Reviews by Emily J.

Hey everyone, I'm back with my first review in many months. This time I will give my two cents on What About Bob?. Now, after Frank Oz directed one of the greatest movies of the 80's (perhaps all time), I was hoping this to be of similar quality. Was it so? Not quite.

On one hand, if any other movie had a character like Bob, they would come off as annoying and unsympathetic. But the writing in this one doesn't take that low road as Bob seems no worse than pitiable for the most part. And while it treats the subject of mental illness with tact (including a 12-year-old boy's thanatophobia), it also loses grounding in reality as the movie progresses. On the other hand, the comedy can be really funny. Bill Murray as the title character made me laugh a good number of times. This alone would make it worth a watch.

I think it's a movie people should see at least once. Although sharp in a few places, the movie might be an acquired taste for some.

My rating: 7.5/10

In 2002, some hack named Colin Slater spawned this monstrosity on us. For the most part, it was quickly forgotten. But then in 2015, a YouTube user named Captain Giratina found it, and the following year, it was to be reviewed by two of my favorite internet critics Pan Pizza and eventually, Mr. Enter. In preparation for both reviews, I decided to descend into this animation hell.

Let me say that South Park had much better CGI than this, and it was a mostly 2D show. The music is rather lame, too. Characters' feet don't move naturally when they walk, and the animation grows gradually worse every 6 to 7 minutes. The story involves a boy named Ricky who has a crush on the rich girl Nicole (voiced by Belle?!), and she comes off as the most unlikable character in the whole thing. Why? Well, Ricky tries to give Nicole the teddy bear that his dead mother gave to him, and she callously rejects it right in front of him and throws it in a dumpster! Of course, Nicole changes her tune after she finds Ricky's letter to Santa that blew away in the wind. Yeah...

This has got to be the worst Christmas special ever. The story is manipulative as well as lacking any meat, the characters are wooden, and the animation even more so. Halfway through, I almost broke down crying at how bad this was, and near the end, my brain went numb. Did this need to be 40 minutes long? It would be more tolerable at 22 minutes...

My rating: 2/10

Up until now, I knew Benny & Joon for 3 things: the fact that Johnny Depp is in it, the use of The Proclaimers' "500 Miles" as the intro and closer to the movie, and having a higher rating on Listal and IMDB than Little Shop of Horrors (you know how much I love that movie). This naturally piques my curiosity, so I decided to give it a chance.

With all honesty, the movie bounces between what I would expect and what I wouldn't. Joon (Mary Stuart-Masterson) 's schizophrenia is played on both ends of the comedy-drama spectrum, although it isn't like any schizophrenia I've ever witnessed, and I may actually have it myself. Benny (Aidan Quinn) has at least one or two moments that would put him in competition with Charlie Barkin, but much like that cartoon German shepherd, he has a heart of gold. And Sam (Johnny Depp) may be the glue that holds this movie together; this movie would have been a complete chore to watch without him because he is in the best parts of the film.

This movie will take a while to sink in for me, but I will give it an accurate rank that I can think of.

Rating: 7/10

Before directing classics such as Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (and the creepy motion-capture flicks), Robert Zemeckis directed this "hidden gem" that took me by surprise.

A passionate romance writer named Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) seeks out to find her kidnapped sister in Cartegena, Colombia. However, she accidentally takes the wrong bus thanks to the kidnappers. Fortunately, the fearless Jack T. Colton (Michael Douglas) arrives to help her while he seeks the valuable jewel El Corazon before the criminals do. The moment I see Kathleen Turner act like how fanfic writers act, I know what I'm in for. Speaking of, the protagonists are quite likable, and you want to relate to them. It's also fun and thrilling. I actually recommend that you see this for yourselves!

My rating: 7.5/10

The Swan Princess is another movie reviewed by The Nostalgia Critic that piques my curiosity. It looks like one of those movies that I would have grown up with, and if I had, I probably would have been very fond of it at a young age. Otherwise, it's on the good side of meh overall.

The animation resembles that of a Disney or Don Bluth film, and may have been intended as such. However, the movie itself doesn't have as much depth as either, or at least as much as Disney or pre-1994 Don Bluth. It also goes between playing the story straight or being a parody, which I do not mind, but it should really just pick one and stick with it, while retaining some of the comedy if played straight. Apparently, some people don't mind either because this managed to have a cult following that spawned a few sequels, all of them by the same director as the original.

Calling this "Diet Disney" isn't too far off, but at least the animation is good.

My rating: 6.5/10

The subject of this review has quite an interesting history. I'm sure you all remember The Adventures of Milo and Otis, didn't you? I've seen it at least twice when I was a kid, and pretty much forgot about it until The Nostalgia Chick's review of it. Now, all of you bear with me because that review has uncovered some horrifying truths that I will reveal to those who find out from me first.

