The "Aladdin" Trailer is Unsettling in Many Ways

The full trailer for the live action “Aladdin” came out earlier today. I watched it, and I’m not very excited with the direction. I was hoping I would feel the same way about this trailer as I do about the new “Lion King” movie. I’m pumped to see that. I have very, very little interest in this new “Aladdin” movie.

By now everyone has seen what Will Smith looks like as the genie. It’s creepy as hell. But, I’m a Will Smith fan. I generally like what he does. That being said, he’s made some odd choices lately. But that’s not to say he hasn’t done well in not do good movies. I loathe “Suicide Squad”, except for Margot Robbie and Smith. Smith is actually really solid in that movie. That Netflix movie he made would be unwatchable if he wasn’t in it. I’m not too happy they’re making another “Bad Boys”, probably Michael Bay’s only solid movie, but I bet Smith will be funny in it. But in this new “Aladdin” movie, I feel like his look is going to overshadow his acting prowess. He looks so goofy. His ponytail is absurd. The goatee is off putting. It just seems bizarre. And his singing, it’s as corny as he can be, and he’s quite corny. He was great when he and Jazzy Jeff were just a rap group. But, with stuff like “Welcome to Miami” and “Gettin Jiggy With It”, he turned full cheese. That’s what his version of “Never Had a Friend Like Me” sounds like in the preview. It’s rough.

I will say, the actors they got for Jasmine and Aladdin look like the cartoon characters. But, the acting and singing in the trailer leave a TON to be desired. It’s hackneyed and just not very good. I know it’s easy to make a cartoon character charismatic, but this live action Aladdin is so stale and monotone and just seems boring. I have a bit more faith in Jasmine, except the singing. When they bust into “A Whole New World” in the preview I audibly said, “Yeesh”. I’m no singer, but that classic song sounds like someone doing poor karaoke in a crappy bar. It’s not great.

The best thing about the trailer, the sets look ridiculously cool. Wherever they shot this movie, or if it’s a green screen, this they nailed. It looks like a dessert and a cave and the sky is beautiful. The movie does look amazing. But so did “Avatar”, and I despise that movie.

I guess what it all really boils down to for me, I’m scared they’re going to ruin one of my favorite movies from childhood. Besides “Lion King” and “Home Alone”, “Aladdin” was the movie I watched most. I would do the lines, sing along and talk to all my friends and family about how great the movie was. I fear they will crush that. I think this is going to be like the new “Jurassic Park” movies, which stink. They have made me rethink the original “Jurassic Park”. I don’t want to go through that with “Aladdin”. I wish they would’ve stopped at the animated movie. They don’t need to do this. And, when comparing it to the new “Lion King”, the cast for that movie is ten thousand times better, and it’s going to be live action with voices. They’re using real animals. It’s going to feel much more real than this new “Aladdin”.

I was already on the fence about this movie, and the new, full trailer did nothing to quell my fears. I really, truly hope I’m wrong because I love this story, but I think this is going to be really, really bad. Especially if they trailer is the best stuff they filmed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is waiting for the reboot treatment of another one of his favorite childhood films, “Hoop Dreams”. Please no singing.

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The Oscar Nominations Came Out Today, and They Mostly Suck

I am not sure the Oscars really know what is good.

I know I promised everyone a greatest American band blog today, but I'm putting that off until next week. There's bigger fish to fry for me today.

The Oscar nominations were handed out this morning and I have two big, big problems with the nominees. First off, why all the white people again? Do the people who vote on these awards think that there are no people of color that act in movies these days? There were a decent number of people that were well deserving of, at the very least, a nomination. What about Samuel L Jackson for his performance in "Hateful 8"? He was awesome. What about Michael B Jordan in "Creed"? Stallone gets nominated, but the lead of this great movie gets no love? That's lame. And even though the movie "Concussion" didn't have its desired effect and wasn't very good, Will Smith was excellent and totally deserved a nomination. I guess the people that give out the nominations are racist, old white people that wish it was still 1950. It's a shame that they refuse to nominate actors that aren't white, especially in 2016. It's upsetting to be frank. I wonder how long it will actually take for actors of color to get their due. It's time, and there are so many great African American, Asian, Indian and so on and so forth of any ethnicity well deserving. I'm sick of all the same white people being nominated. I'm done with Meryl Streep and Matt Damon and Jennifer Lawrence being the people that get nominated no matter how bad or repetitive their performances are. Eddie Redmayne belongs with the people I mentioned above too. I'll take Michael B Jordan, Will Smith and Samuel L Jackson any day over the four actors I just mentioned.

