Aladdin 2019

Will Smith, Mena Massoud,
Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari

"The Magic Comes to Life"

I really don't remember much about the animation version of Aladdin except for its famous song "A whole new World". So I watched this 2019 edition with fresh eyes. 

Aladdin (Mena Massoud) is a thief who robs people with the help of his pet monkey, Abu. A chance encounter with a young lady will forever change his life for the better. Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) is the daughter of the Sultan of Agrabah. She likes to go out in disguise to see how the citizens live outside of their immense palace. She introduces herself as Dalia, her chambermaid to Aladdin who stole her bracelet. Meanwhile, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) the grand Vizier to the Sultan 'hires' Aladdin to steal a magic lamp from within a cave with a Lion Head entrance. He intends to use magic lamp + the genie for his nefarious activities within the sultanate.

But with the help of Abu, Aladdin somehow becomes the 'owner' of the magic lamp. Upon rubbing it, the genie in the personification of a blue floating Will Smith comes out of the lamp and tells Aladdin, he can grant three wishes. One of Aladdin's wishes is to be a prince so he can vie for the hand of Princess Jasmine as mandated in the laws of Agrabah. Naturally, a major stumbling presents itself before everyone has a happy fairy tale ending.

Guy Ritchie, the English director known for his action filled British gangster movies helms this Disney retelling of a well loved story. Quite surprising as you really don't expect Ritchie to deviate from his usual style of filmmaking. But I believe he does a good job in making us fall in love again with Aladdin, Princess Jasmine and the witty genie. 

The costumes are bright, colorful and reminiscent of an Arabian nights setting. Some of the songs from the original are back and sang in the same tone so we can easily recognize them. CGI (computer generated imagery) plays a big part in making this visually vibrant and fast paced fantasy movie, a success.

Will Smith as the blue genie is sometimes ridiculous and over the top while other times, he blends well with the other characters. It is good he is a rapper/singer so he can certainly carry a tune. His witty dialogue is well delivered but nothing can totally match Robin Williams as the hilarious genie in the animated version. 

Both Mena and Naomi can sing well enough without any pitch problems. Aladdin is portrayed as a wily thief with self esteem issues, who redeems himself and changes for the better, by the ending. Jasmine has changed from the love struck princess singing cheesy love songs while riding a flying carpet to a feisty,  sassy female character who can easily rule her country, sans qualms. A sympathetic leader who knows what her people want and want what is good for her country, her citizens and her man, Aladdin.

Overall, this 2 hour 8 minutes movie is an entertaining musical, in the sense that they don't sing every 2 minutes which can be quite irritating. For me, it is 3.5 out of 5, worth of popcorn buckets.

Dumbo (2019)

Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton,

Danny deVito, Eva Green,
Nico Parker,  Finley Hobbins

"A Beloved Tale will Take you To new Heights"

Judging from the various reviews, most critics gave this film, a negative rating. They had numerous reasons - it was not true to the original Dumbo story line, it had weak characters, too many side plots etc etc etc. 

Me? I usually don't agree with critics. For many a films, I always found myself on the opposite side of the critics when it comes to liking or disliking a movie. Strange yet, it has happened more than once, in fact, too many times to mention.

First of all, the original and classic Dumbo was released in 1941 in an animation form or as it was known during that era, as a cartoon. It lasted merely an hour and Dumbo only flew in the ending of the cartoon. On these premises alone, naturally this 2019 offering will be entirely different but it still retained some semblance to its original plot.

Set in 1919, war veteran Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns to the Medici Brothers' Circus where he used to be an equestrian. But the Circus is having financial problems so Max Medici (Danny DeVito) had to sell the horses to stay afloat. 

Mrs Jumbo, a giant elephant gives birth to a calf with big ears. Holt's kids, Joe and Milly discover the baby elephant can fly by flapping its ears. Soon after, Mrs Jumbo is sold after it went on a rampage due to the bullying of its offspring. 

The baby elephant becomes part of the Circus show. During a mishap in one performance, it accidentally flies in front of the entire audience. Thus it was named Dumbo, when it was jeered and pelleted with peanuts. News of a flying elephant soon reaches V.A Vandevere (Michael Keaton), the owner of Dreamland. 

