In this week\u2019s minor VOD releases, a futuristic Aladdin, a lung disease patient, and a rural handyman all act like entitled jerks, while U.S. marshals investigate strange happenings in 1960s Nevada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aladdin 3477: The Jinn of Wisdom<\/em><\/strong> (VOD January 3):<\/strong> Writer-director Matt Busch\u2019s sci-fi take on the fable of Aladdin and the magic lamp makes Disney\u2019s live-action version look like a cinematic masterpiece. The largely superfluous genie (Aaron Golematis) doesn\u2019t even show up until more than an hour into this interminable two-hour movie, which is the opening chapter in a planned trilogy, thus ending with a coming-attractions reel rather than any plot resolution. Not that the plot makes much sense, aside from what can be gleaned from existing knowledge about the oft-adapted Aladdin story. Scrappy, smarmy thief Aladdin (Erik Steele) first encounters the rebellious Princess Kamala (Christi Dumar) when he surreptitiously records her bathing naked, but they otherwise never interact. Busch\u2019s future dystopia is full of janky homemade props and costumes, plus even jankier CGI, but it\u2019s not endearingly kitschy; it\u2019s just ugly. The lengthy, repetitive chases and fight scenes drag out the running time, and the actors are equally unconvincing whether throwing punches or delivering stilted dialogue. Grade: D-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Smile as You Kill<\/em><\/strong> (VOD and DVD January 3):<\/strong> The businessman that the terminally ill Rico Allende (Rey Goyos) holds at gunpoint is an advertising executive rather than a healthcare CEO, but writer-director Michael Sarrow\u2019s film still offers some timely resonance, even if it bungles most of its major ethical questions. Dying of a vaguely defined lung disease, Rico barges into the luxury apartment of creative director Terry Tanner (Michael Teh) and demands that Terry create an attention-grabbing crowdfunding campaign that will raise more than $200,000 for Rico\u2019s necessary care within three days. As Terry points out, this is an essentially impossible task, but that doesn\u2019t stop Rico or the movie, which becomes increasingly far-fetched even as Sarrow attempts to explore morally challenging themes. Goyos and Teh give solid performances in what is almost entirely a two-person, single-location effort, but there\u2019s not enough narrative or thematic material to fill out the slim running time. The characters and the movie end up talking in circles, to rapidly diminishing effect. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dominoes<\/em><\/strong> (VOD January 7):<\/strong> Early in writer-director Hussein Hammouda\u2019s ensemble dramedy, rideshare driver Mia (Jamie Schwarz) jokes about a passenger who hoped that their time together would resemble a talky Richard Linklater movie, and for a little while Dominoes<\/em> captures an off-brand Linklater energy, with a structure that\u2019s obviously indebted to Linklater\u2019s indie classic Slacker<\/em>. The first 25 minutes or so feature a series of wry interactions, with Mia as the closest that the movie comes to a main character. Once Hammouda introduces a dimensional portal in someone\u2019s basement, though, Dominoes<\/em> abandons its low-key hangout vibe for a tiresome contemplation of the cosmos, along the lines of another Linklater film, Waking Life<\/em>. That\u2019s a much tougher feat to pull off, and Hammouda is far better at crafting goofy set pieces (like a grown man arguing with his younger stepmother) than he is at saying anything profound. The segments in the second half get longer, but they don\u2019t get any more rewarding. Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n