Stats time!
Play Time 12h 12m
Character Levels
Terry Level 25
Terret Level 20
DReager Level 20
Earthbound Beginnings Stats and Records
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Monthly Archives: December 2022
Pokemon Scarlet Stats and Records
Stats time!
Play Time 20h 19m
Badges Collected 18
Paldea Pokedex 54 Pokemon Caught 197 Battled
Pokemon Stats
Skeledirge Level 68
FLoatzel Level 66
Talonflame Level 66
Ampharos Level 67
Lycanroc Level 67
Dugtrio Level 69
Wattrel Level 12
Vivillon Level 12
Yungoos Level 12
Igglybuff Level 14
Psyduck Level 13
Lechonk Level 12
Skiddo Level 15
Gastly Level 15
Hoppip Level 12
Fidough Level 13
Tarountula Level 13
Azurill Level 16
Eevee Level 45
Vigoroth Level 45
Girafarig Level 35
Cubchoo Level 35
Foretress Level 45
Hattrem Level 35
Lilligant Level 45
Mudbray Level 16
Mankey Level 15
Nymble Level 14
Capsakid Level 16
Nacli Level 14
Phanpy Level 16
Dratini Level 35
Deerling Level 12
Rookidee Level 12
Flittle Level 17
Drifloon Level 16
Charcadet Level 16
Shinx Level 20
Indeedee Level 35
Silicobra Level 12
Skwovet Level 12
Foongusd Level 20
The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night Stats and Records
No stats this time!
The Sum of All Fears Review
It’s time for a really fun espionage movie with a lot of tensions between Russia and the USA. That always makes for a really fun premise right off the gate but of course the key would be if the writers could capitalize on this. Fortunately they do and this movie makes for a very interesting watch. You should be at the front of your seat the whole time. When you’ve got quality characters and a good story then the pieces are all set for a fun time.
The movie kicks off with the Russian leader dying so now there is a new guy in charge. His name is Nemerov and in general this should be a good thing because he’s less of a hardliner so maybe things can start to deescalate. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case as their activities only seem to worsen as they even use a chemical weapon in a nearby battlefield. The U.S. has to carefully navigate their response to this so they don’t look too weak or too forceful. A big thing both countries are well aware of is the nuclear options they each have that would end all life on Earth. This is where Jack Ryan is called in. He needs to find out exactly what is going on here and additionally, must stop the impending World War III. Right now both countries are on a collision course but perhaps this is all due to someone’s master plan.
One of the reasons why this film stands out is they decided to play it straight with Jack not being a combat officer. He’s an analyst and so that’s what he does in this film. He plans things out, finds out info and tries to always help the country out in that kind of way. He will fight when he absolutely has to which does happen once or twice but he’s not running around guns loaded the whole time. I like my action heroes so I wouldn’t want that all of the time but it works well here. It’s a fun change of pace idea is the best way to put it.
Jack is also a fairly bold character. I like how he has some good back and forth dialogue with Nemerov. Most characters would have backed off but Jack didn’t. Jack was also willing to give his two cents even while the President of the U.S. was in the room. Jack is not lacking in confidence that’s for sure. The deck was really stacked against him most of the time with how much all the characters would get in his way but he didn’t let up.
If anything the only part of the plot that’s really more on the weak side is the romance. Right now he’s dating Catherine but there is a little tension with how his true job causes him to have to go on a short notice from time to time. This whole plot could have just been sidelined to be honest. All the romance moments just feel squeezed in here just to have them when they don’t really enhance the plot at all. Cut them out and the film would be all the stronger for it. Either way 99% of the movie is completely unrelated.
Meanwhile on the Russian side I thought Nemerov made for an interesting antagonist. Basically there is only so much that he can do on his end because there are a lot of Russian dissidents who are against him. So they are causing trouble and framing him for things but he knows that if he goes public with this that it’ll be a sign of weakness and he will be taken out. So he has to play the role of the villain even if it means destroying everything and it’s difficult to claw his way out of that. He’s a fairly strategic character but one without any great options.
On the US side Cabot gets a big role and I thought he was really good. He may not be quite as savvy as Jack on exactly what is going on in Russia but he makes up for this with experience. Cabot plays things by the book and doesn’t take anything personal even if it means that he won’t be very popular in the office. He just does whatever he can to make the country safer in his eyes and it’s not an easy task. Then there is Clark who is more of a field operative compared to Jack. It’s rare to get a big subplot like this in these films but that was fun. I liked the way that he carried himself and Clark could easily be the main character in a different series.
