DB Reviews- Ducktales 2017 reboot

Hello all you Disney Duck fans out there! It's me, DB and I'm back to bring you another review!

Image from Screen Rant

As you can probably tell, I'm doing a review for the 2017 reboot of Ducktales, Disney's classic TV show where Scrooge McDuck, his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, ace pilot Launchpad (before he worked for Darkwing) and Webby go on grand adventures in search of treasure or just to escape or stop the diabolical doings of many classic villains like Magica Despell, The Beagle Boys and Flinthart Glomgold! 

Let me get a negative thing about this series out of my chest. I think that this series needed the original voice actors from the hit show back in the early 90s. Back then, this show was a Disney Afternoon staple! I loved this show back then! The voice actors from the original version of this show gave each character their own personalities. Each of these actors became famous for portraying each character. The voice actors on the new reboot? I don't think they're quite as good as the original actors, with the exception of Donald. The person that did Donald's voice did a real good job! He sounded just like the classic Donald that we know and love! 

With that out of the way, I have to say I like this reboot. It's not bad at all! Each episode has a story that's easy to follow and has action scenes, which is a must for a Ducktales show! Some parts of each episode are based off of the original early 90s series and other parts are based off the comic book stories, especially those created by Disney duck legend Carl Barks! 

The easter eggs featured in the 1st episode were really neat! The animators made all sorts of references to the classic version of this series as well as references to the other HUGE MEGA hits of the Disney Afternoon era! Some of the eggs included: The lamp from Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (which is a film that I definitely enjoyed when I was younger) and the robot with the 3 lights on it's head, which is a reference to the classic version of this series. Dewey even mentioned Cape Susette, where Baloo, Kit, Mrs. Rebecca Cunningham and Molly reside in the series Talespin (a series that I highly recommend you to see! It's out on DVD now!). Also, the men in the meeting with Scrooge mention St. Canard, the home of the "terror that flaps in the night" himself, Darkwing Duck (which is another great series!). Also, the Junior Woodchucks were mentioned in episode 1! 

I noticed that the creative team behind this version of the series changed a few things around. They made Mrs. Beakley and Webby into totally different characters compared to their classic 90s counterparts. Mrs. Beakley is more serious in this version of the series then she was in the 90s version and Webby is more adventurous! I think that some fans of this show might find Webby's more adventurous side appealing. They might say that this version of her is better then her 90s version, though the animators did make a reference to the 90s version by pinning Webby's doll to the wall. Also, Huey is the only one of the nephews wearing a hat in this version, though each nephew's respective color is still the same. I remember that all 3 of the nephews wore hats in the original series. Do I like the new Webby and Mrs. Beakley? Yeah, though I like the new Webby better. However, I don't think I saw a Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers reference. I think they should do one of those in a future episode. 

I could see this series getting a good 4 or 5 seasons on Disney XD! Perhaps even 6! I think that they should put Gyro Gearloose and Gizmoduck in future episodes! Also, I think that they should make more Disney Afternoon references! Perhaps they could have Darkwing or Chip and Dale or maybe even Bonkers make cameo appearances. 

So overall, I like this reboot! The original is still 10x better, but still! I think you should see an episode or two of this reboot. Also, I think that Disney should look into rebooting more of their Disney Afternoon series, like Darkwing Duck. They have to get Jim Cummings (Darkwing's voice) back for that reboot! I'd love that! 

One more thing. I even liked the new version of the main title song in this series (even though it was only in episode 1). I've always loved Disney music and this is one song I like a lot! My review: I give this series a "WOO-OO"! 

"You might solve a mystery, or rewrite history! Ducktales!" 

DB Reviews- Smurfs: The Lost Village

Image from DVD Release Dates

Hello everyone! It's me, DB and after many, many months of not blogging, I am back for my review of Smurfs: The Lost Village! WARNING! This review does contain spoilers!

The story centers around Smurfette, the only female Smurf in the Smurfs village. However, she wasn't a real Smurf at first. Gargamel, the main villain of the Smurfs universe, created her from a lump of clay and sent her to find the village and capture the Smurfs. But, with the help of his powerful magic, Papa Smurf turned Smurfette into a real Smurf and she joined the team!

In this adventure, Smurfette was curious about her role in the Smurfs. While she was finding her role, she finds a new Smurf, one that she, and the rest of the other Smurfs, have never seen before! Against Papa Smurfs orders, she, Hefty Smurf, Brainy Smurf and Clumsy Smurf set out on a grand adventure to discover who the new Smurfs are and stop Gargamel from completing his latest scheme to take all of the Smurfs magic and become the most powerful wizard of all!

