If you’ve followed the Top 5 for any amount of time you’ve probably already deduced that I like to use the opening paragraph in an anecdotal fashion. Whether I’m spinning a recap of my latest pop-culture excursions or using the latest wedding I’m attending as a gateway for complaining about the pop-culture excursions I’d rather be partaking of, I try and keep this space at least loosely based around entertainment. That said, this week is no different as I finally had the chance to sit down with writer/director David Ayer‘s End of Watch last night. I won’t do the film the disservice of reviewing it in two sentences, but I will say that I found Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña‘s chemistry to be excellent and the action to be consistently suspenseful/captivating. Is the script’s attempt to tie nearly every encounter the partner’s undertake into an interconnected climax a little bit of a stretch? I think so. Nevertheless, End of Watch is still a cop drama that pushes almost all of the right buttons.

But enough of my reviews in 100 words or less, in this week’s trek down memory lane is the first official image and trailer for A Good Day to Die Hard, Taken 2 interviews with Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and more, a recap of all our James Bond / Skyfall coverage from the past week, Frankenweenie interviews with Tim Burton, Winona Ryder and more, and finally a look at some classic video games that we feel deserve an HD remake.

From the PlayStation One on down, consoles were not made for the modern era.  HDTVs have overtaken the market, and if you try hooking your Super Nintendo up to your HDTV, it’s not going to look great.  It will still be playable, but there will be crappy lines running across the picture.  Sure, Nintendo has been re-releasing every single game they’ve ever made (not with an HD upgrade, but you can still get plenty of their games on the Virtual Console; I’ve been tempted to buy a Wii simply so I could play Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars again), but there are plenty of third-party titles that will likely never find their way onto the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Arcade.  These games will gather dust, and that’s a damn shame.

Hit the jump for the games I think deserve an HD remake.

So do you remember about a month back when we posted this lovely, heartfelt PSA to remind you lot about Mother’s Day?  Well recent studies have shown that fathers also have a hand in bringing us into this world (who knew?). As such, we’d like to dedicate today’s PSA to real-life and fictional fathers alike, the ones who taught us how to ride bikes and play baseball and stalk gazelles in the savannah grasslands.  So go get your dad (or, if you are a dad, round up the kids) and hit the jump to watch this brief Father’s Day PSA courtesy of The Lion King.  After that, be sure to check out all of our previous PSAs here.

A few days ago, I posted an awesome Loki figure from The Avengers made by Hot Toys.  It was the first “Geek Gifts” article in a long time and I mentioned that the response to the post would determine if we’d continue the column.  Let’s just say it was a success.  So, as promised, it’s time for another “Geek Gifts” article and this one is especially relevant for those that like cool t-shirts.

If you’ve ever seen my video interviews, you know I love wearing t-shirts.  I especially love wearing shirts that are inspired by my favorite movies and TV shows.  Recently, a friend turned me onto a company called RedBubble, and they let their users submit their own designs and some of them are pretty great.  Since I know a lot of you don’t have the time to go through the thousands of reader submissions, I’ve done the legwork for you.  So hit the jump if you like Studio Ghibli, Breaking Bad, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Tron, the original Superman, Battle of the Planets, The Lion King, and more.

Spurred by the smashing success of The Lion King‘s 3D re-release, Disney has announced that they’ll be giving the big-screen 3D treatment to Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc.  The 3D post-conversion doesn’t bother me so much because as we saw with The Lion King, it wasn’t so much about throwing animation in your face as much as it was about seeing a 2D animated classic given an HD upgrade.  I don’t think there will be as much benefit from post-converting Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. but it will still be nice to see them in theaters again.  More than anything, I’m just happy I’ll finally get to see the 3D Beauty and the Beast I was promised back at Comic-Con 2009.

Hit the jump for the full press release and to find out when each film will be returning to theaters.

Mark Henn (“Young Simba”) and Tony Bancroft (“Pumbaa”) were two of the supervising animators on The Lion King, when the film was originally produced in the ‘90s. With an unforgettable story and breathtaking animation, the now beloved characters are returning to the big screen, for the first time ever in 3D. This new format immerses viewers in these epic settings, in such a way that they’ve never been able to before, and invites new generations to experience the “Circle of Life.”

At a press day held at the Walt Disney Animation Research Library (ARL), animators Mark Henn and Tony Bancroft spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how they each ended up on their career paths, how they came to be responsible for their respective characters, the most complicated thing to animate at the time, what it’s like to see these characters brought to life in 3D, and how things have changed since they originally made the film. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

With films that have grossed more than one and a half billion dollars worldwide, Rob Minkoff is one of only a few filmmakers to have directed both live-action and animated features, and innovated the use of the combined mediums. Along with supervising the creation of The Lion King, he’s worked with an incredible array of award-winning talent throughout his career. Now, the animated masterpiece that has won Oscars, inspired a hugely successful Broadway show, and is the best-selling home entertainment release of all-time is returning to theaters in 3D, for the first time ever.

At a press day for the film that was held at the Walt Disney Animation Research Library (ARL), which houses over 60 million pieces of art from over 80 years, the film’s co-director spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about the decision to convert the much-loved animated feature to 3D, how much more immersive the entire experience is now, how animation has changed since the film’s original release, the difference between directing an animated feature versus a live-action one, and how exciting and gratifying it is to see animation brought to life. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Starting on September 16^th, audiences can catch a special two-week theatrical run of the Oscar and Golden Globe winning The Lion King, for the first time ever in Disney Digital 3D, before then becoming available on Blu-ray 3D on October 4^th. Having been nearly a decade since The Lion King last appeared on the big screen, it’s easy to understand why fans of the film, and Disney fans in general, are anxious to see it, and it’s exciting that new generations will have the opportunity to discover it, for the first time.

