotously fun, visually impressive film that will keep your children’s eyes glued to the screen and even relates to the parents by serving as a great metaphor for the stakes of raising a family. Sometimes it feels like saving the world.

Monster House (2006)

I always grew up wishing that I could watch horror movies, but two things stopped me: my mother and my own lack of courage. Thus, I am very thankful that Monster House could serve as a proper introduction for me to the genre.

The initial idea of the movie (from the mind of co-writer and future Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon) is brilliant. Halloween is just around the corner when three children discover that the creepy house across the street is even weirder than they realized. It’s alive.

Monster House does not hold back on thrills, keeping your convinced that the house’s victims result in multiple fatalities in a PG movie nonetheless, until the bittersweet conclusion. Also, being one of the first feature-length films to be made primarily with performance capture gives the film a nearly unprecedented, immersive quality that puts you right into the belly of the wooden beast.

Monster House is a great way to being the family closer together on Netflix night… since you will be holding each other tightly the entire time, but also laughing along the way. For horror fans, this is a film you can proudly show your children without shame.

Coco (2018)

Some people do not always find peace with their families. Some people want to find a way to escape their families, just like Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) in Coco (one of the best kids movies in recent years). Miguel finds solace in music, which has been banned in his family for generations.

All it takes is one grand visit to the afterlife on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) for Miguel to bring his Mexican family together through the very thing they claimed would curse them: Academy Award-winning music.

Coco is an infectious, heartfelt animated musical adventure from Pixar that inspires you to remember what family means to you. As much fun as you and your family will have with it, I would also recommend keeping tissues handy.

If these films are proof enough, not every kids movie is just for kids. Even these are not all of the best kids movies out there. Whether you are watching Netflix, renting a Blu-ray, or taking that family trip to the theater, movies that the whole family can enjoy are not, and most likely never will be, in short supply.

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard And More Are Returning For The Jurassic World Ride

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard And More Are Returning For The Jurassic World Ride

After the Jurassic Park ride had an over 20-year run in Universal Studios, the attraction became extinct last year to give way for an upgrade reflecting the current Jurassic World movies. Ahead of the new ride opening its gates sometime this summer, it has been revealed that a few of the franchise's stars will be part of the Jurassic World - The Ride experience.

Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady, Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire Dearing and BD Wong’s Dr. Henry Wu will each reprise their Jurassic World roles for the upcoming ride, which will feature an original storyline. The cast will offer facts and information about the dinos (presumably as guests wait in line) and may have roles in the interactions with the prehistoric creatures on the ride itself.

This is an exciting addition to the upcoming ride! It always helps with the immersion in the experience when your favorite characters get to tag along, and Jurassic World - The Ride is doing just that. Additionally, the new Universal attraction will feature the Aquatic Mosasaurus in a massive aquarium observatory appearing to be 60 feet in length, 30K pounds and enclosed in 3.5 million gallons of water.

Industrial Light & Magic assisted in giving spectators an authentic view of the Mosasaurus. The creature’s tank will have different lighting depending on the time of day it is visited. The trailer for the ride offered a sneak peek of Mosasaurus, along with a sure appearance from T-Rex. Take a look:

The ride will also see the opening gates and outside landscapes and will feature additional appearances from the more gentle Stegosaurus and Parasaurolophus before encounters with Velociraptors and Dilophosaurus disrupt the peace. Jurassic World - The Ride will still have guests boarding rafts and finishing their journey on a 84-foot waterfall drop at the end as the previous version did. This time it looks like riders will be escaping a battle between T-Rex and “new behemoth dinosaurs.”

Along with the redesigned ride, there will be a “Raptor Encounter” next to it, which will include Blue meeting with guests. “Dino Play” will be an area catered to kids exploring and finding giant dino fossils in the Universal land as well.

The ride comes right in between the success of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom last year and the upcoming third film coming in June 2021. The main cast will soon be returning to close out the trilogy after the dramatic events of the sequel, and could potentially feature the return of some of the original Jurassic Park cast.

Universal Studios has not yet given a specific open date for Jurassic World - The Ride, except for indicating it will come in the summer. The park also has a special Dark Arts at Hogwarts experience going on over at its Wizarding World of Harry Potter area, including a new show projected on Hogwarts Castle.