Everyone knows the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, but no one know about the bitter ex-girlfriend that accidentally set off that chain of tragic events that led to the untimely end of everyone’s favorite star-crossed lovers. Until now.
Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever) and Romeo (Kyle Allen) are madly in love after a secret 3-day courtship. The two plan to go to the masquerade ball together, but Rosaline’s father sets her up for a potential arranged marriage with Dario (Sean Teale). Unfortunately, Rosaline misses the ball which paves the way for the famous story we all know. Once she realizes that Romeo has fallen head over heels for her cousin Juliet (Isabela Merced), she goes to great and hysterical lengths to reclaim what was once hers. (I don’t know why she bothers because Dario looks like a younger Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time and is clearly the better option in every single way, but nobody asked me so I’ll shut up now.) It’s the Shakespeare fanfiction I didn’t know I needed with a happier ending. I loved this movie so much! It was so much fun! Kaitlyn Dever shines as Rosaline, and it’s great to see her career continue to take off after Last Man Standing. It was also great seeing Minnie Driver as her nurse. Maybe that’s why this movie gave me Ella Enchanted vibes since she plays Mandy, a very similar character to Nurse Janet.
Innuendo, Several uses of hell and shit, several misuses of God’s name and one misuse of Christ, ass, and one well- placed F-bomb.
Make the greatest of haste to Hulu before it is deleted from the service forever on May 26th, never to see a see a physical release, since Disney hates both making extra money and the consumer willing to fork it over. I may be slightly bitter. Ok. A lot bitter. Screw the Mouse!
Andy (Adam Devine) has traded in dream of being a magician for the glamorous job of taxi driver. Roy Preston (Jeffery Tambor), the owner of the Institute of Magic, pops in to try to convince Andy to return to the place where his dreams were destroyed to be a camp counselor for the Summer. This means that he’ll be expected to work alongside his former partner-turned+nemisis, Kristina Darkwood (Gillian Jacobs). He’s put in charge of a group of complete amateur oddballs and misfits and is expected to sharpen each kid’s magical skill in time for the camp’s annual Top Hat competition. Everyone has something to prove, but their deck of cards might come crashing down before the competition starts!
Magic Camp was super cute and extremely funny! It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a sweet story that’s a little predictable at times, has that typical Disney ending, but is still really fun to watch. It’s like Camp Rock without the singing and better actors. Catch it before it vanishes without a trace from Disney Plus on May 26th!
Comic book fan and self-proclaimed Cynic, Flora (Matilda Lawler) rescues a squirrel from certain death out of her neighbor’s vacuum. She soon discovers that her new squirrel pal has superpowers. Little Ulysses soon proves that he’s more trouble than he’s worth when he escapes Flora’s backpack and wreaks havoc in the donut shop leading to animal control being hot on Flora and her dad’s tail due to the belief that Ulysses has rabies. Flora’s separated parents don’t agree over how their daughter’s new friend should be handled with dad taking the side of both daughter and sentient squirrel and mom determined to rid her home of the unwelcome pest before it destroys her career as a novelist any further. The little beast may have superpowers, including the power of flight but his biggest superpower and the heart of his mission seems to be acting as the glue that holds Flora’s fractured family together.
This movie was really cute! It’s funny, and a perfect non-Marvel superhero movie for families, especially with younger children. It’s a heartwarming super-powered tail who’s only crime committed was in almost making me cry. And important sidenote: Ben Schwartz playing a dad wasn’t something I knew I needed! 😍 Catch this little gem before it disappears forever from Disney Plus on May 26th!
Home Improvement is one of the BEST shows on the planet! Hands down! It easily would make a list of my top 10 favorite sitcoms! It’s too bad they don’t make shows as good as this anymore. Tim Taylor is the host of his own home improvement show Tool Time. Though how he got to be the host, I’ll never know. He’s the last person that should ever be let loose with a set of tools. Though to be fair, his constant screwups are often the result of his never-ending quest for more power! And the other screwups are because he’s extremely accident prone and his frequent visitor card to the ER gets punched on a regular basis. All while his far more competent co-host Al looks on often in bewilderment of how Tim got his own show and not him. He also finds himself along for the ride in Tim’s schemes and is often the target of many of Tim’s insensitive yet funny jokes. (If you’re the viewer that is!)
