My Thoughts: Aladdin (2019) Sequel

July 12, 2019September 3, 2019 ~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

So, anyone who has talked to me in the last two months or so knows I have been obsessed with this movie since I saw it when it came out. I’ve seen it five times. The last time being on Father’s Day with my parents and youngest sisters. I know there has been negative commentary about it and that’s fine, I don’t care, I think it’s crazy, but I LOVE THIS MOVIE.

There are mild spoilers ahead so if you haven’t seen the movie yet then I would exercise caution in reading this piece. You can read my Movie Review: Aladdin.

Anyway, the film ends with a great open ending in terms of the story. Yes, Aladdin and Jasmine marry, and Genie and Dalia go off and have kids which is beautiful.

Side Note: I have to say, I thought the romance between Genie and Dalia was cute, innocent and pure. I’ve seen people (mostly on Tumblr) say that it’s a “forced relationship” among other words and I completely disagree. I thought Genie and Dalia were sweet and awkward and Will Smith and Nasim Pedrad had nice chemistry. I mean, why shouldn’t Jasmine’s best friend and Aladdin’s best friend have some interest in each other? Neither one of them gets out that much and plus, the way that Aladdin and Jasmine supports the romance between Dalia and Genie is super cute.

Idea 1: Return of Jafar

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Return of Jafar, it’s the lesser of the two sequels I think, but it would make for a great live action sequel. At the end of this Aladdin (and in the animation) they get Jafar to turn himself into a Genie and he gets trapped in a lamp. Our Genie tosses him back into the Cave of Wonders. Now here is where things would pick up. It’s been a year since they defeated him. Aladdin and Jasmine are married, she is Sultana and doing a bang-up job at it and Aladdin is at her side as King, or Sultan or whatever his title would be. But I would imagine he’s a little restless considering his life of movement before.

But, I don’t necessarily want to follow the exact plot of the animated film. But somehow Jafar needs to be freed from the lamp. In the animated film, a different kind of thief comes across the lamp after Iago somehow manages to get himself and the lamp out of the cave and leaves the lamp in a well after being sick of Jafar’s bossiness. Now, I’ve never really liked Iago like that so he doesn’t have to have such a large role that he has in the animated sequel, but unless the Cave of Wonders resets itself every time someone failed to get inside or someone failed to get the lamp, or even that the Cave’s purpose is over since the lamp was already taken then it could just be a pile of rubble and our Genie’s magic never actually made it through whatever rubble the cave is in now, which would allow for some thief to get it, it was Abis Mal in the animated, we can keep him I guess but make him more competent. That was a run-on sentence, I know. OR, since it’s Jafar’s lamp now and he’s a terrible person, perhaps the Cave’s magic doesn’t work the same since this Genie is a massive jerk?

But regardless, I want to see Jafar get his revenge and I want to see him win for longer than a few hours. He threatened Aladdin before he got sucked into the lamp, so I would imagine he would be pissed and go after the princess who thwarted and defied him and the street thief who made him look like a fool. BRING IT ON. I might just write this sequel lol.

Idea 2: King of Thieves

So, obviously we need to explore Aladdin’s history, his parents and all that. In the movie he says he lost both of his parents when he was young, but I don’t think he ever said how. Perhaps his mother died but he’s not sure what happened to his father, so he just assumes he’s dead… WHICH HE ISN’T!! He’s the King of Thieves… Cassim, hot dad lol. Choose a brown actor and make sure he at least resembles Mena Massoud because I’ll forever be mad at Stellan Skarsgard’s casting as Orlando Bloom’s father in the POTC movies. They kept saying Will was Bill’s spitting image and they looked NOTHING ALIKE. Anyway, I would love to explore how Aladdin and his father are so similar and any other shenanigans. They don’t have to be looking for the Hand of Midas or pull exactly from the animated film, but I think it would be great to see Aladdin have a whole person enter his life who is into some dark and bad stuff. It would be a different kind of personal story since it’s his father and he never really knew what happened to the man. Oh, that would be so great!

Idea 3: Another Country

Let’s see some other countries in this world. We can go to Shirabad sure, but I’m thinking more along the line of, Jasmine and Aladdin visit another country on the Silk Road for something and perhaps the royal family, a rival young King maybe, is a super jerk? Or perhaps another kingdom wants to invade Agrabah and/or conquer all the desert kingdoms… let’s go to war! This is the lesser of my ideas.

Idea 4: Married Life

I wouldn’t mind having a romcom like film with Aladdin and Jasmine getting used to married life and all the shenanigans that happens with that, like what is Aladdin’s actual title now? I really like the idea of him having a difficult time being in a ruler, especially since he’s made a name for himself as a thief. I would assume the guards who were on Jafar’s side were punished so none of them would be a problem exactly, but maybe some people in the kingdom? I don’t know but I would be interested in seeing how they handle being married. It seemed like Genie and Dalia were returning to Agrabah at the beginning of the film, so are they there to stay? They already have kids and stuff, so Aladdin and Jasmine must have been married for a while or there is some pocket of magic that allowed time to move differently for Dalia and the Genie?? Let me just also say, I think Will Smith’s Genie should also retain some of his magic. Maybe not like phenomenal cosmic powers but some of it should be left if he’s had magic for 10,000 years. It can’t just be gone. Anyway, let’s get it.

Idea 5: Mozenrath

Do y’all remember him from the animated show?

Mozenrath He’s a dark sorcerer, similar in ways to Jafar and I would quite enjoy seeing him on the big screen. So, I know he’s really pale because of where he lives, but just hire a light skinned POC as it’s not an excuse to cast a non POC actor. Anyways, he and Aladdin often butted heads and I remember reading that they wanted to introduce him as Aladdin’s older brother he didn’t know about in the third movie, but they decided to explore Aladdin’s dad instead. Now, I’m not against the idea of him being Aladdin’s older brother, perhaps from another woman, but we’ve seen that many times, so I would rather that not be the case. I’m even hesitant on him being a friend Aladdin knew from the city. Sooo, perhaps he was “friends” with Jafar, perhaps he knew Jafar from Shirabad since Jafar is clearly from Shirabad and not Agrabah.

There are a few episodes in the show that have good plots they could adapt. “Two to Tangle” is about Mozenrath dying because of his dark magic gauntlet or whatever, so he wants to transfer his body into a younger, stronger, healthier one and he chooses Aladdin. That could be interesting. There are a few others but this one is a little less cheesy lol.

This is My Thoughts on an Aladdin sequel with my Top Five ideas. I really think this movie deserves one, way more than Maleficent does, don’t even get me started on that, and there is a ton of material to pull from with the animated show, or even creating a new and interesting story. Plus, I want to visit this world again with Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott leading the charge. Shoot give me a television show on Disney Plus! Something!

Thanks for reading! And thanks to everyone who has liked and followed this blog! I am so grateful for my readers! Also, to everyone who has followed me, thank you so much!

Please feel free to comment, I love feedback. Let me know what you think of these ideas AND what would you like to see in a sequel. Tell me something good!

My Thoughts: Live Action The Little Mermaid

July 7, 2019July 21, 2019 ~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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So, anyone who knows me knows that my favorite Disney movie is The Little Mermaid. Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to be a mermaid and Ariel has always been my favorite Disney princess. I know this movie pretty much word for word.

Back when Disney announced their slate for the live action remakes, I remember seeing The Little Mermaid being part of that list but it didn’t seem to be finalized like the others were. If read any of my other pieces about the live action, you know that I’m okay with these remakes. They don’t bother me the way they seem to bother other people. I loved LOVED Aladdin, I loved The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast.

