Outcast Comments: Aladdin (2019)

So, the other day I took some time to take in Disney’s new live action redux of their classic animated film, Aladdin. It just happened to fit into my schedule, as I had not really planned on seeing it. I thought the trailers looked awful, I was not sold on Will Smith playing the Genie, and I fail to see the point in Disney’s recent fascination with remaking all of their animated properties. So, I was fully expecting to not like it. Well, to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. It is not perfect, and is little more than trifling entertainment, but I would have no problem recommending it. Now, I am not going to review it, but just wanted to throw out some quick thoughts.

Movie Review: The Final Master

When I approached watching The Final Master, I was unsure of what to expect. Based on the trailer I saw the action was going to feature weapons and be primarily based on Wing Chun. It also boasted being from the writer of The Grandmaster. The film also appeared to be set in a similar time frame of The Grandmaster and the Ip Man films. It is true, The Final Master is set in the 1930’s, just prior to the start of World War II. I was excited to see the action, however, that was tempered by my expectation of period based drama. You see, those are not particular favorites of mine, period dramas. I have found the martial arts ones, in particular, tend to lose me along the way as I wait for the next fight.

Movie Review: The Witch (2016)

In this young year, The Witch was one of my most anticipated films. I had friends who had seen it on the festival circuit and were raving about it. On top of that, the trailer looked utterly fascinating. So, as soon as the movie opened, I was there, sitting front and center, looking forward to what I was hoping would be greatness. Yes, there is always a gnawing feeling at the back of my mind that I am going to be let down, it has happened before and I am sure it is going to happen again. Fortunately, now is not that time. I found The Witch to be utterly engrossing, unnerving, and fascinating. I also recognized it as a movie that is sure to have as much hate tossed at it as love.

Movie Review: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

If you are looking for someone writing about how this modern cinematic reboot of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. relates to the original 1960's series, you've come to the wrong place. Frankly, the only thing I know about the original is the title, that it was an east meets west spy series, and it starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. I am also fairly certain the two relate in only the broadest of terms. With that being said, this new take is actually better than I was expecting. It is not a great film, mind you, but it is a fun stylish modern take on an old formula. Simply put, this was an entertaining two hours in a movie theater.

Movie Review: The Grandmaster (2013)

It sure feels like a lot of movies have been made about Ip Man lately. I am used to martial arts films about Wong Fei Hung. In any case, The Grandmaster from auteur Wong Kar Wai is the latest, and likely most anticipated as it has been in and around production for the better part of the decade. In the meantime, it was beaten to theaters by a pair of Donnie Yen/Wilson Yip pairings covering the life of the man who famously became Bruce Lee's teacher. This latest feature is also the most traditionally arty and is quite beautiful and poetic.

Movie Review: Lawless (2012)

Lawless is a movie that, for some unknown reason, I kept mixing up with Gangster Squad. I don't know why, hey are clearly quite different movies. Whatever the case may be, Lawless is now in theaters and I should, theoretically be able to differentiate the two now. Lawless is a Depression-era movie that is based on the true story of a trio of bootlegging brothers, bucking Prohibition and making a boat load of cash in the process. It doesn't hurt they were located on the nation's wettest county where law enforcement was more than willing to help move the moonshine.

Movie Review: Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter

You must admit, the fist time you heard the title Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, you thought it was a joke. It's all right, you aren't alone. It is a silly title and beyond that it is a silly idea. Think about what they did here, they took one of our greatest presidents, a rather serious and tumultuous time in our history and turned it into a big action, high concept action/horror romp. Do you want to know something that you may find surprising and perhaps a bit unbelievable? It is a fun movie, really, it is not bad. No, it is not perfect, but it gets a lot of things right and is certainly a lot of fun.

Movie Review: The Raven (2012)

When I first heard about The Raven, I was certainly intrigued. The idea of a murder thriller based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe is definitely a solid idea that should offer plenty of intriguing setups for the villain and problems for our protagonist to overcome. The problem is that the execution is not good at all. The end result is a movie that is lifeless, bland, and left me wanting a whole lot more.

Blu-ray Review: The Three Musketeers (2011)

Over the years there have been countless adaptations of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Three Musketeers. Many of these have been unnecessary exercises in pop entertainment using a variety of angles to try and freshen it up. The one that always sticks in my mind is 2001's The Musketeer starring Justin Chambers and directed by Petee Hyams. It is notable for the use of martial arts inspired fights, choreographed by Xin Xin Xiong. Now we have yet another take on the tale with Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) playing the central role. This version arrived in theaters with the bonus of 3D, with it's Blu-ray release, does it hold up with the absence of the 3D gimmick? That probably depends on how you feel about it in the first place.

Blu-ray Review: Blade of Kings

A bunch of years ago I learned of a movie called The Twins Effect. It was a big budget summer action vehicle that pitted pop stars The Twins (Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung) against vampires. It's star power was padded with Edison Chen, Eking Cheng, and a special appearance by Jackie Chan. The movie was fun but shallow. It proved popular enough upon its release in 2003 that a sequel was quickly put into production. The result was The Twins Effect II, again starring The Twins and banking on their popularity. Joining them again are Edison Chen and Jackie Chan, they are joined by the likes of Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Donnie Yen. Quite the star studded affair. The story has nothing to do with the first one but they are both rather fun in a simple way.

