What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column born exactly one year ago today. And it’s very happy to still be around and well on its way to taking over the planet. It is convinced that it will have a very productive 2012 in that area, especially once humanity’s reign of terror ends later this year. In the mean time, it would like to thank you all for reading. Now enough of that mushy stuff, lets do the news. We begin this evening with an image of biker Jemaine Clement in Men in Black III. He’s playing an alien biker who turns out to be the villain in this time-traveling storyline…. And we wonder why that movie has had so many production problems? Either way, I’ll watch Jemaine Clement eat soap if I have to, as that guy is quite funny.

Animals, baseball, and animals, these latter being of the animated variety. Evidently that’s what it takes to keep four new movies from even breaking into the top 3 at the weekend box office. It was evidenced this weekend when none of the new hitters, granted none of them marquee titles that were looking to do $20m or better but new movies nonetheless, were able to take down three returning moneymakers. And one of those returners, Dolphin Tale, found its way into the #1 spot after a week of coming up behind The Lion King and Moneyball.

Hopefully it’s not a swing and a miss for Brad Pitt and Columbia Pictures this weekend. Oh, man. Sometimes these puns just write themselves. It’s another addition of the Reject Report, and once again we have four big hitters – there I go again – vying for the top spot. A baseball drama, a Jason Statham actioner, a movie about a cute, little dolphin, and Taylor Lautner. Guess which one of these I’ll be spending the least amount of space on. Hint. It ain’t the dolphin movie. So kick back, throw on your favorite catcher’s mitt, and enjoy your weekly box office analysis. I promise we won’t initiate the in-field fly rule this week. Yeah, that one doesn’t even make any sense.

I may have spoken a little too soon about the Circle of Life in this week’s Reject Report. The Circle of Life isn’t complete until a 17-year-old film, The Lion King in this case, gets re-released in 3D on over 2,300 screens and subsequently takes the box office by storm. That’s right. More than 17 years after its initial run, which pulled in $825.7m worldwide, The Lion King has Hakuna Matata’ed in the #1 spot yet again. It didn’t match the $34.2m opening weekend numbers it made the first weekend of July in 1994, but it came reasonably close. Close enough to let Disney as well as anyone who even had an inkling of an idea to re-release an older film in 3D know that that might be the way to go. Just five weekend ago article were being written about the possible demise of 3D. With films like Conan the Barbarian and Fright Night not living up to expectations, it seemed the novelty of seeing films that literally come at you may have been at its frayed end. Of course, you can’t give 3D all the credit for The Lion King stacking up against the competition. The film is a classic, regarded by many as one of Disney’s best, and the children of 1994 who fell in the love with the film are now taking their own kids to watch it. Even without the 3D element it’s a formula for success, one made even more potent with the added [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr feels the weight of the fall movie season. It’s September, and while the kids are heading back to school, he’s playing hooky with Sarah Jessica Parker chick flicks and yet another not-quite-70s-video-nasty remake. Kevin is consoled by the release of Drive, however, because Albert Brooks as a crime boss makes him chuckle. And his love for 3D and Disney meet head-on in a collision of awesomeness.

A childhood classic getting the 3D treatment? A review for such a thing can consist of one question with just one answer – “how does it look?” I am pleased to report that Disney’s The Lion King 3D looks just fine, but it would probably serve Disney well to invent some kind of 3D glasses that allow you to cry and see at the same time. That sort of answers the second, more film-specific question moviegoers may have when it comes to a gussied up version of The Lion King in 3D – is it still wrenching to watch? Yes, sweet goodness, yes. The story of young lion prince Simba is an old one – no, literally, not just in terms of how long the film has been around, but in terms of that it’s essentially Hamleton the savanna (with other sources contributing, sometimes a bit too closely, to the film’s plot, but that’s an issue for another day). Simba (voiced as a child by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and seriously, where hell is JTT these days?) is the cub prince of the Pridelands, son of the brave king Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones, in a piece of casting that is both strikingly great and thuddingly obvious) and the very lovely queen Sarabi.

Super 8 pays its respects to master filmmaker Steven Spielberg, but here are a few films that walk the fine line between tipping the hat and stealing!

Once upon a time, about twenty years ago or so, Disney didn’t have to rely on Pixar to keep their legacy as King of children’s entertainment going.  A new generation of hand drawn Disney classics like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were breaking box office records, earning critical acclaim, and winning awards. Then came The Lion King in 1994, a film that to this day holds the record as being the highest grossing hand drawn animated feature of all time. The Lion King was perhaps the crowning achievement of Disney’s second golden age, and in order to remind you of their past accomplishments, Disney is going to celebrate by selling it to you all over again.

Whether you’re trying to avoid the releases this week or augment them with even more movies, your alternate box office offers some options for movies that would play perfectly alongside of (or instead of) the stuff studios are shoving into the megaplex this weekend. This week features Liam Neeson kicking ass and forgetting his name, a teenage alien, the plight of lions around the world, and Martin Lawrence in a fat suit trying desperately to get your attention.

For 36 days straight, we’ll be exploring the famous 36 Dramatic Situations by presenting a film that exemplifies each one. From family killing family to prisoners in need of asylum, we brush off the 19th century list in order to remember that it’s still incredibly relevant today. Whether you’re seeking a degree in Literature, love movies, or just love seeing things explode, our feature should have something for everyone. If it doesn’t, please don’t burst into song and proclaim your impatience at becoming the leader of the land. Part 9 of the 36-part series takes a look at “Vengeance Taken For Kindred Upon Kindred” with The Lion King.

Mister Hand is excited to see what happens with a live-action adaptation of Disney’s Mulan — provided they ditch all those not-so-sweet tunes.