You can also check out My Thoughts: Disney Remakes. I’ll probably do another post similar to this now that we have more of these.

I think TLM would be a nice big challenge to do live action and to do well. We’ve seen mermaids in other mediums but they never really show them having an entire kingdom and conversations under water. It’s always above water and what not but then after watching Aquaman, which I thought was just okay, it’s clear that it can be done. Now, I would imagine that with the resources and funds that Disney has, their effects would look a lot better than they did in Aquaman.

The Cast

So, we have a few confirmed actors for the characters.

Halle Bailey as Ariel

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Ariel has always been my favorite Disney princess and I’ve always related to her curiosity and wonderment. Sure, everyone likes to pick on her because she gave up her life to be with a guy, and while I’m not saying that’s not true, she wanted to go to the surface BEFORE she even saw Eric. She sings “Part of Your World” before she even sees him. So, let’s not act like she saw him and it was a wrap. ANYWAYS, I like this casting.

I know a good majority of people wanted Zendaya and don’t get me wrong, I was up for that as well, especially when the picture below surfaced. It’s lovely fanart and I like Zendaya, I know she can act, I like her singing voice (they would just have to make the music in a lower range since Zendaya’s voice is just a tad deeper) but I’m not surprised as she’s doing her thing in her new HBO show AND she’s Michelle “MJ” Jones in Spider-Man.

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But I’m not mad at Halle Bailey’s choice because I think she’s cute, she’s young (19) and has a wistful look about her AND she can SING. I am always impressed when she and her sister perform because they both have beautiful voices. I also really like her look and I love the fact that she has locs and I REALLY hope they keep that look and if they want to keep the red, which I am partial too, then just dye her locs a lovely red color.

I have not seen her act, I know she’s on Grown-Ish but I don’t watch that show right now, so I’m not familiar with her acting, but Ariel spends a majority of the movie silent. So, a lot of her acting will be emotional/dramatic and physical. It was cute to see her try to fit in with the humans and it’s funny. They also gave Ariel some great emotional and dramatic moments in the animated film and she’s animated beautifully whenever she’s surprised, sad or anything of the like. So, I really hope that Halle Bailey can do all of that and more. It would really give her the chance to show what’s she got. I have faith in her.

Prince Eric

*swoons* He was one of my first movie crushes. Him and Aladdin lol. We do not have a Prince Eric just yet BUT I have some thoughts on this. So, I wouldn’t necessarily be mad if they kept Eric, Caucasian or if they race bended him to Asian, Hispanic whatever, but I would assume that his Kingdom would be just about located in/around the Caribbean so it makes more sense for him to also be black, plus, it would probably just sit better with people that Ariel didn’t leave her black family behind, or gave up her voice because she fell for a white guy. Just saying. I had a few ideas come to mind for him.

If they didn’t make Eric black then I would pick Shawn Mendes because I like him. I think he’s the right age, he’s cute and he can sing, they can give Eric a song in the movie lol and he’s biracial… his father is Portuguese.

My top choice right now is Jordan Fisher.

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I actually thought of Kelvin Harrison Jr. first, well his face not his name lol, I think he is super cute but I saw Jordan Fisher mentioned in an article about it and I was like OMG! Why didn’t I think of him sooner? I love Jordan Fisher. He has a great voice, singing and speaking, he is super charming and I think with his personality, they would give Eric way more to do (at least I hope so). He’s 25, which I think should be the cutoff age in terms of casting someone now that wouldn’t be too much older than Halle Bailey. I would assume when they start filming will be 2020 so she’ll be 20 and he’ll be 26 which keeps a healthy gap. Anyone older would be too weird.

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This is Kelvin Harrison Jr. He’s also super cute, he’s 24. Now, I don’t know about his acting just yet (He’s in the movie adaption of Walter Dean Myers’ book Monster, called All Rise which I’ve been waiting to see). I also think he’d look great with Halle Bailey.

Also also, my coworker just mentioned this, Avan Jogia could be a possible contender for Prince Eric. I still prefer Jordan Fisher but I wouldn’t be mad at making Jogia a Disney Prince.

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King Triton

My instant thought when I saw Halle Bailey’s casting was Idris Elba or Morris Chesnutt lol, which people are agreeing with me hahaha.

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I think he’ll be amazing, plus with his great voice, whether he keeps his accent or not, I think he’d be great! He has that majestic feeling about him. I think he’d be great. Also give him locs like he has in Thor, make them nice of course, but give him silver hair instead of white hair.

Ursula

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I don’t like this casting at all. I enjoy Melissa McCarthy for the most part but the funniest I ever found her was Bridesmaids and Spy. Ursula is humorous yes, but she is also devious, she is cunning, a little sexy and she’s scary. Right now, I cannot see McCarthy pulling this off, in fact, in my mind, she’s doing her same old shtick. I have not seen the movie she was recently nominated for but this is a Disney movie, and I feel like she’ll go overboard. I don’t like it.

Queen Latifah

Some years ago, Annie Leibowitz, the photographer, does a series of photos where celebrities are Disney characters and they had Queen Latifah pose as Ursula. I think this is inspired casting because Queen is regal like Ursula, I think she can pull off the sexy and the terrifying!

LIZZO

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I was introduced to Lizzo from RuPaul’s Drag Race, she was a guest judge and I loved her energy and humor. I heard that she expressed her want to play Ursula and I even saw her Twitter video of her singing a bit of “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, which of course needs to be SLAYED by whoever plays Ursula and I want an anthem, not some kind of talk/jokey hybrid. I enjoyed what I saw. I’m not super familiar with her music just yet, but I do plan on checking on her because I have liked what I heard so far. I’m down for it. She would be a younger Ursula but why not as Jafar was younger lol.

Sebastian

Obviously, he wouldn’t be an actual person but I wonder what he’s gonna look like because I mean, he’s a crab lol who looks a bit like a lobster. It shall be interesting. I heard someone mention Lin-Manuel Miranda for the part, but I think he should just stick to doing the music as the music was a nice highlight for Moanaso he should just do that and let someone else play Sebastian.

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Tituss Burgess played Sebastian in The Little Mermaid on Broadway and he was excellent. I saw it on YouTube years ago and it was great quality lol. He can totally reprise the role again here, he just won’t be on stage this time, but he has great energy, he’s sassy and he can SING. Let’s get it.

Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Awkwafina as Scuttle

These two are together because they were the first cast announcements.

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I adore Jacob Tremblay ever since I saw him in Room, he was fantastic. He’s done well in everything I saw him in even if I don’t particularly like the movie lol but I think he’s a perfect choice for Flounder.

As for Awkwafina, she annoys me, her voice, she’s not that funny and I get this try-hard vibe from her so I’m like…

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but I guess I’m okay with it in the end because Scuttle is also annoying so I guess it works out in the end.

Ariel’s Sisters/Atlantica/Eric’s Kingdom

Atlantica should just be a very diverse place as should Prince Eric’s kingdom. I’ve seen a lot of push for Eric to be Asian, so regardless if he’s Black or Asian, just make sure his kingdom has a bit of everyone in there, especially living on the water. Perhaps his Kingdom is a bit of a port city, a lot of immigrants I would think.

As for Ariel’s sisters, there are a lot of jokes out there right now, but I do think they should have Chloe Bailey be one of her sisters, perhaps the second to youngest, and maybe Ariel is really close to her. I’ve seen a lot of “King Triton should be white and some of her sisters should be” and I’m like “No, give me a black family.” So, they can clearly have different colored hair if you want to be funky, just make sure it doesn’t look ridiculous when doing it, but I do believe her sisters were all blondes and brunettes, so it could also just simple hair colors and have Ariel stand out with her having red locs. I think it would be pretty cool.

