georg-syphers Reviews

Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)

Dumb Halloween fun for kids

[7/10 · 10 October 2022]

This is not a great movie. This is a really dumb movie. However, I have never known a child between the ages of 5 and 12 who didn't absolutely love watching this around Halloween. If you've ever seen any of Jim Varney as Earnest, then you know what to expect, but this one is especially outlandish and goofy. Everyone involved in this movie looks like they are having a great time, Jim Varney's over the top utterly unhinged ridiculousness finds its highest potential in this unabashedly goofy concept, and very importantly the peril is all mild enough to not be truly threatening to any of its intended audience. This movie was never trying to be a great piece of cinema, but what it does try to do, it does exceptionally well,which is being dumb Halloween fun for kids.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

My favorite movie of the last decade

[10/10 · 26 August 2022]

I don't want to give anything away so I will simply say: this movie is beautiful, poignant, hilarious, action packed, well acted, well written, surprising, and an all around pleasure to watch. Favorable comparisons to both eternal sunshine of the spotless mind AND Big trouble in little china (with 90 year old James Hong! Still being awesome!). Do yourself a favor and make time to really take this movie in without interruption!

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

I don't understand how any Star Wars fans are happy about this

[3/10 · 14 June 2022]

This show violates Disney's own canon, Kenobi is a pathetic failure, has failed at every single goal set for him at the of Ep III, and is barely featured (and certainly not in a positive light). All of that aside, I do not understand how they can write characters so 2 dimensional with so little motivation, rely on weak villains AND make Vader their most iconic villain weaker, while forcing in all kinds of content which makes no sense in the existing star wars continuity. I was really excited for this show and I just can't believe this is the best Disney could do. Crap, utter crap, depth on par with that of 80s he-man, action sequences which look cheap and phones in with a lightsaber that bounces off storm trooper armor, and plot points which make so little sense that they essentially boil down to "because the writers wanted it to happen and thought it would be cool" instead of making any kind of sense for the plot. I don't understand how they could have such a beloved property and character yet fail this badly.

Muppet Babies (2018–2022)

Very disappointing

[3/10 · 5 December 2021]

As a fan of the original who watched them as I grew up I had hoped to introduce my 5 year old son to the new one. Sadly this only shares the characters and name with the original. Gone are the zany fun, the delightful flashes of imagination, and the genuine understanding and organic feeling portrayal of what's important to young children, including their fears and interpersonal tension; in their place is formulaic agenda driven pablum with very little fun to be had. My son has happily sits through the original episodes my mother still has on VHS from when I was young and asks for them by name, but this new stuff couldn't keep his attention for more 5 minutes, and after watching them myself I can understand why. This show is just the latest in a long line of what I consider to be hate crimes against the Muppets by the Disney corporation, devaluing what made them fun and funny in favor of more writing by committee and agenda driven plot points. My kid already gets enough lectures from TV. He just wants something fun or actually educational.

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Better than most programs currently going, but disappointed as a fan of the books

[7/10 · 5 December 2021]

So much of what I have seen coming out is awful writing, with little of any depth or character development to keep me invested in the story or wanting more. This at least has some of that. However, while some things from the books needed to change, many of the changes serve very little narrative purpose and some drastically change the story. There is far too little emphasis on the lore this far, with allusion to a complex past, yet so far the most interesting world building moments from the first novel have been entirely absent, with the exception of talking about Manetheren (which was almost cut). This series isn't great, and it still suffers from a lot of the "politics before story" which has become the focus of so much modern media, but if you're hard up for something new to watch, then you could do a lot worse. However, you're still better off reading or listening to the books.

Santa Inc. (2021)

Garbage

[2/10 · 5 December 2021]

Even though my expectations were very low from the dumpster fire devoid of laughs that was Sausage Party, this failed to meet even my very low expectations of brainless comedy. This was not entertainment, this was a polemic, made by and presumably only for those who hate Christmas, holiday cheer, comedy which results in actual laughter, and of course, as the show will remind you ad nauseam, white men. If this were directed at almost any other group it would be labeled hate speech. I'm giving it two stars for the editors and artists who actually put work in, but looking okay is not what entertainment is about, the writing and acting get 0.