He offers a collaboration with Max Medici, they would be partners and the Circus troupe can perform at Dreamland. Vandevere insists that Dumbo should perform with trapeze artist, Colette (Eva Green), his main attraction at the amusement park. In short, many things occur at Dreamland - Dumbo flying with Colette, a damaging fire and the bittersweet reunion of Dumbo with his mother.

The costume design is colorful and vibrant. Director Tim Burton, whom I know as a director of quirky movies, did a good job in making us fall in love with Dumbo. For the most part, being a Tim Burton movie it wasn't eccentric enough, if you know what I mean. Yet again, I guess a flying baby elephant is indeed unconventional. Dumbo is so cute, adorable and has mad flying skills!

Yes, there were one too many side plots to distract you from the essence of the film. The cast composed of credible actors did well given they had to act with a computer generated flying baby elephant. I like to say, the last few minutes of the conclusion was a clever twist. One would not expect such a premise from a movie about a circus, whose main draw are the animals. I'd say, it was politically correct and so appropriate for 2019!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Daniella Pineda, 

Justice Smith, James Cromwell, Rafe Spall

"Life finds a Way"

This film continues three years after the closure of the theme park on Isla Nublar, located somewhere in Costa Rica. Naturally since the lab-developed dinosaurs ran amok and ate a lot of visitors which was elaborately explored in the remake of Jurassic Park trilogy named Jurassic World 2015.

Present day, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) are 'reunited' and back on the abandoned island which is now threatened by the fury of an exploding volcano. They want to save and rescue as many dinosaurs as humanly and humanely possible. A deed made possible through the generosity of the Lockwood Estate which created a sanctuary where these animals can roam around freely without cages, with no tourists and no distractions. Even though the government itself decided it is best to leave them on the island - for the very reason that they should never have been 'created' in the first place.

But evil and green surfaces in the form of Ellis Mills (Rafe Spall) an underling working for the now aging and frail Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). Mills thinks it is a great idea to auction off these dinosaurs to the highest bidders, who can use them for industrial, agricultural purposes but mainly turn them as 'weapons' of mass destruction. These species are transported to the Lockwood estate where representatives of several nations congregate for the auction. Both Owen and Claire were tricked into believing the dinosaurs will be airlifted to a safe haven. 

The main attraction at the auction is this humongous dinosaur that was bred using the DNA of  several really fierce dinosaurs so you can be utterly sure, the Indoraptor is as deadly as it comes. But surely, anywhere and anytime these massive creatures are present you can be sure, the situation will turn really ugly as they escape from their supposedly iron clad enclosures and eat any one that moves. Heh!

This really flimsy premise basically runs wild in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Another dangerous mission for Owen and Claire - they being the good guys trying their best to contain the situation which has gone awry in the very worst possible way. Plus some entirely crazy and silly subplot involving Lockwood's 'granddaughter, thrown in to just add confusion to an already murky plot.

The cinematography though is quite vibrant - the scene with numerous dinosaurs running, rushing down the jungle and trumping their way towards the sea as hot molten lava pour down from the imposing volcano is excellently shot. The pressure to escape quite palpable as you can almost feel the ground shaking from the massive exodus. One, if not the only memorable scene in this film.

The second half grinds down to a slower pace during the auction part, then picks up a bit with chaotic scenes of people trying to flee from the escaping dinosaurs, which were being sold off to bidders. And rightly so, the conclusion does leave us with a sense that the third installment will entail dinosaurs in the city streets. Something we have to wait for it until 2021!

So while the film could use some depth to the story line, there is a valid message it wants to impart - there was a rational reason dinosaurs were extinct and wiped out eons ago - these are very dangerous creatures and tend to eat people.

Ocean's Eight

Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett,

Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter,

Mindy Kaling, Rhianna, Sarah Paulson

"Every con has its Pros"

So in this very PC environment, the age of the #MeToo movement, gender equality and feminism, the big studio honchos decided a remake of the Ocean's 11 franchise, but this time with an all female cast would be a good idea. 