The Music

We know that they are bringing back the classic songs, which is great, and Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda are working together and I think there might be some new songs, which is cool. I think Eric needs a song lol. I just hope we keep the same feeling of the music, particularly in ‘Part of Your World’ but update it to fit the new world and Halle Bailey’s lovely voice. I really liked what they did to the music in Aladdinso it can be done in a contemporary way.

The Story

The story is well-known if you’ve seen the animated feature. It is very different from the original story by Hans Christian Anderson, thank goodness because that story is dark lol. But mermaid wants to go to the surface world as she has collected so many trinkets, one day she sees actual humans, including a human prince who catches her eye and now she really wants to go in order to meet him. She saves his life which allows him to have some idea of the woman who saved him and then shenanigans ensue.

I think in order to update this story line more, so it’s not just this girl giving up her life to be with some guy, but perhaps give her more opportunity to see him, or maybe even talk to him. Something so we see her have the chance to fall for him more. I’m thinking, we see the opening as usual, so skip forward to when she sings “Part of Your World” and of course the fireworks and the boat and all that. So, she manages to climb up high enough to watch the men on the boat, I would even say throw some women on there, women can be sailors, and they’re having a party, dancing, singing some song, sharing food and laughter. It would be a grand sight and she’s intrigued by all of this. Of course she sees Max, something she’s never seen before, but then maybe they break out into some sailor’s song or something and Ariel hears Eric sing (which leads into Jordan Fisher singing his song), something quick and she’s enamored by his voice, which I feel like it would be a nice connection because she loves music, she’s supposed to have this beautiful voice compared to her sisters and Eric also has a nice voice. She watches him as he dances, mingles and sings with his people and she likes his energy and charm.

So of course, she saves him as usual, she sings her song and then swims off. I WANT THEM TO MEET AGAIN as it would make more sense. This movie will probably be two hours long as it’s not animated and has the chance for more meat on its bones.

Hear me out.

After she runs off the first time, she comes back maybe a few more times. Eric walks the beach often with Max, maybe with the hope of seeing the mysterious girl again. Maybe Eric has a solo song? Something about his duty and freedom, lol I don’t know. Then later, Ariel goes a bit early, hiding in the same place among the rocky area and hums the song she sang or “Part of Your World” which she sang the reprise to him. He comes right on time and recognizes the song and she’s hiding in the rocky part of the beach and he’s like “It’s you isn’t it?” and then they have this awkward conversation, where she refuses to show herself to him. I feel like they could do this a few times to give them a chance to talk and for her to fall for him more which would attribute to her growing want/need to be on the surface.

When her father finds out she’s gone multiple times, talked to a human AND has fallen in love with him, it gives him way more of a reason to destroy her grotto and more of a reason to go into Ursula’s arms. Also, I feel like Triton should mention something about her mother, perhaps Ariel looks just like her and she was killed, like in the prequel movie. This is all good stuff. When Ariel finally shows up on land, of course she can’t talk so Eric doesn’t recognize her voice or her singing voice which means she just has to go off of her personality which is charming too as she is literally a fish out of water.

I think that they should give Ariel and Eric more interactions so she doesn’t just leave her family behind like others like to point out so often. Then the rest can follow as normal, just throw in more meat to fill in that runtime.

I think it’s important for their relationship to feel organic and not just rushed. I think it can be done if done correctly. I’m a little wary of Rob Marshall as the director but hopefully everyone surrounding him helps create a lovely story that is the one, we know and love but also updated.

Overall

I’m excited for the movie and to see what becomes of it. I am a bit nervous just because it is my favorite Disney movie and Ariel is my favorite Disney princess, so I definitely hold this one really close to my heart, but I’m not going to hate it before I even see anything. I always try to be open-minded so I can’t wait. Film production begins in 2020 and I think 2021 would be too soon so I anticipate May 2022 for release. We’ll see though lol.

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Thanks for reading!

Trailer Reaction: Aladdin (2019)

March 14, 2019July 23, 2019 ~ Alyxwrites ~ 1 Comment

You guys! The official trailer for Aladdin dropped and I think it’s glorious!

As I said in “My Thoughts: Live Action Aladdin“, I’ve been hopeful and optimistic for this movie ever since it was announced. I love Aladdin, it’s always been one of my favorite Disney movies, favorite movie of all time. I think it lends itself to live action really well, it just depends on the people involved and how it’s handled. The teaser trailer made me smile but I was like “okay, this is cute” but THIS trailer has me rejuvenated and I’m so excited to see it. Now May is a tricky month, usually a lot of big blockbusters come out but I think Aladdin has some nice cushion that it won’t be dogged out by other larger movies. Plus, it’s Disney, plus it’s a live action reimagining so… I think it’ll be fine.

Now, I’ve only done this one other time and it was when Beauty and the Beast came out, you can look at that reaction here. I won’t do it all the time, but maybe just for the Disney ones, I don’t know. But I knew I wanted to do it for this.

So here is Agrabah, at least the lower levels and I think it really gives this world some depth and I like how not only does it remind me of the animated film, but it kind of makes its own way.

Here is our resident street rat doing awesome parkour stuff, which he should be able to do considering he knows the marketplace like the back of his hand and he must be able to escape from the palace guards whenever he can. It makes sense that he can do these cool awesome things. Plus, Guy Ritchie does action scenes well, so I’m hoping that the beginning with him running through the marketplace coupled with “One Jump” that it will be a fun opening, not to mention all the action that happens at the end when Aladdin returns to save the day!

So I’ve always liked the foreshadowing in the animated film when Aladdin takes that rug and uses it to escape at the beginning only for him to find a living rug in the Cave of Wonders and it helps him escape then. So, I think it’s rather cool that they have him holding it like he’s going to use it but then he doesn’t, maybe it was a diversion?? lol I don’t know but it made me laugh when I rewatched the trailer. Not to mention, the rope he’s using also holds up the scaffolding the guards are standing on, so two birds one stone.

The guards fall into a big thing of flowers, instead of cow dung lol and the flowers fly and slowly fall around Jasmine and I think it’s a really beautiful moment. Naomi Scott looks great in that scene and I love her slow turn with the flowers and then Aladdin’s “Whoa” moment upon seeing her. I know, she pretty lol.

THEN DISNEY LOGO. Side note, does anyone remember the old Disney intro with Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey Mouse using magic to make the Disney logo appear? If I find it while writing this, I’ll add it to the final edit.

FOUND IT!

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So then we see Jafar walking towards a barred door with Iago flying in the background. Probably his secret lair where he finds out who the diamond in the rough is and he’s talking in the background to Aladdin. He’s appealing to Aladdin’s desires, which is of course super smart because you get someone to do the dirty work for you who is willing to do whatever.

As he’s talking to Aladdin in the desert but the big difference I see here, is that Jafar is talking to him as himself. Which in the Broadway play, he doesn’t disguise himself as that old man, he just saves him from being killed by the guards and sweet talks him into helping him. So perhaps they’re going that route with this which I think is interesting because then when he sees him later, will he be quick on his feet about recognizing him and thinking he’s no good? I’m curious.

Gosh her outfit is beautiful. Now we have Aladdin on the camel following Jafar and his people out into the desert to the Cave of Wonders and it looks really cool! I mean it’s built right into the side of the mountain and I wonder if it’s always there or if they have to summon it. I like the fact that it’s always there, just maybe not awake?

But he gets in there and the inside looks really cool! He’s climbing on giant rocks to the lamp and we get the shot we got at the end of that very first teaser.