Then you have the President who gets a little emotional but carries himself well. While he is one of the characters who doesn’t buy into Jack’s story about Nemerov you can’t really blame him. It does feel like a longshot to say that he’s not actually responsible. One guy calls Jack an apologist and that is how it would sound to everyone hearing his story. Jack doesn’t have anything close to real evidence that he could use to support his side of the story which puts him in a really rough position. I wouldn’t have believed Jack if I was in that room because he didn’t make any kind of strong case at all. It was an appeal to your emotions which is not the best way to make a case.
A good chunk of the movie has the heroes debating on what to do and how to proceed. It’s nice to see this because you expect that there would be a whole lot of discussion before making any decision once it looks like things are leading up to a war. There are pros and cons to each decision as well so it’s not like this is an easy one. Whatever decision is made, the characters will end up having to live with it for better or worse. I tend to prefer an aggressive approach myself. The characters discuss the whole mutual destruction thing but that will always be a concern so you can’t let the enemy get away with things while using that as an excuse. Ultimately you have to plunge forward and stop them. If the world blows up then so be it but at least everyone will die together as opposed to you just watching as things get worse.
Overall, The Sum of All Fears is a great movie. I could easily recommend it to anyone because it’s just super balanced. Whether you want action, or interesting plot developments then you will be satisfied here. A lot is happening at all times and the characters are really pushed to the breaking point. This is not an easy adventure for anyone but I appreciated actually seeing the Russian side for a while and how the film was really taking the time to discuss tactics and repercussions on both sides. The film went as realistically as it could while keeping the pacing in-tact and that’s not easy. Honestly if you take the romance away this could even be a 9 star movie as it was almost perfect. Give me more political scenes instead and keep the focus on that. It’s just really engaging and the writing is on point. You definitely want to watch this movie.
Overall 8/10
DC League of Super-Pets Review
This movie seemed to get a whole lot of promotion when it was coming out. There were posters, tv spots, and trailers everywhere. I finally got to see it and it is a fun title. In some ways I thought it could have been even better and I remember feeling that way after watching it but that doesn’t take away from it still being solid. I’d definitely be up for a sequel.
The film starts off by introducing us to Krypto who takes great pride in being Superman’s best friend. He is always ready to smash up the villains and by day he tries to be a normal dog. He gets concerned when Superman and Lois start getting closer though as it means that he will lose out on some quality time. Additionally there is some kind of menace taking down the Justice League. Krypto may need to step in to stop these villains now but will he be able to pull this off or is it game over for him? Sometimes when one person is not enough to stop a threat then you need to bring in a team so get ready for some other pets to join the fray.
This film may be comedic first and foremost but we actually get some real fight scenes here. The movie does a good job with the Justice League fighting back to stop from being captured as well as the Super Pet fights. The battles themselves aren’t treated as gags and that was a good idea on the film’s part because that way you do have your serious moments as well to balance out the comedic bits. It makes for a movie that has a little of everything in it.
As for the animation itself, the film is CG so don’t expect it to hold its own with the hand drawn stuff but it still looks reasonable. The main issue I’d say is with some of the character designs, particularly the Justice League where it felt like not a whole lot of time was spent to make them really look good. As a result they just don’t seem all that impressive, certainly much less so than you would expect. The pets all have good designs though and the fights are good as I mentioned earlier. I don’t think this movie would change anyone’s feelings on CG animation but at the end of the day it’s not bad and will get the job done.
Where the film isn’t as strong as it could be is with the humor. It never gets quite as funny as titles like Teen Titans Go or Batman The Brave and the Bold. It might be that the jokes are just a bit too obvious and telegraphed as opposed to something unexpected happening that would really make you chuckle. Maybe it’s a character thing but either way it’s not cringey or anything which is good. Even if you aren’t laughing you’ll understand the joke and see how it was meant to be funny.
The film has good pacing and covers a lot of ground. I mentioned how the film balances out the comedic elements with the serious ones and so one of its strengths is the more emotional content. We get a solid character arc for Krypto and Ace. Those moments are actually really solid and even the villain Lulu gets some heartfelt moments. The writing can be strong when the film wants it to be and that’s something you will definitely notice as you go through the movie.