You know, that heist movie with an ensemble cast led by George Clooney, which was itself a remake of the 1960 film with the same title which starred Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr among others. Back then, they were popularly known as the Rat Pack.

It (Clooney's 11) worked NOT because it had an all male cast but mostly due to the interesting story line, sleek cinematography, numerous twists and turns. Plus the premise that a bunch of misfits can pull off a heist in a Las Vegas casino and get away with it was an added bonus. 

Now back to Ocean's 8 - the ensemble cast composed of talented actresses in their own right failed to capture our attention as much as the original film did. The plot lacked a certain something for us to be fully invested in a group of women who decide to pull off a jewelry heist during the famous Met Ball. That annual fundraising fashion event held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume institute in New York City. 

The heist is led by Debbie (Sandra Bullock), the estranged sister of Danny Ocean who just came out of prison after serving her 5 years. It seems that jail did not reform the ex convict as she gathers a bunch of eccentrics to plan the stealing of a 150 Million US$ necklace. A piece of jewelry to be worn at the Met Gala by an floozy actress named Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway). 

The twists and turns were not riveting enough and also the motley crew characters were not engrossing personas. Too bad the great cast couldn't salvage this average heist movie. Perhaps next time, they should think twice, even thrice before they venture into a spin-off of an already well loved franchise. Such a pity to waste such talented actresses, really.

A Monster Calls

Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver,

Felicity Jones,

"Stories are wild Creatures"

The other day, we returned from our Yuletide holidays and are all sick with the flu. So I'm staying in bed, fully medicated and to chill I decided to watch movies from the comfort of my sick laden bed.

For easy viewing, I picked this film thinking it was a simple coming of age flick but boy was I wrong! Not only is this visually stunning movie filled with significantly powerful messages, it deals with sensitive topics like illness, bullying, grief and death. Not what you'd expect from a children's book. But then aren't most stories from this genre really dark tales?

Young Connor has too much on his plate. An artistic loner, he is constantly bullied in school and when he comes home he has to watch his mother battle terminal cancer. He finds solace in the form of a giant yew tree which comes alive at a specific time and regales him with stories filed with wisdom that tackle some issues currently plaguing Connor's life.

I believe it is these stories which encourage Connor to face his so called demons even though he is too young to be stressed with these burdens. It is also necessary for him as he turns into a young adult and must be armed with enough (painful) experiences to face life.

I like the vivid animated scenes that are incorporated within the film. It adds a childlike wonder and it helps cushion against the dark elements of the stories. The cast performs very well, the dialogue is brilliant especially the haunting voiceover of Liam Nesson as the giant yew tree. It is a good combination of fantasy and realism that is both provocative and poignant. Highly recommended!

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, F. Murray

Abraham, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray,

Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum,

Tony Revolori, Edward Norton

From the director who gave us such distinctively quirky films such as "The Darjeeling Limited" and "The Royal Tenenbaums", comes another gem hemmed from his brilliantly creative mind - The Grand Budapest Hotel.

It recounts the adventures of a hotel concierge named Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) who along with his lobby boy, Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) set out to unravel the truth behind the mysterious death of one of its distinguished guests. 

What ensues are well crafted scenes upon scenes of complex framework of the narratives being presented through a visually vibrant cinematography, from symmetrical shots, to characters running in slow motion, as well as chase scenes, and explanatory montages - all of which are typically expected and pleasantly anticipated from a Wes Anderson penned film.

The plot itself is quite funny and captivates the audience with its sublimely awkward to the point of being outright ridiculous (in a good way, if there is such a thing!) story line and its numerous yet essential side plots. 

Having said that, I admit there are some shortcomings like certain situations are sometimes built up and then let off easy. Regardless, it didn't detract too much from the main essence of the film -  the beautiful account of the friendship that forms between a poor lobby boy and the legendary concierge who took him under his wing.

Plenty of major stars (Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Jude Law to mention a few) add support to the main characters. Even though some appear briefly or in cameo parts, all of them lend credence to the merry assortment of interesting characters they each play.

I could go on and on about the good merits of this whimsical film but I'd recommend that you watch it with an open mind, so we could all nod our heads in agreement and proclaim that this may be the best film yet from director Wes Anderson.