The magic comes to life

Aladdin
2019 | PG | 2 Hr 8 Min | Family | Disney

Director: Guy Ritchie

Writers:

John August

Guy Ritchie
Stars: 

Will Smith

Mena Massoud

Naomi Scott

Synopsis:

A kind-hearted street urchin Aladdin vies for the love of the beautiful princess Jasmine, the princess of Agrabah. When he finds a magic lamp, he uses a genie's magic power to make himself a prince to marry her. He is also on a mission to stop the powerful Jafar who plots to steal the magic lamp that could make his deepest wishes come true.

The Monkey In The Room.

Ok, let's talk about the monkey in the room for a second, shall we? When Aladdin was teased everybody was up in arms about Will Smith and his role-playing the Genie. Look he is no Robbin Williams but was he really that bad? I think not, in fact, I thought he did a great job when he was being himself its when he tried to channel in the cartoon Genie that he failed. And to be honest you would think he could sing just a tad better then he did. Honestly, I did like him 90% of the time. So with that, the rest of the movie should make everybody happy right? With the right blend of action and romance, Aladdin is a perfect family movie that just happens to run over 2 hours. Yep, my kids were growing bored rather quickly. 

It's so beautiful!

My kids also took notice of the strangely placed camera angles from time to time and trying to explain to them this was a Guy Ritchie flick did not help. Ritchie must have had the Disney blessing to stick to his style action movie formula and for the most part, it paid off. Aladdin is stunning to look at from the sets to the costumes and how the color really splashed off the screen. Pepper in dazzling sound effects that had the whole house shaking and the family belting out the familiar tunes making this one heck of a fun ride. 

Choose Wisely

And they did Naomi Scott is a breath a fresh air playing Jasmin and Mena Massoud although rough around the edges did pull off Aladdin. But the one you will remember the most has to be Marwan Kenzari playing Jaffar. Kenzari plays one wicked bad guy hell-bent on ruling the world. Also if I may SNL alum Nasim Pedrad is really cute playing Dalia, yeah just putting that out there. 

A Whole New World

This is Guy Ritchie's first PG-rated film and it worked well for me. Take is directorial style add-in Disney Magic and a cute princess exquisite music you can sing along to you are bound to have a $1,050,693,953 dollar hit on your hands. Disney dominated this year's box office and its no secret. I'm just glad people got past the negativity and went out and enjoyed Aladdin. Fire up Disney Plus and take this magic carpet ride I promise you will not be disappointed!

4 Stars out of 5

After watching Avengers and Toy Story 4 in the theatre we look forward to watching The Lion King coming to Disney+ at the end of January. I see another family movie night coming up soon. 

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Family Movie Night with Aladdin on @disneyplus and our favorite popcorn bowls.

A post shared by Bob Johns (@mda4life1970) on Jan 11, 2020 at 6:33pm PST

I Heart Bounty Hunters

The Mandalorian
2019 | TV-PG | 40 Min | Action Sci-Fi | Disney+

Creator: 

Jon Favreau

Stars: 

Pedro Pascal

Carl Weathers

Rio Hackford

Gina Carano

Synopsis:

After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. The series depicts a lone bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

I love that Disney+ release's new episodes on a weekly bases as I'm not a binge-watcher, I feel it takes a bit away from you digesting what you just witnessed. Yet I found myself watching four episodes of Mandalorian right off the bat. At first, the show starts like most Star War's anything slow and pointless. Pacing has always been an issue with me when it comes to the Galaxy Far Far Away. You always get a ton of walking around talking and a small smidge of action. 

But it was that Third episode "The Sin" that left you at the edge of your seat in a way Lucus never could. I was left feeling very anxious and drained needing to jump into the next episode immediately. And those next few episodes gave us a nice blend of emotions new charters and locations that are all breathtaking.  Pedro Pascal delivers a nice performance time and time again with such a range of emotions from behind a helmet. I'm going to say it his emotions come through just like Michael Myers or Jason Voreshes. 

As the pace tails off once again it is not until episode six "The Prisoner" that you are once again left holding your breath. In fact, this was the strongest episode for me as you are lovingly teased with new slimy charters that really help paint the picture of a Bounty Hunters life going from dirty job to dirty job working for the scum of the universe getting paid very little. 