As for Krypto as the lead character, he does a good job. He’s a fun guy to root for and uses his powers wisely. Sure Krypto may not be a team player at first but it’s easy to see why that would be the case since he has incredible abilities while the others don’t seem like they’d be able to keep up. Teamwork is great and all but if you are many times stronger than the next member then it’s easy to see why you would have a very tough time accepting that message. It just wouldn’t make sense but the other animals ultimately prove themselves and Krypto’s not a bad sport about it.
Krypto has a nice sense of humor and he’s super loyal. I really didn’t have any issues with his character. Ace gets the next biggest role from the animals and he has his serious moments which are good. He’s not quite as amusing for the comedic bits though and I never ended up liking him quite as much as Krypto. Not saying he as bad at any point but he wasn’t quite my kind of character. PB tends to be more annoying than anything throughout the movie and would be the weakest animal.
Merton wasn’t bad. Less of a role than some of the other characters but you really can’t go wrong with super speed. It’s particularly ironic since Merton is a turtle which is kind of the point. Then you have Chip with thunder abilities. From all of the pets I felt like he got the least to do here but he still helps out in the fights and such. He was a fun one to have around.
The evil pets tend to be the highlights here though. First up is Whiskers who has an incredible amount of ammo on her. She can fire rockets, guns, energy blasts, etc. She is able to get all of the heroes on the back foot there for a while and did really well considering how outnumbered she was. Whiskers’ has a fairly small role but it was a very memorable one and she really stole the show there.
Of course you also have the main villain Lulu who initially just wanted to help Lex out but after he kept on giving her the cold shoulder it was time to become a mastermind. She does well and I was glad that she decided to strike out on her own. After a while if the boss is just going to ignore you and do his own thing anyway then you don’t really owe him anything at that point. Deciding to be your own leader is really the best play and Lulu does have a genius intellect. It makes her very formidable here.
As for the humans, while they aren’t the focus they mostly still look decent. I was glad that the Justice League put up a fight even if they got wrecked. Superman is a very nice guy here and still gets the job done. It may not be his story but he still keeps his personality and looks good. Batman also gets his quick moments of looking good and fighting opponents above his level. I’d like to see a movie featuring the league more in this continuity since they seem fun as always even if that might defeat the purpose of this spinoff.
Lex Luthor doesn’t look very good though. He’s not very smart here and if he had played things even a little reasonably then he would have easily ended up on top. Lulu would have still been on his side but instead he squanders everything for no real reason. The film probably could have handled his character a lot more reasonably and the movie would have been better off for it.
Overall, The League of Super Pets is a good movie. I do feel like there are a decent amount of missed opportunities here which keep it from being great but it’s a fun ride. You’ll still enjoy the battles here and there is a lot of room for a sequel if they want to do that. There are even two scene after the credits which are solid. One is more on the important side while the other one is a fun gag relating to another movie. They work well and help to end the film on a high note. If we do get a sequel you can bet that I will be there ready to enjoy the adventure.
Overall 7/10
Stand by Me Review
This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative
Stand by Me is one of those films where I can’t say that I had high hopes for it from the jump. It’s a movie about a bunch of kids having a journey and that’s not the most interesting premise. I prefer the main characters to be a little bit older which always makes the banter and dialogue more fun. Throw in the fact that they’re in a fairly mean world and none of the kids are that likable and you have a recipe for disaster.
The movie kicks off with a kid dying so Gordie and his friends want to see the body. It’s a rather odd objective but for them nothing ever happens in this town so it’s the only thing they can do to get some excitement out of the day. The body is supposed to just be a few miles away from where they are at so the 4 kids (Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern) all head out. It will be a tough journey though and they don’t have much food so they really need to move quickly. That doesn’t stop them from having their share of fights and disagreements though. They just really want to make it all the way to the goal and so they will keep moving forward.
Perhaps with a better goal the journey would be more fun. Like if they all wanted to go to some kind of tournament or try out a pizza place. But running around to look at a dead body? It’s even worse that it’s another kid since no matter how the kid died that is rather tragic. It’s hard to get all that invested into the mission that the 4 boys have as a result. Do you even want them to succeed?
Then you have the fact that the world seems rather mean spirited. Just about everyone they run into is either an antagonist or just generally upset. The guy they run into at the car factory at least has some reason for this since they are the ones trespassing. They have fun making fun of him and his dog but then can’t take it when he starts hurling insults. Teddy in particular can’t take it as he gets upset when the guy insults his father. You really shouldn’t be hurling insults and acting like a delinquent if you can’t take it when the tables are turned.
