The Marvels – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film The Marvels.

Story

The structure was very similar to other Marvel films, but managed to make it feel fresh. There was an almost origin story feel to it. I liked how it managed to include some heavy topics like colonialism, racism, and death, while still including the light humorous moments.

There were a few things that felt rushed or out of place. The second bangle’s fate was glossed over and a few other things that I think could have been clearer. It leaves the audience with a feeling like they missed something, even if they’ve watched all the tv shows and movies.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I think Miss Marvel is my favourite MCU character and she’s amazing in this. It was great to see the contrast between the stoic soldier of Captain Marvel and the fangirling Miss Marvel.

The only thing that really bothered me was how Miss Marvel couldn’t follow the technobabble. She’s genre savvy enough that she should have gotten it and if felt like a cheap gag and reason to explain it to the audience.

Score: 1

Dialogue

I’d love to know how much of Miss Marvel’s fan-babble was scripted and how much was just the actress. Either way, the dialogue was clear, punchy, and handled emotion well.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The special effects and space backgrounds were beautiful and the costumes were great. The real star was the choreography, which was spectacular.

The music was strong and entangled the three characters well.

Score: 1

Fun

I’ve been looking forward to this movie since they announced it and was sad I missed it in theatres (Colds and RSV stopped us). I was not disappointed; it had everything I wanted in a movie and a little extra.

The three characters are great and I look forward to seeing more of them. The rest of the family loved it too.

Score: 1

Overall

This is what a Marvel movie should be and with a lot of their recent releases, it felt like they had forgotten how to have fun. Humour, emotion, and heavy topics are handled perfectly and transitioned naturally, making for a satisfying film. If that’s not enough, the fight choreography is utterly breathtaking.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

The best queer cozy YA romances that make you want to fall in love

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I wrote a list of 5 books for a website called Shepherd. The goal was to curate a list of my favourite 5 books with similar vibes to my own book.

I had a lot of fun writing this list and even more fun reading the books.

I have since read another book that I would add: Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada, but I read it after I submitted to the website, so it missed out, sadly.

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and Instagram

Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!

Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version

Week 23 – Soul

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I love the concept for this and there so much to do with this one.

Here is the link for the downloadable materials. (I hope this works…please let me know if you have any problems so I can fix it!)

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
blues and jazzWatch moviemeditateFlexpersonality zine

Summary of the week

Daily details:

Dance

Ballet and martial arts on alternate days

Music

Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano, learning guitar

Crochet

On break

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

Download material

Counting objects/math-type activities

Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type – (in download material)

Addition and pattern – worksheet

Storytime

Activity

Music blues and jazz
Learn to meditate
Make a personality zine

Next week: Zootopia

Week 21 – Turning Red Results

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This movie has extremely fast dialogue. Even I had trouble following. But Pegasus was a trooper and stuck it out. He liked the music and LOVED the panda.

Dance

As per usual, I didn’t do anything specific for this.

Music

His scales are coming along nicely and he willingly practises both his scales and the pieces in the book.

Crochet

We haven’t started this yet.

Basic Information

We are working on the day before and the day after any given day. The months of the year is going well. All months have proper pronounciation now, and we’re working on the month before and after any given month. That’s coming slowly.

We practised the seasons, but he still needs help remembering them in French.

Printing words

He is working on leaving spaces between words (kerning). This is easier to do on the computer. 😉 I think he’s getting better though.

Counting objects/math-type activities

He still has no problems with counting these, and I feel like his numbers have improved.

Math worksheets. He REALLY likes these and had a lot of fun with the more challenging one. He did them both on Monday because he was so excited to do them.

Storytime

We got 4 French library books last week. We read 2.

Activity

Take pictures on a nature walk – We discovered that it’s a lot more difficult to go for a walk with boots on and when there are unplowed paths. Pegasus was really dragging on the way home. I felt bad, but it’s not like we could teleport home! He willingingly laid down and rested, but didn’t nap. My pictures of Pegasus taking pictures below:

Pegasus’s pictures: We’re going to work on him tucking his elbows against his body so that they’re not as blurry next time. He did a great job keeping his fingers out of the frame after that first one (difficult to do when wearing gloves that are too big). He had fun playing with the zoom.

Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera
Digital Camera

Physics experiment – Floating Hearts Static Electricity Activity – The balloon was a big hit (and thankfully popped later than night). He was incredibly enthusiastic about rubbing the balloon on the carpet and then making the pieces of paper jump from the table to the balloon.

