James' Movie Blog

Who doesn't enjoy a good fantasy? Entering the realm of myths and legends is always a fascination of sorts, and it always intrigues the imagination. And Hollywood has plenty of features that put forth the fantasy into a reality. But with 1967's “The Gnome-Mobile” from Disney (yes, that's the title; it's based off a book of the same name, the fantasy is there, just not executed properly. While the film has a good and interesting setup, the rest of the film falters heavily. “The Gnome-Mobile” is a fantasy that could have had some magical improvements. The story involves an old millionaire (Walter Brennan) who is the head of a major lumber company. After picking up his grandchildren from the airport (Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice respectively), they head in an old car to the California Redwood National Park. Here, the family meets up with some gnomes The gnomes tell them that they are the last of their kind, and the family agrees to help them look for more gno...

Superheros are being known for dark and gritty story lines. We've seen it done too many time before, especially with DC. Batman, Superman, even Wonder Woman had some serious and dark moments. But now, there is a new breed of superhero, and his name is Shazam. Shazam went through numerous name changes before settling on the hero we know today. And, with a recent film adaptation, “Shazam” provides something that other DC characters didn't have with their films: a sense of humor. Sure, there are some problems with the film, but for the most part, the movie is quite an enjoyable surprise. “Shazam” doesn't take itself too seriously like other comic book characters, but it is definitely an enjoyable one at best. The story follows a young boy named Billy Batson (Asher Angel), an orphan who is now living with a big foster home, and all he wants to do is find his mother. One day, Billy is taking the train, when all of a sudden, he is transported to a mystical realm where he ...

In 1940, Walt Disney released a movie entitled “Fantasia”. With this film, Walt Disney's animators combined simplistic art with that of classical music, and it worked beautifully. And even though Walt wanted to continue this idea even further, “Fantasia” unfortunately flopped at the box office, thank in part due to World War II. It wouldn't be for another 60 years until a proper continuation for “Fantasia” came around, that ultimately resulted in “Fantasia 2000”, which was generally received with mixed reception. But unbeknownst to the general public, there was another film that combined animation with classical music. And that film was 1976's “Allegro Non Troppo”, and Italian version of “Fantasia”. Not many people are aware of this movie's existence but this film is definitely worth watching mostly for curiosity's sake. “Allegro Non Troppo” is a unique film that somewhat rivals the Disney version by a very large margin, and offering viewer something original in ...