To begin with, this movie was originally a Japanese film called "Koneko Monogatari", which translates to "A Kitten's Story", and focused more on Milo, or rather, Chatran. Also, there are some poetic segues from a female narrator, as well as more intense scenes such as where the pug Puusuke, or Poosky (a.k.a. Otis), gets into a fight with a bear, and sadly, a calf becomes stillborn and almost gets eaten by crows. ... So, it seems I can't put this off any longer: Chatran was portrayed by several cats (only one played "Milo"), and... some of them... died when this movie was made. But to be fair, you could tell that the cats were different by the colors of their eyes. Some had brown eyes, others had grey, but they were all brownish-yellow tabbies. I am a rather hardcore animal lover, but it's best not to consider the cats' passings to be in vain because either way, this is still a good movie. In fact, it must have been so good that it had a video game adaptation for the Famicom (the Japanese NES)!

Naturally, because of these facts, Columbia took out the more intense parts, and you all know the dub we know today. The dub is at least partially faithful, but it's a little cheesy and makes it a somewhat different movie, yet it gives Puusuke/Otis more focus and it's still enjoyable overall. Although personally, I liked the original better for giving some room to breathe.

Well, whichever version you prefer, and despite what happened to those cats, it bears repeating: it's still a good movie.

My rating: 7.5/10

I am aware that Rock-A-Doodle is a stupid movie to several people who have saw this, but I'm still curious.

Completed in 1990, but not released until 1992, this is a story about a rooster named Chanticleer (voiced by singer Glen Campbell), who has the duty of crowing so that the sun would shine. But when the Grand Duke of Owls (Christopher Plummer) arranges a literal cockfight that Chanticleer swiftly triumphs, the sun rises without Chanticleer's crow. That makes him a laughingstock and he leaves for the city.

The story is apparently pre-written in the movie's universe since we also get to see Edmund being told the story by his mother when a horrible rainstorm ensues at their farm. And said universe apparently lacks a fourth wall because Patou the dog seems to live with him, and GDO turns Edmund into a kitten with a magic breath mint. As the group searches for Chanticleer in the city, Chanticleer adopts the moniker "The King" (as in Elvis Presley) and performs, while the owls try to stop our heroes.

You might think that the story makes no sense due to the sun "rising" without Chanticleer crowing, but maybe in this world, roosters have the power to control the weather as opposed to the sun itself? Also, when I said I was curious about the movie, it's because that Ellen Greene (yes, Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors) voices Goldie the pheasant chorus-girl. Speaking of, the singing voices by Campbell and Greene are probably the best part of this movie.

If this looks like something that your kid brother/sister, son/daughter, or nephew/niece would enjoy, then go ahead and rent it. Otherwise, no normal person would be able to grasp this.

My rating: 6/10

I have said before that Generation 6 might be the best generation of Pokemon (or at least the X Version). I can't say the same for the anime, though, but I will vouch for the movies.

After the disaster that was the Genesect movie, this movie was a great improvement over it. Diancie is lovable, and I actually do feel for the protagonists here. The movie is right up there with the Zoroark movie.

My rating: 6/10

Due to the passing of Robin Williams, I have decided to write a review for one of his most well-known movies, Mrs. Doubtfire. What do I think of this movie? Well, I am going to be quite honest with my review, so if you don't like the review, I understand.

Mrs. Doubtfire focuses on Robin Williams' character Daniel, a loving father with 3 children, the youngest played by Mara Wilson. For the heck of it, he throws his son a birthday party. Said party had a petting zoo rental, which was illegal to have at their house, and there's also a huge mess. It makes Daniel's wife Miranda (Sally Field) so upset with him that she demands a divorce. Okay, so the party made a huge mess, but I think it's a rather frivolous reason for splitting up. Anyway, Daniel, now left alone, plans to visit his kids whenever he wants by disguising himself as a British nanny, the eponymous Mrs. Doubtfire. While this is happening, Miranda starts dating some Jefferson D'Arcy clone.

Okay, honesty time. Yes, this is a funny movie, and it can get heartwarming at times. However, I find Miranda to be a little too selfish half the time until the end, but thankfully, she's written as some sort of Defrosting Ice Queen, so there's no contempt towards her, and you actually feel sorry for her almost as much as you did for Daniel. I also like how realistically the kids are written, and that they were more sad than bitter about the idea of their parents breaking up. With all honesty, this isn't as great as what people think, but it's still a good movie, at least in its own merit. =)

My rating: 6/10

Contrary to what the website FantasyAnime thinks of Sailor Moon: Another Story, I actually quite enjoy this game. At least it isn't as boring as the Tenchi Muyo! RPG, which is sad because the use of voice clips is really good...

Much like the aforementioned Tenchi game, this one also uses voices from the anime. It also combines the story-lines of both the manga and the anime, giving an interesting alternate continuity. Heck, I would consider this to be the finale after the events of Sailor Moon S, which is where it takes place hence the Outer Senshi being there. The graphics are typical RPG graphics on a 16-bit system such as the Super Famicom/Super NES, but to be fair, they are still nice to look at.

If you are a Sailor Moon fan, then I recommend this game. You can find it on FantasyAnime in ROM form.

My rating: 8/10