Aladdin Review

Whether or not you like the newest live-action adaptation of a Disney animation classic, this time "Aladdin," depends on two things: how you feel about freshness, and how you feel about the Fresh Prince. Will Smith, taking on the role of the Genie, previously performed famously by the late Robin Williams, is in full "Fresh Prince" mode, talking, joking and rapping with all the swagger that gave him his big break in the mid-nineties. If you're on the fence about seeing this, answer honestly, does Will wearing a ridiculously large hat make you all giddy? Yes, then go buy your ticket, because it happens.

I'm all for Mr. Smith, who fills the impossible shoes left by Robin by bringing the role tons of fresh air. He's cool tone and confidence means you rarely notice how the script gives him very little new to say, because he makes it sound different. When he's on screen things feel unique and different, the way an adaptation, or remake, or whatever you want to call this, should feel. But he's only present for so much of the running time, and the lack of ingenuity is the film's fatal flaw- scenes and lines are ripped practically out of the animated flick, only the subtle differences will eventually eat away at whatever pleasure you're having and begin to irk you. It's a strange sensation, because by all means repeating greatness so close means you should again have greatness, but alas, we have a two star picture from four star material.

A lot of problems are rooted in the decision to hire Guy Ritchie as director and co-writer (along with John August), as his strengths at free-flowing action are shown off occasionally here, but are overwhelmed by his inability to do anything exciting with the core story. It's the same thing as cartoon version, for the most part, with street rat Aladdin stumbling into a genie who makes him a prince as he tries to impress Princess Jasmine and fight off the evil Jafar. Sure, he makes some cosmetic changes here (Jafar is no longer repulsed by the idea of marrying Jasmine to become the kingdom's sultan, for example), but fans will no doubt recognize every scene and anticipate the next, myself included. And save for a thrilling chase through the city streets late in the picture, one of a handful of moments where I'd recommend shelling out the surcharge for 3D, this is beat-for-beat the same movie, and by not improving or expanding upon its sources, you'll just find yourself watching a "lesser version" of the tale.

Take the famous "A Whole New World" duet. It should have been a showstopper, especially since I sprang for the 3D glasses, but there was little wonder onscreen. Oh sure, it did a decent job making me feel like I was on the flying rug between the two sweethearts, but the world they glided around was dark and unimpressive, every location looking the same as before (unless it was too dim to notice the change in scenery).

Then there is the casting of the titular thief and his royal love interest. Aladdin, played by Mena Massoud, has enough charm I suppose, but he looks too old to be playing a character traditionally described to be in his teens, and shares very little chemistry with costar Maoni Scott, who plays Jasmine. She looks far more comfortable in front of the camera, even as if she's trying to find some sort of spark between the two would-be lovers. She's gorgeous and wears her elaborate costumes very well, but she can only carry the couple so far. But the biggest issue with the performers is their voices- oh good golly, they just don't hold a candle to the original. My untrained ears could detect a few autotuned moments, which I'm fine with, but their body movements during song just never matched the volume flowing from their mouths. You'd hear them hit this powerful note, but their hand gestures and stances were stiff, as if they don't know how to sing and dance at the same time, something Will Smith has no problems with (in case you couldn't already tell, he's by far the best thing there).

If anything, I'd ultimately recommend against seeing "Aladdin;" just do what I wish I did- pop in the original, and then head to the interest and listen to Will Smith's rap rendition of "A Friend Like Me," which plays over the credits. While it's absolutely awesome to have another film starring the Fresh Prince that features an original song by the Fresh Prince, use your ten dollars and change toward YouTube Premium, so you can listen without ads.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Review

For such a simple plot, the third "John Wick" film has an excessive name- was "John Wick 3" too convenient? I suppose there is some stylistic choice behind it, as the flick is so packed with style that it's supple, soaked in the thickest technique that it is almost always great to look at, if you can past the absolute excessive violent bloodshed; at one point the title hero shoves then slices a man's neck down a stationary blade- "Subtly" will not likely be the obligatory fourth film's subtitle.

This is the first in the franchise I've actually seen, but why? Well, I don't have a particularly strong reason, except that Keanu Reeves has never been my favorite actor- he probably wouldn't even crack my top 100 favorite actors. But everyone and their dads keep recommending these movies, probably because I'm a pushover for material like this (the plot: whoever kills John Wick gets 14 million dollars, and he doesn't really want to die). So I went in blind, and before I knew what happened, he was pounding a book into some tall villain's mouth (talk about "eating your words"). And wouldn't you know, I had a blast, in a sort of sick, visceral way, one you're not exactly proud of, but give into anyway. This is the best time, in that sense, that I've had at the movies in a long time, rivaled only by "Cold Pursuit" earlier this year, although I found my smile to be a bit wider during that one.

