Customer Reviews

Kazaam [VHS]

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Shaq is truly God's gift to the world. He can sing, he can act, he can toss free throws. Let's face it, the man can do it all.

Kazaam is a movie unlike any other. Now some would say that Shaq's acting is so wooden he could play Pinnochio, but I argue with that. Shaq was playing a genie, a magical, rapping, abracadabra, hocus-pocus genie. The hippest, illest, defest, genie you ever laid eyes on. It is not for us to rate this film, it is for us to thank Shaq for taking the time to make this movie.

Now some would say that he can't even act his way through a 30 second commercial for Nestle Crunch or Burger King. I argue the point again. Shaq has the intelligence and mastery of the English language that we mortals can only hope to achieve. He is the reigning king of entertainment.

Others will also say that the man is slightly retarded and that if not for his great height, he would be lucky to ride the back of a garbage truck in Chicago as a sanitation engineer. I say those people have a real attitude problem.

Shaq can do it all. I am looking forward to his opera album, his cooking show, his line of BVD briefs, and last but certainly not least, I am looking forward to Shaq teaming up with Ice-T. Shaq will take over lead guitar duties for the reformed Body Count. Of course I hope his Broadway run doesn't interfere with the world tour.

Rock on Shaq, it's your world. We only breathe your air.

Jesus forgave us. Jesus forgave us all. He was unmercifully staked to a crucifix and left to slowly die, only to rise again and have to bare witness to the up chuck of a film entitled Kazaam. He gave us all a second chance and unfortunately director, Paul Michael Glaser used his second chance to create this blasphemous work of the devil. Well let me tell you, Jesus is mad at us once again and I don't think he will ever forgive us this time.

Kazaam depicts NBA star Shaquille O'Neal rapping??? and acting??? in scantily clad genie attire. Shaqs acting??? makes a drain-o enema actually seem like a pleasurable experience. It even makes his free throw ability shine in comparison. I'm still dumbfounded how someone that made such timeless greats as "Shaq diesel" and my all time favorite game "Shaq-Fu" could bomb so bad on a movie with a script as awing as this one.

You can pick up a previewed VHS copy here on Amazon.com for $0.85. I find it funny that a blank VHS tape will run you $1.00. I saved myself some money by buying a few copies of Kazaam instead of blank tapes and used them to record "Small Wonder" reruns. This is the only reason one should purchase Kazaam. If anyone is thinking of buying a copy and actually viewing it, don't! You would be better off using that $0.85 to buy a hand full of rusty nails and chewing them for the approximate running time of 1hr 45mins. Thrust me your time and money will be much better spent this way.

I gave this film??? 1 out of 5 stars only because Amazon.com doesn't allow you to give 0 stars. I wish I could rate this 0 stars. In fact I wish I could take away stars from some of the other reviewers. Hey, maybe Mr. Kazaam can help me out here.

Mr. Kazaam grant me these three wishes:

1. Give this movie 0 stars
2. Don't allow Shaq to ever act/rap again
3. Erase this movie from my memory banks for it has scard me for life.

the casting of shaq as a rapping genie was silly enough, the story is completely hackneyed and false, and not even enjoyable in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way. the coup de grace however, is the horrid little chipmunk-faced boy (francis capra) we are meant to identify with. all he does is act bratty and sulk about how no one understands him, but his character is completely unlikeable. the only relief in this film is when he falls down an elevator shaft and for a few, sweet seconds, he seems to be dead. unfortunately he gets up.

and now we get to see it on dvd!

Being a lone young boy in the hood is dangerous and unpleasant. This is what Max experiences when he fools a gang of local toughs who cornered him at school. The gang finds out that the key he gave them is of no value in committing a robbery, and they chase him through the streets of his neighborhood, bent on revenge. He tries to escape by slipping into the open door of an old warehouse, but they follow him there, too. While running from them through aisles filled with all kinds of stuff, he bumps into an old boom box. By doing that, he manages to release Kazaam, a genie who has been held captive for thousands of years. In order to stay free, Kazaam must give Max three wishes. There are several moments throughout the movie where the development of the characters and storyline drag, but the rest of the movie certainly make up for it. Watch and enjoy.

KAZAAM

Shaquille O'Neal is of course a world famous basketball player and entertainer who has done it all from act, to rap to of course playing ball. I have always found him to be entertaining and believe that he is genuinely a nice guy. Well the year was 1996 I believe when Shaq let loose his rapping genie in movie theaters across the country. To be honest it is an interesting idea because of his size and celeberty appeal. But also as long as we are honest he is not the best actor ever. Still for kids this actually a good movie because when I was younger I remember loving this movie, for the adults maybe not so much.

