James' Movie Blog

The tale of King Arthur is one story that has been told many times in the realm of motion pictures. From interpretations for kids like 1963's “The Sword in the Stone”, to more adult evaluations like 1981's “Excalibur”. Now, we have a story about King Arthur that fits in halfway. With the recent “The Kid Who Would Be King”, director and writer Joe Cornish manages to create a unique update to the Arthurian legend, while at the same time explore the concept of being a kid fairly well. However, the film does suffer with its execution, but that does not mean the movie itself is quite entertaining. “The Kid Who Would Be King” is a fun, if flawed, and enjoyable production of a reiteration of something audiences have seen before. The story follows young Alex Elliot (Louis Ashbourne Serkis), who gets bullied and feels like he really can't stand up to himself. One night, Alex stumbles upon a construction site that surprisingly contains a sword. He pulls the sword, and is sud...

In recent years, films centering around or having the story taking place in the country/continent of Australia have dwindled. Which is sad, because there is a lot creative potential in this place. Mostly because the country/continent is full of desert and nothingness. And that's where The Rover comes into play. Directed by David Michôd ( Animal Kingdom ), the film is a post apocalyptic view of the nation starring Guy Pierce and Robert Pattinson. The movie is good on the technical aspects, yet there is one major flaw that keep it from being perfect. The Rover is an exciting visual treat for the eyes, as well as delivering an intense drama from Australia. An economic collapse of Australia has left many in an abandoned environment, mainly in the western region. One of these people is Eric (Guy Pierce), who wants to forget the past as it is too horrifying for him to take. Suddenly, a group of bandits come and steal Eric's car. Now, in a broken-down truck, Eric must get ...

The open range is any person's game. At least back in the 1800s where Manifest Destiny was the main rule of the land. Naturally, there were plenty of disputes about rules and regulations, and one of these conflicts was the Johnson County War: a short civil war in Wyoming. This account could make up for a great piece of historical fiction for a movie to be made. Instead, we got a made-for-TV movie running nearly three hours long in 2002, and is a really fictionalized account of what happened. Based off the book Riders of Judgement by Frederick Manfred, Johnson County War is a fictionalized account of what happened during that particular moment in history. The main problem is that the movie does not have focus on what's going on, and takes it time being that it is a made-for-TV movie. Johnson County War tries to tie in a historical event, but doesn't bring forth the full history that it intends. The story involves the Hammett brothers: Cain (Tom Berenger), Harry (Luke ...

I want to play a game. A game where you have to sit through a boring movie that has no scares, no suspense, and no plot. Congratulations! You're watching the new movie “Escape Room”. Lucky you! But seriously, this movie isn't bad, it's just dumb. “Escape Room” is one of those movies where it has a great concept, but a rather poor execution. Directed by Adam Robitel of “Insidious: The Last Key”, and starring Deborah Ann Woll, Taylor Russell, Tyler Labine, Logan Miller, Nik Dodani and Jay Ellis, the film tries its hardest to replicate an actual escape room, but fails in doing so. Everything feels like a PG-13 version of “Saw”, and- wait, this is a PG-13 version of “Saw”! Only more boring. While some of the traps are pretty clever, the whole production just feels like it could have been handled better under better writers. And considering the writers for this production mainly work in television, it's pretty clear that this movie's story is the main issue here...

In 2005, the documentary March of the Penguins made a sensation among audiences, and even garnered an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Naturally, the notion of seeing penguins was a craze for a while. And then, Bob Saget ( Full House ) ruined it by getting a bunch of comedians, and dubbing their voices over stock footage of penguins to "try" and create a funny scenario. That being the 2007 direct-to-video film Farce of the Penguins . The end result just may be one of the most unfunny films in recent years. The story is sophomoric, moronic, and totally absurd, and most of the humor goes nowhere, the film is just a quick cash grab on a popular trend. There is really nothing to say about this film other than it is bad. Farce of the Penguins is a really terrible concept and a really poor execution of a popular film that's so much better in many ways. The "story" involves two penguins: Carl (Saget) and Jimmy (Lewis Black), who are on a trek across An...

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...