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: Focus (2015)

Do you ever watch a movie and wonder just what the point is? I have. The most recent example of this sadly all too common phenomenon is Focus. It is a movie about con men and thieves and the focus needed to excel at this sneaky profession. Now, for a movie called Focus, it is surprisingly not. Yes, that's right, Focus is unfocused. It is a movie that just seems to sit there, not wanting to do much more than give Will Smith a starring role and try to convince us that Margot Robbie is the next big thing. I don't know, the movie failed to do much of anything for me and when it was over, I was happy for it.

Movie Review: Winter's Tale

A few months back I saw a trailer for Winter's Tale. It was not something I had heard of before, but it did look interesting, a mash of supernatural, time travel, and romance. The romance is a type of movie that is really hard to do right. More often than not the style is relegated to simple platitudes and moronic characters who do not act even remotely human. This looked to be trying to do something different, I could not exactly tell what, but different enough to catch my eye. Still, I should have been wary because of two words, Akiva Goldsman. More on that in a bit.

Movie Review: After Earth

So, let me get this straight. Will Smith turned down Django Unchained, a role that was written with him in mind, in order to embark on this project dripping with nepotism, personally hiring M. Night Shyamalan along the way? Sounds like when he turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild, Wild West. It seems to me that whenever his instincts guide him in one direction, he should go in the other. Much like Wild Wild West, After Earth is not a good movie.