First off, I like the fact that the writers gave Smurfette a back story in this film. It helps set up the climax of the film and I think it was needed in the Smurfs universe! The story in the film itself was good too. A little too much, but still good.

Secondly, I think this was Demi Lovato's best film since the Camp Rock series! To me, she did a very good job as the voice of Smurfette! Smurfette was originally voice by Lucille Bliss in the original, classic cartoon. Now Demi has done the same for a new generation of Smurfs fans! Great job, Demi!

I think Rainn Wilson did a good job voicing Gargamel! Hank Azaria (of the Simpsons fame) played the role in the 2 live action films prior to Wilson, but I think Wilson still did good as the animated version of Gargemel. He brought the 60s cartoon style of the character to the big screen and to me, that was needed for this film.

Joe Manganiello (of Magic Mike fame) protrayed Hefty. I liked Hefty in this film. We can definitelly see that Hefty has a crush on Smurfette!

Jack McBrayer played Brainy Smurf. You might remember McBrayer as Fix-it Felix, Jr from Wreck-It Ralph!  It's good to hear his voice in roles other than the famous video game character, but his role as Brainy wasn't as good as Felix. I can't wait to see (and review) Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2!

Frank Welker did a good Azreal, Gargamel's cat! Is it as good as his Scooby-Doo? Nope, but it's still good! He's well trained in animal voices for cartoons!

Another great addition to the Smurfs universe was made in this film, the introduction of an all female Smurf group! Julia Roberts portrays the leader of this group of Smurfs. She has added a good voice tone to this character. It's a deep voice, but not as deep as Papa Smurfs, who himself was voiced by Mandy Patinkin, who did good too. Michelle Rodriguez and Ellie Kemper did good as Smurf Storm and Smurf Blossom, especially Rodriguez!

I think the animators did a great job designing the characters and bringing them into the CGI world for a third time! Even Gargamel looked like he did in the original cartoon!

So overall, there are alot of good things in this movie (which I mentioned, a lot!) Smurfette's backstory was definitely needed, the voice actors did (yep, I'm saying it again) good and the story was (here it is, one more time) good too!

My review: Smurfs: The Lost Village is ONE TO WATCH! Thanks for reading!

DB Reviews- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Image from Slashfilm

A TREASURE TO BEHOLD!

Ahoy, mateys! It is I, DB, here to bring you my review of the final(?) film of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales! Be warned, landlubbers, for this review contains a bounty of spoilers. So if ye be looking to read this review without seeing the film first, I suggest you set sail to see it, then come back to read my review. If anyone works for Disney, you may use my review for ads for the Blu-Ray/Digital copy of the film!

Johnny Depp returns to helm the seas once again as Captain Jack Sparrow! This time, Jack and his merry mates set sail to find the legendary trident of Poseidon. With this trident, all of the people who were cursed (like Orlando Bloom's Will Turner, who makes two appearances in this film) will be free of their curses! Jack must use the help of an astrologer named Carina Smyth, who was sentenced to be hanged for accusations of being a witch. She must use the stars to find the legendary trident. But Captain Salazar, a famous Spanish captain who vowed to rid the world of pirates forever, has come searching for the trident too, to free himself and his crew from death! He makes a deal with Jack's pirate rival, Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush, returning) to find Jack and kill him. By the way, Will's son, Henry, joins the fray in this film!

Also, it is revealed that Jack's compass, the one that doesn't point north, is also cursed, but it's cursed to help it's owner find whatever he or she desired.

Ok, now for the review,

If you're looking for some swashbuckling adventure, then this is the film you must see! I felt the story was good. It was easy to follow, which is something that I like about storytelling.

Depp returned as Jack Sparrow. He definitely grew in to this role! He made this role happen and I think he will be forever linked to Capt. Jack Sparrow! Even though he's done other movies, like Blow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I think most kids today will still see him as Jack. Depp has created a legendary Disney character!

Geoffrey Rush returns as Capt Barbosa, the previous Captain of the Black Pearl before Jack. Just like Depp as Jack, Rush's Barbosa has grown into one of the most recognizable characters in Disney history. Also, like Depp, Rush has developed a character that kids will see him as for all eternity. To me, both Depp and Rush did good in their roles and not just in this movie, but throughout the franchise.

Javier Bardom protrayed the film's main villain, Captain Salazar. I liked him in this role. He was a classic style villain, killing pirates to get what he wants. He had a classic villain backstory too, one which I think was good for his character. Does he crack the top 25 in my list of favorite Disney villains? No, but I still think he did a good job.

