4 Stars

The Princess Switch – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2018 film The Princess Switch.

Story

A fun take on The Prince and the Pauper. Like the other early Netflix Christmas movies, it avoids too much angst.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The male characters are pretty and adorable, but it’s Vanessa Hudgens that rightfully steals the show. The adorable littler girl does a good job too.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Clever and cute with a few good social commentaries. I don’t think we’ll be quoting this one much in the future but it was fun.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

Filmed at a real castle and in a place that gets snow so it was partially believable. It was however obvious that the majority of the scenes that weren’t bridging shots were filmed in summer..

The music was cheerful and unintrusive.

Score: 1

Fun

I expected a lot of awkward and angsty scenes but it wasn’t; it was fun and light and I really enjoyed it. The rest of the family felt the same.

Score: 1

Overall

A lovely Christmas romance with lots of flirting and little angst. Hudgens shows that excellent acting doesn’t have to only be depressing.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Holiday Mismatch – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Holiday Mismatch.

Story

Adorable meddling mothers and a sweet romance. I love the symmetry between the relationships. That being said, it’s just two different tropes smushed together.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The mothers had incredible comedic chemistry and the love interests were adorable. Both sets together worked great. The dad and brother were entertaining as well.

I do hate when all the drama comes from a misunderstanding or a character not keeping a secret. It felt a little forced.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is funny, flirty, and cute. I liked the multiple jokes about the mothers being witches.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The snow was ridiculously fake and a few scenes were obviously filmed in summer. But the camera work and the scenes were well done and excellently decorated.

The music did it’s job and accentuated when it was needed. Could have used more holiday music though.

Score: 1

Fun

This was a nice break from the traditional angsty holiday movie. It was sweet and everyone but the 5yo loved it. He thought it was boring.

Score: 1

Overall

A fun and rewatchable holiday movie that avoids the angst often associated with romance. It thrives off the chemistry and charisma of the mothers.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Time Cut – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Time Cut.

Story

A fun mixture of time travel and slasher story elements but with a paradox twist that isn’t normally explored.

Score: 1

Characters

I have a soft spot for smart characters. They are rarely found in slasher films and unfortunately the smart idiot trope happens a lot in time travel. Thankfully neither is the case in this movie. They act fairly logically and they are smart.

I do think the quiet nerd being picked on and being rejected turns them evil trope is a little overdone.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is pretty good but I would have liked the slang differences to be explored more. Other than fashion, the main character didn’t seem out of place.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals are great. I like the choice of lighting and colouring to denote the decade. The special effects are minimal and mostly practical.

The music is oddly nostalgic for only being twenty years ago.

Score: 1

Fun

I was expecting a dumb movie and after really liking Totally Killer I didn’t expect to enjoy this one. I was happily wrong. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the ending.

Score: 1

Overall

An excellent time travel movie with mild slasher elements. It doesn’t shy away from fun or asking question. It’s nice to see a movie that feels like a rehash do something different with its conclusion.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

The Rescuers Down Under – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1990 film The Rescuers Down Under.

Story

The story set-up made me groan but instead of the traditional love triangle, Bernard’s story was about finding the self-confidence that Bianca had in him the whole time.

The rescuing story was also interesting in it’s conservationist bend and scary smart villain.

Score: 1

Characters

The main characters are just as loveable as before and Bernard’s arc is lovely. The added animals are fun and the humans are extremely clever. Something that is refreshing in a movie with kids getting kidnapped; the boy (like the girl in the previous movie) is extremely clever.

Score: 1

Dialogue

There’s a lot of talking that felt over the top and a little long winded. But overall it was pretty clever. I loved John Candy’s lines and irreverence.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The art is a great blend of traditional and computer animated. Unfortunately, the computer parts don’t hold up as well as the traditional ones.

The music was good and had some nice epic bits.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This is a well-balanced and fun movie. Everyone in the family loved it. Even the 5yo, who said he didn’t want to watch it, was in the room within a few minutes.

Score: 1

Overall

A classic with excellent art and wonderful characters.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Tarzan (1999) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1999 film Tarzan.

Story

Not a huge departure from the book but the changes are pure Disney. That being said, it is the Disney animated movie with the most deaths other than Mulan.

There’s a nice slow pace to the movie that despite the brutality of the antagonists is kinda refreshing.

Score: 1

Characters

Rebellious Tarzan, curious Jane, overprotective but right father figure. The characters are all fairly cliché but it works.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is fun and quotable.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The animation is spectacular and extremely well done. The movement and details are excellent.

The music went hard and is utterly fantastic.

Score: 1

Fun

I’m not a huge fan of kids dying and the beginning really caught me by surprise. It also annoyed me how privileged and innocent all the English characters were.

That being said, the music, pace, and joy in the movie are worth it.

Score: 0.5

Overall

An oft-forgotten Disney classic with amazing music and great visuals. It does have some sad parts but the happy ones make up for it.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Story

They abandoned the small town setting and embraced the NYC feel of the originals. The story is interesting and I like how they weaved the two parts.

Score: 0.5

Characters

This cast was massive, upgrading the originals from cameo to secondary characters, adding two new characters, and balancing the cast from the previous film. The result is that only a few characters got growth and the others were either background or comedy relief.

