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Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!
Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version
Music
Simply Irresistible – JenEric Movie Review
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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 1999 film Simply Irresistible.
Story
This story is a mess. The character’s motivations are weird, the plot is all over the place, and the magic is inconsistent. There’s a strange surreal atmosphere that makes me wonder if it was meant to be a romantic take on absurdist plays.
Score: 0
Characters
The characters are blandly written and despite a few moments of real romance, the only reason it’s not downright bad is the skill of the actors and how willing they are to lean into the ridiculous.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The dialogue when things get really weird is extremely relatable and often hilarious. There are some great banter exchanges but a lot of it is cringe worthy.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The cinematography is surprisingly well done with some absolutely fascinating camera angles and stagings.
The score is heavy handed but the songs are nice and nostalgic.
Score: 1
Fun
This was one of my favourite rom-coms when I was in my teens. I’m sure that says a lot about me but I still find it charming and entertaining.
My wife (the romance novelist) was annoyed with the a lot of the film and the rest of the family seemed confused or nervous throughout.
Score: 1
Overall
This movie is a mess but views well if treated as a surrealist commentary on romance and corporate waste. If you like cheese this is a good choice but if you prefer more rom in your com this isn’t for you.
Final Score: 3 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
The Little Mermaid (2023)– JenEric Movie Review
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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2023 film The Little Mermaid.
Story
Disney has been calling these “remakes” but they’re really just copies. That might sound disparaging, but I’ve watched and enjoyed more Cinderella, Musketeer, and Robin Hood movies than I can count.
The changes in this are understandable and it shows that the scriptwriters had a deep love for the animated version. I liked the slight change at the end.
Score: 0.5
Characters
Most of the cast made the roles their own. Ariel was amazing and thankfully less whiny. Triton felt more relatable and Eric was less bland.
The actress who played Vanessa was fantastic.
I’m not impressed with Ursula. I thought the actress might try something original, but instead she did a mediocre impersonation of Pat Carroll.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The dialogue is very similar but just different enough to sound wrong. It’s not normally a problem but sometimes it was frustrating. The modern updates were good, and again it was nice to see Eric have some more screen time and lines.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The visuals were good but the underwater stuff was a little uncanny valley. It was beautiful but felt wrong.
The music was fantastic and Ioved the extra songs.
Score: 0.5
Fun
The beginning was a little slow but after that it went fast. The kids loved it and the rest of the family enjoyed it. It was fun overall.
Score: 1
Overall
A faithful adaptation to the original that hits all the right notes. It’s unfortunate that Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula was only a poor copy of the original’s soul.
Final Score: 3 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
Fantasia (1940) – JenEric Movie Review
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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 1940 film Fantasia.
Story
This isn’t a regular movie and feels more like an anthology with various forms of storytelling. It’s creative and absolutely engrossing.
Score: 1
Characters
There are a lot of characters and none of them speak, but they are animated to the music spectacularly.
Score: 1
Dialogue
This one is not applicable for most of it but there is the narrator who introduces the parts. He has some cute dialogue.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The animation is creative, innovative, and very pretty.
The music is iconic and sparked my love of classical music.
Score: 1
Fun
When I was young, my mom bought this on VHS and it had me mesmerized. It was my favourite movie for a long time. (Something my classmates did not understand.)
Other than the science in the dinosaur part, which was dated when I watched it, the movie holds up really well.
The kids say they didn’t like it but were glued to the screen the whole time and completely invested.
Score: 1
Overall
A classic that holds up well because of the timelessness of imagination and music. If you’ve ever loved it in the past you’ll still love it now, and if you didn’t like it before, it might surprise you.
Final Score: 5 Stars out of 5
Crushing It puzzle
There’s this site that allows for any picture to be transformed into a digital puzzle. For free. And you can play for free.
I used it for the cover of Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers. See that puzzle here.
And now, here is the puzzle for Crushing It!
Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!
Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version
Which Character Are You? Crushing It edition
Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!
Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version
Mini MSN Chats 8-10
Here follows the accounts of 2003-version MSN chats between Tommy and Carter, set in the middle of Crushing It as they navigate their long-distance relationship.
Crushing It by Jen Desmarais is available now!
Physical from Canadian indie bookstores, physical from Indigo, electronic version
Haunted Mansion (2023) – JenEric Movie Review
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Haunted Mansion.
Story
The story leans heavily into the feel of the ride and it’s expansive lore, but grounds it in a powerful story about grief and loss. It’s well constructed and everything is wrapped up nicely. There are no unwanted surprises, but lots of good ones.
Score: 1
Characters
It’s hard to give a large cast proper character development, but the movie makes sure to give each of them those little moments of depth. The cast is superb and has amazing comedic timing that balances the scary bits really well.
I really like the parallels between the characters growth and how it revolves around grief. It’s easy to forget what makes the idea of real ghosts sad and scary is dealing with our own loss.
Score: 1
Dialogue
They only used the word “Quantum” once in the movie and I’m glad for that.
Beyond that, the dialogue is a wonderful mix of silly, weird, and deeply moving. Each of the characters have their own style and tone, so much so that they could be from different times or movies, but somehow it works.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The movie is completely saturated with references to the ride and expanded lore. It’s both glorious and at times makes you spend more effort looking at the backgrounds in fear of missing something. Which might not be an issue for casual viewers. That being said, it’s a beautifully shot movie with great visuals.
The music is a great mixture of New Orleans jazz, creepy music, remixes from the ride, and originals that fall into all three.
Score: 1
Fun
The movie is fun, but we’re all big Haunted Mansion fans in our house. Everyone loved it, despite a few screams. I’m going to want this movie and its soundtrack.
Score: 1
Overall
A must watch for anyone who loves the Haunted Mansion ride or creepy family friendly scares. The movie has heart and depth that is surprising and touching.
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.