Movie Reviews

Gunpowder Milkshake  – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2021 film Gunpowder Milkshake.

Story

Hyperviolent with just enough emotion that you know it’s there. A classic style action movie. It’s not deep but it does have heart and a nice theme about found family.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Stoic, sarcastic, and deadly. The characters are barely two dimensional and only work through the immense talent of the actors.

Score: 0

Dialogue

Lots of quips, snark, and wonderful banter. The dialogue does double duty in needing to express the subtleties that the characters themselves don’t.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The style reminded me of a more colourful Sin City with a little of the surreal aspects of Sucker Punch. Overall, it has beautiful cinematography, sets, costumes, and action. The action is absolutely superb. Loved the car chase in the parking garage.

The music was a nice combination femme rock and instrumental action music.

Score: 1

Fun

I wasn’t sure what to expect and wanted something exciting and easy to watch. I wasn’t disappointed. I can see this being a comfort watch for me. Jen wasn’t as big a fan of the gore and extreme violence. The kids were in bed and did not watch, thankfully.

Score: 1

Overall

An excellent hyperviolent action movie with all the music quips and fights that make the genre fun to watch. The actors in this are at the top of their game and killing it (literally and figuratively.)

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

 Clue – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1985 film Clue.

Story

The story is fun, fast, and witty. Part of that is necessity to cover the dangling threads of story. As a mystery, it’s severely lacking. As a comedy, it’s pure gold.

I was happy to see they didn’t automatically paint the supposed gay character as evil. If anything, he was the least evil of the group. However, the “real” ending having him say he was going home to his wife sucked, although I know they had to do it for ratings reasons.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Using the Clue board game names with their own special zany character traits. Each is just silly enough to be likeable and murderous enough not to be.

The characters are quite boring, but the impressive actors manage to make them interesting.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

This has more banter, quips, and witty dialogue than an entire season of some sitcoms. Some are good, some are bad, and a lot of them fall flat, but the sheer quantity ensures that there’s something for everyone.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The cinematography walks the line between camp and brilliance in the best possible way. The set is exquisite and the costumes are fantastic.

The music is simple but perfectly well used. Lots of nods to other mysteries and spy films.

Score: 1

Fun

This movie isn’t going to make you think super hard and it’s not so dumb it seems smart, it’s somewhere in the middle. Combined with the amazing cast and wonderful jokes, it’s a fun movie to watch. Everyone was enthralled except the 3 year old who was bored. The 6 year old did say she wished there was more time to try and guess the murderer.

Score: 1

Overall

Fast and funny this is a classic homage to the game and mystery films in general. It’s not a good mystery, but the comedy and the cinematography more than make up for it.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

But I’m a Cheerleader – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1999 film But I’m a Cheerleader.

Story

This is definitely a dark comedy. It manages to highlight the absurdity of these sorts of camps while still capturing the horror of them. I have no experience with conversion therapy, but I’m thankful this leaned into the emotions and contradictions and not the psychological torture.

The message of choosing to be yourself instead of miserable is well done and sad at the same time.

Score: 1

Characters

The characters are extremely well-built stereotypes and that feeds the story.

The fact that the camp staff were all repressed made them both more human and sadder.

I’m not sure if it’s because I wasn’t part of the LGBT community in 1999 (being bisexual in a small town meant it was easier for me to hide) or because of the writing, but there were a few characters that I just didn’t understand.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue vacillated from pseudo-intellectual drivel to deep and loving. Seeing the contrast between the two made everything feel even more surreal.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals weren’t flashy, but the thought behind them was impressive. The repressed camp leader spending her evening cleaning flowers, the overcompensation of the colour scheme, the Sapphic curtains, and the large quantity of spandex/pleather add to the hypocrisy of the camp.

The songs had a 1950’s feel to it while being quite subversive. The rest of the score leaned heavily into the songs and it worked really well.

Score: 1

Fun

It was fun to see the lesbien and gay characters being portrayed as both the heroes and the more stable characters. I appreciated the bit at the end with the parents joining the support group, giving us a little hope.

I watched it with my wife only and I’m glad. It’s a little dark for a 3 and 6 year old.

It was hard to watch the pain and anguish these poor people went through at the hands of a society that wants them to hide who they are. Even in a watered-down level of hate with a lot of dark humour, it’s still very much on the nose.

It reminded me of all the times I was with people in university and heard someone say, “Bisexuals don’t exist, they’re just gay people who are scared or straight people who want attention.” Every time I heard it, I sank further into myself, and that’s just a fraction of what others experienced.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie pokes as much fun at the lesbian and gay stereotypes as it does the bigots who refuse to understand. It’s dark and raw and painful all at once. However, there’s a certain joy and hope in the message of being yourself and the importance of found family.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

The Mummy (1999) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1999 film The Mummy.