Blu-ray Review: Three Outlaw Samurai

It's kind of funny, as I sat watching Three Outlaw Samurai, I cold not help but feel like I as watching a spaghetti western. In particular, this film has a feel similar to Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. One might even suggest that this was influenced by the classic western, that is until you realize that this came out before Leone's film (1964 versus 1966). Makes you wonder just who was influencing whom, it feels a lot like directors such as Leone, Akira Kurosawa, and with this film Hideo Gosho, that they were almost working together and finding similar paths through their influences.

Blu-ray Review: War of the Arrows

Coming from South Korea, War of the Arrows delivers a fast paced action yarn with the look and setting of a historical epic. This film, from writer/director Han-min Kim, was a box office smash in its home country, taking the top spot for year's gross. It was also a critical success garnering numerous acting accolades. It has been brought to American shores courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment. It is sure to not reach the box office and critical heights it enjoyed in South Korea, but it is one that really shouldn't be ignored. It may not be the most authentic in terms of its history nor as visceral as it could be in its action, but what it does do is provide a pulse pounding action yarn that is somewhat reminiscent of Apocalypto.

Movie Review: The Woman in Black

Way back in the 1950s and 1960s Hammer Studios was a force to be reckoned with. They crafted some of the finest gothic horror films ever with a distinct look and feel, you always knew when you were watching Hammer. Not to mention the studio making Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing household names in movies like Horror of Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, and The Mummy. The studio was dormant for decades until just recently when they teamed up to produce Let Me In. They also put out the execrable The Resident and the solid Wake Wood. Now they have released what may be the most Hammer title since the 1960s, The Woman in Black.

Movie Review: Red Tails

Here is a movie that has had an interesting production history. Mainly due to executive producer George Lucas having had the project in the works for 23-years. Now there is some dedication. Why did it take so long? Well, as Lucas tells it none of the studios wanted to back it due to it being a large budget action film with a nearly all-black cast. He eventually stepped up and financed it himself, seeing a story that he wanted to see told. He always had an affinity for dogfights of World War I, adapting them into space for the Star Wars films. He has now brought them down to Earth using planes rather than starfighters. The resulting movie is Red Tails and it is good, but somewhat whitewashed version of the story.

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows

It was just a couple of years ago that the character of Sherlock Holmes was reintroduced to the mass audience. It is not that people did not know of Holmes, but I believe his popularity with the public at large was not as high as it once was. Of course,  I could just be making that up based on my own anecdotal evidence. I will admit to having an extremely limited experience with the character. Frankly, I made a lot of assumptions about what the character was all about, all my fault. At some point I actually plan to do some Holmes reading. In any case, that 2009 movie was pretty awesome. It was a lot of fun, and that is what I hoped for with the sequel.

Movie Review: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

The other week, as I was scanning my usual theaters for show times I stumbled across Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. Like most of you, I had no idea what this was, it was also the sort of thing I always check a few theaters for show times. You know, besides checking for the schedule of thebig releases, I like to see if there are any smaller, indie, foreign movie types within my travel radius. This one looked like it fit the bill. Still, I had to check a little more as for all I knew it could be some lame family movie that rips off Harry Potter's naming motif (I know it is not new with Potter, but they used it a lot).

Movie Review: Water for Elephants

As I sat in the dark somewhat enjoying Water for Elephants, I realized that I could sum up Robert Pattinson's career with a clip from Disney's animated Tangled. Now, if you recall, there is a moment where the hero says "Prepare for the smolder." and looks up, lips pursed, eyes squinted in a supposed sexy gaze. That, right there is a pretty good approximation of what he has accomplished thus far. All right, before you get all crazy, I admit to being a Twilight hater; however, I am not willing to write off any of the cast until they are able to do some work away from that franchise and prove one way or the other their actual ability (you cannot blame them for anything other than taking a gig to get their careers going). I think Pattinson could be a decent actor, but need to see him try some more stuff.

Movie Review: Jane Eyre (2011)

If you are a Bronte connoisseur, a lover of Jane Eyre, or a big fan of period gothic romance, you probably should not read this as I am none of the above. I am not against any of those things, they just cannot be used to describe me. That, I am certain, brings up another question, why did I go see this new version of Jane Eyre when I cannot say I particularly care about it. Well, the answer to that is fairly simple. I quite liked the trailer. The trailer has this great eerie, creepy, dark, and emotional look and feel that is fairly alluring. Actually, I think the biggest component in getting me in the theater was the use of a piece of Goblin's score from Suspiria in the trailer.

Movie Review: Kingdom of Heaven

Just when I think the big epics have overstayed their welcome, something like Kingdom of Heaven comes along. Ridley Scott has unleashed a wonderful film that, while not perfect, supplies a much needed respite from the lackluster epics of recent memory.

Movie Quick Take: Troy

Troy. What a disappointment. First off it is about 40 minutes too long and sports one of the worst cases of miscasting in a long time. Brad Pitt does not belong in this movie. Don't get me wrong, Pitt is an excellent actor, but he doesn't belong in this epic, his acting style and look are too modern and he brings nuances to a character where none should be. The story has a lot of mythology involved in it with the Greek gods, but this film eliminates virtually all of that, which was a mistake. Orlando Bloom is such a bland actor, I wonder if he has a pulse at times. The high points to the movie are Eric Bana as Hector, wonderful performance, and Peter O'Toole as the King of Troy, he brings life to all his scenes and credibility to the movie. The battle between Hector and Achilles is excellent, but too short. This was decent entertainment, but could have been so much more. This movie also proves that we should not see anymore CG armies for a long, long time.