Benton Thwaites played Henry Turner, the son of Will Turner and Elizabeth Turner. I think he needed more practice from his dad to be a swashbuckling hero.

Kaya Scodelario played Carina, the astrologer in this film. Her character was the one that was to be hanged because people accused her of being a witch because of her astrological talents. That's one of the very few things that I didn't like about this movie. I know that this movie was set in the times of the pirates, but still you can't hang someone just because of their talents. Overall, I thought she was OK in this.

Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley both make appearances, but both didn't get much screen time at all!

My favorite part of the film was the action and boy was there action! I loved the pirate ship fights in this film, my favorite being the fight between Salazar's ship and the Black Pearl, a legendary Disney ship!

I also loved when Salazar's ship opened it's front, like a monster opening it's mouth to chomp on someone! That was both scary and cool at the same time, especially when it happened when the sky was dark and stormy! Whoever came up with that idea should get a promotion!

One other thing that I didn't like, though, was that the shopkeeper had a sign that said no dogs and no women. I get the no dogs part, but the no women? Come on!

Also, I think they should've used X Atencio's recording of the line "Dead Men Tell No Tales" from the attraction in the trailer for this film! I think it would've work perfectly! X Atencio was one of the Imagineers that worked on the original Pirates attraction. He was tagged to record that line in the attraction, which is why I think that recording should've been used in the trailer for this film and maybe even in the film iteself!

Overall, I'd say that this film is A TREASURE TO BEHOLD! It's got good action, great action, a good storyline and it's an adventure film! I think that Poseidon's trident should be a part of the ride that inspired this franchise! I think it should go next to the Aztec chest in the treasure room!

Thanks for reading! I must set sail to my next review! See you then!

DB Reviews- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Image from ComingSoon.

Hello, all my fellow Marvel heroes and heroines! It's me, DB and I'm back to bring you my review of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 This review does contain spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled while reading this, please stop reading it and go see the movie first. Then, you can come back to read this to know what my take on the movie is.

First off, the Guardians are back in an all new adventure! After stealing some very important "batteries" from an alien race, the Guardians are saved by Peter Quill's father (played by Kurt Russell). There, Peter learns of his heritage...and he learned that his father killed his mother! Yeah, he didn't like that too much! That lead to a HUGE battle between the alien race who wanted their batteries back, the Guardians (along with a few others, including Peter's other father) and Peter's biological father.

To me, this movie didn't get off on the right foot. I think the jokes were bad here, even worse than mine! That was the big turnoff for me. THEY NEED BETTER JOKES!

Chris Pratt reprised his role as Peter Quill (aks Starlord). I think he's ok in the role, although this role is still not my favorite Marvel MCU character. I think he needs to "buff up" his game a little for this character.

Dave Bautista (who we WWE fans know as Bastista) returned as Drax. This character is a destroyer, but he needs more things to destroy! In this role, Bastista needs to unleash his Animal form like he did in the WWE! However, it seems like he's accepted his role as part of this team, or this family as he called it.

Zoe Saldana reprises her role as Gamora. I think Mrs. Saldana is still a good pick for this role. She's fierce when she needs to be and Zoe does a good job showcasing that fierceness in the character.

Bradley Cooper has returned as Rocket Raccon, the hero who stole the batteries in the first place. This raccoon definitely knows his stuff when it comes to weapons and he certainly shows it in this film! I liked the scene where Rocket made the enemies bounce up and down with a gravity defying weapon! Also, the darts in the trees was very clever! The stealing of the batteries, however, was not so much.

Kurt Russell played Ego, Peter's biological father and the main villain in this film. I don't see Mr. Russell as a villain type. He's more of a hero, like he was in Sky High and Escape From New York. That's why I don't think this role fits him very well.

My favorite character in the movie was Baby Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel (who voiced the older, original Groot in the first film). He was cute and he'll trip you up good if you get him mad! Diesel had his voice made to sound like one of the Chipmunks for this role.

Michael Rooker played Yondu, the person that took Peter away from Earth, but raised him like a son. I though he was OK. This movie was a role turn for mr. Rooker's character, turning from a bad pirate to a great father role saving his son from a planet exploding. I thought Mr. Rooker did OK in this role.

I'm a fan of Oldies music, and this movie had plenty of it! The best song that was chosen was Brandy (Such a Fine Girl) in my opinion. So if you're a fan of 70s music, then you may like this movie's soundtrack!

Overall, I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars. At the end, the credits said The Guardians of the Galaxy will be back and they're right. Marvel is planning on making a 3rd film in this franchise. Will the Guardians meet up with the Avengers? Perhaps in Avengers: Infinity Wars. Thanks for reading!

