Tag Archives: ‘Aladdin’

Review: Will Smith is back (and then some) with impressive ‘Gemini Man’

October 10, 2019 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

“Gemini Man” (PG-13)

Following the smashing success of Walt Disney’s “Aladdin,” where he got to play Genie in both magical and human form, Will Smith is once again getting the best of both movie worlds in “Gemini Man,” an exciting sci-fi action film where the 51-year-old Will Smith faces off against his younger, “Fresh Prince”-era self to impressive effect.

Smith stars as Henry Brogan, a tired and weary military-trained sniper who after more than 70 kills has decided to call it quits. But instead of living out the rest of his days on a fishing boat, Henry comes into crucial, classified information about his latest kill that attracts the attention of a cutting-edge military contractor led by his former commander and combat trainer, Clay Veris (Clive Owen), who orders a hit on his former protégé.

AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Gemini Man” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

The problem is, Henry is so skilled at what he does that Clay decides the only person who can outsmart Henry is himself, so he unleashes a clone of the former solider who is 25 years younger. Having raised the clone, Clay has dubbed Henry’s clone “Junior,” and taught him to exceed the skills that the older Henry has already mastered. There’s an X-factor though: Clay has raised a young man devoid of emotional damage and fear that has wracked Henry’s brain over the years, and he believes that the lack of such preoccupations will give Junior the leg-up in completing his deadly mission of killing his older self.

“Gemini Man” in less capable hands could have been reduced to a one-trick pony of a movie with the clone element, but thanks to the expert director Oscar winner Ang Lee, the film’s jaw-dropping, de-aging visual effects make for merely one of the many stunning elements that help the film rise above your standard sci-fi action fare.

AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Gemini Man” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM. Segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

Lee’s direction is thrilling from the very start, as Smith teams with colleagues both old (Benedict Wong) and new (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to stay one step ahead of hit squads and eventually, Junior, as they try to unravel the mystery behind the assassination attempt. Particularly impressive is the ingenuity that Lee brings to the film’s chase scenes, particularly a chase scene on motorcycles that employs invent shots (although the way Will survives the sequence is laughable). The film works on a cerebral level, too, as Henry literally stares mortality in the face as he battles head-to-head with Junior.

Even though “Gemini Man” likely won’t restore Will Smith to the sort of “King of Hollywood” status he enjoyed in the “Independence Day” and early “Men in Black” era of 20-plus years ago, there’s no question that the film will go a long way in keeping his career on track after the success of “Aladdin.” But as Genie, as entertaining as he was, Will was a supporting player. In “Gemini Man,” Will is back as the lead and then some.

Lammometer: 7.5 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).

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Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: Wishes mostly come true for live-action ‘Aladdin’

May 23, 2019 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

‘Aladdin’ (PG)

It’s a whole new world for Genie and company with “Aladdin,” Disney’s latest live-action adaptation of one of their animated classics. It’s a tall order considering the late Robin Williams’ legendary voice performance as Genie in the 1992 original, yet Will Smith ably steps up and makes the role his own, flanked by the equally capable Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott, who have a wonderful chemistry as Aladdin and Princess Jasmine. It’s far from a perfect world for this new troupe of players, but for what it is, “Aladdin” is entertaining enough to keep kids’ and adults’ toes tapping, smiling ear to ear and laughing for the duration of the film’s 2-hour, 8-minute runtime.

Disney’s new initiative of making live-action adaptations of their animated fare, which dates back to 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland,” have taken two different approaches. Some of the films have used the animated films’ plotlines as springboards to new stories (a la “Maleficent” and “Dumbo”), while others have kept the original framework of the animated material intact while expanding upon the story (“Cinderella,” “The Jungle Book” and “Beauty and the Beast”). “Aladdin” best fits in the latter category, although there are no doubt differences from the animated film will that will become increasingly apparent as the film rolls on.

Interview: A look back at animated “Aladdin” with Aladdin and Jasmine voice stars

Framed within a tale told by Genie to two young children, “Aladdin” begins in familiar territory where the street rat Aladdin on the streets of Agrabah befriends who he believes is the handmaiden to Princess Jasmine, but turns out to be the princess in disguise. Their attraction to each other is immediate, but it’s a union that’s never meant to be since Jasmine is bound by the kingdom’s laws to only marry a prince. Aladdin’s fortunes change, though, when he is ordered to recover a magic lamp that he soon discovers contains the all-powerful Genie, a shape-shifting blue being who can grant him three wishes — with the exception of creating love and bringing back the dead.

