“Aladdin” (Adventure/Action: 2 hours, 8 minutes)

Starring: Will Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott

Director: Guy Ritchie

Rated: PG (Violence and moments of action/peril)

 

Movie Review: “Aladdin” teases and excites. It takes off and excites. It takes off and takes flight, but it does not shock and amaze.

However, it does have some incredible feats every moment or so, where enchantment runs rampant for those having seen the animated “Aladdin” (Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, 1992).

Aladdin (Massoud), commoner and street thief, encounters Dalia (Scott), who pretends to be an attendant at the royal palace. Dalia is really Princess Jasmine, the daughter of the sultan (Navid Negahban). Misled by the grand vizier (Marwan Kenzari), the sultan’s chief advisor, Aladdin retrieves a magical lamp that changes his life.

The lamp contains a genie inside. The big blue Genie (Smith) grants Aladdin three wishes. The serendipity gives Aladdin a chance to impress Jasmine, but Aladdin’s new fortune may also cause harm to those he admires.

Too bad Disney did not opt for more impressive talents rather than spending their money on superfluous special effects. This live-action remake of the famed animated movie works as adequate entertainment, but the characters could more potent.

Of course, “Aladdin” is one of Disney’s most prized stories. It is nostalgic cinema. It is easy to like. The small guy marries the beautiful woman, gains a fortune and foes meet their demise. Similar to the 1992 animated movie, the movie follows a script that works. It is enjoyable in this manner.

Grade: B- (You get what you wish.)

“Booksmart” (Comedy: 1 hour, 42 minutes)

Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein and Skyler Gisondo

Director: Olivia Wilde

Rated: R (Strong sexual content and profanity, drug use and drinking involving teens)

 

Movie Review: Actress Olivia Wilde makes her directorial debut with this coming-of-age tale. “Booksmart” is seemingly a female version “Superbad” (2007).

Regardless of some stereotypical moments, “Booksmart” manages to entertain with good turns for leads Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever.

At the top of their class, Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) decide to enjoy themselves on the eve of their high school graduation. They do this by going to a party — something these overachieving academic minds rarely do. They attempt to pack four years of partying into one night.

The moral of this story is sometimes we should work less and play more. The dilemma the main characters have is how much should they play. Molly and Amy realize that a break from their studies is exactly what they needed.

Feldstein and Dever are the new odd couple, a feminine comedic duo. They make their characters as amusing as they are annoying. They shine in their perspective roles.

Jason Sudeikis, Wilde’s husband, is also in the movie as a supporting character. He and others in the supporting cast are weaker. They are eccentric people, just there for cheap laughs that often fall flat. The movie is better when it only focuses on the two quirky characters who matter the most, Molly and Amy.

The supporting cast fails mainly because they are stereotypes. They form a movie formula with at least one of these: a nerd, a jock, a cheerleader, the homosexual student, a pothead, etc.

The main characters are booksmart. They are not savvy brainiacs otherwise. Molly and Amy are socially awkward. This is what makes them funny and the main reason to see “BookSmart.”

Grade: B- (It is smart enough.)

“Brightburn” (Horror/Action: 1 hour, 31 minutes)

Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Jackson A. Dunn and David Denman

Director: David Yarovesky

Rated: R (Violence, gore and strong language)

 

Movie Review: The premise of this intriguing horror movie is a type of alternate Clark Kent/Superman reality. “Brightburn” poses a question contrary to the superhero genre theme of the powerful kid becoming good.

Instead of being a benevolent hero, what if the alien child becomes a sadistic conqueror of humanity?

Brandon Breyer (Dunn) is a 12-year-old living on a farm near a rural town in Kansas with parents Tori Breyer (Banks) and Kyle Breyer (Dunn). Brandon develops super abilities. He can fly, shoot lasers from his eyes and has super strength. Virtually he is Superman.

Brandon quickly realizes he is superior to humans and begins dominating those around him with his abilities. Humans near him may not deserve it, but they had it coming.

Moviegoers valuing superhero and horror screenplays should find something to like with “Brightburn.” It offers action and thrills, even if the two together may appear an odd pairing.

David Yarovesky (“The Hive,” 2014) directs this narrative that plays as a horror. It is clever until its conclusion, the last 15 minutes. At that point, Yarovesky and writers Mark Gunn and Brian Gunn (“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” 2012) make the rise of Brandon’s dominance anticlimactic.

Even more, the ending appears, puzzling, rushed and incomplete. Still, the movie is intriguing until it nears its finale.

Grade: B- (A somewhat effective anti-superhero movie plays like a horror.)

 

“John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” (Action: 2 hours, 11 minutes)

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne and Anjelica Huston

Director: Chad Stahelski

Rated: R (Extreme violence and profanity)

 

Movie Review: This is the third installment of the “John Wick” chronicles showcasing extreme action and violence. If one has seen this movie’s prequels, “John Wick” (2014) and “John Wick: Chapter 2” (2017), one knows each movie is similar.

They are mostly keen action entertainment that is never boring. “Chapter 3 — Parabellum” offers more of same energetic scenes, except it involves the addition of the impressive Anjelica Huston, a martial-arts fighting Halle Berry and Mark Dacascos as a skilled rival assassin.

