James' Movie Blog

  In the 1960s, the Walt Disney company was trying to experiment with a lot of things. One of these projects was cutting down on their animation, and thanks to the xerography process, it made their 1961 feature “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” easier to animate. And while the animation is good for that film, it's not what people remember. What people do remember about that film is the villain: Cruella de Vil. And Disney took notice. The company managed to take the central image of that character, and make it one of the key selling points of the movie. And, naturally, Disney experimented by turning the character into live action. In 1996, they tried with somewhat disastrous results, but now, we have a full-blown movie dedicated to the character. So, how does “Cruella” stand out? It's good. Not great, but good enough to watch on the big screen. True, there are some moments that don't add up, but as a whole, the movie is quite good. “Cruella” is an interesting character study,...

In 1988, a little horror film known as “Child's Play” was released, and started up a franchise with its titular character Chucky. Since then, with each installment, the Chucky franchise has lost a little bit of credibility. Now, in 2019, Orion is back with the killer doll, and with the producers of 2017's “It” to bring Chucky back from the dead. The result? It's fine, but there are some creative elements that do work, and some that don't. While this update of “Child's Play” may seem somewhat unnecessary, there are some things that make it a fun time in the theaters. The story follows young Andy Barclay (Gabriel Bateman), a lonely kid who doesn't have any friends and spends most of his time on his phone. This changes when his mom Karen (Aubrey Plaza) brings home an interactive doll from the store she works at, with the doll's name being Buddi. Once opened, Andy starts operating the doll who calls itself Chucky (voiced by Mark Hamill). From there, Chu...

In 1940, Hollywood made a movie called “The Philadelphia Story”, based off a successful Broadway play. It was a romantic comedy and became a huge success for Hollywood. Then, nearly 16 years later in 1956, Hollywood remade this comedy as a musical entitled “High Society”. What we get here is a rather unique film containing catchy songs, and an overall fun experience. With a cast that includes Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly (in her final film before she married the prince of Monaco), and Frank Sinatra deliver good performances in this romantic musical comedy. While the movie does feel a bit slow at certain moments and the story is predictable, “High Society” is not a bad film as there is a lot of enjoyment while watching it. It's a movie that will keep you humming its tunes for the next several days. The plot has C. K. Dexter-Haven (Crosby) seeing a jazz festival that he is sponsoring near the day of his former wife's wedding. His ex-wife, Tracy Samantha Lord (Kelly), just so...

In the 1990s, the Walt Disney Company was at the peak of success. They had just previously released several animated features that turned a huge profit (save for 1990's “The Rescuers Down Under”), and they were on the top of the world. And in 1992, they released “Aladdin”, which not only became a huge hit both critically and financially, but has gained respect in popular culture. So, what does Disney do to the beloved classic? Why, remake it, of course! And the result is... bad. This version of “Aladdin” just doesn't hold a candle to the original back from '92. Yes, the movie looks pretty, but everything else, is just bad, including its cast. This remake of “Aladdin” just doesn't have the magic to stay afloat. The story follows a young street urchin named Aladdin (Mena Massoud), living in the kingdom of Agrabah. He meets a young woman who turns out to be the princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). Wanting to fall in love with her, Aladdin must do everything in his powe...