Second issue, my biggest problem, why is Charlize Theron not nominated for her role, Furiosa, in "Mad Max: Fury Road"? How on earth does this happen? How was Jennifer Lawrence's performance in "Joy" aka "Silver Linings Playbook 2", more deserving than Theron? Or Cate Blanchette in a movie I've never heard of, "Carol", more deserving? In fact, Brie Larson in "Room" is the only one that I have no problem with being nominated. "Mad Max: Fury Road" got a ton of nominations, but none for acting. That's wrong. Theron was the best actor in the best movie of the year, possibly of all time. She was so fantastic and perfect in her role. She played the part expertly. She was tough when needed, vulnerable when needed, sad and angry when needed, basically, whatever George Miller asked of her, she did it and did it phenomenally. She was so, so great in this movie. I know it's called "Mad Max", but Furiosa, not Max, was the star and leader of this movie. This may be one of the biggest snubs of all time in Oscar history. I just don't get what else she could have done. Maybe the movie needed to be foreign, or she needed some kind of disease, or she needed some kind of smaller indie role that the academy loves now. That's all bullshit. Why won't they reward the actors from the movie that's widely considered the best movie of the year? It makes absolutely no sense at all. I wrote before, and I still believe, Theron not only deserved the nomination, but she 100 percent deserves the Oscar. There was no better performance all year from anyone, man, woman or child. Theron was head and shoulders above anyone that's been nominated this year. Another shame.

I guess I should know by now to be disappointed in what this dumbass academy does every year. They clearly don't care for minorities and they are just flat out wrong when it comes to nominating actors and actresses. You'd think they'd be more conscious in the 21st century, but they're still racist and stupid.

The morons that give out these nominations suck.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He was once nominated for a grade school acting award, but lost it to the kid playing tree #2. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Will Smith Needs to Focus on Being a Great Actor Again

Bad title puns courtesy of the editor

Yesterday I watched the movie "Focus".

You may, probably not though, remember this movie. It came earlier this year and it starred Will Smith and Margot Robbie. The movie was pretty blasé. It was a paint by the numbers heist movie with way too many moving parts. When you figured out who the mark was and who the thief was, boom, they shifted to two other people, that in my case, I'd forgotten about.

Now this movie could've been great. The first part, that takes place in New Orleans, is halfway decent. There's good dialogue and a cool montage of the thieves doing their thing. Then, inexplicably, they flash forward three years and now the two main characters are in Buenos Aires. This is where the movie falls off the rails. The story becomes way convoluted for its own good. There's too many twists and it doesn't work. Not for me at least. Margot Robbie and Will Smith do have pretty good chemistry and they almost make this movie watchable. Almost.

This brings me to what I really want to talk about today. What happened to Will Smith? He was, he still kind of is, a pretty damn good actor. Watch his performance in "Ali" or "The Pursuit of Happyness" or even "Fresh Prince of Bel Air". He's pretty good at the drama, and I really like him in comedic roles. His bit part in "Anchorman 2" as an ESPN broadcaster at the big news team brawl is quite funny. But, why does he take roles in movies that are down right terrible? "After Earth" I kind of understand. His son was the star and he wanted to help him on set, but that movie is horrible. Why did he make the terribly melodramatic movie "Seven Pounds" a couple years ago? That movie was a slap in the face to dramatic movies. It seemed like it wanted you to cry, but it was just a stupid, stupid movie. Why did he appear, as Satan I might add, in the movie "Winter's Tale"? That movie is an abomination and his role is garbage.

Even big budget movies like "Independence Day" and "Wild, Wild West" he can't save. I know a lot of people adore "Independence Day". It's one of my wife's favorite movies, but that movie is a turd. Will Smith is good in it, but that script and that director had no idea what they wanted to do. I loathe that movie. I guess, in Will Smith's case, this was his first big time starring role, so I understand a little bit why he took it. But, "Wild, Wild West"? Come the hell on. Not only is this one of the worst movies I've ever seen, but it's terribly, horribly racist. I can't believe that script didn't get rejected a thousand times. And the giant spider is a monstrosity.

Now, I don't mean to bad mouth Will Smith. Like I said before, I really like him. He's charismatic and you can't take your eyes off him him when he's on screen. He commands your attention. I'm more upset with the choices he's making lately. I just don't get it. "Focus" should have, and could have, been a really good movie, but the script was too loaded and didn't come together. I wish Will Smith would go back to doing smaller movies like "Pursuit of Happyness" or "Six Degrees of Separation". He's phenomenal in "Six Degrees of Separation". Go watch that movie and marvel at how well Smith acts in that movie. Considering his role and where he was at that time in his career, his performance is truly incredible. So, please Mr. Smith go back to the smaller independent movies and stop making big budget flops.

You're a better actor than that and you deserve better.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He has hopes for Will Smith, yet in Ty's eyes DJ Jazzy Jeff has had a great carrer. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.