Keanu Reeves returns as John Wick. He is a hunter of humans, a professional hitman who, when he kills, makes sure his adversaries are dead.

Wick is now “Excommunicado,” meaning persona non grata. As an ostracized hitman, Wick has a bounty on his head and can be assassinated anywhere. Wick is a solitary man, alone with no allies, but he has some people who owe him favors.

He uses Sofia (Berry), Bowery King (Fishburne) and The Director (Huston) for assistance. However, The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) is punishing all who help Wick.

Reeves is a quiet killer. He does not gloat or crack theatrical witticisms while performing scenes. This is still a good part of the “John Wick” franchise. Reeves makes the perfect hitman, one of honor and a bit of emotion.

Remember he got into this because some men destroyed his home, stole his vintage car and killed his puppy that was a memento from his departed wife. The puppy was what really stirred him to eliminate those who wronged him.

Reeves makes the action scenes enjoyable moments of violence. His fighting style like other action moments is gratifying cinema. The choreographed fighting is artful, although the violence is more aggressive this outing.

Also, a good cast is pleasing to observe. Ian McShane returns as Winston, the manager at The Continental and a staple of this series. The movie also sees the return of Lance Reddick and several others. It showcases some new faces. All perpetuate the story of John Wick.

Again, the movie’s intent for the main character is the same. One man enacting retribution via any force necessary. “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” manages to bring in some new elements just as its prequel did to keep it engaging while supplying action.

Parabellum is Latin for “prepare for war.” With John Wick, audiences should prepare for awesome choreographed fight scenes, albeit action sequences are very violent imagery.

Grade: B (John Wick is still killer entertainment.)

“High Life” (Mystery/Science Fiction: 1 hour, 52 minutes)

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche and André Benjamin

Director: Claire Denis

Rated: R (Profanity, sexuality, violence and nudity)

 

Movie Review: Just because a movie is an arthouse production, one can reason that it is art. A movie can be called art, but that does not mean it is good art. The same is true with noted directors.

Often directors such as Clair Denis (“Beau travail,” 1999) have a following. People like their works based on previous photoplays and their unique styles. However, “High Life,” for all its artful intentions, is just plain weird, tasteless material.

Monte (Pattison) and his baby daughter, Willow, are the last survivors of a research vessel carrying criminals on death row. Their doomed mission in deep space is on a course toward a black hole. As the space vessel maneuvers its course, flashbacks detail what happened to the rest of the crew as the isolation of deep space causes behavioral changes.

Even more, Dr. Dibs (Binoche), a medical scientist, has her own sadistic experiments.

“High Life” involves several inmates surviving deep in outer space. When violence happens, should audiences be surprised? No, these people already had less than ethical tendencies apparently.

Claire Denis wrote the screenplay with Jean-Pol Fargeau and Geoff Cox which involves a pointless sexual scene, an unexplained experiment and character actions that lack reasoning sometimes because the manner the movie jumps backward and forward through time.

Also, the movie involves some inexplicable moments regarding the cast. Some instances almost appear out of place or lack a smooth plausible occurrence. These moments appear as bad editing, except they are intentional. Apparently, characterizations are important to the point that developing a story in a sensible method is not.

An admirer of Denis’ work says she is an acquired taste. The weirdness of “High Life” does not inspire one to continue digesting her form of moviemaking.

Grade: D+ (The low life …)

“The Hustle” (Comedy: 1 hour, 33 minutes)

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson and Alex Sharp

Director: Chris Addison

Rated: PG-13 (Crude sexual content, violence and strong language )

 

Movie Review: Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson star as con artists. The biggest scam is the money they manage to take from moviegoers.

A sophisticated Josephine Chesterfield (Hathaway) and a lowbrow Penny (Wilson) team up to commit crimes. They have their run of a French region known to be the playground of the rich. They live the good life until they meet their match when a scammer cons them.

Chris Addison, primarily an actor, has spent his time as a director of television comedies. Addison directs “The Hustle” in a fashion similar to a sitcom.

In short snippets, this comedy is slightly more engaging. As a whole movie, “The Hustle” does not live up to its title or the talent of its cast. It involves a lackluster plot and silly dialogue. Hathaway and Wilson’s talents are engaging but not enough to create a solid comedy.

Grade: C (They hustle your money.)

“Pokemon Detective Pikachu” (Adventure/Action: 1 hour, 44 minutes)

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton and Ken Watanabe

Director: Rob Letterman

Rated: PG (Action/peril, violence, rude and suggestive humor, and thematic elements)

 

Movie Review: In the vain of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit“ (Director Robert Zemeckis, 1988), “Pokemon Detective Pikachu” is a movie that exists as a combination of two worlds. The world of humans and the world of Pokemon creatures.

A Pokemon-filled world works as entertainment because of the vocal talents of Ryan Reynolds and an adventurous script.

Tim Goodman (Smith) is investigating the disappearance of his father, Detective Harry Goodman, when he encounters the Pokémon Detective Pikachu (Reynolds), an adorable creature with a gift of gab. The two embark on an adventurous, yet dangerous, investigation to find Detective Goodman’s whereabouts.