DB Reviews- Assassin's Creed

Image from ComingSoon.net

A FILM TO WATCH! 

Hello everyone! It's me, DB and I welcome you to my review of Assassin's Creed, the hit film based off the video game series! This film stars Michael Fassbender of X-Men fame as Cal Lynch/Agular, the films main characters. This review does contain spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled yet, please stop reading and go see this movie. It's on iTunes now! Then you can go back to reading this review.

The film's story takes flight in two places, the Abstergo Foundation building (home of the Templars, the Assassin's rivals) and in 1492 Spain, during the Granada Wars. In this film, Fassbender plays two people, both connected by ancestry. He plays Cal Lynch, a convicted suspected murderer who is saved by the Foundation, who forces him to relive the action and adventure moments of his ancester, Agular, also played by Fassbender. Agular was once an Assassin, a part of a secret organization of skilled martial artists  that protected a young prince. They ran their organization by mottos, with the biggest one being "we work in the dark to serve the light". Kinda sounds like Batman, doesn't it?

Later, Cal finds out that the Foundation was part of the Templars, who were searching for a mystical item called the Apple of Eve. According to the movie, the Apple was to contain the code of free will. The Templars wished to use this to eliminate the Assassins once and for all. But, based on his experiences as Agular, Cal learned that he was also a member of the Creed (the Assassins) and, along with his fellow inmates (who were also Assassins members and relative to past Assassins themselves), managed to stop the Templars!

Fassbender plays a double role in this movie. He plays Cal, the suspected murderer who relives the past as Agular (through an item called the Animus, which was a chair in the original games, but a mechanical arm in the movie) who then relied on his Assassins blood to save the day! I thought he was good. A little crazy at times, but still good. I think fans of the video games might like Fassbender as Agular! I won't be surprised if he gets asked to use his voice for the character in future games.

Jeremy Irons was the main Templar villain in this film. His character in this movie was definitely dark, even more darker then his role as Scar in the Lion King. I think the role of the villain definitely suits Mr. Irons well in movies. It definitely suited him in this one! Could we see a future villain in a future Assassin's Creed game? Only fans can decide that!

Marion Cotillard played Sofia. I thought her role was ok. I think that she should not return in a future game.

Brandon Gleeson was in this film, too! He didn't get much screen time. He played Cal's father, a man who needed to kill his wife per the cause of the Creed. You might remember Mr. Gleeson as Alister "Mad Eye" Moody from the Harry Potter series.

I thought the action scenes were great! The stunts were performed very well! I even liked the "Leap of Faith" jump, which was a 125 foot freefall, one of the highest performed by a stunt person in at most 35 years!

The only negative of this film was that a few scenes, to me at least, made the film a little bit of a psychological thriller. I'm not into those kinds of movies because of their style (which is horror), something I don't like at all!

But, overall, I give this film 3 1/2 out of 5 stars, or blades! This is why I called it A FILM TO WATCH! Thanks for reading!

By the way, this film does make references to the original games. Like I mentioned before, it has the Animus, which is originally a chair used in the games. They also added a bunch of weapons that were used in the video game series, like the pistol's from Black Flag and the Bow from Assassin's Creed III.

Does this movie make me want to play the games? Probably not, since I'm not into games that are usually rated M for mature. The same thing goes for Mortal Kombat, though I liked the live-action movie based off that game too!

DB Reviews- Beauty and the Beast 2017

Image from Trailer Addict

BEST FILM I'VE SEEN IN YEARS! 

Disney's classic tale as old as time gets a live action remake! It's me, DB and I welcome you to my review of Disney's Beauty and the Beast! Set in a small village outside of Paris, this movie tells the tale of how a prince turned into a beast, how he had to earn the love of a beautiful girl who loves books and how a curse was broken. This beast had to learn to love this girl and earn her love in return before the last petal of an enchanted rose fell. 

I loved the animated version when I was a kid and the live action version, to me, was just as AWESOME! The effects were really great, the story was on point with a few new things added to the mix, the actors were good and even the music was good too! 

Emma Watson did a good job portraying Belle, the beautiful Disney Princess that loves books. I think Mrs. Watson does very well in movies that involve enchanted things (remember her role as Hermoine in Harry Potter?). Her singing voice wasn't that great, but her acting was! 

Dan Stevens did a good job too as the Beast! The Beast needed to have emotions throughout the film and I thought Mr. Stevens did a good job portraying those emotions as the movie progressed. The Beast, at first, was a frightening thing, but as the movie played through, he was supposed to start feeling love and happiness and I thought Mr. Stevens did a good job acting all those emotions out on screen. I even like his song "Evermore", one of the new songs featured in the film. 

