Aladdin Trilogy

The Aladdin trilogy was Disney's attempt to create a franchise outside of their main animated characters from a movie. The movies worked so well with their target audience that an animated series was done for television, but my focus here is on the three movies and those alone.
Aladdin - The use of CGI effects for different aspects of the story helped this movie by giving it a little bit of a realistic feel. The voice acting is very well done but everyone is overshadowed by Robin Williams as the Genie. With Williams' flamboyance for improv the Genie character took on a life of it's own, and some of the things that he did was so original and funny, the animators had to draw them into the scenes. Jafar as the villain is just perfect, even years later you can still see why he became a classic from the moment he comes on the screen.
The Return of Jafar - Bringing back Jafar for the sequel was a natural, with him being the most evil Genie that you could imagine. Seeing the dark side of the magic world does have its advantages, the things that you could come up with are boundless. Here they give you the complete opposite of the good Genie from the e first film and it works. The story is strong and it ends up being a worthy sequel, only down fall here is that Williams did not return as the good Genie and the character suffers for the loss. The change in animation is enough to be noticed but the change doesn't take away the magic of the story.
King of Thieves - Out of the three movies this by far is the worst, the story is weak from the very beginning and the fact that Aladdin and Jasmine are just getting married is a little odd, weren't they getting married at the end of the first movie. The return of Robin Williams as the Genie isn't enough to save this film; it should have been thrown into the trash heap and left for dead. As in the second movie the animation was changed again, and this time it actually looks like something from twenty years prior to it's release.
This series could have been better but when the first movie is such a huge hit, it's hard to follow up with a film that's as good or better. Disney should learn from their mistakes, when working towards a franchise they need to keep to the original formula and not waver one iota. After watching these films I can honestly say that the first movie is the best and I don't think that I will ever watch the other two for any reason. I'm sure that the kids will love them, but since I don't have any, Return of Jafar and King of Thieves won't be making it into my library.

Edmond

The deconstruction of a character in a movie is usually set over a time of days, in this film it's a matter of hours and moves right along. The movie itself is only an hour and twenty minutes but it moves so fast and so much happens that you don't realize that its only been a short amount of time. This film is inspired by the David Mamet play, and is so gritty and realistic that you could almost believe it was based on a true story.After being told by a fortuneteller that he should change his life, Edmond starts his quest but doesn't realize that it's a descent into his own personal Hell. The character of Edmond isn't pushed to the edge of the emotional cliff, he walks there freely thinking that is his destiny, and what a dark destiny it is. The style of the scenes are slap in the face realistic and believeable nothing is left to the imagination. Normally in movies we see the detruction of a character's life over time, days, weeks, months, years, but here everything happens in one night and runs the full spectrum of situations and emaotions.
This movie would be my suggestion to anyone learning to be an actor, the range of emotion that William H. Macy displays is exactly what most actors are striveing for in their craft. This is an interesting film with the twists and turns that in some cases are the extreme, but we can all identify with Edmond at one point or another. Hopefully none of us would go to the extremes that he does on his journey, hopefully I said, hopefully.

Downfall

World War II movies have always had a spot deep in my heart, both my grandfathers fought in the war and survived. Over the years there have been a great many films done about different battles and from different view points, American, Japanese, German, etc. In 2002 a documentary entitled "Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary" introduced the world to the dictator's stenographer, Traudl Junge, two years later director Oliver Hirschbiegal brought her story to life. The final days of the Third Reich have come to Hitler's bunker and the story that follows is from the point of view of his secretary. The realistic war situations of the soldiers and the generals were painstakingly recreated here with breathtaking results. As Hitler starts to lose control and he begins to see traitors everywhere, you are given a glimpse into the mind of a madman that you won't soon forget. This is one of those movies that we all know the ending but you just can't wait to get there and see how the director is going to present it.
If you enjoy World War II movies like "Das Boot" and "Patton", you'll enjoy this one; it's got the feel of an authentic story from the other side of the war. There is no English soundtrack for this movie, so you should be prepared for the subtitles throughout the film. I've added this to my favorites list under the subject of WWII, its just one of those films that grabs your attention and you just can't look away.