I like the way he’s looking at the lamp. It’s like wonder and awe but at the same time he’s really careful. He’s lived on the street all of his life, he’s surrounded by treasure and I’m sure he was told not to touch anything else and he’s probably like “Okay… nice and easy… don’t do anything crazy” because that’s exactly what I would be thinking while trying to pick that up. Plus… is it heavy? Aladdin is looking at the lamp and the details on it is very beautiful. He rubs it and here comes the blue smoke!

He looks so good coming out of that smoke! So he’s putting on this booming voice and talking about working for the master and the wishes three and all that normal genie stuff… you know I have to say, I think since Robin Williams was pretty much Robin Williams while portraying the genie and it was iconic, it makes sense for them to allow Will Smith to do the same and I think he’ll do a great job at it. But he was kidding and then “Friend Like Me” plays and I wonder if it’ll be more like a rap. I mean the beat sounded the same but it had a bit of extra spice in it and I loved it. I can’t wait to see the animation and CGI in this scene. It has to be better than the “Be Our Guest” in Beauty and the Beast because while I liked it, it was a little lackluster.

Definitely has some of that Fresh Prince flair to it doesn’t it? I’m actually here for it more than I was before.

Aladdin and Genie are overlooking the desert and carpet looks awesome! Genie snaps them back into a little shelter and he’s now looking like a regular Will Smith human. I really do like the costuming on his human form. Aladdin asks Genie if he can make him a prince and the Genie tells him there is a lot of grey area in “make” instead of “wishing” because make could mean… make a prince and he makes a prince lol.

See the prince in the background? lol he just made him appear instead of “creating a prince persona” for Aladdin. I like this kind of personality he seems to have. I like that while he seems to be fun-loving, he also doesn’t use a joke for everything he needs to say. Not saying that it wasn’t great in the animation to see that Genie do that, but it’s nice that he’s already appearing like his own character. I also loved Aladdin’s reaction to seeing Genie magically appear in a different place than he was before. It was cute.

He’s turning him into a Prince! I think this is such a great clip to show us. We get to see Will Smith more in the blue and it’s a lot less jarring than it was before, it fits and I like it. Not to mention, we get to see both Abu and Carpet hanging out and we get a nice little glimpse of his Prince Ali outfit which I wondered how it would look because it’s an iconic Aladdin look. AND LET ME TELL YOU….

I AM EXCITED FOR THIS ENTIRE SEQUENCE. YA’LL BETTER DELIVER! I mean the colors! It looks fantastic and the Prince Ali outfit is amazing. I’m really curious about Jafar in this though since he’s a much younger guy. Like I said in “My Thoughts”, he’s a younger guy so is he just a young upstart who moved up in the ranks too fast? Will Aladdin be even more competition because they’re not to far apart in age? I’m really interested to see this version of him and to see the rivalry they have.

So this looks like there is a party instead of a one on one kind of thing for Jasmine’s hand. Like a Cinderella like ball which is cool and I like this look from both men. Aladdin looks all clean and cute and I like the colors on Will Smith. The costumes are truly beautiful. HAVE IT COSPLAYERS! The Genie tells Aladdin that while he changed what he looks like on the outside, he didn’t change anything on the inside which is an important message. You can make yourself look beautiful but if you are nasty on the inside you’ll always be nasty and vice versa. Aladdin’s lesson to learn is that his outward appearance doesn’t matter because he’s a good person regardless of his circumstance. Not to mention, Jasmine falls for him because of what he shows her not because his clothes or standing. He just so happened to also be a “prince”, a fake one but still lol you get my point.

SO BEAUTIFUL! LOOK AT THE OUTFIT!! ANYWAYS, Genie tells Aladdin it’s time to do his thing, he’s all like “No, I’m in charge, I say when I go” probably being a scaredy cat so the Genie uses magic to send him Jasmine’s way and its super cute. They talk, he’s shocked that she’s not allowed to go wherever she wants.

Ya’ll it’s getting real out here! He asked her if she trusts him and she slowly slides her hand in his and the music is swelling and I’m smiling like an idiot because I’m so excited. I mean, I think I’m a little more excited than I was when the official trailer for Beauty and the Beast came out lol. I’m not sure but I was stupid excited for that too and I can’t even! She climbs up on the carpet and the music is swelling and

A WHOLE NEW WORLD!! I think they sound really good together. I’m really interested in this scene too, so iconic. I keep saying that but it’s so true! The carpet looks great, she looks great, he looks great. sighs I need this movie now.

So while this song is playing, we see a couple of other clips. One of Aladdin and Jasmine dancing and I love her peacock shawl thing, y’all I’m drooling over the costumes.

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We have them throwing Aladdin over the cliff, looks like he’s tied to a chair. Word lol. Clips of Genie during the “Prince Ali” sequence. Aladdin running atop the buildings in the marketplace, most likely from “One Jump”. There’s a scene of him climbing and being awesome on some icy mountains which I wondered if that’s from when Jafar sends him away to die from the cold.

Here is Abu trying to catch the lamp which makes me think it’s the part at the end where they’re fighting Jafar for the lamp and he gets turned into a toy. Probably won’t happen the exact same way but I’m hoping for a large action sequence at the end. MAKE IT BIG AND AWESOME because I had this chance to see an awesome live action fight between Aladdin and Jafar and Once Upon a Time had that opportunity and messed it up!

Dunno what’s happening in the picture above but perhaps it’s the climax when he takes the lamp. I love the red though and his staff looks red here as well. Maybe it’s during the final battle. There are some clips of Raja maybe protecting Jasmine? The Genie dancing during “Prince Ali” and we get this shot with even more beautiful clothes.

I think that’s Iago in the background as a giant bird and he’s chasing down Abu and Aladdin. I do wonder if Iago will talk, I would prefer if he didn’t because I don’t think he needs to, if anything Jafar talking to his bird makes him even more crazy. It’s better than having the bird actually talk back to him. But Run Boy Run! Iago is chasing them on carpet and then a shot from inside the Cave of Wonders again before we get the awesome logo where it looks like the hilt of a dagger.

Ya’ll let me tell y’all how excited I am. I mean, I think it’ll be good. I’m not sure how good but I think it will be worth the watch because this trailer was everything. I like the casting, I LOVE the costumes and from what we hear of the music I really like that as well.

No matter what you think of the whole reimagining into live action, there are some things to be added and newly experienced for these new movies. Also the official poster is dope.

So that’s my “reaction” to the official trailer. I’ve seen a lot of people saying that they’re more interested in it now because of this trailer and I think that’s great news because I think it deserves a chance.

What are your thoughts on the Aladdin trailer? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Thanks for reading!

My Thoughts: Live Action Aladdin

February 13, 2019February 15, 2019 ~ Alyxwrites ~ 2 Comments

So, listen, I’ve wanted to do a piece on what I thought about Disney’s live action trek through our childhood memories. I did one a couple of years ago when Beauty and the Beast was coming out. You can read Disney Remakes Thoughts and the Beauty and the Beast review.

It’s no secret that I am optimistic for these remakes. I don’t have a problem with it and I will get into all of that when I talk about that. This piece is to specifically talk about the live action Aladdin movie before it comes out and I do my official review. These are my thoughts SO FAR. There isn’t much to really talk about since it’s not out yet but I’m going to touch on the casting and the costumes mostly because that’s what the promo photos have been for.

The Casting

So obviously I thought it was important to have a cast full of people of color for this movie because of where it’s set. Sure, Agrabah is a fake country but it is based on real places. I remember back when they officially announced it, everyone wanted Avan Jogia to play Aladdin.

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Obviously I get it, I mean back in the day, I would have been like yasss, but I like the guy they got to play Aladdin.

