Dragon loves magic and loves baking, so when I came across a show on Amazon Prime that was about 3 young girls who find a magic cookbook, called Just Add Magic. I thought she’d love it.
I really expected a cheesy magic show for kids. It reminded me of Alex Mac or Eerie Indiana. And to start with, it was pretty much that, but by the end of the first season, I was hooked.
The seasons have story arcs that are planned and cohesive, the magic system is as fascinating as the mythology. They even plant hints at next season’s stories.
There are some seriously awkward stories but overall it’s really well done.
We’re just about to start season 3 and I can’t wait.
Check it out if you have Amazon Prime. Warning, it’ll make you want to cook.
This is a weird combination of superhero origin, kids saving parents, and invasion movie. It doesn’t quite work and is really slow in some parts. The first twist was well set up and had a great reveal, the second twist felt too easy and much too contrived.
Score: 0
Character
This is where the movie shines. The characters are extremely likeable and for such a huge cast and regular length movie they are well developed.
My favourite was the little girl water bender.
Score: 1
Dialogue
The dialogue is the best and worst you get from a superhero movie combined with the weirdness that is this director’s style. It doesn’t land very well most of the time.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
This movie was the next step after Spy Kids in style and borderline archaic special effects. The aesthetic was there and it was kinda pretty, but still not great.
The music was good but unremarkable.
Score: 0.5
Fun
I enjoyed the movie. I like when the powerless kid doesn’t get super powered at the end. And overall it was a lot of fun. A little slow and that ending just doesn’t sit right with me. It felt too easy and invalidated the kids’ work.
Score: 0.5
Overall
An okay movie with great characters and an unfulfilling ending.
With that I give you this year’s serial story blurb:
Diamond Stars and the Galactic Heist
Garnet never expected he’d be kidnapped, especially not by the System’s most notorious thief Diamond Stars. He was supposed to be in hiding from his previous life and employers, living quietly as a glorified spaceship mechanic. Diamond wants him to join a heist; it’s a bad idea but there’s something enticing about the offer and it’s not just the handsome Doctor.
Can Diamond’s crew pull off the greatest heist in the galaxy or will they be sidetracked by what they discover along the way?
Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano
Crochet
The project she is working on (currently she is making herself a poncho)
Basic Information
We talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.
Printing words
In download materials
Counting objects/math-type activities
Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type –in download materials
Addition and pattern – worksheet
Storytime
Activity
Draw a new invention (link here) – let them use their imagination! Lava Lamp Experiment (link here) Make marshmallow robots (ingredients: marshmallows, toothpicks)
This year we’re making changes to the schedule of posts. Here’s what’s going to happen:
Monday
Éric Desmarais will randomly write things like an unspecified number of monkeys with typewriters… which is totally not how he writes his posts… *Shifty Eyes*
Tuesday
How I Taught My Dragon will post the results of the previous week with all the cute pictures of Dragon learning.
How I Taught My Dragon will post the plan for the next week of Draconic (but rarely draconian) learning.
Friday
The monkeysÉric returns with serial stories, regular stories, rants, coffee info, and really whatever comes out of the typewriters… uhm mind, his mind.
Saturday
JenEric Movie Reviews continues to watch movies, over-analyse them, and tell you all about it.
Sunday
Unless 2021 ends up being as movie watching heavy as 2020, this will be left blank and let the monkeys, time machine, and Dragon rest.
Looks like another exciting year for JenEric Designs. Hope you enjoy it!
Today marks the first day of a whole new year. A made up, arbitrary, unimportant date that nonetheless feels like a renewal and rebirth. The human mind and spirit is a fascinating and messed up thing.
Last year was all over the place. I was on paternity leave, we went to Disney World, and then PANDEMIC. I’m ridiculously privileged that I got to work from home and we didn’t lose much income (Jen’s travel booking did suffer). I got to spend so much more time with my son than I would have and that’s a blessing.
It was a terrible year for my New Year’s Resolutions, however. This year I’m going to take it easier… I think.
