James' Movie Blog

Life is crazy sometimes. And in the world of entertainment, there is one character that embodies crazy nearly perfectly: The Joker. Created for DC, this character has become one of the most popular and psychotic of any character that deals in the realm of crazy. And since his creation from 1940, he has been portrayed by many people in the realm of both television and film. The newest incarnation, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is the subject of the film “Joker”, directed and co-written by Todd Phillips who is best known for more crude comedies like “The Hangover” trilogy. While there is some plot elements that don't add up, especially with the finished product, “Joker” excels on a technical level, and is eye candy at its finest. There's also the fact about how disturbing the initial movie is, but we'll get there when we get there. But for now, “Joker” is a unique character study about one man can see the world as nothing more than crazy. The story follows a man named A...

Take all the stories from the tall tale genre, and combine it with a person's real life, and you get this movie. “Big Fish” is basically a tall tale of someone's life told through an extraordinary, and surprising way. This tall tale contains stories of love, laughter, drama, and excitement that will make you laugh and cry at the same time. It's both a wonder and an achievement at how this movie is so good. “Big Fish” combines all the stories of a tale tale, and getting at your emotions, including this reviewer, in one of the most underrated gems from Tim Burton. The story is that Edward Bloom (Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor) tells his son, Will (Billy Cruddup), stories based on events in his life. As a child, Will believes his dad, but on his wedding day, Will now realizes that the stories his father told him were not true. After believing this, Will promises to never speak to his father again. Several months pass, and Will is doing fine, until he learns that his ...

Spider-Man is a very important character in fiction. His stories always center around him saving the day, with him being a hero and whatnot, and there are many interpretations of the character, as well. Case in point, the 2017 film “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, which not only introduces a new perspective of Spider-Man, but also a brand new story for the action hero to follow. This, however, leads to some problems, and while it isn't perfect, the movie is entertaining enough to watch multiple times. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a fun, and exciting adventure for the web crawler, but there are still issues that he needs to get through. The story follows Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returning home from his battle with Captain America. Now that he's home, Peter looks up to his mentor Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) for inspiration. This leads Peter to investigate a serious criminal named The Vulture, aka Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), and some high te...

Halloween is a typical holiday where things tend to be a bit on the scary side. Then there's the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday similar to Halloween, but with a more remembrance and focus on those who are gone from the world. And Hollywood is known for releasing films that are focused on Halloween; not so much on the Day of the Dead. Enter “The Book of Life”, a great animated film that is perfect for the season. We need more films like this, and hopefully, in the wake (no pun intended) of this movie's release, we will see more soon. Though the film does haves some issues, they are minor to say the least. “The Book of Life” is an extraordinary animated film that will hopefully gain younger audiences to learn more about the holiday known as the Day of the Dead. The plot involves a love triangle between three people. We have Manolo (Diego Luna), a bullfighter who wants to be a musician, and Joaquin (Channing Tatum), an egotistical soldier but has a right mind for the p...