I think he’s super cute and I follow him on Instagram and he seems to have great energy for the role. I just hope the direction and the writing allows him to be great. Sometimes actors can’t shine when the material won’t let them so I’m hoping it does because the animated film is so great. I think Mena Massoud is a fine choice physically, so we’ll see how it is acting wise.

Now when Naomi Scott was cast as Jasmine, there was a lot of backlash because she’s not brown enough. Listen, I get it because representation is important, and I agree. It would have been nice to have someone who is browner to play such an iconic princess who is the first Disney princess of color. I get it completely. However, my issue came with the fact that people had such a problem with her when she is of Indian descent on her mother’s side, but everyone wanted Avan Jogia to play Aladdin when his father is British-Indian. It was so crazy to me. I often defended her casting whenever it came up in a conversation because it’s not like she not a person of color at all. But that’s over and done, I think she looks great in the role. I’ve only seen her in Power Rangers and a few episodes in shows. I think she’s a fine actress. I just hope they allow Jasmine to have a bit more character growth. She is my third favorite Disney princess, but I never really thought she had the best writing in the animated film. She’s a great character but she’s a flat character, which is why I hoped they took notes from the Broadway show. She has a lot more character in that and I think it’s important that we get to know Jasmine as more than just “I don’t want to marry someone I don’t love” just like we get to know and love Aladdin.

As for Will Smith, I’m okay with this casting overall. I was a little skeptical when it was first announced, and I am not necessarily skeptical but curious now. I like Will Smith, he’s a likable guy but I can never see him as his character… he’s Will Smith. I think the only time I was like “wow that’s the character and not Will Smith” was probably Hancock just because that guy was a jerk and a bit different from the characters Will Smith plays that I have seen anyway. I know no one can fill Robin Williams’ shoes but I hope they don’t try to copy that iconic character but allow Will Smith to make it his own. Now, in the trailer, the way he started talking sounded like The Fresh Prince and I was like ummm… so I just hope it’s not too jarring outside of his physical appearance. I think he’ll be fine overall, but I’m just like… okaayyyyy.

The Costumes

I think they are beautiful. At least all the Disney remakes have had beautiful costumes, no matter what you think of Cinderella’s huge blue dress or Belle’s yellow dress. I think they’re both fine. I didn’t care for Cinderella’s dress at first, it grew on me but overall, it’s fine. I’m in the minority but I really liked Belle’s dress but ya know, whatevs lol.

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But I think the costumes in Aladdin look so good so far.

I like Aladdin’s look mostly. Mena Massoud has great hair and it just looks weird, I don’t know if it’s because he’s supposed to be “dirty”, so his hair is greasy, I don’t know but that’s what throws me off the most. I mean, I know in the pictures he looks really “clean” as I have seen people say but I mean promotional pictures aren’t technically stills from the film. I think he looks better in the second photo with the genie. I can’t WAIT to see his Prince Ali look because it’s iconic and I can imagine the detail on it. heart eyes

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Jasmine’s costumes are so beautiful! I think her clothes are my favorite of our live action heroines so far. The attention to detail, the colors, how the blue outfit resembles her iconic outfit but puts a new twist on it. I think she looks amazing. The picture with the Sultan is a new one I discovered, and that yellow is everything. LISTEN, I don’t care, I think Naomi Scott looks great. The Sultan also looks good in that picture.

Jafar’s costume also looks nice. I think his hat is a bit big lol, but perhaps he’s a young guy who moved up quickly in the ranks and obviously wants to be Sultan. I mean, in the animated film it was gross because he was a smarmy old man and he wanted Jasmine to be his queen lol. So, with this younger actor, I hope he acts super smarmy so make up for being a beautiful man lol.

As for The Genie. I already said what I had to say on the casting, but I think the blue is a bit jarring. Perhaps when I see the movie it won’t be as weird because I’ll already be immersed in the world and when it happens, maybe it’ll look better. Maybe they’re still putting some work on his final look. I think the second photo looks better than the first photo. Maybe him being large helps this look. I don’t know but I prefer the more “human” look like in the picture above with Aladdin. Apparently, the human look is his disguise when he’s out in the world, but I wish he looked like that all the time. I mean, perhaps his hands turned blue, or maybe whenever he used magic it was blue to pay homage, but I’m not really feeling it. This is probably the first time I’m like…

But I’m still optimistic. Update: I started writing this on 2/12/2019 and I have to say the blue look is growing on me. It’s still jarring but it’s growing on me.

The Music

This is the last thing I want to touch on. We know and love the songs from the animated film and I can’t wait to see how they do them in this version. I’m excited. I am however curious about these new songs. There is a new solo for Jasmine and Aladdin and Jasmine have a new duet, which is called “sweet”. I really wanted the two original songs from the Broadway show in the film, “Proud of Your Boy” which Aladdin sings in his home and “A Million Miles Away” which Aladdin and Jasmine sing together (but not together). I really wanted both of those in the movie, but I guess they’re not, instead there are two new songs. So, I’m curious to hear those and I’ve never really heard either lead actor sing, I know Naomi Scott was in Lemonade Mouth, but I never saw that, so I’ll just be waiting for the film.

Overall, these are my thoughts right now for the upcoming Aladdin movie. I am excited. As I said, I am generally optimistic about these live action remakes, I don’t think they’re useless, I think its kind of cool and I’m interested to see what they continue to do. I hope Aladdin does a great job!

Thanks for reading my quick thoughts on the upcoming Aladdin movie! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Are you not impressed? Why not? Are you excited? Tell me why! I’m interested in hearing from you!

Anticipated Movies of 2019

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 ~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

2019 is going to be an amazing year, that’s what they all say. I’m interested in seeing the number of movies that come out this year. 2018 was a great year for movies but it was a weird year for ME seeing them lol. I hope I can do even better this year and see the ones that I really want to see.

I’m sure there is also going to be a lot of movies that pop up during the year that won’t be on this list but that’s fine because this list contains the movies that I know about.

So, just like last year, I’m going to do my most anticipated movies by month.

January

Glass- January 18: Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities. I still have to watch Unbreakable, but Split was legit so I’m down for this movie.

February

What Men Want- Feb 8: A woman is boxed out by the male sports agents in her profession but gains an unexpected edge over them when she develops the ability to hear their thoughts. This has Taraji P. Henson in it, and it’s like What Women Want, which I really enjoy lol. I hope it’s good since 2018 wasn’t very nice to Taraji with those other two movies.

Happy Death Day 2U- Feb 14: Tree Gelbman discovers that dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one so I’m down for this one.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World- Feb 22: When Hiccup discovers Toothless isn’t the only Night Fury, he must seek “The Hidden World”, a secret Dragon Utopia before a hired tyrant named Grimmel finds it first. The first two are fantastic movies, so I would imagine that this would be the same. The animation looks better than ever and I’m excited!

March

Chaos Walking- March 1: A dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each other’s thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise. Apparently, it’s based on a YA novel, these don’t usually do well when they’re “dystopian” at least not consistently, but Tom Holland is in it sooo I’m there.

Greta- March 1: A young woman befriends a lonely widow. I saw this trailer on YouTube and it looks bonkers! I’m down.

Captain Marvel- March 8: Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Need I say anything more? I’m excited. I just hope Brie Larson kicks butt in the role because I love her, and I think she’s a great actress, but the trailers don’t do anything for her acting ability.

Us- March 15: A mother and father take their kids to their beach house, expecting to enjoy time with friends, but their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some visitors arrive uninvited. But Alyx, I thought you didn’t like scary movies… I don’t know. However, I want to support the culture lol and it looks interesting. Sooooo I’ll be there… scared, watching through my fingers.

