Magic Mike

There are a lot of highly complicated moves in Magic Mike. But, despite the degree of difficulty, Channing Tatum never once used a stunt double. All those backflips, grinds and spins were all his moves. Not bad, but when you consider Tatum himself used to be a male stripper, it all makes sense. This is just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which backs up on ya with Magic Mike.

This year's Gay Pride Parade in New York City was unlike any other in history.

The first teaser for Magic Mike XXL was a glorious thing of hilarious beauty, perfectly deploying Ginuwine’s “Pony” and promising that yes, this is a sequel we want to see. Now the first full trailer has landed online, and it is super pun-heavy, but also pretty charming and funny, as the gang returns with a few new additions for a rowdy road trip adventure.

It’s great when a movie understands exactly what it is. ‘Magic Mike’ was an intelligently made Steven Soderbergh movie about life in Great Recession America. But it became a huge surprise hit in the summer of 2012—grossing $167 million worldwide against a budget of just $7 million—because it had Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, and an assortment of the finest man-candy in Hollywood bumping and grinding with their shirts off. The marketing for ‘Magic Mike XXL’ seems to have an innate sense of this. The first poster is a picture of Tatum with his shirt off, pointing at his crotch where the word “Coming” is suggestively placed. And this teaser trailer is basically Channing Tatum (and the rest of his team of shredded male strippers) dancing, stripping, and then dancing with their shirts off. I smell box-office gold. Wait, no, that’s baby oil and Muscle Milk. But those things smell a lot like box-office gold when they’re in ‘Magic Mike XXL.’

Remember how Elizabeth Banks had such a great time during the 2012 MTV Movie Awards, accepting one of those golden popcorn trophies from the 'Magic Mike' hunks? Now she's getting even more love from Channing Tatum and his crew with a role in 'Magic Mike 2,' which officially revealed the full cast roster and plot details.

Matthew McConaughey may not be back for more super-sized 'Magic Mike 2' action, as the head honcho from the original feature won't be returning for whatever delights its sequel holds for us, but the film is lining up a very, ahem, eclectic cast so far.

I am and intensely curious person.  When there's tons of hype over something, I have to see what it is all about.  I read '50 Shades of Grey' and now I've watch 'Magic Mike'.  Yet again, I found myself wondering what all the hype was about.

My esteemed colleague, Denny Perkins, recently wrote in a blog post that the movie "Magic Mike" and the book "50 Shades of Grey" are bad news for married guys.  I disagree.  I say the craze of these to pieces of entertainment offer us great insight and an opportunity for people's relationships to improve.