Three or four years ago, a coworker told me he had a dozen boxes of DVDs in his basement that he wanted to get rid of. I thought he was kidding, but he said he could find everything through legal or piratey streaming so he didn’t care to keep the disks.
Since then, I’ve seen the decline in stores that sell it and a decline in studios that release them. Could anyone have believed ten years ago that Disney wouldn’t release the seasons of any Marvel TV show? Or that they wouldn’t release the sequel to Enchanted?
Maybe people aren’t like me. I like to rewatch things and I like to collect the things that make me happy. So maybe people are okay not owning their favourite movies.
I don’t judge, much, but it worries me on another level. What happens to the movies and shows that are never released and that a studio/streamer take off their system? HBO is doing that now and it means a whole lot of shows are only available by pirating them. What happens when that isn’t the exception, but the rule?
A large portion of silent films made in North America during the early 20th century are lost. The film burned or destroyed. Even more television shows from the mid 20th century are lost due to reusing tape, like many episodes of the original Doctor Who.
I worry that we may be entering a movie and television dark age, where we’ll find that more than half of the content is gone.
I worry that future historians won’t be able to tell the difference between Cocoon (which is impossible to find) and Goncharov.
It’s been an exciting six months and by that, I mean blarg. I still find it disturbing how much of the world is convinced the pandemic is over. Hopefully soon, we’ll see a vaccine for infants approved in Canada. Then I will feel much better, but I still am going to continue to be careful. It will be a while before I give up my mask.
Anyway, let’s see how I’m doing with my resolutions!
Writing
1. Write a monthly serial story (Succeeding)
The hardest part about this year’s serial story is not writing ahead. Currently, as of this writing, dealing with carpal tunnel, that might not be a problem. Read from the beginning of the Aetherverse.
2. Write Guise and DollsFaymous with Jen (Success)
This went famously (haha). I loved writing this story and I’m glad that it’s now vacated that part of my brain that it’s been occupying for the past decade. Unfortunately, a spin-off series has decided to move in.
3. Finish Copper Tarnish(Pending)
Pending health, I have no idea how this is going to go. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish it, but if not, I’m not going to risk injuring myself worse over it.
4. Write book 3 of The Gates of Westmeath with Jen (Pending)
Unlike Copper Tarnish, this book starts from scratch/random jot notes, and won’t need heavy line-editing before I start, so I should be able to do this one with dictation software. I hope.
5. Keep Working on FADDS (Succeeding)
I created an entire ridiculously complex module for mixing components that was just way too much. So, I remade it in a simpler way and it seems to be working really well. I’m continuing to tweak and add more monsters as I go. Mostly, I’m just having fun with the system and my players.
JenEric Designs and Coffee
6. Ensure 5+ days of updates (Succeeding)
You may be sensing a theme, but depending on health issues, we may be dropping to four days a week, but not yet, and I don’t know. So we’ll see.
7. Write a movie review each week (Succeeding)
So far, so good. I might need to create a template to copy-paste to make my life easier.
8. Design and release a new flavour and redesign Green Apple (Pending)
Ottawa ComicCon is happening in September. This one will depend on how my health is. It’s not the highest priority; that will be roasting and packing ComicCon levels of coffee.
Personal
9. Read 5 Books (Pending)
Other than books that I’ve written or that Jen wrote, I’m a little behind on this. As in, halfway through the first book. But for some reason, I forsee having more chances to read (if Jen will let me).
10. Be More Patient (shrug)
Honestly, I have no idea how I’m doing on this one. I do know that I’m a terrible injured/sick person. Feeling like I’m letting people down makes me grumpy.
11. Don’t over stress (Failing)
I have developed tools to help me de-stress. Playing ukulele, reading, writing, playing video games, and cooking. The only one of those that I can currently do without hurting myself is reading. Let’s hope this dictation software works and doesn’t add to the stress.
My work is also irrationally pushing a return to the office and that’s still causing lots of stress with an unvaccinated toddler. HURRY THE F UP, HEALTH CANADA!
12. Practice bass or ukulele 2-3 times a week (Failing)
I was doing well with this. I even memorized the Spider-man theme on the bass and wrote a song for the ukulele. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to do this for a while.
The good news, I haven’t utterly failed at anything yet and I have a few Successes.
I’m going to take that as a positive and just do what I can for the rest of the year.
2021 was a surreal year, both because I finished writing 4 books and because it started to sink in that this whole pandemic is going to last longer than I expected.
Here’s to hoping 2022 is better.
My resolutions are not breakable promises, but goals that I hope to achieve.
It’s going to be my 9th year in a row doing this and I’m really excited for this year’s story. Get ready to see the beginning of the Aetherverse.