Videodrome

For those of you who remember the hay day of the videocassette and cable television, you'll probably remember this movie with some fondness. This is one of David Cronenberg's best films from the eighties; it showed us the dark side of the video industry and the possibility that subliminal messages were being added to the video signal. Of course the idea of completely controlling an individual by mind control is total fantasy, or is it. Sex, violence, murder, a new evolution in television has come and its complete control of the viewers minds is the prize its after. With the idea that people could be brain washed by remote, this film took on a dimension in horror that, at the time, was new and totally thought provoking. The blending of reality and hallucination is so complete here that you never quite know where the real world ends and the fantasy begins. James Woods is perfect as the cable programmer in search of the next great thing on cable to offer his audience. This is also Deborah Harry's first major film appearance and after you see her in this role its hard to believe that she didn't do much more acting after.
I'm a big fan of David Cronenberg's work and the earlier films that he did are by far some of the best horror movies out in the market today. The film itself is a little dated since technology has taken us past the videocassette era, and on to the DVD and beyond. But think about it, if the idea of broadcasting a subliminal signal over a cable wire were questionable, how much easier would it be to send that signal from a space satellite to your dish at home directly.

Slap Shot

When you talk about sports films the best ones are usually comedies, that's not to say that there aren't any sports dramas that are good, it's just that the comedies are better. Then when you break it down there isn't that many hockey films, but the few that there is this one tops the list. In an age where the paying audience covets brutality over skill, we are shown that with a little blood the world could be your oyster. When a fifth rate hockey team finds their future in question, their coach changes the game plan and turns the hometown and the sport on its ear. Paul Newman as the ageing coach works so well you believe that he has been playing the sport for years. Even with Newman's name as the draw, the true stars of this film are the Hanson brothers. Once the Hanson's are introduced you know there is going to be trouble, but when they take to the ice the real fun begins. Some of the action is so fast paced you have to watch it a second time just to see it again just to be sure of yourself of what happened.
This is one of those films from the seventies that looks a little dated with the cloths and cars, but once the action starts and the fun begins you completely forget how old the movie is. The fight scenes are the way I remember hockey from the seventies, some skill but a lot of blood. I know there are other hockey films out there but when you put them all together Slap Shot rises to the top like cream from churned milk. So in this new season of sharpened blades lets sit back and enjoy at least one good game on the ice.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The feeling that your life is rushed has always been a problem for many people around the holidays, and the people that have to travel for their jobs its even more so. Hence the perfect situation of an Abbot and Costello kind of comedy, and playing the two comedic leads, Steve Martin and John Candy. Both at the height of their careers at the time, this movie showed that both actors could play a drama role and still keeps the audience interested in the story. When his flight home for Thanksgiving is canceled, Neil Page must grin and bear it with his new loud mouthed traveling companion, Del Griffith. The main two characters are like oil and water, but that doesn't them from becoming life long friends. The acting is pure genius, Martin and Candy play off of each other so well its like watching old friends who have known each other for years. The situations that the two are thrust into are a little extreme but completely believable, right up to the driving the burned out car down the highway. Almost every mode of travel is used in this film short of bicycles and horse and buggy, but what do you want its winter and its snowing.
Its sad that Candy died, it would have been nice to see these two come together again and do more films, whether it was comedy or drama. This is one of the few movies that I enjoy watching at Thanksgiving time, not just for the hilarious comedy but to remind myself that in the long run I don't have to travel for the holidays. But the underlying story is about the love of family and the lengths that we go too to be with them.

The Birdcage

Most of the time when an American movie is remade from a successful foreign film there are more failures than winners, but this is one of those winning moments that go down as a great film. The original French film was titled "La Cage aux Folles" and was so successful it spawned two sequels that were just as good. The remake, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in the two lead roles, was sheer genius; they play off of each other as if this was all second nature. The situations that are presented in the film are, in some cases, over the top but they all come off as believable and, pardon the pun, straightforward.When a gay couples son comes home and announces that he's getting married, from there the disasters and the fun are just beginning. The characters that are used in this comedy were altered very little from the original French versions; making them American was probably the biggest change. Gene Hackman as the straight-laced politician trying to save his career plays great against Williams and Lane, and Lane dressed up as the mother is perfect, you almost forget that it's a man in drag. The make-up that was done for this movie is almost flawless, almost every man that is in drag for the film without a doubt looks like a woman, and that makes it work even better.
I'm sure that most people that have seen this film have to agree that its one of the best comedies from the nineties, and unfortunately a sequel was never made. But in the long run that just makes this film even more enjoyable, with the uniqueness of being the only one. If you're looking for something to laugh about this is definitely the movie to watch, whether you've seen it before or not, the laughs just don't stop.