James Review -Trump: Art of The Deal

Donald John Trump is one of the most important figures in American and world history, especially in the realm of business and politics. For years, he's been one of the biggest business owners in the West, then history changed when he ran for president in 2016. Trump made history as the first outsider to become President of the United States. Twice. He has his fans, but also has his critics. Many people don't like how Trump does things as the POTUS, but if only they read books.

And this is where we get to "Art of The Deal".

Written by Donald Trump, "Art of The Deal", released in 1987, offers an in-depth look into how the future president ran his company and made deals with people. I read this book ages ago and it is astounding and there is a chapter called "A Week in The Life", following Trump's schedule as he runs The Trump Organization. As someone who respects Trump and loves reading, this is a good book worth a lengthy read, a great recommendation for anyone who wants to read about real life politics. Solid 9.9. Donald Trump is not only a genius businessman and politician, but a fantastic writer.

James Review -Look Who's Back (2015)

 

Adolf Hitler. One of history's most infamous leaders, responsible for one of the greatest horrors in world history. For years, whenever he's appeared in a movie or a TV series, played by an actor, it's in stories set during World War II or before the war while there are occasions when Hitler appears in a story set years after Nazi Germany's defeat. Over a decade ago, German movie theaters were rocked when a satirical, comedic and dark political movie dropped, known as "Look Who's Back".

What's the plot?

Somehow, Hitler returned.

At the start of the movie, Adolf Hitler, played by actor Oliver Masucci, awakens in 2010s Germany, in Berlin, in the spot where his bunker used to be. Hitler starts exploring the changed Germany and learns everything that has happened in the last seventy years since the end of the war. One of the first people he encounters is a freelance filmmaker named Faiban Sawatski. Sawatski, like almost everyone else in the movie, believes Hitler to be an impersonator and, unlike the other characters, realizes the truth near the end of the film only to wind up in a mental hospital when he tries to get the word out. "Look Who's Back" is a comedy, but it is also serious, especially as Hitler is the focus on the movie and the story ends on an ominous note with the infamous failed painter regaining popularity and nobody realizes that it's the real Hitler.

We should all be fortunate that people can't actually come back to life. If Hitler were to come back from the dead and in modern day Germany and nobody knew it was the real Hitler, there would be a ton of trouble abound, even if things were okay in the end. I've seen this twice on YouTube, once alone, and a second time with my father, and it is a good film. In fact, not only does it turn Hitler into a joke somewhat, "Look Who's Back" actually references 2004's Der Untergang aka Downfall, which starred Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler, and Thomas Thieme, who played Martin Bormann in that movie, plays a TV station boss in this movie.

For those who like comedy, especially a black comedy, and want to see a silly Hitler film, I'd suggest watching "Look Who's Back", just be prepared for what you're getting into since the story is deep as heck and the undertones are pretty ominous.

James Review -Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)

 

Since the 20th century, across comics, literature, film and TV and video games, people young and old have been mesmerized by superheroes such as Captain America, Batman and Mr. Incredible. There are so many superhero characters with decades of stories behind them, but one superhero stands out among the bunch, created by Dav Pilkey in the 1990s and having starred in twelve books as well as a movie and a few animated TV series. And that superhero is Captain Underpants.

The gist is simple. Captain Underpants was an ordinary school principle named Mr. Krupp, who was grumpy and hated fun, then two kids, George and Harold, hypnotized him and he became the red-caped, underwear-clad crusader of justice Captain Underpants from the kids' homemade comics. Krupp becoming Captain Underpants eventually becomes more than just fun for George and Harold, especially when real bad guys start causing trouble, bad guys such as Professor Poopypants or the Talking Toilets. Produced by Dreamworks, the Captain Underpants movie released in 2017 and I've seen it a few times with my dad and it is wonderful and funny.

Dreamworks' movie adapts both the first Captain Underpants book, the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants and some elements of Attack of The Talking Toilets, covering Captain Underpants' beginnings, featuring Professor Poopypants as the film's main villain, and the ending sees Captain Underpants, George and Harold dealing with Talking Toilets after, spoilers, Poopypants is defeated and his toilet robot is dumped at a scrap yard with its toxic waste transforming a pile of toilets. Captain Underpants is a special kids' movie, full of juvenile potty humor that can fly over a child's head and is picked up by someone older, but it is still family-friendly. 

If anyone wants to see a kids' superhero story involving a superhero running around in his undies while fighting bad guys and you're looking for a laugh, Captain Underpants' books by Dav Pilkey are for you, along with this movie. The film is beautifully animated, full of wacky scenes, and most of the music is incredible. Mr. Krupp aka Captain Underpants is voiced by Ed Helms with George and Harold being voiced by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch respectively, Helms shows range as Krupp and Underpants, emphasizing Krupp's stern, fun-hating demeanor which contrasts with Captain Underpants' playful, friendlier side. You can't go wrong with "tra-la-laaaaaaaa". And I rate this film 9 out of 9. Worth a watch, never boring for a moment.