As they chase clues in Ryme City, they stumble on a vicious plan that may devastate the relationship between humans and Pokemon.

Ryan Reynolds is especially keen at wacky comedic roles. His infectious immature nature makes him perfect for these types of roles. He voices Pikachu zestfully with all the cuteness the character can muster.

Director Rob Letterman has a track record for quirky movies, such as “Monsters vs. Aliens” (2009) and “Gulliver’s Travels” (2010). He allows “Pokemon Detective Pikachu” to just be a comical adventure.

Pokemon lovers should find this movie the height of entertainment. Others should find it just enjoyable enough.

Grade: B- (Pika, pika, it amuses.)

“Tolkien” (Biography/Drama: 1 hour, 52 minutes)

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins and Colm Meaney

Director: Dome Karukoski

Rated: PG-13 (Violence including sequences of war)

 

Movie Review: J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are much better than this biography about him.

“Tolkien” captures his youth in an agreeable manner, but each moment appears as highlights to indicate triggers for Tolkien’s later “Lord of the Rings” books. The problem is the connection between Tolkien’s life and his books are not prominent in a manner that makes one care about the inspiration behind his works.

Writers David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford concentrate on the formative years of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien through his college and military service in World War I. They start with orphans J.R.R. and his brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, adapting to the loss of their parents. Father Francis Xavier Morgan (Meaney) assumes guardianship of the boys.

As J.R.R. (Hoult) ages, he finds courage, friendship, love and imaginative narratives. The author also finds a meaningful relationship with Edith Bratt (Collins), whom he marries.

Again, Tolkien lived an impressive life, but Director Dome Karukoski (“Heart of a Lion,” 2013) and writers fail to make Tolkien’s life impressive. They spend too much time showing how Tolkien’s formative years help him imagine the tales for which he became famous. Regrettably, they do not make the link fascinating enough to care.

Grade: C (Tolkien’s books are much better than his biography.)

“A Dog’s Journey” (Adventure/Drama: 1 hour, 49 minutes)

Starring: Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Kathryn Prescott and Marg Helgenberger

Director: Gail Mancuso

Rated: PG (Thematic content, some peril and rude humor )

 

Movie Review: This is the sequel to “A Dog’s Purpose” (Director Lasse Hallström, 2017). Both movies are based on books by W. Bruce Cameron, who is one of the co-authors for these screenplays. Cameron’s writings are the perfect material for a family movie.

“A Dog’s Journey” is a good drama for any age.

Adored dog Bailey (voice of Gad) has multiple lives. While he has many owners during several lifetimes, Bailey forms a unique bond with one family, especially the patriarch of the family, Ethan Montgomery (Quaid). This outing, Ethan commissions Bailey with watching over his granddaughter Clarity June “C.J.” (Prescott).

A quaint drama is “A Dog’s Journey.” It easily makes one invested in its characters, the humans and the dogs. If one is a dog lover, this is an easy-going drama that hits all the right notes while not being superior with any. Despite some rushed moments, it is adventurous, emotive occasionally and humorous enough.

Grade: B- (A mild but engaging journey.)

“The Sun Is Also a Star” (Drama/Romance: 1 hour, 40 minutes)

Starring: Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton and John Leguizamo

Director: Ry Russo-Young

Rated: PG-13 (Suggestive content, sensuality, violence and profanity)

 

Movie Review: This movie has two good attributes. One it stars a beautiful exotic couple. The second is this makes one fall in love with New York City, director Ry Russo-Young’s hometown. Otherwise, the plot is like this screenplay’s title; it exhibits the obvious, a forced unconvincing plot.

In New York City, Natasha Kingsley (Shahidi) is an immigrant about to be deported. She does not believe in love. She only believes in science. Enter Daniel Jae Ho Bae (Melton), a young man with a chance to attend medical school to become a doctor. However, Daniel just wants to be a writer.

He is a hopeless romantic. After Daniel saves Natasha from getting hit by a car, he pursues the young woman romantically. Daniel only has a day, but he convinces Natasha that he can make her fall in love with him in that short period.

Ry Russo-Young’s “Before I Fall” (2017) makes moviegoers find a romantic side of New York. She makes the city exciting and energetic. However, she and writer Tracy Oliver fail to make Nicola Yoon’s novel as convincing as she makes the city.

Complex characters are placed in a thinly developed plot. Their circumstance for meeting appears not one of fate, but rather a compulsory moment for them to encounter each other so a romance can commence.

Shahidi, whose character appears adopted compared to cast members playing her family, and Melton are a charmingly attractive couple. They easily acquire one’s attention, but their romance is upstaged by the city where they live.

The story is haphazard via the manner of its implementation. The love of your life leaves. What do you do? Well, you stop communicating. That appears about correct. Apparently, that person is not the love of your life after all.

Several concepts like that exist for this romance. It is easy to fall for this narrative, yet it is just as easy to fall out of love with it, too.

Grade: C+ (The sun is also a big ball of gases.)

Adann-Kennn Alexxandar lives and works in Valdosta.