AUDIO: Tim reviews “Aladdin” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.

Desperately in love with Jasmine, Aladdin asks Genie to make him a prince, but with the transformation the one-time thief with a good heart begins to lose a sense of who he really is, which clouds his judgment. Making matters worse is that the Sultan’s (Navid Negahban) right-hand man, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) is onto Aladdin’s plans, and is looking to seize the lamp to fulfill his monstrous ambitions.

While the visuals in the film are no doubt spectacular (the Magic Carpet actually feels like it has a personality), the success of “Aladdin” truly hinges on the performances of Smith, Massoud and Scott, especially considering the huge shoes they are stepping in. Yes, their predecessors were animated characters, but there’s no question Williams in particular set bar so high that audiences simply must settle for the fact that it’s a performance that can’t be topped. Smith, who still has a magnetic presence after all these years, though, is engaging as Genie, and thanks to the aid of some whizbang visuals, he does his best to try to capture the magic brought to the table by Williams and his dizzying improvisational skills.

The only place Smith is really lacking is in the vocal department, as his performances of the classics “Friend Like Me” and “Prince Ali” sound more like sing-talking (not rapping, even that’s his forte), peppered by enough of Ritchie’s visual razzmatazz to distract you from his lack of singing skills.

Fortunately, Massoud and Scott are well up to the task (Scott, in fact, sings professionally), to make the magic carpet ride soar with a memorable version of “A Whole New World.” Massoud and Scott also get new tunes courtesy original composer Alan Menken (who brings “La La Land” Oscar winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul in for the lyrics), with Scott’s being the standout number with the anthem of independence “Speechless.” But as powerful as Scott is with the tune, it just feels too modern and doesn’t fit in with the original songs from the animated movie.

While director Guy Ritchie, who also wrote the second draft of the screenplay after scribe John August, gets an A for effort and the guts to take on such a daunting project, there’s no question “Aladdin” has its share of missteps. Perhaps the biggest is not bringing in an actor as charismatic as Smith to play the famed Disney villain Jafar (the relative unknown Kenzari got the daunting task) , simply because he can’t seem to muster enough presence to feel like a threatening villain. True, the film does take on a dark tone in its third act, but when all you give the bad guy is a set of glowing eyes and shimmering staff, it’s hard to feel like he’s the sort of villain who is looking to upend the world when he gets his hands on the magical lamp.

From a filmmaking standpoint, “Aladdin” seems to fit the bill, that is, unless you’re even vaguely familiar with Ritchie’s work. That’s because for a director who’s largely known for such stylish hits as “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and the criminally underrated “Rocknrolla,” “Aladdin” may be the most non-Guy Ritchie feature the filmmaker has ever done.

True, there’s a lot of visual pizzazz throughout “Aladdin” (the film is at its best with such show-stopping numbers as “Friend Like Me,” “A Whole New World” and “Prince Ali”), but rarely does it feature the inventive camera work and edits Ritchie is known for. Non-fans of his work likely won’t care, but with only quick flashes of his signature style here and there, fans of Ritchie will be begging for much more of the filmmaker’s cinematic magic.

Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Film, Interviews

Interview flashback: Voices of Aladdin, Jasmine recall magic of animated ‘Aladdin,’ Williams

May 19, 2019 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

In celebration of the release of director Guy Ritchie’s live-action version of “Aladdin” this week starring Will Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott, here’s a look back at 2015 interview I did with the voice stars of 1992 Disney Animation classic for the Diamond Edition of the film on Blu-ray and DVD.

Without question, “Aladdin” voice stars Scott Weinger (Aladdin) and Linda Larkin (Princess Jasmine) are thrilled over how the 1992 classic Disney animated film continues to be discovered and held dear by new generations of viewers.

Still, Weinger told me in a recent phone conversation, some people have been harder to convince than others when it comes to explaining the cultural impact of the movie — a circumstance that fortunately changed at Disney’s D23 fan convention last summer.

“We did an ‘Aladdin’ event that thousands of people showed up for, which was so cool … I also got to take my kid around for rides at Disneyland and he got his first inkling that ‘Dad’s pretty cool,'” Weinger said, laughing. “I was like, ‘I’ve been telling you for the past six years that Dad’s kind of a big deal,’ but he never believed me.”