Story

A very loose remake of the 1932 movie with Boris Karloff. Its story, although very similar in spirit, is very different.

I liked the symmetry and the balance of horror and humour.

Score: 1

Characters

It’s rare to have two “scaredy” characters in the same movie but they did a great job in deferentiating them. I like the Indiana Jones-style character and the love story was fun. I like the confidence and strength that Evelyn gains through the movie.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is impressively funny for such a serious movie. I like the banter between the main characters and between the siblings.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

What a beautiful movie. The cinematagraphy was stunning while still obviously influenced by classic horror and adventure movies. The CGI looked a little dated, but there wasn’t that much.

The music was beautiful and fit perfectly. I want the soundtrack for my D&D games.

Score: 1

Fun

Seeing the influence of older movies on this one and then the influence this had on future films is so cool. I saw it in theatres when it first came out and loved it, but I appreciated its details more now.

My six year old was nervous throughout, but the three year old loved it. Jen found it scary, but fun (it was her first time watching it).

Fun and exciting for the whole family.

Score: 1

Overall

A classic action adventure with a touch of horror and romance. The characters are great and the movie is absolutely beautiful. A must-watch for anyone who loves archeology or action adventure movies.

Final Score: 5 Stars out of 5*

*A 5 star review doesn’t mean the movie was perfect nor that it is perfect for everyone but it is a movie I believe is as close to perfect as possible.

DC League of Super-Pets – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film DC League of Super-Pets.

Story

A basic superhero meets animal adventure. The background of the characters is surprisingly touching and the story moves along at a great pace. There were at least two or three excellent surprises.

Score: 1

Characters

I’m not a huge fan of some of the voice actors, but the villain and the turtle made it awesome. Overall, the characters were nuanced and fun. One of the better DC movies when it comes to balanced characters.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue was all over the place. From some deep well thought-out to borderline incomprehensible lines.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The animation was good, but very basic compared to its modern counterparts, closer to DC’s animated kids shows then something Disney or Sony would put out. That being said, it was well framed and had some awesome colours.

The music was good. The score did what it needed and thankfully borrowed from other DC movies. The choice of songs was perfect for comedy and tone.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This was a fun movie for the whole family. The 3 year old was extremely upset we weren’t watching Paw Patrol (he didn’t know there was a difference since he’s only ever watched 1 episode), but after a few scenes he was hooked. The 6 year old loved it. The rest of us enjoyed it too.

Score: 1

Overall

This is a lighter take on the usually grim DC universe. The pets are likeable with excellent characters and great jokes. This is a superhero movie that reminds us what a great kids superhero movie can be. It’s young, but with lots of heart.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Matilda the Musical – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Matilda the Musical.

Story

The story is very similar to the older movie, but with some interesting changes. I’ll admit I don’t know the book. It’s heartbreaking and tries really hard to lessen the pain with exaggerated characters. The story elements don’t always land well, parts were slow and others overdone.

I do like the message that no matter how small you are, you can still write your own story… although it is undercut by her needing superpowers.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I’m pretty done with the ugly and/or fat character is the villain, while the petite pretty person is the good guy. I know it’s the book, but it’s an overdone and lazy stereotype.

Matilda herself is fantastic. She has a strong sense of right and wrong along with enough strength of character to push back.

The librarian was amazing and the kids were okay.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Lots of repeated phrases and messages. It had some excellent dialogue from Matilda, especially when she told her stories. Beyond that, it oscillated between saccharin and melodrama.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The camera work and framing were great. The costumes and sets were perfect. The dancing was excellent.

The music and score were fun, but heavily repetitive. This isn’t a soundtrack that I’d want to own.

My biggest problem was that the musical aspects were underused and, other than a few songs, underwhelming.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I wouldn’t call this a feel good movie. It had all the “Hell Yeah!” it needed, but the path there was really sad and painful.

The 6 year old loved it, the 3 year old was entranced but nonplussed. The adults were split between not liking it and finding it pretty good.

I found myself looking forward to the music and disappointed at the same time.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A musical version of Matilda with all the baggage of the original story with a few fun songs. Although I love the message that you can write your own story, the movie doesn’t really back it up very well.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Story

An epic playing on emotion, colonialism, family, and politics. There were a few flashback style sections that I didn’t like, why are you showing me what happened 30 minutes ago? But that’s not enough to cast a shadow on the impressive story.

