Tag Archives: Family

We’re Back! – A Dinosaur’s Story (1994) – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – A fascinating time capsule to the early 1990s, which might feel as far in the past as the dinosaurs featured. 

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no Post-Credit Scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Looking at a past Earth.

We’re Back! – A Dinosaur’s Story Review –

I always like plugging in gaps in my knowledge when it comes to cinema, especially when it hits one of those topics that I am deeply passionate about. Well, if you have dived into our site before, you will know that I love dinosaurs, and as someone who grew up in the 1990s, I thought I had watched all the tentpole dinosaur films from that era. Well, this week, I was reminded that this was not the case, and that was something that I had to fix pronto.

So to set the scene, Captain Neweyes (Walter Cronkite) and his assistant Vorb (Jay Leno) have a plan to bring dinosaurs from the past to the present and make them sentient. Thus Rex (John Goodman), Woog (René Le Vant), Dweeb (Charles Fleischer), and Elsa (Felicity Kendal) are ripped from their time and brought to the future. So many children wish to meet a dinosaur, and Neweyes has chosen to grant that wish, which is when he kicks the dinos out of his spaceship to parachute to New York City below.     

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Spy Kids: Armageddon – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it does not quite hit the heights of the original, it was still a fun time.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Map Room over lava.

Spy Kids: Armageddon Review –

All the way back in 2001, there was this oddly delightful film full of delight and odd clay hand monster abominations. Spy Kids was this strange series that was always on the cutting edge. I think I remember a smell scratch and sniff one time, and 3D before 3D, 3D’d. But it is also one of those series you don’t feel need a reboot. With that in mind, can they bring this franchise into the 21st century, or will it feel like a relic of a time past?

So to set the scene, the Torrez-Tango’s are a perfectly normal family bar for some overly dramatic tech lockdowns. Tony Torrez-Tango (Connor Esterson) likes to play the scoundrel using his tricks and cheats, while Patty Torrez-Tango (Everly Carganilla) likes to play fair with integrity. But little do they know that their parents, Nora (Gina Rodriguez) and Terrence (Zachary Levi), are spies. But when some malicious code is hidden in the video game, Hyskor steals the secret Armageddon Code. Well, it just might be the kids that come to the rescue.    

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Blue Beetle – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It was an enjoyable time, and I wish it were not placed in such an awkward position in the franchise. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Palmera City

Blue Beetle Review –

Well, if there was ever a film that was affected because of cinematic universe issues out of its control, it is today’s film. No matter what merits the movie is coming in on, it will find difficulties because the DC Universe is one film out from a considerable reboot, and we have already seen that torpedo good films like Shazam. But if nothing else, you could tell the cast was throwing their all into this, and I am glad I watched it.

So to set the scene, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) is returning to Palmera City after graduating from Gotham Law University. His family Alberto (Damián Alcázar), Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo), Molagro (Belissa Escobedo), Rudy (George Lopez), and Nana (Adriana Barraza) all meet him at the airport and take him out for tacos before dropping the bomb that they are losing their house. Jamie tries to find a good job but gets stuck cleaning the home of Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon). Still, a chance encounter with her niece Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) changes his life when that blue scarab statue Jenny gives him comes to life and gouges into his skin.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful romp of a film, stunning in its animation, and engaging in its story.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The team looks at a video.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Review –

While you try to avoid it, you can’t help but walk into a film with preconceptions, especially when it adapts to a work with a long history. When you hear Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg’s take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that immediately brings an idea of what the film might look like. I might have walked into here with preconceptions, but I walked out with a new respect for the animated work of the artists here.

So to set the scene, Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito) was working in a lab trying to create his own family using mutation. But before he could complete his work, TCRI tracked down his lab, and Cynthia Utrom (Maya Rudolph) ordered an attack. Stockman was killed in the commotion, but not before one of his creations could save their siblings, and one of the vials of ooze slips into the sewers and finds some baby Turtles. Fifteen years later, Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Raphael (Brady Noon) and Donatello (Micah Abbey) live with their adoptive father, Splinter (Jackie Chan), running errands in secret. They long to be more part of the Human world, but when a new villain called Superfly (Ice Cube) starts stealing supplies, new opportunities and dangers are around the corner.    

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The Monkey King – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While not all of this story works, it is like lighting striking when it does.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

The Monkey King poses in front of a setting sun.

The Monkey King Review –

Of the great works of human canon, few contenders have had the impact of the Journey to the West. It has had adaptions across every form of media and multiple interpretations worldwide. My first experience with it was watching Monkey Magic on SBS in the afternoon as a kid, so I enjoy seeing when they can reinterpret the story in new ways.


So to set the scene, the world was in balance for generations under the watchful eye of Budda (BD Wong) and the immortals under the leadership of the Jade Emperor (Hoon Lee). That is, until one day, a monkey is born from a rock that can shine light from his eyes. This is a world full of rules and order, but The Monkey King (Jimmy O. Yang) does not follow the rules. He is an entity of chaos, of recklessness, such as stealing the Grand Column from the Dragon King (Bowen Yang) and ignoring the advice of the elder Monkey (James Sie). He wants to be an immortal, so how do you do that? Well, you defeat 100 demons. Cue the montage scene. But on demon 100, things don’t go to plan.

