superhero

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 & Wolverine – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine.

Story

The story is basicly the same as the second movie (saving his family) and the emotional journey is the same as the first (accepting who he is); this time however they have the lore, budget, and cameos from all of Fox and Disney.

No one is watching this one for the deep storyline but it felt a little reductive compared to the first two.

Score: 0.5

Characters

This was the first time I found Deadpool annoying. It was needed to show his contrast with Logan but it was a little much at times. It was also a reflection of his own insecurities and frustrations.

The Logan storyline was great and all the other characters were awesome but I did miss Domino.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue somehow manages to top itself from the first two. It’s next-level meta and wonderful.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals are spectacular and the fight scenes absurdly well done.

The soundtrack was epic and the score fantastic.

Score: 1

Fun

There was a lot in this movie and it was fast. I feel like it’ll take a few more viewings before I catch all the jokes and references. It felt overwhelming having so much so fast. It’s nearly thirty years of movies referenced in 2 hours. It was a lot of fun.

Score: 1

Overall

Bigger, bolder, louder, and with so many more cameos; the movie doesn’t hold back and integrates Deadpool into the greater universe of Disney. Its impressive, funny, and a little heartfelt. Despite the greater budget and change of studio, the heart, humour, and cussing are, thankfully, the same as the first two films.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Power Rangers (2017) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2017 film Power Rangers.

Story

This is a very derivative story. It’s a chosen-one, superhero, Breakfast Club with lots of old Power Ranger cheese. It’s exactly what I wanted from this movie even if it wasn’t original.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I liked the diversity. They each had their individual arcs, and despite the multiple set pieces eating the time, they all felt well set up and complete.

The acting was extremely well done considering the cheesiness of the script.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Some of the dialogue is terrible but delivered really well, almost making it seem natural.

The heart to heart moments between characters are pretty staged but again well-acted.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals used the style of the old comics with the unmistakable 2010’s main colour palette. At least they kept the rangers brightly coloured.

The music is epic and the score utterly fantastic.

Score: 1

Fun

I wanted something that had the essence of the Power Rangers I grew up with. I didn’t want the exact same story or the same characters (I don’t remember them that well, it’s been 30 years since I watched it). This delivered and was just plain fun. Lost of cheese, lots of great acting, and some awesome battles.

Score: 1

Overall

A fun take on the concept of Power Rangers that will enrage the diehard fans but on its own it’s a fun and exciting movie.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Is Marvel Mid?

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Hello movie and superhero lovers,

A friend posted this meme:

Two panels one on top of the other. First panel says, “You thinking the MCU is dead after Endgame and hating everything.” with a ninja turtle drinking a soda and looking sad. Second panel says, “Me knowing the MCU has always been mid and still enjoying it.” with the same ninja turtle looking smug.

It got me thinking, and I realized I class Marvel movies (all superhero movies really) into 5 categories: Excellent, Okay, Forgettable, Didn’t Age Well, and Bad. I’m adding Didn’t See Yet as a category too.

So here is my non-definitive ranking of Marvel MCU movies. Note that within the categories, they’re by release date not preference.

Excellent

These are the movies that balance fun, character growth, and a good story.

Fun

These movies aren’t great but they certainly are a lot of fun to watch.

Forgettable

These are the movies that didn’t do anything terrible, but didn’t do anything memorable either.

Didn’t Age Well

Both of these were in my top tier for a long time, but rewatching them made me very uncomfortable. They have some great moments, but the jokes and treatment of women and minorities is not great.

Bad

Some of these movies are good except for something that really brings down their quality, and others are hot messes all the way through.

Didn’t See Yet

Not much explanation needed. I’m not a big fan of the Guardians and haven’t seen the third. Everything I’ve heard leads me to think it’s a little too heavy and dark for my taste. The Marvels just came out, but I’m hoping to see it soon.

Obviously, tastes are subjective.

What do you think?

Éric

Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie.

Note: I watched the English dub and have been a long time fan of the TV show.

Story

This was a simplified version of the show’s story with minor changes to make it fit in a movie format. Best to think of it as a alternate reality from the show if you’re a fan.

The descriptions and explanations seem fairly straightforward for those who don’t know the show.

The story, however, was very reductive and about the same as any other teen superhero story.

It did flow well and end well so I’ll give it credit for that.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The characters were fun but unfortunately fairly shallow. Marinette was well developed and definitely the star, but Adrien was underdeveloped and bland.

The secondary characters felt underused and I’m not sure a casual audience would care about them.

The changes to Marinette and Gabriel were effective in making the story more believable.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue was quippy and funny, showing that despite the changes, the writers and actors were comfortable with the characters.

There are a few deep lines and what dialogue there is it’s well used.

I feel like the movie could have used more dialogue and less singing.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The movie was colourful, well animated, and pretty. The action was engaging and often well balanced with humour.

The music was lovely, although the transition from voice actor to singing voice was a little jarring with Marinette and Adrien.

