James' Movie Blog

There's more here than meets the eye. That's one of the taglines for the popular toy line known as 'Transformers', a series of robots that can literally transform into various machines. Since making their debut in the 1980s, the Transformers have made a cultural impact. However, most of their filmed adventures have not been received very well, no thanks to director Michael Bay. With the latest filmed installment, “Bumblebee”- based off one of the main characters in the franchise, Bay takes a backseat to be in the producers chair, and let someone else do the directing. The result? It is a good film. Not great, but very entertaining, nonetheless. “Bumblebee” put forth effort into one very specific category that all other previous Transformers films have not achieved, and makes it stand out in a rather unique way. The story is set in the year 1987, and young Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) is looking to try and move on with her life after her father died. She ev...

Sometimes, a bit of magic is just what we need. With 1964's “Mary Poppins”, we are given a fantastical adventure through the life an extraordinary woman. Based off the books by P. L. Travers, the movie is a complete oversight of what the books intended to give readers, but here, we are given a deep and unique vision that only Disney could pull off. The film is a technical masterpiece, although the special effects have aged quite a bit (this is only a nitpick), it's still a marvel to see what the filmmakers accomplished back then. On top of this, the cast, the crew, the music, all makes sense in a practically perfect way. “Mary Poppins” is a great film from Disney that must be enjoyed by all ages; it's entertaining not just for kids, but for adults as well. Plus, who needs a little magic in their lives? The story focuses on a British family by the name of Banks, who seem to be having trouble with nannies, aka special servants, attending the needs of the children. Mr...

When it comes to adapting the character of Spider-Man, most of his filmed works are done via live action, and rarely has there been an animated movie been centered around the character. That is until now. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is an animated feature that centers around the large multiverse that the character is involved with. While there could be more focus and attention on some important characters, the film looks and sounds great enough to ignore these minor details. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is a great leap into the ever expanding world of the comic book character, and then some. The story has Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) accidentally getting bit by a radioactive spider, and obtaining the same powers as Spider-Man. However, due to a machine that can create alternate realities headed by the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), a series of other spider people come through. These include another Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-No...

All it takes is a name. Names are important, as well as history. One name that stands out in the realm of entertainment is Steven Spielberg. And, in 1993, Spielberg made released two films that garnered widespread acclaim. The first was “Jurassic Park”: a technological triumph that shaped the modern blockbuster. The other was a more personal tale about names in general; it's called “Schindler's List”, and is often been regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. And for good reason. The movie chronicles the terrifying experience during World War II known as the Holocaust: a horrifying termination and forced forced relocation of hundreds and thousands of Jews in Europe during this time frame. There were some who saved these Jews from persecution, but there was one who did more: Oskar Schindler. This movie showcases what he had to do in order to protect those of the Hebrew faith. The end result is a marvelous and fantastic production that was gloriously shot in b...