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Red, White & Brass – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that brings you joy from the moment they start in a house covered in Tongan flags till those final credits roll.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The band performs.

Red, White & Brass Review –

There are many emotions that cinema can bring forth, and if I am honest, my favourite is joy. You are just sitting there beaming with a smile stretching from one side of your face to the other. It is so easy for films to come off as disingenuous that it is hard to nail joy in its purest form. However, today, we look at a movie that not only nails it, it revels in it.

So to set the scene, it is Wellington, and the 2011 Rugby World Cup is descending on New Zealand. Flags are popping up all across the city as everyone gets into the celebratory mode. But Veni (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) was not quite prepared to find his house covered, and I mean covered, in the red/white cross of Tonga’s flag. His best friend Maka (John-Paul Foliaki) has been trying to get enough money so all of his church can see the Tonga v France match live. However, when several of his schemes fall through, he discovers a way forward, but it just means getting everyone to become a proficient brass band, oh and only in a couple of weeks.

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A pure delight from start to finish in an absolutely stunningly realised world.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Gwen and Miles sit upside down looking at the sky line of New York.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Review –

If there is ever a tough act to follow, it is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. A film that shifted an entire film production style that many movies like The Mitchells vs. The Machines and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have taken onboard since. Indeed, I loved the movie so much that it sits on My Personal Top 10 Animated Films of All Time. There is no way a sequel could like up to that legacy … but hear me out … what if it could.

So to set the scene, It has been one year since the event of the last film, and Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) has been struggling with being all alone again after finding a kindred spirit with Miles (Shameik Moore). However, when a Vulture (Jorma Taccone) from a Renaissance-style universe trashes the Guggenheim Museum, she discovers that the Spider-verse is not closed off. But also her dad George Stacy (Shea Whigham), finds out she is Spider-Woman, and tries to arrest her. This could have ended badly without the rescue from Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), for a Spider-Society is protecting the Multiverse from all threats, and Gwen is the newest member.

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True Spirit – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An impressively acted story that is let down by forced conflict and unnecessary padding.     

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

The Pink Lady leaves Sydney Harbour.

True Spirit Review –

There are these moments that you remember because they touched all of society when they happened. Usually, these are moments of tragedy that cut through the world, but for Queensland and Australia, we had the moment built on triumph. Today’s film is based on that long journey by Jessica Watson across the planet.

So to set the scene, Jessica Watson (Teagan Croft) grew up on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia, where water was always on your doorstep. She learned how to sail on the open ocean, catching the wind and riding the waves here thanks to her coach Ben Bryant (Cliff Curtis). Jessica had one dream: to sail around the world by herself, which took a bit of a beating when her boat was severely damaged by a cargo ship in the 2009 trail run. But with everything going against her, Jessica is determined to make the trip before the government legislates that she can’t go.

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Mummies – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While there are moments here, nothing saves this film that stumbles in all the most odd places.     

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an end-credit scene

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

the land of the living dead.

Mummies Review –

Whenever you translate a film from one language to another, there is always a danger that something can get lost in translation. At least with an animated movie, you can edit the lip flaps and lose the synch issue that happens with dubbed films. Today we look at a movie that had its moments, but something did not make the jump from Spanish to English.

So to set the scene, thousands of years ago in Ancient Egypt, Thut (Joe Thomas) was racing around a stadium in a chariot. It is a brutal race with cheating and wheels full of spikes. Through some clever manoeuvring, Thut almost gets over for a win, that is, until his chariot disintegrates, sending him flying. Today, Lord Carnaby (Hugh Bonneville), a pompous archaeologist, is looking for the tomb of Princess Nefer (Eleanor Tomlinson). But when he opens the sarcophagus, he finds it empty. Because for some of the mummies, death was not the end.

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Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A work of art that hits on every emotional level from start to finish.    

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Pinocchio but just a puppet.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio Review –

Some names instantly intrigue you when you hear they are attached to a project. Which is entirely what happened when I heard that Guillermo del Toro was going to make a Pinocchio film. This alone was enough to interest me. Then you discover that it will be an animated film, not just that, a stop-motion animation film, and the masters of puppets, The Jim Henson Company, will produce it. Well, that is a combination that could not be missed, and I am fundamentally glad I watched it.   

 So to set the scene, master craftsman Geppetto (David Bradley) lost his only child Calro (Gregory Mann), during the Great War when he was only ten years old. A stray bomb destroyed the church that they were working in, and it is a loss that he has never recovered from. Sometime later, Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor), a travelling cricket, came to live in the tree planted at Carlo’s grave and watched as a drunk Geppetto laments over his lost son. But as that is happening, some old spirits from the forest who typically ignore humanity hear the pleas of the grieving father and when he cuts down the pine tree that was planted at the grave to turn it into a puppet. So The Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton) looks over the creation and then brings that puppet Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) to life.   

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