Dumbo- March 29: A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer. I know people don’t like these “live action” Disney remakes but I’m optimistic and open to them. I have always loved Dumbo the animation movie so I’m excited about this one! Dumbo is so precious!

April

Avengers: Endgame-April 26: The Plot is unknown. Listen, Infinity War kicked me in the stomach so I’m ready. I don’t even care if they have the Care Bears come down and do a Care Bear stare, I’m there.

May

John Wick: Chapter 3- May 17: Plot Unknown but it’s the third installment in the series. John Wick kicks ass and I’m there.

The Sun is Also a Star- May 17: A teenager finds love at a difficult time in her family’s life. I really loved the book so I’m looking forward to the film. I wasn’t too impressed with the casting (I like Yara Shahidi but Natasha is Jamaican and described as having darker skin). Plus, Everything, Everything the film was okay so I’m like hmmm but I am optimistic.

Aladdin- May 24, 2019: A live-action retelling of the 1992 Disney film of the same name. I AM SO OPTIMISTIC! I’m curious because Guy Ritchie has a certain style and I wonder if it’ll fit this kind of movie. I really hope it’s good and I’m there.

June

Dark Phoenix- June 7: Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to decide if the life of a team member is worth more than all the people living in the world. I’m optimistic lol, I don’t think X-men Apocalypse was that great but there were parts of it I liked. The last time dark phoenix was done it wasn’t very good, so we’ll see how this turns out. I mean, the promo photos were pretty great so… optimistic.

Toy Story 4-June 21, 2019. When a new toy called “Forky” joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy. Do we really need another Toy Story film? Not really… but will I be watching it? Most definitely.

July

Spider-Man: Far from Home-July 5, 2019: Peter Parker and his friends go on summer vacation to Europe, where Peter finds himself trying to save his friends against a villain known as Mysterio. I AM SO EXCITED! I really enjoyed Tom Holland in Civil War and I thought Homecoming was great, so I hope they keep that vibe they had in the first movie and make the sequel even better.

The Lion King- July 19, 2019: CGI re-imagining of the 1994 Disney classic. I wouldn’t call it “live action” it’s a CGI remake and I’m there. I thought the teaser was lovely, Simba was so precious and I’m curious to see how they’ve updated it. I’m into it.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood-July 26, 2019: A faded TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Helter Skelter reign of terror in 1969 Los Angeles. This has a great cast.

August

The New Mutants-August 2, 2019: Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves. Another year and no movie, so I’m still waiting to see it!

September

It: Chapter Two-September 6, 2019: Twenty-seven years later, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back. I loved the first one…. another horror lol I know, I might even go past my “3 a year” quota if there are some I want to see, and I want to see this one. Great cast (though I still don’t like Chastain as older Beverly) and I’m interested to see how our adult Losers Club takes down Pennywise.

October

Zombieland 2- October 2019: Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family. I LOOVE the first one and it seems like the original actors are back so I’m there!

November

Kingsman 3-November 8. Plot unknown. I loved the first one, the second one was just okay, so I hope this one brings the trilogy back to being solid.

Frozen 2-November 27. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf are going far in the forest to know the truth about an ancient mystery of their kingdom. I don’t even care, I love the first one. It doesn’t bother me at all nor is it annoying so I’m ready to see what happens next. The only thing that annoyed me was them playing that super long Olaf Christmas short in front of Coco. That was uncalled for.

December

Jumanji 2- December 13. Plot unknown. I really liked the first one to my surprise so I’m curious to see what they do for the sequel.

Little Women-December 25: Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War. I LOVE Little Women and I’m excited for this adaptation. I love Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan and the other great acting talents in this film. It’s also being directed by Greta Gerwig who did Lady Bird which I loved so yeah, exciting.

Star Wars: Episode IX-December 20. Plot unknown. I have come to terms that I am not a big Star Wars fan. I enjoy the movies and I have enjoyed the new trilogy, so I’m interested in seeing the last one.

Not really Anticipating but want to see:

January

The Kid Who Would Be King- Jan 25: Looks like it’s about King Arthur. I mean, it might be terrible, but the trailers seem fun.

Serenity- Jan 25: I have no idea what this movie is about, but I like Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey.

February

Miss. Bala- Feb 1: Gloria finds a power she never knew she had when she is drawn into a dangerous world of cross-border crime. Surviving will require all of her cunning, inventiveness, and strength. Based on the Spanish-language film. It reminds me of all the other films that are similar to this but it looks nice and I enjoy Gina Rodriguez.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part- Feb 8: No idea what this movie is about but the first one is cute so why not.

Alita: Battle Angel- Feb 14: The trailer seems interesting, it reminds me of Astroboy… I mean if anything the graphics look good.

March

Five Feet Apart-Mar 22: A pair of teenagers with life-threatening illnesses meet in a hospital and fall in love. I’m not to sure if I think it’ll be any good, but I want to see Cole Sprouse not in Riverdale and I wonder if it’ll make me cry.

April

Shazam! – April 5: We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s case, by shouting out one word – SHAZAM! – this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult superhero Shazam. I’m not really anticipating this one, I’m just interested in seeing it because it looks fun.

The Best of Enemies- April 5: Civil rights activist Ann Atwater faces off against C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, North Carolina over the issue of school integration. I saw this trailer when I saw The Hate U Give and it looks good and Taraji P. Henson is in it so even more reason to see it.

Little- April 12: A woman is transformed into her younger self at a point in her life when the pressures of adulthood become too much to bear. I’m definitely going to see it to support! Plus it looks like it’ll be a good time.

May

Pokémon Detective Pikachu- May 10: In a world where people collect Pokémon to do battle, a boy comes across an intelligent talking Pikachu who seeks to be a detective. I just want to see what happens, plus I think the Pokémon designs are pretty dope.

Rocketman- May 17: The story of Elton John’s life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. Taron Egerton is playing Elton John… sure lol. I like Taron, so why not.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters-May 31: The crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. I enjoyed the first one minus the boring human stuff but this one seems interesting.

June

The Secret Life of Pets 2-June 7: Plot unknown. The first one is cute so I’m into seeing the second one.

July

August

Hobbs And Shaw- August 2, 2019: A spinoff of The Fate of the Furious, focusing on Johnson’s US Diplomatic Security Agent Luke Hobbs forming an unlikely alliance with Statham’s Deckard Shaw. I like both characters in the franchise, they were both fun in The Fate of the Furious, so this should be fun to watch.

Artemis Fowl- August 9, 2019: Artemis Fowl II, a young Irish criminal mastermind, kidnaps the fairy LEPrecon officer Holly Short for ransom to fund the search for his missing father to restore the family fortune. I read the book in middle school and I remember liking it, so I’m curious to see how the movie holds up. I will read the book again to truly compare but I can’t help but think this will be another A Wrinkle in Time mess.

September

Spies in Disguise- Sept 13: When the world’s best spy is turned into a pigeon, he must rely on his nerdy tech officer to save the world. Voice talents of Will Smith and Tom Holland, and the trailer was charming so sure, I’ll watch it.

October

Gemini Man- Oct 4: An over-the-hill hitman faces off against a younger clone of himself. It’s basically like Looper with Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt it seems like, but I’m interested in seeing it.

Joker- October 4. A failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and becomes a psychopathic murderer. lol sure, why not.

The Addams Family-October 11. An animated version of Charles Addams’ series of cartoons about a peculiar, ghoulish family. It has a great cast being led by Oscar Isaac who is always a win in my book… but I’m not like off my seat for it even though I really enjoy The Addams Family. I’ve always thought that if they ever did anymore live action films Oscar Isaac should play Gomez Addams.