2. Write Guise and Dolls with Jen
After over a decade of waiting, I’m finally going to write this one. Jen’s going to help me and I can’t wait. This will be a more complicated book for us than those we’ve written before because we don’t have an outline in advance.
3. Finish Copper Tarnish
I started this book in November 2016. It’s time to finish it and get the darned story out of my head.
4. Write book 3 of The Gates of Westmeath with Jen
This is super ambitious, but we managed it last year so I’m hoping.
5. Keep Working on FADDS
I’m loving this system and I think it’s a few years (at the rate I’m going) before it’s ready to submit. I’d like to do a cleanup of the monster rules and maybe a reread of the spelling and grammar, but as long as I’m adding stuff, I’m good.
JenEric Designs and Coffee
6. Ensure 5+ days of updates
I’m going to do my best to keep our 5 day a week schedule. We’re in a nice little groove, so I think it’ll go okay. If things change, I’ll let you know.
7. Write a movie review each week
I’ve managed it two years now and I think it’s feasible to do it again. People have told me they like the reviews, so I’ll continue.
8. Design and release a new flavour and redesign Green Apple
In theory, Ottawa ComicCon is supposed to happen in September. I’m not sure what this or future variants will mean for events, but I need to get ready. I’d like to get these done and roast appropriately.
Personal
9. Read 5 Books
I failed miserably at this last year. I’ve lost my dedicated reading time and I need to find another. I love reading and I miss it.
10. Be More Patient
Every year I get a little better and I’m trying really hard not to yell as much. Hopefully I can keep getting calmer and move more towards gentle parenting.
11. Don’t over stress
This will probably be a fail but I need to learn how to destress. I have minor depression and when I spiral I get very stressed, defensive, and insecure. It’s not fun and I need to learn when it happens and treat it like a health issue instead of noticing after I get snippy with my wife.
Beyond that, I also don’t react well physically when I get stressed and I need to learn how to destress for my health.
12. Practice bass or ukulele 2-3 times a week
I got a beautiful Kala U-bass for Christmas and need to use it. I’m hoping for daily, but that won’t happen. I love making pretty noises and I know it helps me destress.
So after 4 years of slowly getting worse at my resolutions, I have made this ambitious list. Let’s hope I can do it and no matter what, I know I’ll have something to show at the end.
I wish for you all you need to complete your resolutions.
Behind a cutesy story there’s a lot of great messages and social commentary. I’m a huge fan of the moment Sully realizes that what he’s always been told was the right thing to do actually hurt people. That moment was extremely relatable. The subtext of child labour, exploitation of others, and being a good person doesn’t mean you always do good things, are still very powerful.
Score: 1
Characters
A little bit of an odd couple, but with a great friendship, Sully and Mike are the heart of the movie. They are genuinely nice people who’ve been socialized to do bad things. It’s a wonderful dichotomy. The rest of the cast are a little less nuanced, but show different aspects of how this society molds people.
Score: 1
Dialogue
Every time I watch this movie I’m shocked by the amount of things in it that I’ve integrated into my everyday. From “Put that thing back where you found it or so help me” to “Follow the sultry sounds of my voice.”
The wonderful thing about the dialogue is that most of it does double or triple duty; humour, character development, and world building.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
At now 20 years old, the 3D rendering does look dated. Especially compared to newer Disney or Pixar. That being said, the hair particles and snow are stunning. The character design is well balanced between creepy and funny. Even dated, it looks great and the attention to detail is amazing.
Score: 1
Fun
This is the hardest category to judge. I watched this one in theatres and it’s a staple in our house. My daughter was glued to the screen when she was younger and she was still glued this time. My son sat and watched the entire time, although he was pretty freaked out at the beginning. He loved Boo and kept asking for her when she wasn’t on screen.
Score: 1
Overall
A classic film with all the heart and levels that Pixar is so great at. Its warmth and humour make it a joy to watch. Even twenty years after, the hair and snow animations are amazing. I’ll be honest, I’m not objective since this is one of my top ten movies of all time.
Final Score: 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.
If you haven’t guessed from previous blog posts, I’m a big fan of stories. I love to read, write, watch TV, watch movies, and just enjoy stories in general.
In 2020, the family and I watched 73 movies. I had so many movies that I had to do two reviews a week for a while and we did series as one post.
This year is completely different. I’m watching one movie a week and it’s often because I need a review for that weekend.
On the flip side, last year, we barely watched any television other than HGTV and Food network shows, DC’s Stargirl, Just Add Magic, and a few Disney shows. To some that would seem like a lot, but it’s nothing compared to this year. We’re still watching the HGTV and Food Network shows, but have added a binge of Leverage, Superman and Lois, Kung Fu, Bureau of Magical Things, WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and High School Musical The Musical The Series. We’ll be adding more as stuff ends and new things start.
