THE MOVIE DUDE

“The Great Outdoors” plays to John Candy and Dan Aykroyd’s strengths. The shticky, slapsticky comedy they do so well works great and is amplified by the fact that they’re working together.Two of my favorite scenes involve Chet (Candy) deciding to accept the challenge of eating a 96-ounce steak at a local restaurant and Chet reacting to hearing that Roman (Aykroyd) decided to make a goat-cheese pizza.

Back in 1996, an independent movie called “Swingers” hit the scene and introduced mainstream Hollywood, and society, to two little-known actors named Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. Since then they have become two of the most bankable names in Hollywood. Their movies have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. The dark comedy “Made” is considered a follow-up to “Swingers.” It’s not a sequel of any kind, despite a few throwbacks. But it was considered a big deal at the time of itsrelease because it was the first time in 5 years the two stars had worked together.

One of the great things about a family is knowing someone has your back and that you have theirs. Another great thing about family is that it doesn’t have to be connected by blood or, in the case of “Fly Away Home,” by species.

There are obvious reasons for watching certain movies. If you watch “Animal House,” you want to laugh. If you watch “The Exorcist,” you want to be scared. But why watch a drama? Don’t we have enough of that in our lives?
You could argue it makes us feel better to watch people who have it worse than we do.

Tom Hanks is one of this generation’s most revered actors. With films like “Forrest Gump,” “Philadelphia,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “The Green Mile,” his body of work speaks for itself. However. And there’s always a however. If you remember a little decade known as the ’80s, you’ll recall a different kind of Tom Hanks who starred in some real classic movies.

I’m sure at some point in your life you’ve received a prank phone call. Annoying as they might be, they’re usually all in jest (at your expense, of course). But given the right scenario, they can be quite frightening.

A few weeks back I wrote a review for “The Answer Man,” a low-budget comedy that ran around in the independent film circles. When I first popped it in, a few trailers (movie previews) played before it and one of them was for a movie that I had never heard of called, “Is Anybody There?” The movie is an all-out drama that does its best to make you cry. Or at least make you think long and hard about it.

One of the things that makes life interesting is sometimes it has to keep you on your toes. A flat tire here, a hurricane there. It’s not all bad, though. Sometimes, to keep you on your toes, you’re given a chance to take a risk and an opportunity to trust someone. In “King of California,” you’re given all of that, plus buried treasure. Seriously.

A popcorn movie is something you watch knowing full well it’s goofy and ridiculous but don’t care because you enjoy it. Much how you know popcorn is unhealthy but like it anyway. “Captain Ron” is a great popcorn comedy that reminds us that every once in a while we need to relax.

I’ve always had a tepid relationship with science fiction. Setting phasers to stun and robots named HAL just never really interested me.That said, I’m big enough to admit when a science-fiction film comes along that is absolutely amazing, I’ll have no problem watching it and singing its praises a dozen times over. That’s why I’m writing about “Sunshine” this week, an incredible psychological thriller that just happens to take place aboard a spaceship.