Then you have the bullies who show up to make life tough on the main characters. They don’t have much of a grand mission beyond causing trouble and only seem to show interest in finding the body as well while they were there. It’s fortunate that the kids had some equipment because things could have really gone badly for them otherwise. These bullies seemed quite serious about possibly murdering these kids. At the very least you don’t doubt that they would do it.
To break away from the nonstop dangers we do get a quick story sequence about a kid who was teased for being overweight. It’s a story being told so you know it’s fake but we actually get to see it play out in real time. Basically the kid gets his revenge by having everyone start throwing up. It’s a rather gross scene to be honest and I would have cut out the story as well. Even if it was a lighter moment to try and keep the tone from being too down in the dumps, I wouldn’t say it was a good story so that limited how effective it could be.
As for the main kids, I wasn’t a big fan of any of them as I mentioned earlier. Teddy is always causing trouble and can’t really be trusted on the journey. He nearly caused all of the kid to die by deciding to play chicken with a train. It was a really dumb move. Then Vern is always getting picked on by Teddy and I wonder how the 4 of them are even friends anyway. It gets a bit mean spirited with how hard they ride the poor guy. You can have solid banter within a group without getting mean spirited but part of the problem is that the shots were always directed at Vern so it didn’t feel very balanced. If I was him then I would have definitely left a while back.
As for Gordie, he has less to do than the other characters as the true main character who gets the narration but he was okay I suppose. He did less to make him unlikable at least. Then there is Chris who is the most mature of the 4 main characters so at least he is doing his best in keeping everyone alive. Naturally that means that things don’t go so well for him in the epilogue and that’s a shame because he should have had the best ending of the group. In general the film’s ending isn’t very satisfying at all. Part of the point of the film is probably that it’s not supposed to be satisfying since part of the journey is knowing that completing it won’t change anything.
At the same time, intentional or not if an ending is not satisfying then it’s not a good ending. There just isn’t any point in the film where you get invested in what is going on. I don’t think this is a film that I would be able to finish on my own and that’s why it’s got a very low score here. With no hook or likable characters to root for then it was really doomed right out of the gate. I would stand by my theory that the film would be significantly better if the characters were grown up. A bunch of adults running around on an adventure is something that can and has worked for generations. There’s a whole lot that you can do with that and the story would naturally be more focused and interesting. Sure you still need good writing to execute on this premise but I would be confident that the movie could do it.
Overall, Stand by Me is a film that I would definitely recommend skipping. It just doesn’t work on an emotional level which is half of the film right there. Since you don’t care about the characters or the journey then there just isn’t much left for you by that point. This ends up just being a boring movie which is ultimately a really bad thing for it. If you want to see a solid coming of age story about a kid needing to come to terms with the future then watch Big Hero 6 instead. There the hero has to move on from the past but it’s done in a more engaging way.
Overall 2/10
I walked with a Zombie Review
You ever watch a film and it’s like you’re seeing it from the sky view? You can see the movie gradually going uphill but there’s a massive landmine in front of it and you can only watch in horror as it self destructs? That’s this movie, it starts out decently well but then it just crashes and burns in a quite tragic fashion. By the end this is a film that you can confidently skip.
So the movie starts off with Betsy getting a job as a nurse to help treat Paul’s wife. She has been in an unfortunate coma type state for a long time now and is barely even alive at this point. Betsy isn’t even really sure what she can do and unfortunately there is also a lot of drama going on. See Paul has a brother named Wesley and both of them do not get along at all. There is constant tension there and they also both seem to like her. While she is sharing a meal with Wesley one day, she overhears a song about how Paul’s wife had an affair with Wesley and the two of them nearly ran off together before she was stopped and then got sick.
Its not a good look for Jessica (the wife) or Wesley. Wesley still seems to like Jessica as well and Paul is ready to go with Betsy but he still has a wife since it’s not like she’s dead. It also seems quite cruel to be going after someone when your wife is in such a poor state. You’d expect Betsy would have a lot of mixed feelings about this, maybe shut down the advances and go home but she actually ends up falling for Paul. I was surprised that she would considering the circumstances and they barley even know each other.
I take a lot of shots at movie romances but this has to be especially bad. How can she be calling for this guy like that? I definitely can’t buy into it and it’s not like Paul is even super nice to her or anything like that. Betsy at least does really want to heal Jessica to make Paul happy even if it ends up hurting her chances so that’s selfless of her. We’ve just got a really messy drama here but at this point it’s not like the movie was that bad or anything. Perhaps contrived with no likable characters but that’s all.