Max is just your average kid wanting to be cool, not picked on at school, and the victim of a normal situation. That of course would be never really knowing his dad and mama has a new boyfriend. So he is having and over all bad time at this point in his life, that is until he literally falls into some good luck. When running from the school bullies one day he falls various floors and lands right on top of the magic boom box. In doing so he releases the genie named Kazaam. From there things get interesting as Kazaam tries to convince Max he is the real deal and will grant three wishes. Once he realizes what he has the time is now for Max to change his luck, if all works out.

This is a very fun one for the kiddies as Shaq really is an entertaining guy and the fun of the wishes will make it a hit with any kid. As for the adults it can still be fun if you turn off the brain but this is far from a perfect film. Let us start with the acting because our lead needed some work. Shaq is very outgoing and fun in the role and actually for his acting abilities this may be his best job, he hams it up. Still he will never win any awards for acting but at least in a non serious role he can have fun with it. Francis Capra did a good enough job as Max especially for a child actor, he has a new look now and has done some good stuff. Everyone else in the film did a good job from his parents to mama's boyfriend.

As for the writing it really needs some work from the older stand point, of course this is for kids and on that level it works. Director Paul Glaser along with fellow writers Roger Soffer and Christian Ford [who still write together] needed to pick it up a bit for the parents but for the kiddies it works. I find it hard to really dig into this because I know it is for kids, plus I liked it a lot when I was younger. Still this may not be the best choice for the serious movie fan, really it is not. This may not be the best movie ever but for those who like to turn it off it is fun, I liked it then I like it now.

this is cleary the best movie ever created, by humans (that would exclude good burger, which of course was made by kaola bears). Shaquille O'Neal is a very talented actor and rapper, plus i heard he plays a little basketball. I wonder if he's any good. There are many hilarious scenes in this instant classic. My favorite part is when shaq makes it rain candy. I LOVE IT!!!
i own 13 copies (no joking here) in short its a hilarious tale of a genie played by shaq.

Everything in the movie is so stupid. You just can't find anything good about the movie, no matter how hard you try. Shaq can't act and he can't rap. I seriously hope that whoever gave this movie a two or more star rating did it as a joke. If not, then I feel sorry for you.

Showing that the acting skill he showed in "Blue Chips" was by no means a fluke, basketball phenomenon and rap superstar Shaquille O'Neal returns to the increasingly comfortable confines of the silver screen to show the world that Shaq Diesel is at least a three-trick pony after all.

Underachieiving alcoholic street poet Kazaam (O'Neal) would like nothing more than to crawl up and die inside a bottle. When things appear to be at their most desperate, enter the highly opportunistic Max Conner (Francis Capra) who takes him under his wing. The young Conner promises that the exertion will be great, but the payoff will be greater. Through their business and personal relationship, Kazaam gets the opportunity to bounce ideas around with a veritable who's who among Manhattan's literary glitterati. What Kazaam doesn't know is that Conner isn't on the up and up, believes that he "owns" Kazaam, and wants Kazaam to follow the letter of his law at all costs. The personal crises that rage behind Kazaam's delicate facade fuel the action of the second half of this film, leading up to a powerful ending that will leave you surprised and exhausted.

After pushing his dramatic range in "Blue Chips," many might have expected a sophomore slump for Shaq. Those predictions are soundly put to rest with his Kazaam. More than anything, this film is a study in present day race relations wrapped in action-drama clothing, and Kazaam's moral and personal awakening is at the center. Newcomer Capra is perfectly fine as the thinly veiled racist with an agenda, but without Shaq's wonderful -- and most of all believable -- performance this film could have come across as preachy.

As "Kazaam" stands, however, it is a marvel. One can't help but wonder how this script escaped Spike Lee. No matter since Paul Micheal Glaser picked this one up running. Once you've seen it, and invariably seen it again, you'll know that this was one project that was a "slam dunk."

I saw this film shortly after it came out, so that was quite some time ago. It's all right for a kids' film - could have been better, but definitely could have been worse. The best word I can think of is 'cheesy'. It's not a bad film to watch on a rainy day or if you're bored and it happens to be on TV. Shaq is okay as the genie, and the storyline itself is somewhat cliched, but again, it could have been a lot worse. After all, who wouldn't want their own genie that grants wishes?

Shaq gives an inspiring performance and this classic comedy will make you laugh. Definetely a movie you want in your collection