-James M 

James Review -Dog Man (2025)

 

People know Captain Underpants, the hero who fights in his undies, the school principle Mr. Krupp. However, Dav Pilkey, the creator of Captain Underpants, also did a bunch of stories about a "supa cop" named Dog Man, part-man and part-dog. Dog Man was once two separate individuals, Greg the Dog and Officer Knight, until a disastrous bomb defusing operation left Greg's body and Knight's head in bad shape, so Greg's head was sewn onto the body of Knight's body to create the hero known as Dog Man. And that is the backstory for this character.

Just like with Captain Underpants after that series lasted for multiple books, Dog Man, after multiple books, gained a film adaptation from Dreamworks and released at the end of January 2025. I got my hands on it on DVD for my birthday and watched it with my parents, then I saw it again during the first week of February of this year and just watched it again fairly recently. Dog Man is one of those adorable kids films worth a watch, full of humor and cartoon craziness and with plenty of sad moments to boot.

The Dog Man movie opens with Officer Knight and Greg (voiced by Peter Hastings) tracking down Petey the world's evilest Cat (voiced by Pete Davidson), who plants a bomb on a warehouse, and when the duo try to defuse it, things go wrong and both dog and cop are injured to a point where the doctors sew Greg's head on Knight's body to create Dog Man. The movie adapts elements of the first three books in the Dog Man series while including stuff from later books such as Grandpa, Petey's father, who showed up in book seven, and the villain roster sees Petey as the starting antagonist before the main villain role gets taken over by Flippy the Fish, voiced by Ricky Gerivas, who wants to "destroy all do-gooders".

I love the Dog Man movie and it got me into the Dog Man world since my dad got me the first Dog Man book along with 20,000 Fleas Under The Sea during Christmas season, just months after we saw the movie. It's probably one of my favorite animated movies of all time, right next to Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. Solid 9.9. Anyone who loves dogs should read Dog Man and watch this film when they have time.

-James M

James Review -Daredevil (2003) starring Ben Affleck

 

Before the DCEU and Batfleck, there was the 2003 Daredevil film.

In the 2000s, following the success of Blade and X-Men, superhero films were pretty much all the rage even though there were plenty of non-superhero projects. 2002 saw the release of Sam Rami's Spider-Man and the following year of 2003 saw the release of Ang Lee's Hulk along with the subject of today...

Daredevil.

The Man Without Fear.

The Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

Matt Murdock was blinded by an accident with chemicals when he was a boy, but he gained the extraordinary ability of echolocation, able to hear heartbeats to tell when someone is honest or is lying. After his father, a famous boxer, was killed by goons, Matt took up crime-fighting after years of training and became Daredevil. By day, he's a lawyer. By night, he's a vigilante. Created by Stan Lee, who also made Spider-Man, Daredevil is one of the many characters who is the Batman of Marvel comics. Daredevil stories were originally light-hearted, especially in an era where comics were aimed at younger readers, but, as times changed, Daredevil became darker and aimed at an older crowd and stopped pulling punches with Daredevil's enemies, such as Bullseye, becoming sadistic and murderous.

And this is where we get to the 2003 film. Beforehand, Daredevil had shown up in 1989's Trial of The Incredible Hulk, played by Rex Smith, and cropped up in the 1990s Spider-Man animated series with his voice provided by Edward Albert. Work on the film began in 1997, but due to the project passing to different studios, Daredevil more or less had a period of development hell until 20th Century Fox got the rights. Ben Affleck was cast as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, the role of Elektra went to Jennifer Garner, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan was cast as Kingpin Wilson Fisk. Fisk is usually a Spider-Man villain, but starting in the 80s, the Kingpin became a member of Daredevil's rogues gallery as well and, in his live-action appearances, has only faced the Daredevil but never Spider-Man. Long story, its due to rights stuff.

Bullseye, Daredevil's most iconic enemy, shows up in this film, played by the incredible Irish actor Collin Ferrel, who was perfectly cast in my opinion and is a heck of a scene-chewer. He's sadistic, cold-blooded and kills Elektra, even though she came back in the spin-off and 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine. Bullseye mostly serves as the film's secondary antagonist, leaving the role of the main antagonist to Duncan's Kingpin, which is the only time in a live-action Marvel project where Wilson Fisk is Black, and, every moment he is on-screen, Duncan is intimidating as the Kingpin and doesn't hold back during the final battle with Affleck's Daredevil.