Then we get to the more supernatural part of the film. There is a nearby tribe that has been messing around with witchcraft and spells like that. So someone tells Betsy to take Jessica there and perhaps they can cure her. This is where things get messy as we get a lot of spells and chanting with super drawn out scenes. These scenes take forever to get through and really hurt the movies pacing. It’s like everything grinds to a halt at some point.
Ultimately they aren’t all that helpful anyway. Jessica is too far gone but now they want to finish the job since they consider her undead like state to be unnatural. Roping them in just made things worse. It also turns out that Paul’s mother Mrs. Rand is involved with the tribe as she heals a lot of them by pretending to believe in the supernatural and became a witchdoctor of sort. It’s an interesting approach and if it’s to save people then I do think the deception was necessary there. It wasn’t a bad plan by any stretch but we’re really starting to lost focus on the movie itself.
I would have absolutely cut out the tribe as a whole. They didn’t blend in very naturally to the film and if you were going to do a supernatural spin then you should probably have put less drama into the film. Did we really need the romance triangle with the zombie? That could have been trimmed out and the film could have been a little more structured as a result. I wouldn’t say the writing was very good in this film either so that limits the possibilities as well.
As a main character you already know why I didn’t like Betsy. She falls into the romance too easily and also knows that Paul is still married so that should have stopped her right from the start. She also has a scene early on that doesn’t go well for her. They explain that you have to be brave to work in this position as a nurse and she figures that she’ll be fine but screams the first time Jessica walks around at night. When she wakes up, Betsy again says that she doesn’t scare easy and…you just don’t believe her at that point. I don’t like Paul for most of the same reasons with the romance. Additionally, the guy comes off as rather cold the whole time and doesn’t handle the situation well. Wesley’s awful for trying to have an affair with a married woman. That’s a massive blow to his character that cannot be overcome.
Jessica doesn’t really get to do anything in the movie since she’s an undead so there’s not much to say about her but based on what we know in the past she wasn’t a good character either. Finally there is Mrs. Rand who is at least making a difference in the village but ultimately she doesn’t contribute a whole lot beyond that. She barely had much of a point to even being in the film when you think about it. Also the supernatural seemed real here since the tribe could manipulate Jessica and use actual voodoo so the real science approach didn’t really work here.
Overall, This is a film you will definitely want to skip. It doesn’t really know what it wants to do. While the romance wasn’t very good, this could have been a decent drama film but once you add in the half hearted thriller elements and the tribe scenes it was all over. You can only endure scenes of them just staring at Betsy or chanting for so long before the movie just goes down as a result. This title is not a winner and it is probably also the most low key Zombie film you’ll see. It barely even qualifies as a zombie film in that sense since Jessica really only walks around like once or twice not counting the mind control.
Overall 3/10
Ford v Ferrari
I remember this film getting a ton of promotion when it was first coming out. You couldn’t walk a few steps without seeing some kind of advertisement or poster. I can see why since everyone loves cars and you would definitely at least now about both companies. I can’t say that I ever followed the competitions much though so at least whoever would win, I wouldn’t know the outcome much. It’s a pretty good movie but one that is hampered by a pretty bad ending. I suppose it is usually difficult to change any parts of the ending when you’re based on a true story but if there was ever a time to do it, this would be it.
The story effectively has two main characters. First you have Shelby who used to be a great driver but unfortunately he can no longer race at high speeds anymore. His heart just can’t keep up with it and so everything gets really blurry. He now works as someone who repairs and sells cars. One day he is approached by Iacocca representing Mr. Ford. He wants Shelby’s help in creating the ultimate race car so they can win Le Mans. Shelby figures this is pretty much impossible since Ferrari has such a strong hold on that race but they are willing to spend anything so why not right? He knows just the man for the job.
The top racer around is Miles. He has won many races over the years but unfortunately they don’t pay the bills very well since his bad attitude often costs him any shot of getting a sponsor. So he’s retired from the business at this point but Shelby pushes him back in. Perhaps by having the best racer and the best car they can actually have a shot at this. There are corporate suits trying to get in the way though, specifically Beebe who didn’t get along with Miles when they first met and now has a huge grudge. The grudge is so big that he would rather lose than see Miles come out on top here.