The best episode featuring their relationship this season is when Al mistakenly believes that what Tim does is easy. The two switch places causing hilarious yet disastrous results for Tool Time. They realize that they’re better off in their original roles and switch back. Despite all the teasing and screwups, the two actually are good friends and are there for each other whenever they need to be.
The show gets off to an explosive start in one of the best pilots of all time when Tim powers up the dishwasher against Jill’s wishes. The pilot was great at establishing what the series was about and unlike many other shows I feel like Home Improvement hit it’s stride immediately and you believe that the Taylors are a real family right off the bat. Despite their frustrations with each other, Tim and Jill love and respect each other at the end of the day explosive appliances and burnt out oil lights and all. They’re also a great team when raising their three boys Brad, Mark, and Randy.
This show had some of the best child actors in the business! I’ve always loved all of them. Though honestly Jonathan Taylor Thomas has always been my favorite. He’s so funny and manages to steal every scene he’s in! (No crush or anything as I wasn’t born for half of the show’s run and missed the JTT craze by a mile). Unfortunately, the boys aren’t given much to do for the first couple of episodes, but they have a lot of great stuff this season like everything that Brad and Randy do to torment Mark like telling him he’s adopted or that they’re not actually his brothers but aliens from outer space! Other great moments include them working together to take down a bully, or Tim attempting to teach the boys manners. There’s never a dull moment at the Taylor household! As they get older, they each get their own major storylines. They’ve already started this by giving Brad his first girlfriend. I’m looking forward to tracking things like their character development and how Tim and Jill’s relationship progresses throughout the series.
The main question Home Improvement attempts to answer the question of If men and women are so different how can they stay together? To try to help answer this and many other questions their next door neighbor Wilson is alway ready to listen and offer advice while keeping his face partially obscured behind the fence. There are a few times he comes out from behind the fence. Three times this season in fact! Once as Santa, another when runs intoTim on the hiking trail while him and his family are camping. And one last time at a bar while Tim and Jill are slow-dancing. It’s amazing how they were able to naturally keep his face covered each time! As often as Wilson doles out advice, Tim just as often gets that advice mixed up and confused and is another long-running joke for the series.
I’ll also list each of my favorite builds, guest stars, and accidents over the seasons:
For season 1 favorite accidents include Tim dying his hands green, gluing his head to a table, overpowering the vacuum, and blowing up the dishwasher.
Favorite guest star/reoccurring character are the boys from K&B Construction. The Cooking on the Job Site is my favorite Tool Time segment as well, and the tool band segment. Last but certainly not least is the makeover of Tim and Jill’s bathroom!
Season one also introduced a continuing storyline of Tim’s rivalry with fellow Tool Man Bob Vela and his first of several hot rod building projects.This season is full of so many great moments it’s impossible to list them all. All the episodes are great. It’s a season full of hits and no misses. The writers were that amazing! I’m excited to rewatch my favorite series. No matter how many times I watch it, it never gets old, and never fails to make me laugh!
No one has more style or flair than Fran Fine! When her near-fiancé Danny dumps her for Heather Biblow., Fran quits her job at the bridal shop for life as a door-to-door saleswoman. She ends up on the doorstep of broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield. She’s actually let in by his butler Niles, and she walks into more than she bargained for! She’s mistaken for the next candidate of Nanny for Mr. Sheffield’s three children. A position she’s completely unqualified for at least in his eyes.
She quickly proves herself useful when she refuses to fall for Brighton’s nanny scare tactics and calls him out on his schemes. But it’s gonna take a while to prove herself where Mr. Sheffield is concerned. He’s not a fan of unconventional yet effective methods. She’s loud. She’s obnoxious. She clearly doesn’t fit into Mr. Sheffield’s fancy upper crust world, but maybe she’ll be just what this family needs if he gives her a chance. Or multiple chances as the case may be.
