James' Movie Blog

  When it comes to video games and movies, they are generally perceived as being not that good. A factor for this can be mostly blamed on the studios who produce them; they do not not have a clear understanding of how the source material should be viewed to the general public. Which is something they have to take into consideration: appeasing both the fans of the source material, and the general audience. Companies like Fox and Universal, at least try and give fans of the game something to look forward to. But Disney? That's just not going to work out. Sure, the company might have tried putting their hands into video game adaptations with 1993's “Super Mario Bros.”, and have dabbled with original concepts revolving around video games, like with “Tron”, but for the most part, Disney has stayed away from video game adaptations. That is until Disney released their 2010 feature, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”, loosely based on the video game series, “Prince of Persia”. The r...

Throughout the 1950s, Hollywood saw a lot of filmmakers making quite a few movies that were made for a cheap, low budget. Mostly in both the science fiction and horror genres. Movies like “Robot Monster” and of course “Plan 9 from Outer Space” have been called worthy of films that are so bad, that they have to be seen because of their bad quality in their production. Luckily, with 2004's “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra”, we get a fantastic recreation of all those bad films from the 1950s; from bad continuity to over-the-top acting, and a ridiculous plot, the movie is a great tribute to cheesy B-movies of the era. But maybe it does its job a little too well... “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra” is an amazing tribute to all things schlock of yesteryear. The plot has three different groups of people, each with their own unique agenda. A scientist and his wife are searching for meteor that has landed in the mountains. An evil scientist wants to revive the titular character so that he...

Walt Disney thrived on bringing memorable stories that would, in turn, become easily recognizable among the public. By turning interesting ideas and concepts into a profit, Walt and his team of animators delivered some of the greatest animated movies ever made. And 1941's “Dumbo” is a prime example of not only delivering , solid animation, but great storytelling in the process. When watching the movie, one gets a sense of wonder at what creativity went into making this film a reality. Even after 80 years, this movie still holds up very well. Anything can happen, and that's the charm of this movie: it is not bound by studio executives, but rather creative control to let go and do whatever they want. “Dumbo” is a fantastic treat for anyone that can enjoy the modesty of why Walt Disney and his team made such a creative feature. The story has a mother elephant receiving newborn son unto the world, as she and several other animals are working for the circus. Unfortunately, ...

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...