There is definitely a lot of drama here. I don’t know enough about the historical events to say how accurate it is or not but either way it is very entertaining and that’s the important part. I like the feud between Ferrari and Ford. It makes for a good reason as to why Ford is trying to hard to win this one. He feels like he absolutely has to win this or all is lost. That’s why Mr. Ford is a bit disappointing later on as he seems to lose that fire in favor of the suits calling the shots. Even leaving the race midway to go out and eat seemed a bit odd. I know it’s 24 hours so you need to go somewhere but have the 5 star food go to his suite or something since it’s so important to him.
Allowing Beebe to be the head of the race division again after telling Shelby that he would have no boss was also an odd move. It just seems like Mr. Ford’s mind can be easily changed and his big speeches don’t amount to much since his mind can be changed so easily. It’s not a great look for a man who considered himself to be a real power player. He gets manipulated with ease so while Beebe is a worse character, Ford just looks weak. Beebe being so petty that he would sabotage his own team is just an awful look for the guy. He’s really lucky that he wasn’t fired at this point.
The only executive I actually liked was Iacocca. He was one of the few guys who would stand up for himself and did well during the first board meeting. He didn’t let Shelby deter him the whole time and he had a voice with a good amount of power. Ultimately he still won’t try to rock the boat so at best he will give Shelby a heads up and then dip but I appreciate his doing at least that much. I don’t think most of the others would have done that.
As for Miles, he does get himself into a whole lot of trouble by being so emotional. Shelby tries to help him on several occasions and Miles usually find a way to get himself into trouble. I don’t blame him for being upset at being put on the bench at the last second though. That did feel like a betrayal so I don’t blame him but other scenes like throwing the wrench and causing a scene at the race weren’t good looks. His wife certainly has a hard time of it with everything going on but ultimately she did good to be very supportive when it counted. I thought she was a really fun character and helped to flesh out his side of the plot.
While Miles had his issues off the track, he certainly lived up to the hype on it. He was the best driver without anyone being even close. He knew the right turns to take and breaking all of those records was really impressive. I’d say a good part of why the film is good was due to him being one of the main characters. Additionally Shelby did a great job on his side of things and I would say that he was the best character.
Shelby knew how to play the corporate game while also making sure that things went well on the track. He would stop people from trying to sabotage his racer and he also played some tricks on the rival. Shelby was a big time competitor and his only mistake I would say was being passive with Miles at the end. He should have just told him to race hard and keep going as normal. Ultimately he gave Miles a choice but in a way that still made it seem like slowing down was the right call and I can’t say that I agreed with that at any point. Even if the person suggesting this idea wasn’t trying to mess the heroes up, it just makes no sense. It’s super risky to slow down and don’t you want to go as fast as you can to set more records? That would have been the right way to do it.
Ultimately a lot of characters share the blame for the ending. In the end I suppose Ford was unable to get past the bureaucracy no matter how much the leader thought he could. Ford is still a very top to bottom organization in this film and that does prevent things from being done efficiently and in the right way. There is a time and a place for it but it certainly came as a detriment in every possible moment during this movie.
Overall, Ford V Ferrari is a solid movie. It’s well written and has a lot of good characters. The pacing is good so you are really engaged from start to finish and don’t really notice the length. I did not like the ending of the film which definitely does sour the experience and takes away most of the replay value though. You probably wouldn’t want to watch it again after the first showing. I would still recommend you watch it at least once though. It’s clear that a lot of effort was put into this and they really did a good job of creating this film from top to bottom. You definitely get to experience what it’s like to drive really fast.
Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen Review
It’s time for the next Hallmark movie installment! As always it’s a solid experience all around and Hallmark is quite consistent with that. I did have some issues with the film relative to the others so this would not be one of the strongest ones but at the end of the day when your writing is on point and the film has good pacing, any issues tend to be quite minor ones.
The movie starts off with Ella messing up on another big Christmas decoration party by not following through and making sure that the musicians were set. Her sister Marianne is frustrated because apparently this happens a whole lot. They are co partners in their decorating firm but Marianne has really been doing all of the work. Ella is determined to make it up to her by nailing a big party this time on her own. She happens to overhear a CEO named Edward talking about a party and volunteers her company to complete it. Edward very reluctantly agrees and now it’s up to her to make this a success but is she really up for it?