She manages to break through Maggie’s shell and gives the shy young heiress a makeover that inspires newfound confidence and forces her father to realize how fast his little girl is growing up. He’s completely against her being in any kind of relationship or kissing boys, but he reveals a double standard when he’s proud of Brighton for having his first kiss at only 11 years old. Thankfully, Fran pushes against that and tries to set him straight. She is just the right combination of mother figure and cool older friend that Maggie needs to survive adolescence with an overprotective father.
Grace and Brighton also get their chance to shine this season. Because of Fran’s motherly influence, Grace is able to let her imaginary friend go though she blames Fran for Imogene’s untimely demise! Lesson learned: never accidentally eat your young charge’s coping mechanism! Or when Fran steps in as the perfect substitute that allows Gracie to participate in the mother/daughter beauty pageant. This further cements Fran as a vital part of the Sheffield family.
Brighton gets caught smoking after taking Fran’s childhood story the wrong way. She scares him back on the straight and narrow when she forces him to spend time with her Grandma Yetta. He’s also developed an interest in girls and makes out with Fran’s cousin every chance he gets! But more often than not he’s the thorn in the side of both of his sisters. But he isn’t able to get away with much with Fran around and unlike with previous nannies, she earns his respect. To the point where he refuses to stick around and say goodbye when Fran almost leaves to get married to her slimeball fiancé Danny. Ah! I love good character development!
One of the things this show is famous for is the relationship between Fran and Mr. Sheffield. It’s something that’s hinted at and given some great foreshadowing in Stop the Wedding I Want to Get Off where Maxwell and Fran ponder the unfairness of two people in love being kept apart because of their station in life. The spark between them is clear to Niles who constantly frustrated towards Maxwell’s oblivion about the obvious. The relationship between the two is the bane of his assistant C.C.’s existence! She would like nothing more than to have Maxwell to herself and send the kids off to boarding school.
Niles is always quick with the quips and gets on her nerves constantly either poking fun at her lack of a sex life or making Fran and Maxwell’s relationship sound way more serious and sexual than it actually. C.C. gives as good as she gets and the two constantly go back and forth trying to outdo each other with their antics! Their animosity towards each other is one of the best things about season 1 and the show in general! It’s gonna be interesting to track these relationships to see how they develop over the course of the series.
The Nanny is one of the best sitcoms ever made, but it’s definitely not meant for younger children despite its younger cast members. Much of the humor is very adult and sexual in nature. Season 1 is great and I don’t think there’s an episode I didn’t enjoy! Also Fran’s style is iconic and her bathrobe collection is extensive. Most of the style budget probably went towards her collection. I don’t think I saw a repeat robe once this season!
The Cleavers they are not! Season one does a fantastic job of introducing the Conners, a middle-class family surviving paycheck to paycheck. Rosanne and Dan try their best to balance work and raising their 3 kids while trying to hold onto their sanity at the same time. Between making sure the kids don’t kill each other and complicated relationships with their parents, at times their only steps away from losing their minds.
The kids each get their time to shine especially Becky and Darlene. Dan struggles to adjust to how fast his daughters are growing up. Becky has her first romantic relationship and we get the first indication of her being a bit of a wild child when she starts seeing another guy on the side. Most of the time she comes across real bratty, but at 13 I guess that’s to be expected.
Darlene thinks her life is over when her period starts and thinks she has to give up sports and give up her Tomboy ways. I love how that episode was handled and that Roseanne told her that she doesn’t have to be like her sister or give up the the things that make her her in order to be a woman. The episode where she has appendicitis is great, but I thought it was very special episode dramatic. The same level of Randy Taylor might have cancer dramatic that felt very over the top, but I still enjoyed it. I mean I understand it was the eighties and there weren’t cell phones so not having a way to easily contact someone would make a situation scarier until you knew more about the situation, but I still think it was a bit melodramatic.
Roseanne’s sister Jackie is also a major part of the season. She’s often over at her sister’s doing laundry and babysitting the kids. She’s on the search for a man and some meaning in her life and often laments feeling trapped in their small town. She’s a great character and has some good storylines throughout the series as I go through my season by season reviews. The main focus on Jackie this season was a flirtatious Will they/Won’t they kinda relationship with her boss Booker played by a very young and unknown George Clooney. I liked it and wished it had gone on longer.