During a press day held at the Animation Research Library (ARL), which houses over 60 million pieces of Disney art, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Stereoscopic Supervisor Robert Neuman spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about the 3D conversion of the hand-drawn animated classic. He talked about how he went from Layout Artist and Supervisor to the position he’s in now, made The Lion King an obvious choice for this process, how they approached converting the film, the challenges of giving depth to hand-drawn animation, and the care they have to take with such a classic film. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

To say the box office has been a bit sleepy of late would be a gross understatement.  Seriously, if I am being bored by the numbers I can only imagine how ordinary movie fans feel.  Four new titles hit theatres this weekend, including Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion. The pandemic thriller, and its A-list cast, drew an impressive three day estimate of $23.1 million: more than enough to end the three-week reign of The Help as the nation’s top draw.

Disney’s The Lion King will release into theaters this year in a new 3D format for the very first time on September 16th. The film was a childhood favorite of mine, and every time I hear “The Circle of Life,” I get goosebumps. Needless to say, I look forward to viewing the film on the big screen, something I may have done when I was little but can’t recall. However, I do wonder how a film from the ’90s will hold up, animation wise, and how a 3D conversion of it will fare on the big screen.

Today, Disney sent over some images showing just what the conversion process entails, including adding notes of depth and then using filters to key in on what will be in the foreground, background, and everywhere in between. The process is a lot more difficult than this, but it gives us a great idea of what the process entails on a basic, easy to understand level. Hit the jump to view those images, including a description of what we are looking at, a discussion with the stereographer Robert Neuman about the procedure itself, and my impressions of the scenes they showed before Cars 2.

Back at the end of June, Collider was invited to participate in a long-lead press day for the much-loved, classic Disney animated feature The Lion King, which has now been turned into Disney Digital 3D. As if seeing The Lion King in 3D wasn’t cool enough by itself, the interviews were held at the Disney Animation Research Library, which houses approximately 65 million pieces of art produced over more than 80 years. While we will have exclusive interviews with the film’s co-director Rob Minkoff, stereoscopic supervisor Robert Neuman, and animators Mark Henn (“Young Simba”) & Tony Bancroft (“Pumbaa”) closer to the September 16^th return to theaters, I wanted to give a preview of my impressions of the 3D conversion and my experience touring the vaults of artwork and character sculptures that are housed within the ARL. Check out my thoughts on the 3D conversion and what it was like to tour the ARL after the jump.  We’ve also got a bunch of images.

Lionsgate has scheduled Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds for release on February 24, 2012 where it will face Gone, The Devil Inside, and Lockout.  This is the fourth of Perry’s movies to debut in February.  Per Variety, Good Deeds revolves around “a businessman (Perry) who falls in love with a single mother just before he is skedded to marry another woman.”  Thandie Newton and Gabrielle Union also star.

Disney released the first trailer for the Blu-ray release of The Lion King 3D last night.  We noted that the Hollywood theater El Capitan is selling tickets for a theatrical showing in September.  Today the studio announced a two-week wide release for The Lion King 3D starting September 16.  The 3D Blu-ray drops on October 4.  Hit the jump for the official press release with all the details.

The Lion King will likely always hold the record for the movie I’ve seen most in the theater (11).  If Disney is interested in luring me to the next generation to purchase a 3D Blu-ray player, plucking at that nostalgia might do it.  Earlier this year, Disney announced they would release a number of films on Blu-ray in 3D, including two of the classics: Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.  The Beauty and the Beast re-release has been on the agenda longer, but The Lion King will be the first one we see.

Disney has just released a trailer for the four-disc Blu-ray that promises a Fall 2011 release.  Moreover, /Film informs that the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood will host a limited theatrical engagement from September 2 to October 6, which gives me the opportunity to shoot for viewing #12.  (You and I can buy tickets here.)  Watch the trailer after the break.

The animated feature Gnomeo and Juliet features classic songs by music legend Elton John, along with new songs written with his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin and featuring special guest performances. His first project as executive producer, the film tells the familiar story of two teenagers in love, only this time they are ceramic gnomes (voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) who have many obstacles to overcome, as a result of being caught up in a feud between their rival families, each in charge of their own garden.

At the press day for the film, the singer/songwriter/musician/humanitarian talked about the 11-year process of making Gnomeo and Juliet, revisiting his old music, his process for writing the new songs, why he loves listening to music from new artists, and how he’d love to do a feature film of his life story. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

While the 3D format continues its move towards home entertainment with more and more titles being released on 3D Blu-ray every month, it looks like Disney is getting in on the action as well. The Walt Disney Company announced today that it plans to release at least fifteen films on 3D Blu-ray throughout 2011. Titles set to hit 3D home video include The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Nightmare Before Christmas, TRON: Legacy, and Tangled. Not only will the films be presented in 3D, but the special 3D Blu-ray release will come complete with 3D menus, 3D trailers, and an introduction to the world of Disney 3D from The Lion King characters Timon and Pumba. Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Lori MacPherson had this to say:

As our contemporary library of 3D content continues to grow, and the original artists and filmmakers meticulously ‘dimensionalize’ their work for release on the Blu-ray 3D format, we will be offering movie-lovers the most incredible in-home entertainment experience they will ever have

Hit the jump for more, including the other Disney titles planned for a 3D Blu-ray release. [We've updated this story with the official press release]