Muppets

The Muppets (2011) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2011 film The Muppets.

Story

It’s a complete rehash of other Muppet stories, and the attempt to insert family and romantic drama comes off as both distraction and annoyance.

Score: 0

Characters

The human characters are only there to give the audience a proxy and their main character traits are meh. I loved Amy Adams and she managed to pull of the ridiculous character and make it believable.

The Muppets themselves felt like caricatures of the original movie. It felt like they were ignoring everything except the first show and movie.

The cameos were fantastic however and the villain was fun.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There were some great moments and gags but the dialogue was burdened by over explaining. It’s like the film makers thought people would get confused.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The camera work was good and the dance routines were fun.

The music was great and definitely one of my favourite parts.

Score: 1

Fun

I love the Muppets and although this wasn’t them at their best, it was fun. The kids didn’t laugh much but they were glued to the screen.

Score: 0.5

Overall

An interesting attempt at writing the Muppets that relies too much on nostalgia and doesn’t offer much new for the audience.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5

Muppets Haunted Mansion – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2021 special Muppets Haunted Mansion.

Story

This was a love story to the beloved ride. The story is a bare bones outline of the ride with some touching moments in between.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The main characters are Gonzo and Pepe. I find Pepe extremely annoying, I’ve never been a fan of the womanizing characters. I understand why they used him for this story, though.

Gonzo goes through a good story arc and speaks to older fans and younger ones as well.

The rest of the muppets have nice cameos.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

It was everything a good muppets movie should be. It had music, puns, and lots of jokes. I especially liked the shameless use of quotes from the ride.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

It was a very well shot and designed film. The background details are designed for that cross-section of Haunted Mansion fans and Muppet fans. Down to muppet-a-fying the wallpaper.

The music is a lot of fun and I wish there had been more. I liked the spooky muppet show opening song version at the end.

Score: 1

Fun

Be warned that although this isn’t scary, it does have a lot of jump scares. The kids liked it, although the five year old found it too scary due to the jump scares.

It was nice and nostalgic for those of us that grew up with the muppets show and movies.

Score: 1

Overall

This is a wonderful mix of classic Muppet humour and nostalgia for the Haunted Mansion ride. The littles might dislike the jump scares, but overall it’s a lot of fun.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5.

Muppet Treasure Island – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1996 Muppet Treasure Island.

Story

The story is disturbingly faithful to the original; as with all Muppet movies they add mostly flavour and silliness to the mix.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Other than the Muppets, we have two main human characters. The innocent, daddy issue laden Jim; and the devilishly handsome Long John Silver. Both are portrayed with nuance and depth that is impressive. The Muppets themselves do a great job as well, but the nature of the story and the lack of time between gags means the characters feel less fleshed out than they should.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The Muppets almost never disappoint when it comes to quippy, quotable, and cute dialogue. This was no exception.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

This was a beautiful movie and the ship scenes set my childhood brain’s idea of pirate ships. The music was definitely an influence on future pirate movies. The songs however fell a little flat. Tim Curry is a fantastic singer and they definitely underused him and the actor who played Jim had a nasally falsetto that irked me. The rest of the songs were forgettable with the exception of Cabin Fever.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The majority of the time the Muppets deliver on fun. This is no exception. It had my daughter glued to the screen and me laughing most of the way.

Score: 1

Overall

This is one of my favourite Muppet movies and I enjoyed rewatching it. It’s nice watching a movie you loved as a kid and finding out it doesn’t suck.

If you want a fun watch with pirates and Muppets, this is your choice.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars

Wizard World at Sea

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You may not have heard, but the popular convention Wizard World is hosting a 3-day convention on a cruise ship December 2-5, 2016. The Norwegian Sky will depart Miami and go to Nassau, Bahamas, but I’m sure you’d rather hear about the guests.

Wizard World logo. Image from wizardworld.com
Wizard World logo. Image from wizardworld.com

Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, “Spin City”), Sara Underwood (“Attack of the Show”), Billy Martin (lead guitarist/keyboardist, Good Charlotte; artist, “TMNT”), Phil Ortiz (animator, “The Simpsons,” “Muppet Babies”), cosplayers Jackie Craft, Abby Dark Star and Zen Dragon. Additional celebrities and creators to appear aboard Wizard World Cruise will be announced in the coming weeks. (source and source)

Tickets go on pre-sale April 19th at 12 noon EST, and general sale April 20th at 12 noon EST.

Prices start at $749.00 USD per person, not including airfare or a $299.00 USD per person booking charge from the cruise company. However, the base fare seems to include photos with the celebrities, all meals onboard as well as open bar, a special cruise-only gift item, and access to all Wizard World events on the ship. Here is the link to the official price list. Please note, the prices are in USD!

If you are interested in booking this cruise, please let me know, and I will get you registered in advance so that the tickets can be bought quickly. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca

Kermit and the TARDIS!

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I caught this picture of Kermit leaning on the TARDIS. He looks pretty happy to pose for this picture!

On another note, I have completed a new cell phone case. It is a Jayne Hat for your cell phone! Check it out: http://www.etsy.com/listing/84805724/firefly-serenity-jayne-hat-cell-phone?ref=pr_shop