By the end your left wanting more and your beside yourself knowing you have to wait almost a full year to get more! With wonderful visuals, a great cast, and so many throwbacks sprinkled about most die-hard fans will deep dive into the series many times as they wait for season two. If the Mandalorian is a small taste of what's to come on Disney+ then I can not wait for the Marvel Universe to hit the small screen as well! 

I mean come on they tossed more than one reference to the god awful Holiday Speical! 

If you are a Star Wars fan then you have already watched for someone looking for something different and does not care about the Star Wars timeline then dig in you just might be surprised.

4 out of 5

They're not just getting rich... They're getting even.

Trading Places
1983 | R | 1Hr 56 Min | Comedy | Paramount Pictures

Director: John Landis

Writers: Timothy Harris, Herschel Weingrod

Stars: 

Eddie Murphy

Dan Aykroyd

Ralph Bellamy 

Jamie Lee Curtis

Synopsis:

Louis Winthorpe is a businessman who works for the commodities brokerage firm of Duke and Duke owned by the brothers Mortimer and Randolph Duke. Now they bicker over the most trivial of matters and what they are bickering about is whether it's a person's environment or heredity that determines how well they will do in life. When Winthorpe bumps into Billy Ray Valentine, a street hustler and assumes he is trying to rob him, he has him arrested. Upon seeing how different the two men are, the brothers decide to make a wager as to what would happen if Winthorpe loses his job, his home and is shunned by everyone he knows and if Valentine was given Winthorpe's job. So they proceed to have Winthorpe arrested and to be placed in a compromising position in front of his girlfriend. So all he has to rely on is the hooker who was hired to ruin him.

I remember watching trading places in my early teen years and shelved it ever since. Lately, it has been getting a lot of talk as one of the greatest Christmas Comedies of all time. Now, I have to admit I did not remember this as a Christmas story nor do I remember liking it back in the '80s. So when I was given the chance to revisit Trading Places I did and well I loved it!

In fact, the inside jokes that made me chuckle as well as the underlined racist story came through loud and clear now unlike it did in '84. Back then all my buddy and I cared about was Eddie Murphy. And for a role that he was not supposed to get he knocks it out of the park. The fact he was nominated for best performance in a comedy/musical Golden Globe in 1984 does not surprise me. 

Ok, I have to admit I totally forgot that Jamie Lee Curtis was one of the stars in Trading Places. And I must confess she was one of the best parts! Paramount did not want her due to her being a Scream Queen. According to John Landis, Jamie Lee Curtis was a hard sell because she only has done horror and wasn't known for comedy. But wait a second...

Our beloved scream queen goes topless in this one. All those years of Horror flicks and her first comedy we see her shedding her clothes? Even though horror movies were infamous for exploiting their female stars; Jamie Lee Curtis says she did not feel exploited in Hollywood until she started starring in mainstream movies like Trading Places. She had never been asked to appear naked in any of the horror movies she starred, but once she went mainstream and starred in Trading Places she had to take her top off. Don't get me wrong I know that the late 70s and early 80s had its fair share of nudity but for Curtis to get naked I felt a tad bit sad and not going to lie I was shocked.

Although the plot does not play out as well in this decade Trading Places definitely deserves its spot on Christmas lists. Maybe not for 24 hours straight but it should at least be playing somewhere right? This one fits the mold of AMC or FX. My guess would be the use of the "N" word along with the line used outside of the world trade center "In this building, it's either kill or be killed" keeps it off the small screen. When this can easily be edited for today's audience. 

I had so much fun going back and watching Trading Places, back to a time when Eddie Murphy was funny and Aykroyd was hitting his stride. Though this takes place at Christmas it's not a true Christmas movie and can be enjoyed anytime. Dubbed as one of the top 100 comedies of all time Trading Places is well worth the revisit.

4 Ninja Santa's out of 5

Holiday Movie Catch Up

Just a quick rundown of a few other Holiday treats that I watched this year.

Wanted to knock this off the bucket list thought it would be a mindless comedy. Sadly it is just a ho-hum comedy. The boring start did not help the ending any. The last 15 minutes are cute as well as predictable.