They did a great job balancing the serious moments and the funny moments this season. Whether it was finding the funny in the potential destruction of a tornado or the hilarity of trying to downplay that there was a corpse in their kitchen, Roseanne is really good at pulling the funny out of typically not-so-funny situations. A fantastic season from beginning to end!
Boy Meets World or at least Boy Meets 6th-grade classroom. Cory Matthews is your typical 11-year-old boy who does all your typical 11 year old things who’s still in that all things romantic / girls are totally icky phase of life. The lesson on Romeo and Juliet is completely lost to him because who cares about all this stuff anyway?!
Cory’s world includes one of the best sitcom couples ever in Allan and Amy who try their best to keep their 3 kids in line. Cory is stuck between his girl-crazy older brother Eric and his adorable scene-stealing little sister Morgan and often feels lost in the middle.
The show takes a bit to find its groove in season 1. Like trying to find a second friend for Cory rather on focusing on developing his relationship with Shawn Hunter from the start. And despite all the hype around Cory and Topanga, its always surprising going back to the beginning of the series and seeing how small a role she plays in season 1. They do start playing with the idea of a relationship between the two with them being each other’s first kiss and date. But understandably, the writers don’t rush anything. because A; The show is just beginning and B: The kids are all really young at the start. There’s plenty of time for serious relationships later.
Mr. Feeny is the best teacher I’ve ever seen on television. Usualy adult characters on TV are played for laughs, are potrayed as complete idiots, and can’t be respected. Not so with Mr. Feeny who demands respect from his students and is a wonderful mentor to Cory in general. The best thing this show did was make Mr. Feeny the next-door neighbor as well which means Cory and the Matthews in general have Feeny’s wisdom on tap whenever it’s needed.
Once they settle on Shawn for Cory’s partner in crime, they give him some amazing episodes like in Santa’s Little Helper where it’s really established that he comes from a poor background, or in The Fugitave where his bad boy reputation is cemented for the rest of the series. They also be sure to let you know how girl crazy he is by the end of season 1.
Another character introduced this season is super nerd Minkus who always gets on Shawn and Cory’s nerves and rightfullly so since he can be annoying at times. He’s often teased for being a nerd even out and out bullied for it. But Minkus proves that he can give as good as he gets and is a jerk in his right. Especially in Santa’s Little Helper when he makes a big deal out of Shawn not having the money to put toward Mr. Feeny’s Christmas gift. Unfortunately, Minkus disappears quite literally in the season finale. I loved his character and wished he’d continued on with the rest, but oh well! Network’s gonna network I guess.
Boy Meets World was never good at continuity right from the start. Topanga’s older sister Nebula is seen once, but is never seen again after that. And Shawn has an older sister Stacy that he talks to on the phone once but is never mentioned after that.
Season one also introduces Jason Marsden as Eric’s best friend Jason Marsden. One of my all time favorite reoccurring characters EVER! It’s too bad they didn’t keep him around longer. Another thing worth noting is that Eric starts the series with a brain! I’m gonna miss that in later seasons. I also loved his relationship with Morgan. It was so cute and another thing I’ll miss over the series.
Season one is an excellent start to the show and very Full House -like in tone. I loved it! There’s not a bad episode in the bunch. The show also tackles important topics like racism right off the bat. The show completely changes in season 2 which I’ll get into in my season 2 review in a couple months. Stay tuned!
There’s more Halloween and Christmas movies than can be counted, but Easter often gets the short end of the holiday classic stick. Thankfully, Illumination is here to fill the void with Hop and to prove that the studio has more to offer than minions.
Fred O’Hare (James Marsden) and EB (Russell Brand) are both slackers and family disappointments in their own right. Fred struggles to find and keep a job and lacks a solid direction for his life, and the teenage Easter Bunny in training has no desire to take on the family business of delivering candy the children of the world. Instead, he longs for the bright lights of Hollywood and a career as a drummer much to dear old dad’s dismay.
When Fred nearly runs EB over, he’s forced to take him in until he recovers. After the shock of playing host to a talking candy-crapping bunny wears off, the two unlikely friends team up to pursue their dreams and save Easter before the Easter bunny’s right-hand chick Carlos (Hank Azaria) can sink his greedy little claws into it and destroy Easter as they know it!
