How to Train Your Dragon‘s co-director and writer Chris Sanders is back in the director’s seat for Dreamworks’ latest animated feature – The Croods. He is joined by Kirk De Micco to tell the story of the first prehistoric family, and their struggle to adapt in the rapidly evolving world around them.

Eep (Emma Stone) knows there must be more to life than hiding in a cave, afraid to step outside for fear of being eaten. Her father Grug (Nicolas Cage) lives by the rule that “fear is good, change is bad.” His job is to protect his family, made up of wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), son Thunk (Clark Dude), daughter Sandy (Randy Thom) – and mother-in-law Gram (Cloris Leachman).

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I wanted to wait a bit after I’d left the theater before I started to write my review for Spring Breakers. I needed some time to digest everything I’d just seen, along with the Wagyu burger I had from Blueberry Hill (sweet mother, that was delicious).

Lots of young kids across the nation go on spring break. I had my share of them, though the majority of mine were mundane. Everyone’s heard stories, though, about the licentious times kids have at the beach for a week every March. They see the pictures on Facebook or they’ve seen one of the 50 Girls Gone Wild videos that helped make spring break prurience famous. Spring Breakers takes this concept and pumps it full of steroids. Make no mistake about it; this is a new generation’s version of a sexier, more naked Thelma and Louise. The problem is, it’s not nearly as fun.

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We see musicians come and go throughout the decades. Sure, there are a handful of artists that survive the changes in culture and keep a loyal following. But those artists are few and far between. Yet Weird Al Yankovic hit the scene in 1976, after handing a recording to Dr. Demento, and has been a staple of pop culture ever since.

I had the chance to talk with Weird Al about his “Alpocalypse” tour, which comes to St. Louis on April 19th at the Family Arena, as well as about his career in music, movies, television and more.

Kevin: I’ve been a big fan of yours since I listened to my first Weird Al CD, “Bad Hair Day.”

Weird Al: Well thank you! No kidding, that’s awesome.

I saw you back in 2011 at the Family arena, and you put on one hell of a show. Are you changing up anything for the Alpocalypse tour since the last time you came to town?

No, it’s the same tour. I’m working on new songs, but they won’t be in the show. I am working on the new album – I’ve got a couple of originals in the can that I’m writing and recording soon. The parodies I’ll probably do later this year. No idea when the new album is coming out, but hopefully sometime in the next 30 or 40 years.

So I take it you are keeping the new songs under wraps?

Yeah, I found that’s the best way. If I give any hints, the fans are tenacious about it and build up in their own minds, “Oh, I bet it’s gonna be like this.” And when it winds up not being exactly what they hand in mind, they’re disappointed. So I found that kind of not saying anything is the best policy.

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Move over Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness has now become my most anticipated film of the year. It’s a tight race that might change from week to week, but this latest trailer has me excited for this film in a way I haven’t about a film in a while. Who would’ve thought that a big Star Wars fan, who grew up hating Star Trek, would be so excited about their film series? Well, it’s surprised the hell out of me. Watch the trailer below and see if you echo my sentiments. Also, sidenote, did Benedict Cumberbatch go to the Alan Rickman School of Villainy?

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

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I was not a fan of the first G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.  As evidenced by my review a few years back when we first started the site. It was lazy, made no sense, and wasn’t even that fun on top of it. Luckily, the sequel seems to have improved a bit. The story may not be any better, but the action in the trailers and the clip below, are a big step above the first film.  Jon M. Chu, famous for the Step Up series and the LXD, is now helming the series. There’s no question that Chu has style, but does he have substance? None of his films so far go beyond cool dance steps. If he strings together a workable plot, all he might need is some good fight choreography though.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Synopsis:

Framed for crimes against the country, the G.I. Joe team is terminated by the President’s order, and the surviving team members face off against Zartan, his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influence.

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