Score: 1

Characters

There are a lot of characters and unfortunately without watching the first one again, I forgot who a few of them are. That being said, the arcs are satisfying and I didn’t feel cheated in anyone’s story and that’s impressive.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The movie was sadder without T’Challa’s quips. He had a charisma in his delivery that was amazing. That being said, the movie was a wonderful mixture of high drama, epic, and action dialogue.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie was beautiful, great special effects, choreography, and cinematography, when I could see it. We have a 4k OLED TV with excellent contrast and brightness, but a good 10-25% of the movie was so dark we could barely see.

The music is epic and amazing. I liked that the sirens sang something that sounded vaguely like a sea shanty.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The kids were bored in the emotional parts, and that made it harder to get into the emotion.

For the adults, we all agreed that it was both entertaining and thought provoking. I’d watch this again for that balance and to catch all the details I missed.

Score: 1

Overall

An emotional and sweeping story that takes the time to grieve Chadwick Boseman without losing itself in loss. There are some wonderful themes and ideas. This is a proper epic superhero movie.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Monster Hunter – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2020 film Monster Hunter.

Story

This is based off a game that I have not played, but from the writer/director’s past history, it’s probably not all that faithful. That being said, it was fairly simple and had some interesting world building.

After the first exciting bit, it was a little slow however.

Score: 0.5

Characters

There were a lot of characters that didn’t get much screentime and they were pretty cool. Hard to go wrong with Ron Pearlman.

The two main characters are interesting, but I’m not sure they were interesting enough to hold up the movie.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

This was a very typical white story, the non-english speaker learned bits of English and the English speaker learned the names of the monsters.

Most of the dialogue is pretty boring but there were a few good action lines.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals were spectacular when it came to the monsters and the fight scenes. The fight choreography was really cool. I love seeing monsters versus modern war machines.

The music was okay but at times distracted from the story and action instead of enhancing it.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I went into this expecting a silly monster movie with lots of action and that’s what I got. It was fun and exciting. It wasn’t as well paced as others by Anderson.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie is silly fun but doesn’t really shine the way it should have. It’s mostly just meh with a few moments of awesome.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5

Venom: Let There Be Carnage – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2021 film Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Story

The story was simple to a fault, with more time spent on Venom and Brock fighting than anything else.

What story there was, was as predictable as the first, maybe more so. Again, this felt like a bad 90’s script with modern special effects.

Score: 0

Characters

I honestly can’t stand Eddie. He’s a complete fool. Venom isn’t much better. They’re at their best when they snip at each other but still work as a team, and we didn’t see much of that.

Woody Harrelson and Naomie Harris are fantastic, over-the-top, villains. They are tragic and cheesy and wonderful. There was a little too much time spent telling us they were evil vs showing us.

Carnage was super boring.

Again, these actors are way too good for the roles.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

“Oh shit! He’s a red one.” and “Those two need couples counselling.” were the best lines. Beyond that, it was pretty bad.

Score: 0

Visuals and Music

The special effects, cinematography, and directing were impressive. This movie looked good.

The music was excellent.

Score: 1

Fun

I watched this on my own and it wasn’t fun. I think it might be more fun with friends mocking it.

Score: 0

Overall

The acting, directing, music and visuals are spectacular. None of that saves the movie from a terrible script, unsympathetic characters, and dialogue that would feel cheap in a bad 90’s action movie.

Final Score: 1.5 Stars out of 5

Strange World – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Strange World.

Story

The story mirrors the old pulp comics and stories, but with a modern twist. This felt like it would fit well with Treasure Planet and Atlantis.

The story definitely follows Disney’s new story structure of not having a villain and dealing with family/generational trauma.

I find that a lot of the screen time is wasted on the AMAZING visuals and not enough on the characters themselves.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I liked the characters, but the focus moved around a lot and the emotions were rushed for the actions. Splat was a perfect Disney sidekick, the mom was amazing, and Alan Tudyk should not be playing pilots any more.

The three male leads were stubborn and their changes of heart were nice but not heart-wrenching.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The banter and fights between the characters was great and the parent’s interactions were great.

Loved the pulpy intro narration.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

This was an absolute joy to watch visually. The world was both amazing and fascinating. The camera angles and style were just perfect.

The music was very well done with a wonderful heroic score.

Score: 1

Fun

This movie was exciting, thought provoking, and lots of fun. The whole family loved it. My wife, who has a background in biology, noticed a few really cool visuals early on and we then spent a lot of the movie pointing out inspiration for the world.

I look forward to seeing this one again.

Score: 1

Overall

A family drama with a spectacular world pulled straight from older pulp science fiction. This movie is stunning, clever, and a lot of fun.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5