Review – Toy Story 4 & Aladdin (2019)

by Kevin Muller

It may seem that Disney is becoming a juggernaut of the film industry by buying every single part of Hollywood, but they have always been the forerunner in family entertainment. In the 90’s, they were the King of the animation field with classics such as The Little Mermaid, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast. The latter was the first animated film to be nominated for “Best Picture” when the nomination pool only allowed five films. There was also The Lion King, which will soon have a photo-realistic remake that will have its own review, instead of a shared one. Personally, Aladdin was always a favorite, mainly due to Robin Williams’s legendary turn as the lovable Genie. On top of that, the film also had catchy songs and overall fast and frantic attitude.   Unfortunately, shortly after that film delighted audiences, the downfall of hand drawn animation was about to begin with Disney teaming up with a new company called Pixar. We all know outcome of that merger, but it was 1995’s Toy Story that changed the game forever. Now, both these 90’s properties are back to see what they can do with better technology and an even wider audience.

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Review – Dark Phoenix (2019)

by Kevin Muller

In the year 2000, the first X-Men dropped and showed us that it was possible to create a comic book movie that felt real, while containing the themes of alienation and prejudice. All these modern day super-hero films, from The Dark Knight films to Marvel’s vast cinematic library, owes a great amount of gratitude to what director Bryan Singer brought to that film. This will be the last time we see these characters under the control of 20th Century Fox. Disney, which owns Marvel, merged with the company and now have control of the mutants, so it is only a matter of time until we see a reboot of the story and its characters. For their final go with the property, Fox have decided to adapt the ever popular Dark Phoenix saga again. They touched upon it in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, with mixed results. Does this film improve on it?

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Review – Dumbo (2019)

by Kevin Muller

The Disney canon is full of animated films that are currently getting live action remakes. This year we have Aladdin, The Lion King, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and this film Dumbo. Each of these projects has a respected director connected to them that have to abide by the guidelines of the mouse house. Dumbo, is a film of extreme sadness about the separation of mother and child. Who better of a person to make that dreadful situation have beauty than director Tim Burton. The most famous film of his Edward Scissorhands was about an isolated creation trying to both fit in and fine love in the world. Can Burton make this story of an elephant, with the gift of flight, have the same emotional impact he gave Edward close to 30 years ago?

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