This time the villain is actually terrifying.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is quippy, smart, and fun. It mixes mythologies and technobabble in amusing ways.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie is extremely pretty and avoids being too dark or using too many quick cuts. The special effects are flawless.

The music was a good mix of the classic themes and songs with new ones.

Score: 1

Fun

This is a fun Ghostbuster movie that balances old and new really well. I feel like we could use more time for some of the characters, but overall it was lots of fun. I watched this alone but I look forward to watching it again with the family.

Score: 1

Overall

A near perfect melding of old and new. This will make all Ghostbuster fans happy. It could use a little more time with it’s expansive cast of characters, but overall it’s fun, fast, and quippy.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Story

The story is a nice reversal of the kidnapped princess trope. It has a lot of back and forth travelling but never feels slow, despite being almost two and half hours long.

That being said, it’s not original and a lot of the plot relies on intelligent characters being idiots.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The characters feel jarringly cartoonish but they fit perfectly in the world. It’s impressive how much depth and understanding the audience gets from the character’s quips and actions.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The movie isn’t historically accurate and no one wanted it to be. The dialogue is quippy, irreverent, and funny.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals are all absolutely stunning but suffer from the early 2000’s obsessions with quick-cuts and shaky-cam.

The music is spectacular and makes the movie worth it on it’s own.

Score: 0.5

Fun

Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie. I was worried because we’d watched it with a 2yo Dragon and she’d been bored. Not this time; she was riveted and loved it. Pegasus seemed indifferent. The rest of the family loved it.

I’ll be honest, I don’t like Johnny Depp. He normally has little charisma and plays only two characters. Cpt. Jack however is one of the characters he does extremely well.

Score: 1

Overall

A wonderful historical fantasy with amazing dialogue, music, and scenery.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Descendants: The Rise of Red – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Descendants: The Rise of Red.

Story

It’s very Back to the Future meets Monster High. They take a lot of time with the set up and the ending feels rushed and unfinished.

Score: 0

Characters

The two main characters are great and have wonderful chemistry as a grumpy/sunshine style odd couple. They also grow and learn throughout the movie.

The villains were superbly cast and are amazing. I hope to see more of that group in future movies.

Seeing the cast from the 1997 Cinderella was fun, although it’s important to note that the backstory is different.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is cutesy and does a great job at sounding young while still being understandable to older people. There are some very interesting conversations about ethics, rules, and doing what’s right.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

They colourful villain aesthetic of the first three movies carries through into this one but with upgraded camera equipment and camera work. The choreography is superb.

The songs are extremely catchy and weave elements from classic Disney and the first three movies.

Score: 1

Fun

The story is weak and there are a lot of weird choices on the part of the characters, but overall it’s a lot of fun and everyone in the family loved it.

Score: 1

Overall

An overdone story that is more than made up for with excellent acting, singing, dancing, and set design. If you enjoyed the others in the series, you’ll enjoy this one.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1983 film Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Story

This cleans up the loose threads of the other two movies and concludes the story in a satisfying way. It’s a little meandering and at times the philosophy is laughable.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The main characters are consistant and likeable. The secondary characters are good and the emperor is deliciously evil.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Cheesy and a little over the top but lot of fun with quips galore.

The emperor is wonderfully evil but his manipulations of Luke aren’t as clever as it’s made out to be.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The special effects from the original movie hold up well but like the other movies, the effects added digitally in the 2000’s don’t look as good. I’m also not a big fan of replacing Sebastian Shaw as the Anakin force ghost. I get the whole Anakin died when he became Vader but I don’t like it.

The music is amazing and I was particularly happy with the major-chord version of Vader’s theme that played when he died.

Score: 1

Fun

This movie remembers the hope of the first and gives us the happy ending needed. It’s only sad because of what we know about the sequel movies and how the characters never truly find happiness.

I love how all three movies are excellent at building a universe with so much depth without being overly confusing to the casual viewer.

The kids loved this one although they were a little confused about Vader’s motivations.

Score: 1

Overall

A wonderful way to end the series, filled with hope and fun. The movie is satisfying on it’s own and as a closing chapter to the trilogy.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Fantasia 2000 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2000 film Fantasia 2000.

Story

Like the first, this isn’t a regular movie and feels more like an anthology with various forms of storytelling. It’s creative and absolutely engrossing. Unlike the original, it’s extremely short; over an hour shorter then the first. The rhythm between the stories wasn’t as smooth.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Again, there aren’t many speaking roles in the stories themselves, but the characters were strong and interesting.

Score: 1

Dialogue

I liked that they re-used some of the original narration and added some celebrities. The part with Mickey looking for Donald was particularly funny. Most of the jokes hold up well for being almost 25.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The animation is pretty but there are places they used 3D animation and it didn’t age well. The whales at times looked plastic and poorly rendered. When the shorts were traditionally animated they looked fabulous.

The music is great. I recognized all the pieces and loved how they were put together.

Score: 0.5

Fun

It had enough of the feel of the original to be nostalgic and it was a lot of fun.

The kids liked this one better because they say it has less scary parts.

Score: 1

Overall

An attempt to recreate a classic that almost gets there but like it’s runtime, falls short. On its own it’s still a lot of fun to watch.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5