This will be the 8th year for the serial story. Voting Ended yesterday and I’ll have the first installment by the end of the month. I’ll be writing 1 installment every month of 800-1000 words.
2. Start and write half of SUPER MYSTERY BOOK PROJECT
This year will see the start, and hopefully the finish, of a new book. I’m really excited about this one. The goal is to get to at least 40,000 words this year.
Our schedule and lineup will be changing, but that’s another post. I’m going to hopefully keep up the streak of having at least 5 posts per week.
Editing and Marketing
5. Start Editing Dinosaur Road Trip
I wrote this novel in 2017 and my weditor edited it. I need to go through it and make the recommended changes and edits. Maybe even pass it to the next beta reader… It’s just such a personal book that it’s hard to revisit.
6. Keep Working on FADDS
The system isn’t perfect, but it’s getting better every playtest. I want to keep playtesting and adding on to the powers. Maybe rethink the advanced classes and powers.
Personal
7. Read 15 Books
Like writing, I need to carve out time to read. It’s important to both my mental energy and health.
8. Play more games with the kids
I need to play more board games and video games now that the kids are getting older. It’ll be a fun activity.
9. Be More Patient
This is a hard one. I yell a little too much and it’s not good for me or the kids. I need more patience with them, work, and life in general.
10. Keep pressing my doctor to find out what those attacks were in November
In November I had some serious health issues. I had massive cramping in my lower left abdomen, fever, weakness, nausea, and fatigue. It happened twice in November and both times faded away.
It also happened last year and I went to the emergency room, but they couldn’t find anything wrong.
In mid-December, I called and asked the receptionist to get a referral to a specialist. I think this is related to my IBS and other issues, but I’m not a doctor.
I’ll keep pushing.
Those are my resolutions for 2021. Ambitious, but less so than in the past.
What does it mean to be human? Do we have a fated purpose? What is life? Do cats have souls? This movie answers and philosophizes left, right, and centre. All while pulling us along a body swap adventure. It’s funny, fun, and has lots to think about.
Despite the trailers making it look it it would, I’m glad the movie didn’t fall into the “Transformed POC” trope.
Story: 1
Characters
The main character is written in such a way that we sympathize with him immediately. There’s no doubting his dream. Then as we see his life through the eyes of another character we start to see his obsession with making it has hurt his ability to live in the moment. It’s a subtle transition that was so well done.
Score: 1
Dialogue
The dialogue was mostly okay but in some parts was amazing. The conversation with his mom, the barber, and the double meanings of so many bits of dialogue between him and 22 are extremely well done.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
This movie wasn’t about grand vistas and fantasy landscapes like Onward but instead was a lot more about details and abstract concepts. This movie was beautiful. The wood grain on the mother’s tailor shop to the minimalist interpretation of the great beyond’s light. This was breath taking.
The music was fantastic. I love how the pieces he plays are representative of his character growth. I look forward to buying this album.
Score: 1
Fun
This movie was beautiful and fun. My mind still races at the world building. My daughter (4yo) loved it but my 18 month old didn’t sit through it. I’m not sure why. Either way, it’s not a knock on the film but it certainly isn’t the best for small kids.
Score: 1
Overall
The writing and music alone had me enthralled with their complexity and subtly. This movie is smart, funny, beautiful and certainly full of Soul.
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.
This year I seem to have watched, and reviewed, 73 films. Wow. Below is a list of them in decending star order. Within each catergory they are in alphabetical order.
Balto seems like a fitting choice for the first movie of 2021 (the week of the 4th), both because of the cold Alaskan setting and because of the need for medicine/vaccine.
Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano
Crochet
The project she is working on (currently she is making herself a poncho)
Basic Information
We talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.
Printing words
In download materials
Counting objects/math-type activities
Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type –in download materials
Addition and pattern – worksheet
Storytime
Activity
Viruses – play pandemic (the game) – if you don’t have it, watch this youtube video Learn about sled dogs (can be a video, a worksheet, etc) Make book of shapes – one shape per page, colour it and describe it (eg. A purple square, a green triangle, a pink heart, a yellow star). Use staples to attach pages together.
