New in Theaters for February 16, 2018 "Black Panther" and "Early Man"

Early Man

Starring the Voice talents of: Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston

Rated PG 

Set at the dawn of time, when prehistoric creatures and woolly mammoths roamed the earth, “Early Man” tells the story of Dug, who must unite his tribe against a mighty enemy to save their home.

Aardman Animation, who gave us “Wallace & Gromit” and “Chicken Run,” falls short of the bar the stop-motion animation company set for itself with “Shaun the Sheep Movie” in 2015. Still, “Early Man” is solid family fare, with plenty of fun, clever jokes and even a prehistoric soccer game teaching kids to never give up at any cost.

In the end, “Early Man” is well worth seeing. It gets a B and is rated PG.


Black Panther

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Andy Serkis and Michael B. Jordan

Rated PG-13 

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, King T'Challa returns home to his reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader and as its protector known as Black Panther.

Despite all the hype surrounding the film, “Black Panther” is excessively slow moving, with too many subplots that make the film too confusing to follow.

Chadwick Boseman turns in a solid and heartfelt performance as Marvel's newest superhero to hit the screen. Boesman is extremely watchable in the new role, but it is a leaky and under-written script that ultimately brings “Black Panther” to a crawl.

In the end, “Black Panther” just doesn't have the fierce teeth and strength it needed to become the leader of the Marvel pack.

It gets a C and is rated PG-13.