Awesome

Thank you Mercury Stardust

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Hello fellow humans,

This morning I woke up to a MASSIVE puddle in front of the fridge. I started to panic but then I remembered that Jen gave me a book on home repair for Christmas.

In big bold letters on the back are written, “Don’t Panic – I’m here to help!”

Honestly, if it was just for those words, the book would be worth it, but inside there were details on fridge cleaning and maintenance. Which helped me find the largest dust bunnies I’ve ever seen. I also found an ice wall that John Snow would be proud of. Hopefully cleaning those out will fix the issue.

Did you know that over-filling your fridge or freezer could cause issues? I didn’t before I read this book.

Mercury Stardust’s book is a must for renters! (and useful for those of us homeowners that have no idea what they’re doing)

She also has a wonderful podcast and extremely entertaining TikTok. You can find the book in all the places you buy books.

Find everything you want to know on her website.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

The Mask of Zorro – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro.

Story

The story and myth of Zorro is based on the “Fox” archetype. (Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, or The Scarlet Pimpernel) I like the addition of the apprentice and especially the nod to Joaquin Murrieta. It’s an extremely good example of how to adapt a story.

Score: 1

Characters

Each character was perfectly written. The only part I had issue believing was Antonio Banderas needing help on how to be charming. The villains were nuanced enough to be realistic but evil enough to deserve their fate. The parallel stories and character development between the older and younger characters was excellent.

Catherine Zeta-Jones manages to balance damsel and kick-ass in an extremely believable way.

Score: 1

Dialogue

I’d give full points for, “So the devil will know who sent you.” alone. The rest of the dialogue balanced heroics, humour, drama, and romance in a perfectly believable way.

Score: !

Visuals and Music

This film, thankfully, came out before shaky-cam. The fights are wonderfully choreographed and the practical effects have aged fantastically.

The music is equal to any modern superhero and really amps up the emotion.

Score: 1

Fun

Swashbuckling, explosions, witty one liners, and at its core a big heart. I’m sounding old but this kind of movie isn’t made anymore and that makes me sad. The whole family loved it.

Score: 1

Overall

One of the best adventure / swashbuckling movies. The emotion and character drama anchor the action and heroics, making everything feel so much more. Modern superhero movies could learn a lot from this movie.

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.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1966 special How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Story

The Grinch is sick of crass commercialism and is overstimulated by the “noise, noise, noise, noise”; therefore he hates Christmas. Despite the eight-year-old’s protests that they need the tragic backstory, this was done fantasticly for a twenty-three minute special. There’s an economy of story that is quite impressive.

Score: 1

Characters

There’s really only the Grinch, Cindy-Lou, and Max but they are all fairly well fleshed out. The animators did a fanatastic job giving Max a personality without any lines.

Boris Karloff kills it as the Grinch and the narrator.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is pulled straight from the book and is both absurd and rife with meaning.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The animation is spectacular for its time. bringing the exaggerated style of Dr. Seuss and giving the motions to match is great. The movement and framing are what all future Dr. Seuss adaptations would use as a base.

Score: 1

Fun

Huge nostalgia points from me. Despite its age, it stood up well. I’d love a cleaned up version from the original film. The kids were both glued and complained it was too short.

Score: 1

Overall

A holiday classic with lots of heart. This is a combination of amazing animation and wonderful voicework.

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.

Sharing is awesome!

Big Hero 6 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2014 film Big Hero 6.

Story

A beautiful blend of superhero, buddy cop, coming of age, and science fiction. The story is firmly fixed on Hiro and does a great job of realistically portraying loss.

Score: 1

Characters

Despite the team, each character goes through a mini arc that revolves around their grief, which is a major theme of the film.

Every character moment feeds the story and vice-versa.

Score: 1

Dialogue

There are little quotes that just break your heart but also help the audience feel the grief of the characters. There’s also a lot of great jokes and quips.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

A decade later, the film still looks stunning. The shot of the café or the wind turbines leaves me in awe.

The music is a perfect representation of the mid 2010’s and works great with the film.

Score: 1

Fun

I love this movie. There are a few things that bug me though. Hiro should have mass produced Baymax as a nurse. He could have helped so many people. Also, Baymax needs a medical ethics subroutine and lessons on diagnostic consent.

That being said, it’s a flawless superhero film with a lot of emotion behind it.

Score: 1

Overall

Super heroes, grief, and found family. The movie has everything you could want with gorgeous art and fun music.

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.

Aurora Awards Voting is Open

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Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;

The Travelling TARDIS is nominated for the Aurora Awards.

The Voter’s Package is available for download! Make sure you’re logged in, and then go get your books.