Luke Evans was Gaston in this film. He did a good job because he brought a darker version of the Disney Villain to the live action scene, something that some of you might think was needed for this character. I liked that too, though I have to say my favorite dark Disney villain is Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. 

Josh Gad, of Frozen fame, played LaFou. LaFou is Gaston's sidekick. I've heard the news about Gad's character being being gay in this film.  I don't mind it at all! I can see it all through out the film when Gad was on screen. His singing voice is ok, given the fact that he already has a few Disney songs under his belt in Frozen. 

Kevin Kline was even in this! He played Maurice, Belles eccentric father. I liked it. I learned that he's known for his eccentric roles, so this fits him perfectly! 

Ewan McGregor did a good Lumiere, the living candelabra. He had a higher pitched French accent, which was different then his animated counterpart. I liked that. His version of "Be Our Guest" was more spoken then sung. I didn't like that as much, but the special effects during the song was amazing! 

Sir Ian McKellen was the voice of Cogsworth, the clock. His performance of this character was definitely different then the animated counterpart. He gave him a deeper voice in the live action remake. I thought it was good. 

Emma Thompson protrayed Mrs. Potts. I thought she was the best of all. Her voice sounded great for the character. Not quite Angela Lansbury (who boycotted the film because she thought it was not a good idea), but still great! 

I definitely liked that Disney added some new things to this film that were not in the original film. They gave us a new character (Maestro, played by Stanley Tucci), a few new songs and more story that we didn't see in the original. I think that some of those new parts were definitely needed! 

For example, I think that the story of what happened to Belles mother was needed! However, this involved a very dark and very real part of France's history. This took place during the period of time that the film was based in. This is called the Black Plague (or Black Death, according to Wikipedia), which took place during the 1330s. Belle's mom, unfortunately, caught the deadly disease and passed away.   

For the music, I would say the best new song is "Days in the Sun", which replaced "Human Again" in this film. The best song performed from the original film that was featured in the remake was "The Mob Song". I thought Mr. Evans had the good chops for this song! I would nominate "Days in the Sun" and "Evermore" for best original song adapted for visual media! "Gaston" was not too bad. Thompson's version of the title song wasn't bad either, though I still like Lansbury's version better. 

The story was brilliant! Is was definitely on par with the animated version! The costumes were good as well as the sets! 

Overall, and I repeat, BEST FILM I'VE SEEN IN YEARS! I can't wait till it comes out on Blu-Ray and Digital! I definitely recommend that you bring your family to see it! You could even see it twice, three times, or a million times! 

Should this film get a nomination for Best Picture? I say, a million time, YES! Best Actress for Emma Watson? I would say OK! 

Thanks for reading! 

UPDATE: This film was NOT the first to feature both Watson and Thompson. They co-starred together as Professor Trelawney and Hermoine Granger in the Harry Potter films. 

DB Reviews- Captain America: Civil War

Image from JoBlo.com

Hello everyone! It's me, DB, and after many months, I'm finally able to bring you my review of Captain America: Civil War! WARNING: This review does contain spoilers! So, if you don't want to be spoiled yet, stop reading this and go see the movie. Then you can come back to read this. 

I gotta say, I LOVED THIS FILM! The story was great! I know Marvel did not intend to use any parts of the original Civil War comic book story line, but I noticed references to it during the film. For example, the Slovakia Accords are the MCU (that's Marvel Ciinematic Universe) version of the Superhero Registration Act. Also, the Scarlet Witch destroying a building is reference to the school exploding at the beginning of the Civil War story in the comics. I thought that the writers of this film did a great job taking the Civil War comic story and making it their own in the film.  

The acting was good too. Chris Evans and Robert Downey, Jr reprised their roles as Captain America and Iron Man. I felt that they were good choices when they were chosen to play the roles in their hero's respective franchises. In fact, everyone in this film did a good job! Almost everyone that had roles already in the MCU came back to play them again in this film! Plus, I can't wait to see Tom Holland's Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming later this year! 

The action was great! With a Marvel movie, you have to have fantastic action/special effects scenes and lots of them! This movie did not disappoint in either! It had tons of action! 

I know this review was short, but I didn't have much time to make it. 

Overall, I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! The story was great, the action was fantastic and the actors did well. 

On a side note, I do like how Marvel intertwines their movies with their TV series. What I mean is, Marvel adds elements of their latest movie into episodes of their hit TV shows, like Agents of SHIELD, which I'm a HUGE fan of! I even met Elizabeth Henstrige and Brett Daulton once! I like that! 

Anyway, thanks for reading!