The soundtrack in this film is nicely-orchestrated, setting the tone for the film's story and the action scenes, delivering an energetic vibe often expected in 2000s action films, and the movie was filmed in Los Angeles even though Hell's Kitchen in New York is actually a real place. The action scenes in Daredevil are relatively thrilling, stylized and the battle in the church between Daredevil and Bullseye is pretty epic. Matt's fight with Kingpin at the end is suspenseful and the latter doesn't hold back, nearly beating The Man Without Fear. Daredevil 2003, the theatrical version, was a flop when it released, but it is actually a fun movie despite the tonal inconsistencies. However, there is an R-rated director's cut, which I have yet to see, where the film is more serious and some scenes in the PG-13 version are left out, such as Matt and Elektra making love at one point. 

If you love superhero films and are looking for an early 2000s Marvel film that is fun, watch Daredevil on Disney Plus. Its worth the watch, worth your time and energy. 9/10.

-James M 

James Review -Tron Ares (2025)

 

After the first Tron released, it only took 18 years for the world to see a sequel. After Tron Legacy, Disney began working on a threequel, which ended up in a period of development hell until it finally came to us in 2025...

This is Tron Ares.

Starring Jared Leto and Ralph Peters, the final entry in the Tron trilogy, instead of focusing on the Flynn family or the iconic program hero Tron, follows the program known as Ares (played by Jared Leto) as he goes from a soldier of the Dillinger Systems grid to someone learning to be human and fighting for human life. And yes, the Dillinger family, through Ralph Peters' character, is one of the central antagonists of this movie. While the Flynns aren't front and center, Sam Flynn is mentioned as having stepped down from running ENCOM (but he isn't dead) and Kevin Flynn (with Jeff Bridges reprising the role) shows up for a time as Ares explores a version of the original Grid from the 1982 movie. 

Tron hasn't been the most successful sci-fi franchise in the world. The first film was a moderate box-office success and didn't compete with other films such as Blade Runner or E.T., and it got mixed reviews from critics at the time, despite becoming a cult-classic as time passed. Tron Legacy made tons of money, but wasn't highly successful and got mixed reviews from critics like the first film did. Tron Ares was a box office bomb and wasn't highly received, but time will tell if a fourth movie will come out.

Despite its reception, Tron Ares is a fun movie full of incredible special effects work and the recreation of the original version of the Grid is impressive, not to mention that Kevin Bridges popping in is a wonderful treat for longtime Tron fans and I do not believe Mr. Leto is a bad actor. The fact that a film that got mixed reception and wasn't highly financially successful in the 1980s got a trilogy is undeniably fantastic, compare that to Blade Runner, released the same year as Tron, which was a box office bomb, but got a sequel in 2017 that ended up being a box-office bomb as well and the world has yet to see a third Blade Runner. Its amazing that we got Tron 3 before Blade Runner 3.

In all honesty, Tron Ares is one of those films deserving a 4.5 stars for its efforts, likely worth a rewatch in the future. Anyone out there wanting to give it a chance? Its on Disney Plus right now and, guess what, Tron Ares became number one on that service for a time. See ya later.

-James M

James Review -Tron Legacy (2010)

 

The Grid, a digital frontier created through the most revolutionary film technology created in the 80s. Try picturing clusters of information as they moved through the computer. Were the circuits like freeways and what would they look like? How different could it have been from when it was first created? Then, one day, the viewers got back in... and the world had evolved in ways one couldn't imagine.

In 1982, Disney released Tron, starting off a sci-fi franchise that would never be forgotten. In 2010, after years of waiting, the fans finally got to return to the Grid and not only got to see Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn again, but his son Sam (played by Garret Hedlund) and the rogue program CLU 2 (played by Jeff Bridges). Set decades after the Master Control Program's defeat, the story follows Sam as he is sucked into the Grid on a journey to find his missing father while teaming up with an ISO named Quora as they battle CLU and his forces, who are controlling the Grid. The prologue of the movie takes place in 1989 and shows a de-aged Jeff Bridges as a young Kevin Flynn talking to Sam and, during the later scenes, the de-aging technology is used during Bridges' scenes as CLU, making him a younger evil counterpart to the protagonist's father. Tron Legacy is one of the first Disney-released movies to use de-aging, which was starting to come about in the 2000s before the film entered development.

Moving past de-aging, Tron Legacy is a beautiful-looking sequel to the original movie and has many callbacks to it, such as the identity disk line originally used by Sark, and the special effects for the Grid are finely polished. Since the 1980s, CGI has evolved, allowing the digital world to look different from when it was last seen. While you often see characters with whiter faces, there are clearer colors and textures and the world of The Grid comes with streets and buildings, including a club named after the MCP's quote "End of Line". The two games Disk Wars and Light Cycle racing have received upgrades, now taking place in arenas with crowds watching the spectacles. The iconic title character Tron returns as well, however, he has been corrupted by Clu and assumes the identity of Rinzler. While Bruce Boxlietter returns to the role, he only has a few lines for the new Tron, it's better than nothing.

Tron Legacy gets a 9.9 and is a must-see film. It may have issues and may have bombed at the box office, but its still a fun ride like the original movie. Until next time, Programs.

-James M