Voting started June 8 and runs until July 13. Please consider The Travelling TARDIS, nominated in the Fan Writing and Publication category. Thank you to all who nominated us!

Happy reading!!!

What are the Aurora Awards?

aurora

The Aurora Awards are awards “for excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy works and activities.” They are administered by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.

It’s a fan-voted award with awesome people.

In Conclusion

Sign up, get ebooks, read, and then vote for your favourites. It’s a great deal and you’ll love the books.

So go to https://www.csffa.ca/ and click on the “Become a Member” button.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

Aurora Awards Voter’s Package

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Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;

As we’ve mentioned The Travelling TARDIS is nominated for the Aurora Awards.

Now the Voter’s Package is available for download! Make sure you’re logged in, and then go get your books.

Voting starts on June 8 and runs until July 13. Please consider The Travelling TARDIS, nominated in the Fan Writing and Publication category. Thank you to all who nominated us!

Happy reading!!!

What are the Aurora Awards?

aurora

The Aurora Awards are awards “for excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy works and activities.” They are administered by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.

It’s a fan-voted award with awesome people.

In Conclusion

Sign up, get ebooks, read, and then vote for your favourites. It’s a great deal and you’ll love the books.

So go to https://www.csffa.ca/ and click on the “Become a Member” button.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

Travelling TARDIS Nominated for Aurora

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Hello friends, family, and fans!

The nominations are up!!!

I’m so proud of Jen, this is her 7th nomination in seven years. It’s the TARDIS’s sixth.

The Travelling TARDIS

The Travelling TARDIS moves, with the power of timey-yarney crochet, through time and space visiting and taking pictures with cosplayers, landmarks, celebrities, and cute babies.

Thanks to all who nominated. You really made a difference.

Now, it’s onto the voting! You will receive an email on how to download the voters package sometime in mid-May. If not, check the website when you’re logged in, and follow the instructions.

The Travelling TARDIS isn’t part of the package because you can access it for free on this site.

Voting

If you think The Travelling TARDIS is worthy of your vote, voting for the Auroras will be open on June 8th.

Thank you to everyone who nominated and especially to everyone who reads and enjoys our content.

Thank you!

Éric

Totally Killer – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Totally Killer.

Story

A fascinating homage to both time travel and slasher movies. The story is well thought-out and avoids a lot of over explanation of time travel.

Score: 1

Characters

The characters are an interesting mish-mash of tropes. The 1987 group seem cartoony at first, but then remind me heavily of the way people behaved in my high school years (ten years later but still similar).

They managed to have a nice balance between the façade of the character and who they really are, using the quiet moments after the murders for character depth.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is peppered with science fiction references and digs at the innocence of the eighties. The complete insensitivity of 1980s vs the much more progressive ideas of the 2020’s.

There’s also a few really funny lines.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals were not as stylised as I feel they should have been, but the sets, costumes, and makeup were perfect.

I would have liked more music from the time period and the score was little bland.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The movie is a lot of fun and fits great with both time travel and slasher films. It’s not scary but I still wouldn’t watch it with the kids. It’s first and foremost a dark comedy and works great in that sense.

Score: 1

Overall

A dark comedy with time travel, generational humour, and lots of 80’s nostalgia. It’s fun, funny, and a great mash up of the two genres.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Kim Possible – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2019 film Kim Possible.

Story

Kim Possible isn’t and hasn’t ever been a spy but the stories follow all the spy tropes with a few superhero ones thrown in. The movie does a great job of being faithful to the spirit of the original while updating it to modern audiences. (It’s shocking how much changed between 2007 and 2019.)

The story is mostly nostalgic for older audiences and the story is quite simple. Perfect spy/superhero intro for kids. There is some cartoony ridiculousness that is a little annoying but overall good.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Kim is great and it was nice to see her going through the awkwardness of change.

Ron was portrayed perfectly, one of those super awkward kids with a giant heart. I always cringe at Ron to start and then he quickly becomes my favourite character.

The villains are wonderfully portrayed with the perfect level of overacting.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is cheesy and irreverent. Lots of good lines but I found the mixture of mid 2000’s slang and late 2010’s a little weird. Hearing Lit and Fam followed by Booya, felt wrong.

The scene between Kim and her Grandmother was one of the best training dialogues I’ve heard.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The action sequences are very Disney Channel but overall they did a great job with the visuals and the music was acceptable.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The kids loved it. The adults, who watched the original in university also loved it.

It was fun and struck a great balance.

As an adult it was nice to see the kids and family talking instead of hiding things.

Score: 1

Overall

Cheesy, fun, and angst free. The story might be a little young and cartoony but they commit and there are some genius scenes.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5