Make a concert set list – He had a lot of fun and had definite ideas about what he wanted in his set list. It ended up telling a story – starts out feeling trapped, leaving home, starting over, doing what feels right, and then feeling like it’s home. He typed out the names of the songs (I did the artists), and chose and placed all the pictures in Canva.

There was a PEBCAK error on Friday

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Hello Friends, Family, and Fans,

I’ve prided myself on ensuring content every weekday for the past 10 years. Unfortunately, we had a major PEBCAK error last week.

PEBCAK stands for Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard.

Basically I messed up. Sorry.

I’ve been struggling to do updates. This new head cold I caught last week doesn’t help. Motivation has been hard to come by. I think it’s a combination of re-adjusting to the routine and wanting to do too many things. It’s leaving me unfocused.

I’ve been through it before; I just need to get excited about one thing and get it done.

How’s your 2024 going?

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

A Haunting in Venice – JenEric Movie Review

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How This Works – Read Other Reviews

Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film A Haunting in Venice.

Story

I haven’t read Hallowe’en Party and can’t speak to how faithful this is to the original plot.

That being said, this is the most fast paced of the three Branagh Poirot movies and definitely the darkest. The story is a fascinating mystery with a lot of ghostly dressing. The pace is slowed and story hurt by the humdrum attempts at integrating horror clichés into it.

Score: 0.5

Characters

There is a massive disparity in quality in acting. Branagh and Yeoh are absolutely fabulous and the kid is amazing. The rest of the cast is passable.

The characters are believable and act accordingly.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There’s a near poetry to the banter and dialogue of the characters. Yeoh’s confrontation with Branagh is spectacular.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie was filmed on location and it adds a level of authenticity. The sets are great. Despite the jump scares and a few odd angles, the cinematography is a wonderful mix of the mystery and horror styles.

Score: 1

Fun

I’m both proud and a little disappointed that I guessed the killer, method, and blackmailer way before I should have. It was, however, a fun movie to experience.

It being on the scarier side means I watched it on my own.

Score: 1

Overall

An excellent movie with a fun Halloween twist. The acting is a little uneven and the mystery watered down, but a worthy successor to the other two films and a fun watch. Branagh and Yeoh are fabulous as usual.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Week 22 – The Princess and the Frog

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Back to the similar program that I taught to Dragon with The Princess and the Frog.

Here is the link for the downloadable materials. (I hope this works…please let me know if you have any problems so I can fix it!)

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
rice bowlWatch movieBeignetsFlexlearn about frogs

Summary of the week

Daily details:

Dance

Ballet and martial arts on alternate days

Music

Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano, learning guitar

Crochet

On break

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

Download material

Counting objects/math-type activities

Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type – (in download material)

Addition and pattern – worksheet

Storytime

Activity

Cooking rice bowl
Baking beignets
Learn about frogs

Next week: Soul

Week 20 – Over the Moon Results

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Pegasus had not watched this movie yet (under 2yo doesn’t count), so I was excited to see his response to this. He was enthralled.

Dance

As per usual, I didn’t do anything specific for this.

Music

His scales are coming along nicely and he willingly practises both his scales and the pieces in the book.

Crochet

We haven’t started this yet.

Basic Information

We kept up with these throughout the break, so he was still able to repeat these quite well. We are working on the day before and the day after any given day. The months of the year is going well. All months have proper pronounciation now, and we’re working on the month before and after any given month. That’s coming slowly.

We practised the seasons, but he still needs help remembering them in French.

Printing words

He is working on leaving spaces between words (kerning). This is easier to do on the computer. 😉

Counting objects/math-type activities

He still has no problems with counting these, and I feel like his numbers have improved.

Math worksheets. He REALLY likes these and had a lot of fun with the more challenging one. He did them both on Monday because he was so excited to do them.

Storytime

We got 4 new French library books this week. We read 2.

Activity

Nebula jar – This was one of my favourites from Dragon’s lessons. Pegasus chose yellow, red, and green. If I could go back and encourage him to pick a different last colour, I would. It seems to be making the entire jar a bit murky. On the positive side, we can always do this again after washing out the jar…?

Magnet experiment – We took out two powerful magnets and tested different materials (coaster, magazine, pants, blanket, different plastics, board books, and stacking cups). He also tested how many cups he could nest inside each other before the magnets didn’t hold (the answer is 6 – the magnets held on 5. His hypothesis was that 3 would be the max.)

Make spring rolls – Pegasus enjoys adding flavours, but cooking is not something he enjoys. Baking, however, is another story. Moving forward, I’ll be removing most of the cooking and adding baking. He burned his finger slightly on the pan when stirring, and got very impatient when rolling the rice paper. Dragon took over and she was better at it than Éric was!