On Edward’s side, he is the CEO of a really big toy company but ever since he took over the reigns from his father, it has not been going super smoothly. For some reason he just doesn’t seem to have as much of a knack for it and he’s confused since he is going through the data. He has to land this one big account or the company is finished and in the spur of the moment announces that the company will have a big party. Of course that isn’t true but he has to change that and this is where Ella comes in. So now they must hurry to make this deception work out.
I just saw a Hallmark film about lying to the boss so this plot happening again so soon is quite the coincidence. The main characters need to learn not to just lie to the boss when they get stressed out. Trust me on this when I say that it is absolutely not a good idea and will just get you into trouble every time. As for Edward not doing very well as the boss, it definitely makes sense from what we see. He’s been completely lost in his spreadsheets to the point where he cancelled the teddy bear that the company was known for. He said it was not selling well but the problem is that the company’s very identity revolved around the bear.
The company’s whole origin was based around it so getting rid of the bear was absolutely crazy. He seemed a bit short sighted with that decision and early on he is even debating making a toy worse to save some money. You do have to make some tough calls when balancing the checkbook and all the right funds but this was not the right way to do it. Not saying you have to get super emotional but he really wasn’t seeing things through. Even the scene where he nearly tells Ella he’s not interested in her doing the party was not a good move since he had no backup options at the time. This was a moment where he let his emotions get the best of him.
In general you know that he needs to improve a lot. I also thought his mild outburst at the father during their Christmas meal was a bit uncalled for. He did want to set straight that he would be leading in his own way…but in every scene we saw it would usually be Edward trying to impress him or running some numbers by him. I felt like his dad was always eager to help and offered advice (Which was usually very sound advice) when he was around but I didn’t get the vibe that he was super overbearing the whole time. So it felt a bit dramatic when I think his father would have understood right away either way.
As a final note, I also thought Edward badmouthing Ella’s group was a bad look near the end. Of course he has a reason for it but it was very presumptuous. You would want to let Ella make the call at the end of the day and you could let her know why you think it’s not a good idea. But the way he handled that was quite poor so I could see why Ella got upset. Ella jumped the gun quite a lot near the climax so I don’t fully agree with her but that scene was a really bad look. I’ve been taking lots of shot at Edward but at the end of the day he’s still a good guy. His voice is super deep which makes all of his scenes rather entertaining but he also goes out of his way to help Ella out with her future plans and you could say this was before he got super interested in her.
He handled the decorating situation well once he was pressed into it so he still had his good moments. As always I do feel like the romance was a little rushed though. You definitely don’t want to go after your head of party planning when you’re already so busy with the big party coming up. Going for a quick fling during the holidays seems like a recipe for disaster and you need a lot more time to have a quality romance going. That’ll always be a bit of a weak link in these films because there just isn’t enough time to properly develop a romance.
The film even tries to balance a second one here with Ella’s sister Marianne and Edward’s cousin Brandon. I didn’t think this one really needed to be here but at the same time I preferred both characters to their main counterparts. This is a case where the side characters were just really solid. Brandon was always ready to help out and didn’t jump to conclusions. If not for him the whole movie wouldn’t have even started. Meanwhile you totally get why Marianne gets upset in each instance since it’s not like Ella let her down once, but apparently it’s been a whole pattern of incidents. So you’re not so quick to forget when it happens over and over again.
Perhaps it got a little too serious by the end with them not talking to each other for a bit but you know eventually they’d get along again. As for Ella, she’s a good heroine but the party business may not be for her. She has a lot of fun in the moment but because of that she will do things on a whim rather than planning things out. It may have worked out here but that doesn’t mean it always will. It feels like a much more dangerous strategy than the structured way that Marianne has things. Of course with Edward being a very methodical person that should help them find a good middle ground.
Overall, The movie may not have always handled the drama aspects super well at times which is what made this one a bit weaker in some way but at the end of the day it still gets all of the fundamentals right. There are fun Christmas songs here and great scenery throughout the movie. It’s always got a fun vibe and a good amount of replay value because it’s just a nice film to watch on Christmas. Some scenes may make you wince just a little bit with the romance but you’re still in for a good time. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a fun Christmas title. It’s just solid fun.
Overall 6/10
The Mistletoe Promise Review
The Christmas movies that Hallmark generates are always a lot of fun. They know exactly what they have to do in order to succeed and you’re always in for a very consistent experience. Well this one is no exception and I like the general idea behind the film. The idea of faking a relationship in order to get through some kind of event may not be new but it’s always very interesting.