It’s interesting to me that we’ve transitioned from movies to TV. Was it that there was nothing to watch? or did our needs change?
I think that for the better part of 2020, we felt like we were in a holding pattern, waiting to see what would happen. This led us to not wanting to invest time in something we might not be able to finish. So we binged a bunch of movies. With cinemas still closed but being used to the routine, we’ve started expanding our tastes to things that we don’t have to learn new characters every couple of days.
Basically we went from too stressed to commit to a TV series to just stressed enough that we don’t want to deal with new characters every few days.
The idea of watching a movie and learning the stories and personalities of the characters sounds exhausting when I could just watch a couple of episodes of Leverage, where I know the characters and can concentrate on the fun of the story.
If you need movie ideas and ranks check out the JenEric Movie Reviews every Saturday.
No matter what you’re watching, I hope you’re having fun.
I’ve seen this movie a lot. It’s one of my feel good movies. It’s easy to dismiss this movie because it’s such a happy, and a little silly, story. It has a surprising amount to say about racism and colonialism. The aliens don’t even consider humans intelligent, Stitch is treated as a monster simply for existing, and you have to wonder if a white girl trying to take care of her sister would have as much trouble and scrutiny as Nani does.
It does a great job of showing off the problems in the child protective services system and the mindset that people are what they were born.
There’s also a lot in this about found family, sibling love, deciding who you are, and loving people for who they are.
Score: 1
Characters
Lilo never mocks anyone (except Nani). She genuinely seems to love those around her, even those that treat her terribly. She is a believable kid in pain. There’s a lot of talk that she is coded as autistic but I can’t speak to that.
Nani makes me think of my older brother and I can’t imagine the stress and pain she’s going through.
Stitch is sassy, adorable, and more relatable then you’d expect. He’s also cute and fluffy.
The rest of the characters are both surprising and fascinating in their own way.
Score: 1
Dialogue
This movie is quoted a lot in our family. It’s heartfelt and funny.
If I ever get a fish, I’m calling it Pudge.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The movie is a stunning example of 2D animation. The rich landscapes of Hawaii along with the colourful aliens works so well. The plane chase sequence at the end is fantastic considering they had to remake it due to 9/11.
The music is fabulous and the use of Elvis is both jarring and perfect at the same time.
Score: 1
Fun
This movie doesn’t let you get bored. The placement of scenes is such that you get enough time to feel the emotion, but not enough to get bored. It’s a great use of emotion in scenes.
The overall feel of the movie is hopeful and happy.
Score: 1
Overall
This is a classic movie that is just overall a lot of fun. If I could only take 10 movies with me to re-watch forever this would absolutely make the list.
Overall Score: 5* Stars
*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 is marked as the end of the Skywalker Saga (AKA numbered Star Wars movies) and was meant to tie up the loose ends and stories of the old, new, and middle characters in the series.
Although the story was pretty coherent, it was meandering and often got marred down by awkward nostalgia. Treating things like the fallen death star or Luke’s old X-wing as near magical artifacts of nostalgia.
As much as this felt like a love letter to the old Star Wars, it also felt like a massive set up for the future of that universe. Introducing so many new elements into the last movie that some from previous movies faded into the background. (Poor Rose.)
Overall, it was hopeful, anyone can be redeemed, the force is with us, you aren’t your parents, etc etc. (What’s with American entertainment and the obsession with hereditary power and competence.)
It was fun, but overly self-indulgent in it’s own mythos. Also “Wonder-Force-Twins” ex-machina.
Score: 0.5
Characters
I’ll have to watch the whole trilogy again but I felt that the characters changed a lot between movies. Poe’s character seemed to have the least consistency between movies, but even Rey felt different.
The only completely consistent character was Kylo.
It was nice to see the old crew, but overall it was frustrating to see the inconsistencies.
I did love Leia though.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The dialogue was exactly what you’d expect from a post-Lucas Star Wars. Hammy but not to the point of cringe. Lots of throwbacks and the actors genuinely delivered emotion.
Nothing stood out as infinitely quotable and a lot of it was whiny.
Score: 0
Visuals and Music
This was Star Wars. Visuals and Music are essential the best parts. When the Star Wars theme starts playing during the opening exposition crawl, I get shivers.
This is genuinely beautiful. From lightsaber fights on a storm-wracked wreck, to jungle planets, and the Sith homeworld. It was wonderful to watch.
Score: 1
Fun
There was a part of the movie near the end where Rey has gone off on her own and the others are feeling helpless that I just got bored. From that part onward, it felt like the ending was both rushed story-wise and slow pacing-wise.
Score: 0.5
Conclusion
This was a Star Wars movie. It had all the Star Wars stuff, both good and bad. I can see why some people loved it. I can also see where some people hated it.