2 Ninja Santa's out of 5

This Home Alone clone had nothing original about it. The cute young cast just could not save this snooze fest. 

2 Ninja Santa's out of 5

Strange enough I did not deep dive into the Hallmark movie overload this year. Sure it is the same old plot but Return to Christmas Creek was a fun ride. I really fell for Kristen Hansen she was not over the top sweet. 

4 Ninja Santa's Out of 5

I feel this one deserves a review on its own. I have never seen animation drawn so dark and yet so beautiful! As the flow took you through Klaus you can see the progression of light and bright colors happing it's pretty magical I must say. If you are still looking for some holiday spirit fire up the old Netflix and check out Klaus.

4 Ninja Santa's out of 5

One more pleasant surprise filled my stocking this year! 2018's the Grinch was in a word, wonderful!

With so much charm eye-popping colors and energy flowing it was hard not to feel the holiday cheer after this one. It was also nice to see Cindy Lou Who step forward to become the star of the show. Cindy Lou brings a fresh take to an old tale. 

4 Ninja Santa's out of 5

Oof is a word for my lack of movie watching this year! Only 40 movies so far with less than a week to go. I will never hit my goal of 75 but I will put some work into hitting my average of 52 before the year ends thanks to a small vacation coming up. I would like to hit up a few more Holiday flicks before deep diving into Disney Plus for 2020. I sure hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season.

He's chillin...and killin

Jack Frost
2097 | R | 1Hr 28 Min | Horror | Frost Bite Films

Director: Michael Cooney
Writers:

Jeremy Paige

Michael Cooney
Stars: 

Scott MacDonald

Christopher Allport

Stephen Mendel

Shannon Elizabeth

Synopsis:

A serial killer is genetically mutated in a car wreck on the way to his execution. After this, he becomes a murdering snowman hell-bent on revenge for the sheriff who caught him.

Stop I know what you're going to say but listen Jack Frost is pure joy and a playful B-horror flick to get you into the Christmas spirit. And it will not try to hide the fact either. The film follows the familiar format of monsters going out and killing people in senseless (yet fun) fashion with the surviving citizens banding together to try to stop it. But not before more people die. And then a couple more after that!

Nothing is better then Jack spewing out awful pun-infused dialogue and some rather sick methods of bringing on death. For example, a boy gets decapitated by a slow-moving sled. And you know, it’s pretty damn funny. Although a boy having his head chopped off should in no way cause a chuckle it’s so over-the-top it’s hard not to. And it never lets up! 

Michael Cooney knows his budget is so low he addressed it with Fangoria "Campbell Soup's "Let it Snow" advertisement and notes that that commercial (which similarly features a living snowman character) had a budget "three times" that of the film." Furthermore, he stated that Identity, another film he wrote, had a budget of $30 million, while Jack Frost was made for "the cost of its catering budget". Yet he winks at the camera giving us something to laugh at that would otherwise be just plain bad. But in making it really, really, horribly bad, Jack Frost is at the very least entertaining. And is there anything else you could ask for from a B-movie about a serial-killing snowman?

And of course, Jack Frost is famous for giving us Shannon Elizabeth and her raped by a snowman scene. I guess the lesson of the story is that a budget of nothing limits the amount of fake snow you can produce so live with it and move on. Jack is a fantastic time waster full of belly laughs. If your celebrating Creepmas this one should top your list!

4 Bloody Brains out of 5

Don't eat yellow snow!

The Magic Hockey Skates

The Magic Hockey Skates
2012 | G | 21 Min | Family | Amberwood Ent.

Directors: 

Jason Boose

Sarah Mercey

Writers: 

Lorne Cameron

Allen Morgan

Stars: 

Don Cherry

Bob Cole

Millie Davis

Young Joey dreams of playing hockey like his idol, Rocky St. Jean, but he can barely skate. Determined to prove his doubting brother, Zack, wrong, Joey dearly wants Rocky endorsed brand skates to improve his game. Unfortunately, Joey has to settle for a used pair, but an old bearded store clerk secretly assures him that they can grant three wishes. However unbelievable that sounds, Joey tests that claim and he finds he has uncannily improved. With now convinced, Joey strives to use this magic to be the best he can, including considering using his last wish to interview Rocky at an upcoming tournament. Once he is there though, Joey finds himself in the center of something far more magical in itself.