Music, like action scenes, should be developing character and plot in a way that can’t be done otherwise. The songs need to be catchy and do all that. The song were catchy, but only did minor developments. The time could have been better used to develop the characters with dialogue.

Score: 0.5

Fun

We’ve now watched all four seasons available in Canada and we warned the kids in advance that this was a different story. They’ve seen enough Cinderella versions to get that idea. There were a few moments where they would ask why the characters weren’t doing what they would do in the show, but overall they seemed to love it. Lots of giggles in the opening scene with the gargoyle.

The adults enjoyed it as well. This was fun and low angst.

Score: 1

Overall

A fun movie which suffers from watering down the world for a new audience and trying to force the story into a standard superhero format. Despite being an easy watch, its secondary characters are as forgettable as the songs.

Final Score: 3 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

Secret Headquarters – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Secret Headquarters.

Story

A very simple and effecient story that uses everything that it sets up. It’s not groundbreaking writing but it is solid and well thought out.

Score: 1

Characters

An impressive young cast that balances comedy, action, and drama extremely well. I really enjoyed the evolution of the soldier. I liked the pseudo villain being a rich dude with too much greed. Although the Kill a Minion to show I’m a Jerk trope was a little overdone.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The movie leaned heavily into comedy and has a lot of great lines. The comedy was balanced well with beleivability.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The special effects were amazing and the locations suitibly YA. I found the camera work excellent and it emullated other hero movies excellently.

The music was significantly better than I had expected.

Score: 1

Fun

Despite a few awkward moments the movie is fun from start to finish. Everyone in the family loved it and the kids forgot to ask for snacks.

Score: 1

Overall

A light YA movie that meshes the humour of 80’s kids movies with the action and special effects of modern superhero films. A lot of fun with some amazing kid actors.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Eternals – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2021 film Eternals.

Story

The epic scale and complexity of characters wasn’t well served in the format of a movie. I think it would have worked better as a miniseries. I think some of the characters didn’t get enough screen time to show their motivations and evolution. That being said, I really enjoyed the non-linear aspects combined with the fascinating weaving into history.

Score: 0.5

Characters

There wasn’t enough time for all the characters and because of that, they seemed underdeveloped. They were very well acted and directed.

I think you were supposed to sympathise with all of them, but there were three that I didn’t like even before the twist. Maybe that’s a sign of a complex character.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The humour was extremely well-placed to balance the epic drama that was unfolding and even the info-dumps were very well placed.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

Even with our state of the art 4K television, there were a lot of very dark scenes. It ruined the beautiful scenery and shots by forcing us to squint for no reason.

Beyond that, the cinematography was absolutely amazing and the amount of background detail is completely worth a rewatch.

The music was suitably epic and felt coherent with the MCU.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I’m surprised that the kids sat through the entire movie. It was fascinating, but not always action packed or accessible for kids.

I enjoyed it, but it was long. Oddly enough, I do think it would hold up better as 6 episodes. I was never bored though.

Score: 1

Overall

An extremely strong attempt at bringing the epicness of Lord of the Rings to the Marvel Universe. Too many characters and too little time for them to shine hurts the movie, but a brilliant script and excellent acting make it more than worth watching.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Barbie in Princess Power – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2015 film Barbie in Princess Power.

Story

They tried really hard to mush together a superhero plot and a fantasy plot. Both are derivative with little of interest beyond a forced moral of cooperation. There were some pretty major plot holes that made the whole movie not make sense.

Score: 0

Character

A princess, her cousin, and her personal inventors? an evil adviser to the king, overbearing parents, and adorable kids. Every character in this movie is a cliché. I’d also say that the Rube-Goldberg physics of the world are practically a character.

Mostly it’s a bunch of really whiny privileged people whining.

Score: 0

Dialogue

The best part of the movie was dialogue borrowed from superhero movies. There were some nice nods to Christopher Reeves and other movies.

Other than that, it was pretty clipped and shallow.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

I’ve watched about six of the Barbie movies at this point and I understand they are supposed to be dolls and that the animation isn’t fantastic. I’m willing to forgive that mostly, but the physics in this are pretty bad, clothing doesn’t move, hair does odd things, and jewellery looks painted on. Worst was their faces, every female character looked like they’re faces were collapsing in on themselves. It was disconcertingly like the late stages of an eating disorder.

The music was a nice surprise; the pop track was catchy and not too bad. I also liked the score, it had a lot of influences from superhero movies and made the scenes significantly better than they should have.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The movie wasn’t a lot of fun. It was frustrating and made me want to scream at the characters.

That being said, the silly physics and pratfalls were entertaining. Especially to my youngest, who just loved Bruce the Frog.

Score: 0.5

Overall

One of the weaker Barbie movies. It tries too hard to be cute and not hard enough to fun. The character development is as hollow and vapid as the characters themselves. The music was good and there were some ridiculous moments that weren’t bad.

Final Score: 1.5 Stars out of 5