There isn't as much of a movie to review here but more like a serial of fights, all choreographed, all polished, and all grittier than they have any right to be. Whatever the budget was, you'd be sure that more was spent on stunt doubles than acting lessons. There is a healthy mix of swordplay, hand-to-hand combat, and shootouts, although the gunplay is certainly the least interesting of the bunch (even the low-rent actioners can often competently show actors firing fake guns). But the rest is top-notch, starting at "over-the-top" and never going back, playing out like the best James Bond movie if they traded the sex, smoking, and espionage for violence, violence, and more violence.

The biggest regret here is the actual plot, which gets in the way of action and halts the momentum the film is so keen on keeping. There are far more secondary characters than there should be (and I'm not just talking about the various thugs who try to claim the bounty), and any time John puts down his fists (or knife, or sword, or gun, or... ), all the steam is lost. Once words are minced things get just as intense as they were before, but with a plot so oversimplified here, why bother with one in the first place?

But what can I say about Reeves, who has about as much dialogue in the film as a background character? He's convincing in the action pieces, I've read that he does a vast majority of his own stunts, and it shows. Acting more with his face than his words, he's adequate at showing some level of emotion, even if it's the same "ohhh Imma kill you" feeling, aside from one or two showcases of sorrow. Will "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" make me want to run out and buy all of Keanu's other works? Doubtfully, but I wouldn't mind checking to see if the first two installments are on Netflix.

Pokemon Detective Pikachu Review

Pokemon Detective Pikachu will only be seen by four types of people:

1. Children
2. Parents who were begged by their children to pay admission
3. Twenty-somethings who remember the franchise from when they were children
4. Film critics

There's the problem, the film doesn't know its audience, which is kids. My theater was packed with mostly kiddos and their guardians, who jumped for joy as they entered the movies but walked without such passion once the credits scrolled. I'm sure they enjoyed it, but I doubt they "got" it. The plot, which I'll get to in a second, was both too familiar and too complicated, and although Ryan Reynolds, who voices the titular Pikachu, got a few laughs with his "PG-Deadpool one-liners," it wasn't enough to sustain any sort of kinetic energy. Kids ultimately will end up liking all the bright colors, but that's all there is.

Oh I'm sorry, there I go assuming everyone and their child knows who Pikachu is, and what Pokemon are. In short, Pokemon are animal-like creatures from the self-titled franchise, and Pikachu, an electric mouse, is their mascot and a main character in this first live-action adaptation. The film acts like a safari, traveling across the damp city streets with dozens if not hundreds of cameos of different Pokemon. I'm sure that will tickle the fancy of children and adult-children, but their "blink-and-you-missed-it" scenes are ultimately inconsequential.

Getting to the plot, we follow Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), one of the few folks in the world who doesn't have his own Pokemon companion, an insurance salesman who's lived with his grandmother most of his life after his mother's death (a terrific theme for a picture opening Mother's Day Weekend). After a phone call, he travels to Ryme City, a sprawling municipal where people and little creatures live in harmony and as equals. But he's not there to sell them insurance! He meets with the local detective (Ken Watanabe) where we find out his father is presumed dead (could have used life insurance), but Tim hides his emotion and goes to close down his dad's apartment.

There he meets Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton), a wannabe reporter who is eager for her "big-break" and thinks that his father's death could be it. Why? During the crash that allegedly killed him, there was an explosion at a nearby lab, which has had no media coverage. Once inside the apartment, Tim stumbles upon Pikachu, Tim's father's amnesic Pokemon and partner who is unique in that Tim can understand him, and he can speak English (makes you wonder how the whole "living as equals" thing works when the two diverse cultures can literally not speak to one another, but I digress). Pikachu convinces Tim that his father isn't really dead and that it's a coverup, so the two set out to the streets, where they end up working with Lucy, and quickly are hot on the trail of "R," a sort of drug that is used by people to make their Pokemon go bezerk (which is brilliant anti-drug messaging if I've ever seen it, making kids pay to hear that drugs are bad).

Phew! Some narrative huh? And I haven't even gotten to the bad guy! But that's the major flaw here, the writers mistook multiple, overly-familiar plots for one unique, well-rounded one. There are kidnapping, cloning, government controlling the media, and just about every plot-point a film could hit, only a handful are well executed, the others are just, well, executed. They're either too vague, too adult for a kids movie, or just never followed up on. Even the ending, which I won't spoil, features a twist which is sitcom-level obvious. But the biggest crime is the human characters, who while not unlikable per se, they just exist next to significantly more interesting CGI monsters who receive none of the creative exposition.