I love Hop and always have. It’s my favorite Illumination movie other than Despicable Me. James Marsden is an expert at acting alongside characters that aren’t even there and gives a great performance every time he does it. Hop is easily one of my all-time favorite movies and one that makes me laugh every single time I watch it! There’s two misuses of God’s name, and EB makes a stop at the Playboy mansion in a funny scene that hopefully goes over kids’ heads. Other than that, it’s the perfect Easter movie for families. You can rent Hop online from any online retailer.
“Hey, if we change a few details of the Santa Claus story and add a magical Egg of Destiny and toss in some teenage angst, do you think anyone will notice?” ~ the screenwriters probably.
🎵 Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail 🎵
Peter (James Corden) often finds himself hopping into trouble and dragging his family along with him! During their latest raid of Mr. McGregor’s garden, Peter thinks that he’s finally managed to finish the man off. His untimely demise means that that the Cottontail clan can finally reclaim the land that they feel rightfully belongs to them and their animal friends along with enjoying free rein of the house that comes with it.
But their paradise is soon threatened when Mr. McGregor 2.0 moves in and carries on the family tradition of animosity towards all woodland creatures particularly those with cottontails. Romance is in the air when Thomas (Domhnall Gleason) ends up falling for the rabbit-loving girl next door, Bea (Rose Byrne).
It’s Man Vs. Rabbit in a battle of both wit and will. There’s a fine line between love and hate and they just might cross it. They’re going to have to reach some kind of understanding before they end up losing both their home and the woman they love.
Peter Rabbit is a great comedy for the entire family. I’ve watched it several times and I’ve never understood why I like so much. Maybe it’s the comedy. Maybe it’s the romance and getting to stare at Domhnall Gleason for an hour and a half. Maybe it’s a perfect blend of the two, but it’s always fun one to rewatch. There’s no content issues for parents to be concerned about unless the violence caused by or aimed towards CGI bunnies bothers you. You can rent Peter Rabbit from any online retailer.
This was the first series of articles I started about 3 years ago. I only did 3 and want to restart doing more articles and themes. Most of the review is recycled from when I first wrote it in 2020. My thoughts on the movie haven’t changed since then. I just added a short summary of the film and that’s it. I hope to complete the series this time around. These will usually have two ratings. One for the film itself and the other for how it compares to the original.
Simba’s daughter Kiara is growing up fast and is following in her father’s paw prints when it comes to getting in trouble. She hits it off with Kovu, an Outsider who’s family is loyal to Scar. Because of this, Simba tries to keep the cubs apart. Kovu’s mother blames Simba for Scar’s death and is busy plotting her revenge. She uses Kovu to try get to get to Simba so that they can kill him. Then Kovu can take his place as Scar’s heir. But all the scheming and overprotectiveness can’t stop Kovu and Kiara from falling in love in typical Disney fashion. Together they can reunite the pride, unless Zira’s thirst for revenge and Simba’s pride get in the way.
As a sequel, I give it 5/5. This is one of the best of the bunch. The animation is great and only pales slightly when compared with the original. The story is good. There are several standout songs including We Are One, Love Will Find A Way, and my personal favorite, The music gets me every time I hear and within the movie’s context, meaning not just listening to the song on YouTube, it’s a powerful scene. I loved Kiara and Kovu. I enjoy Jason Marsden in everything I’ve seen/heard him in. And Pumbaa and Timon as always are a riot. If Lion King was Hamlet, Simba’s Pride is Romeo and Juliet.
Compared with Lion King, I’ll give it a 4.5/5. It’s not quite as great as Lion King, but still is a worthy sequel. Too bad it was sent straight to video and not given a chance in the theater. As I said before the animation only pales slightly in comparison to Lion King. I like the Villain Zira, but compared with Scar, she’s all bite and no style like Scar had in the original. Upendi was my least favorite song. I found it annoying and it definitely doesn’t hold a candle to Can You Feel The Love Tonight?
All in all Lion King 2 is very enjoyable movie, and I will be watching it again in the future!
2¢ Movie Reviews 