FILM

Now in Theaters: 5 New Movies for the Weekend of May 24

Watch Will Smith degrade himself with blue body paint in Disney's "Aladdin."

Theater

Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash

Welcome back to "Now in Theaters: 5 New Movies for the Weekend."

This week, Will Smith degrades himself with blue body paint for our amusement.

WIDE RELEASE:

Booksmart

BOOKSMART Trailer (2019) Lisa Kudrow, Olivia Wild, Teen Moviewww.youtube.com

Directed by Olivia Wilde and produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, Booksmart looks like a Gen-Z version of Superbad. The movie follows two high school seniors, Amy and Molly, who decide that the eve of their graduation is the perfect time to make up for "wasting" their teenage years on studying and achieving good grades. Early reviews are overwhelmingly positive, and the movie looks raunchy, edgy, and representative. Booksmart is easily my pick of the week.

Aladdin

Disney's Aladdin Official Trailer - In Theaters May 24!www.youtube.com

Disney's latest live-action adaptation is here, and like all the live-action adaptations before it, Aladdin looks...okay, I guess. Honestly, it's hard for me to understand the appeal of all these live-action Disney adaptations. They're technically fine, but considering the fact that animation brought so much of the inherent charm and magic to the originals, these remakes seem doomed to always come up short. Take Genie, for example. Animated goofball Genie is fun and awesome. Partially-CGI-blue-body-paint-Will-Smith Genie is just unsettling.

Brightburn

BRIGHTBURN - Official Trailer #2www.youtube.com

What if Superman...was evil? That's pretty much the premise behind Brightburn, a superhero horror movie produced by James Gunn and written by his brother and his cousin. I love the idea of a horror movie that subverts superhero archetypes, but at the same time, the trailer looks surprisingly dull considering the subject matter. Ultimately, this might be more of a generic spooky boy flick than anything truly groundbreaking.

LIMITED RELEASE:

Diamantino

Diamantino – Official Trailerwww.youtube.com

A Portuguese-language, genre-bending political comedy that made waves at Cannes 2019 (ultimately taking home the Grand Prize during International Critics' Week), Diamantino looks absolutely absurd. The plot follows a disgraced soccer star who sets out on a journey to find a new purpose for his life. The movie seems to involve incredibly bizarre imagery, including futuristic technology, galactic landscapes, and puppy fever dreams. If you appreciate bizarre cinema and can find Diamantino playing near you, I'd highly recommend checking it out.

Isabelle

Isabelle | Official Trailer (HD) | Vertical Entertainmentwww.youtube.com

If you ever watched The OC and wondered what Adam Brody is doing now, here's your answer. Isabelle is one of those horror movies that seems designed solely to pad Netflix's Halloween offerings. We've seen the premise a bajillion times––a couple gets haunted by some generic ghost girl––and outside of Ringu, I don't think it's ever been done well. I don't know what audience this movie is geared towards, but if it happens to be you, just go watch Ringu again instead.

Film News

The 'Aladdin' Trailer Looks Surprisingly Good

Will Smith's Genie is still super goofy, though.

We didn't have especially high hopes for Disney's live–action 'Aladdin' movie after the initial reveals, but the new trailer might be good enough to turn things around.


Let's be straight; Will Smith still looks silly as the Genie. His head looks grotesque atop a big, blue, CGI body, like a goofed up version of Dr. Manhattan who pretends to know about YouTube. But in Will Smith's defense, living up to a beloved cartoon embodiment of Robin Williams is a very tall order, and it's not his fault Disney decided to splotch his real head on there instead of making the Genie fully CGI.

All that being said, 'Aladdin' looks surprisingly good. The two leads, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott, are dead ringers for Aladdin and Jasmine. Even more impressive, their singing voices sound ridiculously similar to their original counterparts (at least judging from the tiny clip of 'A Whole New World'). This makes us especially excited for the musical elements of the live-action version, which up until now seemed like a potential bust.

The rest of your favorite 'Aladdin' characters are all here too. Abu looks adorable, Carpet looks like a carpet, but Jafar looks way too handsome. Just look at this guy.

Jafar is supposed to be a gaunt, looming figure, the kind of guy who operates from the shadows. Marwan Kenzari is buff and attractive and not Jafar-esque.

Otherwise, we're looking forward to seeing what comes out of Agrabah next. 'Aladdin' will be in theaters May 24th, but before then you can watch the trailer above or check out this picture of Jafar's six-pack. Creepy.


Dan Kahan is a writer & screenwriter from Brooklyn, usually rocking a man bun. Find more at dankahanwriter.com



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"Aladdin" Trailer Is A Frustrating Reminder That Will Smith Is Not Truly Blue

90s kids everywhere had their trust so broken by the new trailer that we might as well go back in time and swallow Hot Wheels tires.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

Photo by DFree (Shutterstock)

In 1992, Bill Clinton had just been elected as America's favorite stocky sax player, Michael Keaton was safeguarding the Batman franchise from the future ruin of George Clooney, and, most importantly, Disney released the original Aladdin.

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