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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

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.

Deadpool 2 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2018 film Deadpool 2.

Story

With a bigger budget comes a bigger story… Although fairly simple, it takes a few random turns and even seems to forget what’s going on. In the end, everything is explained and then paradoxically erased.

Score:  0.5

Characters

The core of the movie is the same as the previous; Wade needing to accept who he is and deal with his trauma.

The rest of the cast are interesting and fun.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Like the first movie, this one doesn’t let up on the references, fourth wall breaks, and silliness. It’s also oddly poignant at the end.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals are upgraded and the fights are fantastic. The convoy fight was just spectacular.

The music is great. Wonderful songs and score. I particularly liked the Juggernaut song.

Score: 1

Fun

This was pure R-rated fun and was fairly cathartic.

Score: 1

Overall

The second in the series doesn’t disappoint and ups the quips, the odds, the drama, and the fights.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Inside Out 2 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Inside Out 2.

Story

More than any other Pixar sequel, this feels like a continuation of the story. It’s similar enough but shows the evolution of puberty. Extremely well done despite the secondary embarrassment.

Score: 1

Characters

The new emotions at first look like villains and the film shows their evolution and humanity. Even Anxiety, which spends the movie looking like a bond villain, is shown as a natural part of each of us. Riley’s story is so familiar as to be painful, but in a lived-in kind of way.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue for the emotions was filled with jokes and puns that helped lessen the tension from the other storyline.

The dialogue with the kids felt authentic but I don’t have much recent experience with that age group.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie was technically impressive. The textures, lines, and animation was stunning. The ice movements and the way it looked was perfect.

The music was excellent.

Score: 1

Fun

The movie was fun for the most part. I think it would be better a second time. Even 28 years after the age period, I felt each moment of second-hand embarrassment vicerally.

The rest of the family liked it and the kids had a lot of fun.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The perfect sequel in tone, story, and emotion to the first. We see a different part of Riley’s life and the emotions that are happening behind the scenes. It’s excellent on every level, but if you’re easily affected by second-hand embrassement, be prepared for a lot of it.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Never Have I Ever Urban Fantasy MC Edition

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Hi Readers,

I saw a list of Never Have I Ever retro things and I thought it would be fun to make one for Urban Fantasy main characters.

Give your MC 1 point for everything that applies:

  1. Been haunted by their past
  2. Had a family member or close friend betray them
  3. Fall for someone who wasn’t quite human
  4. Gotten into a fight they couldn’t win
  5. Pissed off someone important/dangerous
  6. Died, seemed to die, or faked their death
  7. Travelled somewhere otherworldly
  8. Experienced a power curve that’s practically vertical
  9. Lost their memory
  10. Owned a store, restaurant, or other business
  11. Taken on an apprentice/squire/intern
  12. Given in to carnal desire after a fight
  13. Was nursed back to life by their enemy
  14. Got a magical tattoo or other body modification
  15. Had more than one love interest vying for their attention
  16. Dealt with a prophecy
  17. Quoted pop culture during a fight
  18. Poisoned, cursed, kidnapped, or enslaved
  19. Discovered your dead parent was keeping secrets
  20. Time travelled

Our Results

How do your favourite main characters add up?

Éric

Deadpool – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2016 film Deadpool.

Story

The story is extremely simple while doing a great job of lovingly mocking the superhero formula.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The cast is nice aand small, giving lots of room of Wade’s emotional journey. The cast that we do get to know are interesting and varied.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is next level, mixing meta references, fourth wall breaks, and general silliness.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The budget shows with the digital effects but the fight choreography and practical effects are spectacular.

The soundtrack is excellent and filled with great songs and a fun score.

Score: 1

Fun

This was the third time I’ve seen it and despite a few crude moments that I didn’t like, I find it a lot of fun. There’s a joyfulness to the character that’s refreshing.

Score: 1

Overall

Deadpool is often treated as a joke and this leans into the jokes while still having a lot of heart. The action is top-notch and Ryan Reynolds is perfect in the role.

Final Score: 4.5 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

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1997 film Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

Story

It’s one of many Cinderella movies and the second remake of this particular story. Interestingly, it’s the only Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical to be written for television; the original starring Julie Andrews in 1957.

There are some parts that drag, a lot of singing about what they just did, which slows down the story.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I like the spin each actor put on their characters, making them unique but still recognizable. I really appreciate that the prince has more than a cookie-cut out personality.

Score: 1

Dialogue

I’m really glad I had the subtitles on because the tone and volume of voice varied wildly. The kind mumbled Cinderella was very soft spoken, and half of the cast used Broadway projection while the rest spoke regularly.

The words themselves were good but often spent more time recapping or connecting the songs than actually telling the story.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The set design is okay, the costumes are gorgeous, and the choreography very well done. The movement in this movie was timed, precise, and excellent.

The music was okay, but the powerhouse Brandi sounded meek and soft, and it didn’t meld well with the prince. I’m not sure who decided she shouldn’t use her full power, but it was a bad choice.

Beyond that, the songs were very similar and often didn’t advance the plot.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I’ve been really tired and this wouldn’t have kept me awake if I didn’t have a big bowl of popcorn. I loved the diversity and the cast was fantastic, but for a short movie they filled so much time with repetition and not enough with the main characters.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A classic take on Cinderella with a fantastic cast and some wonderful moments. It has it’s issues but overall a fun film.

Final Score: 3 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