Based on the 1991 book of the same name and produced by Amberwood Entertainment, “The Magic Hockey Skates” is a 2D animated special that follows a young boys’ journey as he gains confidence and self-respect with the help of a pair of magic skates. This lovely tale comes with plenty of fun and guidance wrapped around wonderful looking animations as well as the gleeful cast. The Magic Skates is a nice little surprise for the holiday season.

This was such a wonderful gift on a cold afternoon that I just happened to stumble upon. If your still young at heart and looking for a fun journey this holiday season seek out The Magic Skates.  This heartwarming tale just might make your day.

4 Ninja Santa's out of 5

Playtime is over.

Little Monsters
2019 | Horror | 1 Hr 33 Min | R | Hulu

Director: Abe Forsythe

Writer: Abe Forsythe

Stars: 

Lupita Nyong'o

Josh Gad

Alexander England

Plot:

Dave has decided to get over his recent breakup by seeking refuge in his nephew Felix, accompanying him on a school trip, among other things, to be able to get closer to one of the teachers, Miss Caroline. Everything seems normal, at least until a zombie invasion breaks out that will threaten Dave's plans. New horror movie icon Lupita Nyong'o nails it in this blend of comedy and gore.

Man those Aussies know how to make a dam funny Zombie comedy! Little Monsters is truly a must-see!

The movie starts out on the dark side as Dave (Alexander England), whose life is crumbling around him as he and his girlfriend are shown through time-fighting every day. Dave leaves and finds himself back at his sister's house where he tries to get close to his nephew's kindergarten teacher Miss Caroline, played by Nyong’o. It also stars Josh Gad (Olf in Frozen) as Teddy McGiggle, the star of a children’s show, who isn’t exactly what his character makes him seem to be. The group is on a class trip when the farm their visiting is overrun by zombies. The zombies are the fault of the American Military Base. I have to admit that it was so funny and fresh seeing America portrayed as the dumb ass for once and I like it a lot!  While it sounds like a nightmare, it actually leads to some of the most hilarious situations that are guaranteed to hook you in. 

I must warn you though the movie is funny right from the start when Dave has some seriously

hilarious and inappropriate interactions with his nephew. As much as this feels like a family movie, the film R rating definitely comes from the uses of strong language and Brief Nudity so be prepared for that. One of the big laughs comes from the U.S. Military, who is responsible for the zombie outbreak. They’re essentially just there to constantly remind you that we have done zombie movies to death. 

With those bright colors and silly kid songs, the movie turns rather quickly although at the cost of comedy to develop the charters in the middle it quickly picks back up leaving you giggling with glee. The kids are amazing keeping you going with the awe factor but your eyes will never leave the screen when our action hero Kindergarten Teacher Audry is there! Nyong'o might not get the laughs but she sure can kick Zombie Ass and keep her cool doing it. Her charter is strong yet so full of love. I know that sounds confusing but trust me it works and on so many levels. She is the reason we are here and she makes it worth our while. 

The real comedy relief comes from Josh Gad who is a Barney type of charter that the kids look up to. While his dialogue seems completely out of left field at times, his combination of vulgar language directed at children and outrageous physical comedy makes him an absolute scene-stealer. And he is such a dick! But in a good way? Yeah, he is a dick. Believe it or not, a fair amount of the comedy also comes from the kids. With there cute and innocent storyline the children at times fill in the gap pulling in some serious laughs. 

With plenty of gore from the very polished special effects to the roller coaster ride of a story, Little Monster is a fun little romp in the likes of Shaun of the Dead or Zombie Land. The only downfall is that Taylor Swift's song will be stuck in your head for far too long! 

If your a Zombie fan and looking for a laugh to go along with them you must check out Little Monsters it's not a trick its a treat!

4 Bloody Brains out of 5

Make sure to head over to The Countdown To Halloween and check out the other Bloggers as we inch ever so close to Halloween!!