November

Charlie’s Angels- November 1. Plot Unknown. LOL sure. I’m curious.

Sonic the Hedgehog-November 15. A cop in rural town of Green Hills will help Sonic escape from the government who is looking to capture him. lol I’ve always liked Sonic… I think he looks a little weird on the poster, but I will wait to pass judgement when it’s released.

December

I’m sure there are movies that will pop up throughout the year that won’t be on this list but I’ll probably add more as I discover more.

What movies are you anticipating this year? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading and be sure to follow this blog for more posts like this one!

Best Movies of 2018

January 8, 2019 ~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

Another list that I am SUPER late with but here it is! I didn’t see a ton of movies this year as I wanted to but listed here are the ones I thought stood out the most that I saw.

Honorable Mentions: Ready Player One, Crazy Rich Asians, Annihilation, Ant-Man and the Wasp

10. Bumblebee

I haven’t reviewed this yet and I don’t know if I will, but I thought this was very good. I was surprised. I don’t care for any of the Transformers movies. I think I’ve only see the first two, but I really enjoyed the adventure, but I was also really into the friendship (also seemed a little romantic lol) that bloomed between Charlie and Bumblebee which was shocking to me. I also very much enjoyed the action. Yes, be shocked people lol.

9. Love, Simon

I very much enjoyed this movie. I even teared up at the end. Nick Robinson did a very good job in this role. Simon is so likable, and you root for him throughout the movie. Unlike the book where I hated some characters, I generally liked everyone (all the main characters) in the movie. It’s a nice teen, coming of age movie for those who may be in the same struggle as Simon.

8. Sorry to Bother You

I haven’t reviewed this yet and I do plan on it, but this movie is bonkers. I mean, I really liked it. I think it’s one of those you either “love it” or you “hate it” because it’s weird. I get the message, I like the quirkiness of it and I thought it was handled in a very original way. Great movie experience.

7. The Incredibles 2

Something we’ve been waiting for for years! I don’t think it’s better than the first one but it’s a nice follow up. I loved seeing the Parr family again and I loved seeing Elastigirl really use her powers because she’s awesome. The story is interesting, the characters are STILL likable, and the action and adventure aspect is so much fun!

6. Avengers: Infinity War

I haven’t seen it again in a while, but this movie really kicked me in the stomach. It was great seeing 10 years of MCU movies come to a head in this film. I think the direction was handled well since there were so many characters in this film to juggle. I thought it could have been a mess, but it wasn’t. I do think there was some issues which doesn’t put it in the Top 5 of my MCU movies (at least right now it doesn’t) but it’s Sooooo worth it.

5. Mission Impossible: Fallout

This movie is dope! I love the Mission Impossible movies and Ethan Hunt is awesome! Shoot, the Avengers need to let him help them take down Thanos lol. It’s because of these movies that I know spy movies don’t necessarily HAVE to be convoluted. Fallout is so much fun, you get to see Tom Cruise RUN LIKE A CHAMP! Plus, Henry Cavill was also great in it and we got to see the best moment ever.

4. A Quiet Place

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like horror films. I know that “horror” is a wide genre so there are smaller umbrellas of horror I would enjoy (like I want to see Happy Death Day 2 U) and this was one of those I really wanted to see. I would consider it more of a thriller than anything but it’s one of those movies where you MUST watch since it’s so quiet. It forces you to be quiet and pay attention. I think all the acting is very good and the use of sound and music in the film is top notch. Great directorial debut by John Kransinski and of course Emily Blunt is always a win.

3. The Hate U Give

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name. It is a great book adaptation and I think the movie was well done. The acting, the story and the passion behind it was all handled very well and it shows. Sure, it’s a little different from the book but it’s still very good. Amandla Stenberg was great and powerful as Starr Carter and the story hits so close to what has been happening with black people and police. Very relevant.

2. Black Panther

I mean what can I say? It’s Black Panther. I argued for a while if this will be my number one movie and I settled with it here. It is such a win for black superheroes, for black nerds, for black people and for people in general. The story may be familiar, but I think you can tell there was love behind it. I mean, the costumes, the musical score, it’s funny and it has a lot of emotional moments that are totally earned. Plus, my husband is in it and he killed that villain role! Everyone in this movie DID that.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Listen, if you have not seen this movie and you’re a Spider-man fan then what is wrong with you? This is THE BEST Spider-Man movie (fight me) and I’m so glad that Miles Morales is at the helm in this. I love Peter Parker, I have and always will love Peter Parker but this movie having Miles as the lead was a smart move because it follows the message of the movie… anyone can be behind the mask if you let go. The animation is beautiful, the music is used well in the film, the action is so good, the characters are ALL interesting, I mean there are a lot of characters and they all get their time to shine. Miles is a fully realized character and if you don’t know much about him going into the movie, then I reckon you’ll love him by the end. This was such a great movie experience and I recommend for any Spider-Man fan to go out and watch this one.

So what are your thoughts on my list? Remember, this is my opinion so if you disagree, please tell me what your list is in the comments below!

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to like and follow this blog for more posts like this one!

Worst Movies of 2018

January 5, 2019January 5, 2019 ~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

Soooo I am super late than usual with this list but I wanted to make sure I shared what I thought were some of the worst movies of 2018. Unlike 2017, I did not see a ton of movies this year. It’s been an interesting year as I have been working on graduating from my master’s program (Which I did whoooo!) but I realized I saw enough movies to make this list. I saw a few more that I wanted to add even after the year ended.

There are plenty of movies I didn’t see that I heard weren’t very good but I can’t pass judgment because I didn’t see them.

Dishonorable Mentions:The Commuter, Teen Titans Go To the Movies, Father Figures, A Wrinkle in Time, I Feel Pretty, Solo: A Star Wars Story

10. The Darkest Minds

Another unfortunate mistake of a movie that should have been a television show. This movie is so dull and uninteresting and I think such a missed opportunity. I already have ranted enough about it so you can just read the review to see why. I don’t think it’s the worst on the list, it’s just boring.

9. Red Sparrow

This movie was a slog. I don’t think it’s the worst thing ever but it’s a slog. It’s so long and for no reason. I don’ know why spy movies feel the need to be so convoluted. I have no idea what the book is like but the movie felt like it was just something to see Jennifer Lawrence try her hand at. I’m not an accent expert but her Russian accent wasn’t that great, I wasn’t that invested in her character and the movie is overall cringy. I understood what was going on, I even completely guessed the ending because it is what I would have done but boy it took a long time getting there. sighs

8. Pacific Rim: Uprising

I thoroughly enjoyed the first one. It’s not a masterpiece but it was fun to watch and enjoyable. So, my question is, why do they keep making sequels to these blockbusters where the main character (or one of them) is the kid of the hero of the first film and they’re this huge tool? I mean, John Boyega is likable but his character is kind of lame in this film. He’s not that funny or charismatic (which is sad because I think John Boyega is both of those things naturally). The story… lol what story? Doesn’t really kick in until the end otherwise it’s a bunch of people talking. It’s also pretty boring until the end and that’s a shame.

7. Proud Mary

I had to see this twice and I was bored out of my mind both times. I was actually on my phone most of the second time I saw it and kind of fell asleep. I like Taraji, I think she’s a good actress and it was cool seeing her kick butt and she’s great with emotional acting and I loved the stuff with Mary and Danny. BUUUT the movie is boring and all over the place, it’s underwhelming, the side characters are stupid, the action was lame outside of a few pieces and I wanted to like it but I can’t, Taraji can’t even make me like the movie.

6. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Another boring, dull mess. It wanted to be tension filled and interesting but it focuses on stuff that I cannot imagine anyone caring about when the movie should have stuck with the idea of wanting to either save or kill the dinosaurs. The entire second act of the film is just so out of place and all of the characters are stupid. ALL OF THEM. I mean, the ending alone is just ridiculous.

5. Fifty Shades Freed

I actually forgot this came out this year lol, but it’s bad. It’s better than Darker whichis just the worst, but it’s still so bad. Again, all of these characters are just so stupid and nothing makes sense. I still need to know why Ana was promoted to that job when she was just an assistant and barely had qualifications. I wish it worked that way. The whole thing with Jack Hyde was lame, you’re mad over something Christian had no control over? Also, you didn’t know he didn’t want to have kids until AFTER you married him? Aren’t all three of the movies taking place within like a year? Pfft. So dumb. Her wedding dress was beautiful though.

4. Acrimony

I haven’t reviewed it yet and I definitely will but anyone who really knows me knows I do not know like Tyler Perry and do not care for his movies. There are a few here and there I like but most of the time, meh. So, I only wanted to see this because of Taraji P. Henson and even she could not save this movie from terrible writing, terrible pacing and what is clearly a rush job. That’s all I got for this bit, you’ll see what I completely think in the review.

3. Show Dogs

Still can’t believe I watched this. I thought it was something else but alas. Y’all it’s stupid. It’s a kids movie but I can’t imagine a kid actually sitting through this unless they like to see talking dogs. So so bad.

2. Samson

Oh boy. I like this bible story and I love the adaptation with Hedy Lamarr. The acting is poor, the wigs and beards given in the third act of the film are terrible, the entire Samson and Delilah storyline was glazed over. I guess in the end it was about Samson but he wasn’t interesting, he’s a jerk but wasn’t an interesting jerk. Taylor James didn’t have any of the charisma that Samson seemed to have considering how he got away with a LOT. The stuff with the Prince and the King was just so hammy. I laughed a lot when I wasn’t supposed to.

1. The 15: 17 to Paris

WHAT EVEN IS THIS MOVIE??? Y’all this movie is so bad it’s laughable. The first mistake was taking this 5-minute incident and turning it into a feature length. Second mistake, casting the real guys to play themselves, they are not actors and it shows. The dialogue is bad, the acting is bad and I just cannot. It’s a nice idea to honor the guys who did a great thing but not this movie. Not at all.

You guys! The official trailer for Aladdin dropped and I think it’s glorious!

Now, I’ve only done this one other time and it was when Beauty and the Beast came out, you can look at that reaction here. I won’t do it all the time, but maybe just for the Disney ones, I don’t know. But I knew I wanted to do it for this.

So here is Agrabah, at least the lower levels and I think it really gives this world some depth and I like how not only does it remind me of the animated film, but it kind of makes its own way.

THEN DISNEY LOGO. Side note, does anyone remember the old Disney intro with Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey Mouse using magic to make the Disney logo appear? If I find it while writing this, I’ll add it to the final edit.

FOUND IT!

But he gets in there and the inside looks really cool! He’s climbing on giant rocks to the lamp and we get the shot we got at the end of that very first teaser.

Definitely has some of that Fresh Prince flair to it doesn’t it? I’m actually here for it more than I was before.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD!! I think they sound really good together. I’m really interested in this scene too, so iconic. I keep saying that but it’s so true! The carpet looks great, she looks great, he looks great. *sighs* I need this movie now.

So while this song is playing, we see a couple of other clips. One of Aladdin and Jasmine dancing and I love her peacock shawl thing, y’all I’m drooling over the costumes.

Ya’ll let me tell y’all how excited I am. I mean, I think it’ll be good. I’m not sure how good but I think it will be worth the watch because this trailer was everything. I like the casting, I LOVE the costumes and from what we hear of the music I really like that as well.

No matter what you think of the whole reimagining into live action, there are some things to be added and newly experienced for these new movies. Also the official poster is dope.

So that’s my “reaction” to the official trailer. I’ve seen a lot of people saying that they’re more interested in it now because of this trailer and I think that’s great news because I think it deserves a chance.

What are your thoughts on the Aladdin trailer? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Thanks for reading!

So, listen, I’ve wanted to do a piece on what I thought about Disney’s live action trek through our childhood memories. I did one a couple of years ago when Beauty and the Beast was coming out. You can read Disney Remakes Thoughts and the Beauty and the Beast review.

The Casting

So obviously I thought it was important to have a cast full of people of color for this movie because of where it’s set. Sure, Agrabah is a fake country but it is based on real places. I remember back when they officially announced it, everyone wanted Avan Jogia to play Aladdin.

Obviously I get it, I mean back in the day, I would have been like yasss, but I like the guy they got to play Aladdin.

The Costumes

But I think the costumes in Aladdin look so good so far.

But I’m still optimistic. Update: I started writing this on 2/12/2019 and I have to say the blue look is growing on me. It’s still jarring but it’s growing on me.

The Music

Thanks for reading my quick thoughts on the upcoming Aladdin movie! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Are you not impressed? Why not? Are you excited? Tell me why! I’m interested in hearing from you!

I’m sure there is also going to be a lot of movies that pop up during the year that won’t be on this list but that’s fine because this list contains the movies that I know about.

So, just like last year, I’m going to do my most anticipated movies by month.

January

Glass- January 18: Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities. I still have to watch Unbreakable, but Split was legit so I’m down for this movie.

February

Happy Death Day 2U- Feb 14: Tree Gelbman discovers that dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one so I’m down for this one.

March

Greta- March 1: A young woman befriends a lonely widow. I saw this trailer on YouTube and it looks bonkers! I’m down.

April

Avengers: Endgame-April 26: The Plot is unknown. Listen, Infinity War kicked me in the stomach so I’m ready. I don’t even care if they have the Care Bears come down and do a Care Bear stare, I’m there.

May

John Wick: Chapter 3- May 17: Plot Unknown but it’s the third installment in the series. John Wick kicks ass and I’m there.

Aladdin- May 24, 2019: A live-action retelling of the 1992 Disney film of the same name. I AM SO OPTIMISTIC! I’m curious because Guy Ritchie has a certain style and I wonder if it’ll fit this kind of movie. I really hope it’s good and I’m there.

June

Toy Story 4-June 21, 2019. When a new toy called “Forky” joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy. Do we really need another Toy Story film? Not really… but will I be watching it? Most definitely.

July

The Lion King- July 19, 2019: CGI re-imagining of the 1994 Disney classic. I wouldn’t call it “live action” it’s a CGI remake and I’m there. I thought the teaser was lovely, Simba was so precious and I’m curious to see how they’ve updated it. I’m into it.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood-July 26, 2019: A faded TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Helter Skelter reign of terror in 1969 Los Angeles. This has a great cast.

August

The New Mutants-August 2, 2019: Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves. Another year and no movie, so I’m still waiting to see it!

September

October

November

Kingsman 3-November 8. Plot unknown. I loved the first one, the second one was just okay, so I hope this one brings the trilogy back to being solid.

December

Jumanji 2- December 13. Plot unknown. I really liked the first one to my surprise so I’m curious to see what they do for the sequel.

Star Wars: Episode IX-December 20. Plot unknown. I have come to terms that I am not a big Star Wars fan. I enjoy the movies and I have enjoyed the new trilogy, so I’m interested in seeing the last one.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD!! I think they sound really good together. I’m really interested in this scene too, so iconic. I keep saying that but it’s so true! The carpet looks great, she looks great, he looks great. sighs I need this movie now.