“Aladdin” makes its Diamond Edition debut as a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD Combo Pack (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) Tuesday. In addition to the film, the new release includes never-before-seen Genie (Robin Williams) outtakes, as wells as featurettes, deleted scenes, deleted songs and more.

While Weinger and Larkin are the speaking voices of Aladdin and Jasmine, the singing voices were provided by Broadway veterans Brad Kane and Lea Salonga. Larkin said in a separate phone conversation that she was amazed how Salonga matched her vocal style when recording the film’s Best Original Song Oscar winner, “A Whole New World.”

“I was actually surprised how smooth the transition was because I speaking going into the song and coming out of the song. It is so seamless that the filmmakers almost had me convinced that I sang it,” Larkin said, laughing. “I was like, ‘How did I do that? It was amazing!’ I’m joking, of course, but it was such an incredible match for my speaking voice. Lea’s such an incredible singer. I feel so lucky to have had her to be a part of that with me.”

For those new to the film, Aladdin is an Arabian street urchin who meets and falls in love with Princess Jasmine. Resigned to the fact that their dramatically different backgrounds will forever keep them apart, Aladdin’s fortunes change when he opens a magic lamp that contains a genie (Robin Williams) who will grant him three wishes — that is if the evil sorcerer Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) doesn’t get in their way.

Weinger and Larkin said their good fortunes continued far beyond the film, including opportunities to continue to voice Aladdin and Jasmine in subsequent film, TV and video game projects.

“It’s one of the luckiest things that ever happened to me and I’m so proud of it and fortunate,” Weinger said. “It was a pleasure happening when I was a kid to enjoy the initial success of the film in real-time as it was being introduced to the world, but I would have to say it’s even more fun now, now that it’s entered the pantheon of classic Disney movies.”

While Weinger’s voice is prominent in “Aladdin,” he’s far from taking any sizable credit for the film’s staying power.

“I have no ego about it. I have no illusions that I’m responsible for the success of the movie. That belongs to the magnitude of the people who worked on it, from the animators like Glenn Keane, Mark Henn and Eric Goldberg, and Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, who did the music — and of course, Robin Williams as the genie. For me, I just feel lucky to play a small role in this massive production.”

The Diamond Edition release of “Aladdin” is both joyous and bittersweet for Weinger and Larkin, given the loss of Williams in August 2014. Watching the film now gives it a whole new meaning, they said.

“My wife was saying as much as she enjoys watching it now, it’s hard not to burst into tears thinking he’s no longer with us,” Weinger said. “But at the same time, as sad as it is and as awful for everybody as it was to lose him, it was amazing to see my 6-year-old and his buddies at a screening of the movie last weekend rolling in the aisles. It was amazing to realize that even though he’s gone, he continues to touch people and make them laugh like that. It was incredible to see my kid coming home that day and saying lines from the genie in the movie.”

For Larkin, the actress not only connected with Williams on ‘Aladdin’ and subsequent projects, but also as a member of the theater community.

“We met on the movie and only had one day of recording together — Robin, Scott and I — and it was one of the most special days of my life,” Larkin said, humbly. “He was an incredible to work with, and it was exciting and inspiring. It was everything you’d imagine it would be. I would see Robin every five years. He’d either come up in my life in something we were doing for Disney, or, like in 2011, when he and my husband, Yul, were both doing plays on Broadway around the corner from each other. They were both nominated for Tony Awards, so they were seeing a lot of each other and knew of everything going on in my life because of it.”

It was also the year Larkin was named a Disney Legend, and Williams made sure that she knew how proud of her he was.

“I went to see Robin in his play during a matinee, and I went backstage afterward to see him in-between shows,” Larkin recalled. “He had a lot of time for me and it was really special because he congratulated me on the Legends award, made some jokes about it, of course, gave me a big hug like he always did, and called me ‘Princess.’ It was the last time I ever got to see him, and it’s a really precious memory for me.”

Film, Interviews

Interview: ‘Aladdin’ voice stars recall magic of classic film, Robin Williams

October 14, 2015 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

By Tim Lammers

“We did an ‘Aladdin’ event that thousands of people showed up for, which was so cool … I also got to take my kid around for rides at Disneyland and he got his first inkling that Dad’s pretty cool,” Weinger said, laughing. “I was like, ‘I’ve been telling you for the past six years that Dad’s kind of a big deal,’ but he never believed me.”