We start off by being introduced to Nick who is in the running to become a partner at the law firm he works at. This is a really big deal and he’s been working towards this for quite a while now but the catch is that this firm is very family oriented. If you have a girlfriend or even better, a wife then your odds of being promoted are great. So Nick quickly tells his boss that he does in fact have a girlfriend and promises to bring her over for the big party at the end of the year.
Meanwhile we’re introduced to Elise who is in a tough spot right now because she divorced her husband but unfortunately never signed the paperwork when getting married so he ended up with half of her company. Unfortunately she tends to get walked all over by this guy in the business deals and she can only watch as he sinks the company into the ground while showing off his new girlfriend. As a result she no longer liked Christmas as this is the period of time where he rubs it in the most. That’s when she meets Nick in an airport and we get to The Mistletoe Promise.
Basically it’s a legally binding agreement where they will pretend to dating so Nick can get the promotion and in the meantime she can also parade him around the office to get back at her ex. In theory it’s a win win and of course one of the rules here is that nobody will catch feelings for the other. That’s the most important rule because without it the whole thing falls apart in an instant. So they better not let that happen…right? After all that would just wreck everything….
Of course you know that they’re going to fall for each other but you’re really hoping that somehow they won’t for most of the film. It would be a really brilliant ending if they actually stuck to the script and then went their separate ways after a while. Close experiences can certainly bring people together but you like to think that sometimes they wouldn’t magically see each other in that light and would keep it moving. If anything that would be particularly inspired and I would definitely be a fan of that. Ah well.
In general I wouldn’t say it’s a very strong romance but the film is able to do well either way. For starters the writing here is good so there is some fun banter and the characters have a good time beyond the romance. It’s always nice to make a new friend once you’re a grown up like that so it’s good that they each found a friend during this tough time. Nick still shouldn’t have lied to his boss though and I was glad that Elise basically said this to him a few times.
The company seemed really good and the boss was particularly nice so while this may be a theme Nick doesn’t agree with (Needing to have a family) you don’t get around that with deception. Also while that was the talk of the town, it didn’t seem like this was a hard and fast rule. Yes it’s possible that Nick wouldn’t have gotten the job but you still have to play this straight and give it your best shot without all the tricks.
Beyond that Nick seemed like a nice guy though. He tried hard to help everyone out when he has a case and his secretary appreciated him. Nick doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who will give anyone a raw deal. He may have not made all of the right choices here but for the most part he was reasonable and worked well as the main guy. He was also able to stand up for himself and talk tough to the Ex who was messing with Elise.
That’s the one aspect that huts Elise a lot which is that she doesn’t really stick up for herself. At best she will say something passive aggressive but at the end of the day she just sits there and lets the guy do whatever he wants. That’s not the right way to handle this situation. She still owns 50% of the company so I want to see her do something about it. Block some of his initiatives or launch some of her own to tie up the funds. Doing anything would be better than just sitting there and allowing all of this to happen. She was just way too timid the whole time and it could be really grating.
When she is in her role as Nick’s fake girlfriend she does well in throwing slight digs in at the opponent and really getting into the role but I wanted to see her use some of that strength in her personal life as well. Sometimes you do need to stick up for yourself and I just felt that she wasn’t really doing much of that over here. It puts her below most of the heroines in these Hallmark titles even if she was a very capable businesswoman otherwise. It’s easy to see how she got so jaded about love but it also means that you have even less reason to believe that she would fall in love again so quickly. That’s always the one weakness of the Hallmark films so it’s good that every other aspect is so good that it can still bounce back.
After all one thing the films never disappoint in is that they leave you feeling good. The movies have a very happy vibe about them and the ending is always satisfying. Things just work out and and you always get a lot of great scenery and backdrops throughout. This may not be one of the most ambitious titles out there but it has a fun plot and execution so I have no significant issues with it. I could certainly recommend it to anyone looking for some Christmas cheer.
Overall, The Mistletoe Promise is a solid film. It reminds you that just because you sign something saying you won’t have feelings for someone, doesn’t mean they won’t happen. When you develop those feelings it can be just about impossible to stop them and sometimes it can be impossible to predict them either. The more time you spend the more likely this could happen but don’t expect it to be so fast and perfect like in the movies. Ultimately it’s why an agreement like this would be risky in real life and either way there is no benefit as long as you aren’t trying to trick your boss. Honesty ends up being the best policy once more.
Overall 7/10
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