I was curious to know how would Aladdin discover that sought after lamp in 2019 in order to call upon a ‘genie.’ What pulled me to watch this Arabian Night’s tale in this age is to see Will Smith in his ‘avatar’ as genie and oh yeah…he’s big and blue in the film! And he did rub off his wit and hip-hop style in the two songs: “Friend Like Me” and “Prince Ali.” You will remember Will Smith rapping from his Fresh Prince of Bel-Air days all the way to Men in Black. Just that in the new “Prince Ali” song, the genie turns into a woman and the monkey transforms into an elephant! If there’s magic in that lamp, then there’s magic in the scenes. Credit goes to director Guy Ritchie for making this film a complete entertainer in 2 hours and 8 minutes as the storytelling keeps the audience totally engrossed. Wait till the end and you will be wanting more…

The grandeur of the sets, fabulous costumes and the quick camera work during the stunts by Aladdin are remarkable. Especially the 3D in this film has camera angles that almost include the audience. For instance, the close-up scenes especially in the palace were shot from the point of view of the theatre audience. I felt that the background animation and CGI of the track “A Whole New World” could be better but the vocals in this song are best! The genie’s over the top turbans over his topknot, over the top of his head get crazier with his costume changes. Princess Jasmine is seen wearing a contemporary gown with turquoise trousers. And mind you, this princess is not just a pretty thing, but speaks her mind and Naomi Scott does justice to her role as Jasmine. She has a big cat called Rajah that has her back till the end. After seeing Rajah, every woman would wish that she had a pet like that than wish upon a genie!

For today’s audiences, the message that Guy Ritchie brings for Disney’s Aladdin is about ‘friendship.’ And till the end, there are scenes where the carpet saves Aladdin, the genie saves Aladdin, Aladdin saves the monkey, the monkey saves the lamp and Aladdin saves the genie. Phew! Oh and you can watch some killer moves by that flying carpet.

Damn the genie, I want that emotive carpet!

Top picks:

• Best Songs: Arabian Nights, Friend Like Me and A Whole New World for the vocals and Prince Ali for it's sheer extravagance in true Guy Ritchie style and wide shots .

• Best Dialogue: Aladdin - “Do we need the topknot?” Genie - "That's like my whole cherry on top!"

Photography: popzara.com and fanpop.com

Trailer Video: Walt Disney Studios.

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Mary Poppins has returned and is super-leerie-topsy-listic minus the hit tracks that one has grown up with. The original film Mary Poppins from 1964 starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke had songs like Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious, A Spoonful of Sugar and Chim chim cheree.

Emily Blunt is “practically perfect in every way” as the new Mary Poppins. And the heel-clicks that she does in mid-air are just so charming. In Mary Poppins Returns, she is Nanny to three children as opposed to two in the original version. Emily Blunt doesn’t try to outdo the original character portrayed by Julie Andrews but stays on track as the weird, classic yet contemporary Nanny. The backward dunk into the bathtub scene may appear like a roller coaster ride from The Mummy Returns at Universal Studios. But this one takes you under water with decent animation to stir up your imagination as the characters are meant to in the film. From under water, you’re taken upside down when you meet Meryl Streep as ‘Topsy’ and Mary Poppin’s eccentric second cousin who world turns upside town every second Wednesday. I kept waiting through the film for Topsy to make an appearance again during the film but this is only a guest appearance by Meryl Streep and it is memorable.

The highlight of the film, however, are the spectacular dancing and stunts on the bicycles and ladders by the leeries led by Jack. The two Banks’ children - Michael Banks and Jane Banks from the original 1964 version of Mary Poppins are shown to be grown ups. So the Nanny has to look after the three children of Michael Banks who are John, Anabel and Georgie. They are given many imaginary adventures by Mary Poppins and when they start to ask her things, all she says is “We’re on the brink of adventure children, don’t spoil it with questions.” The Nanny makes them reason between good and bad people in their life and that’s when they recognise the wolf - from imagination to real. Colin Firth has given his voice to an animated character called the wolf and also plays a dark character as a villainous banker whom the children recognise as the bad guy from their imagination.

Expect quirks, dialogues, canon shots and more drama when the leeries climb up London’s Big Ben in the end. An unexpected appearance as the ‘Balloon Lady’ is made by Angela Lansbury who is known to have played Miss Marple in ‘The Mirror Crack’d’ written by Agatha Christie. The comeback by Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Dawes is spectacular surprise since he starred in the original film.

Top picks:

• Best Scene: When the pink cherry blossoms grow back on Cherry Tree Lane in the end. This scene was created with 90000 silk cherry blossoms by the production design team using grow lights for real greenery and shrubs.

• Best Dialogue: “There’s a different point of view awaiting you, if you just look up.” -Jack.

Photography: comingsoon.net and scenestr.com.au

Trailer Video: Disney.

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Like the music by Queen has inspired many, so will the story about Freddie Mercury and the band members of Queen inspire you. There is something in it for somebody and everybody. And the famous lyric "Can anybody find me somebody to love?" comes to mind. The original version of this song became famous when performed by Jefferson Airplane live at Woodstock Festival in 1969.

Coming back to year 2018, Bo-rap or Bohemian Rhapsody comes across like an operatic performance in cinema theatres across the world. The recreation of the crowd scene assembled at Wembley Stadium is spectacular. You will get a feeling of being on stage with Freddie and the members of Queen from the performer point of view of the audience. The footwork and moves by Rami Malek are well-researched and re-create the magic of Freddie Mercury on stage. The audience can join in the singing as the lyrics appear on the screen as each song gets revealed in the film. Check out Roger Taylor belting out "Galileo, Galileo, Figaro" till Freddie makes him go higher and higher till he reaches the crescendo with his pitch.

There are moments of friendships and family within the film and how easy come, easy go are the times where "He's just a poor boy, from a poor family" that fled Zanzibar to start a living in London. Critics can "Spare him his life from his monstrosity" and just sit back because Freddie is up there in the heavens singing:

"Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time. I'm having a ball. Don't stop me now. If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call."

Top picks:

• Best Scene: Freddie laying on his bed and raising his arms to play the piano placed above his head on top of the bed in his unique cross hand style.

• Best Dialogue: Roger: Can we pull this off? Freddie: We will punch a hole in the roof of that stadium Brian: But the Wembley has no roof? Freddie again: Then we will punch a hole in the sky.

Photography: Google Archives and 20th Century Fox.

Trailer Video: 20th Century Fox.

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