Rating: 6.5/10

Tim Allen has been Santa for 8 years and the elves tell him that he needs to get married or he’s going to no longer be Santa. It’s the Mrs. Clause. Can Santa find the right woman when he only has a month until Christmas?

I didn’t expect much from this as I feel the first movie, though a great Christmas movie, didn’t really warrant a sequel. It’s actually not too bad though. I especially like Tim Allen as the Toy Santa, and how the elves deal with him, as I feel this is where most of the humor of this one comes from. The romance plotline actually isn’t too bad either, though I have some issues I’ll get into in a moment, and I like seeing all the actors from the first movie back, even the boy who played Charlie, all grown up.

Okay, my major problem is that the romantic plotline is rushed so hard that it feels like it was shoehorned in at the last minute. The problem is that it’s suppose to be the driving force for the movie! It’s the main plotline, you know. But it feels like Santa should have been informed at the end of last Christmas, where the movie starts anyway, instead of only informing Santa that he has to find a wife only a month before. If this weren’t a movie I would say that’s impossible, then again, Santa could just go spend a week in Vegas, but that would make for a very different movie…

SCORING:

+6.5: It’s a pretty fun movie overall, especially the events happening at the north pole

+1: I could watch Allen being Robo-Santa for days he’s so funny

-1: the main plot is so rushed it feels like a side plot, I guess it’s okay because the side plot takes over the main plot?

Sorry I’ve been away but I’ve been busy working on the above video. Thought I’d share the link now that it’s done and I’ll try to get back to reviews as I start the next video in the series. Hope you enjoy it!

Rating: 8/10

Scott Calvin accidentally kills Santa Claus but because of the Santa Clause he’s now the new Santa Claus. He and his son Charlie are going to have to prove to the world, especially his ex-wife, that Scott is the real Santa.

This came out in theaters when I was 9 and I remember seeing it with my grandmother and we both really enjoyed the movie. Of course, I was 9 and she grew up in the 20s and 30s so I’m assuming it was something that we both found a common ground on despite our age differences. Anyway, I haven’t seen it in probably 20 years and I’ve never seen any of the sequels. So, I kind of assumed it wouldn’t have aged well. But this actually wasn’t bad. There’s a few more grown-up jokes than I realized that went right over my head as a kid so there was new enjoyment to be had. I also felt that most of the comedy is pretty good, though not exactly rolling on the floor with its hilarity it got more than a few chuckles out of me.

Also, I feel this is a very good Christmas film which will probably one day be considered a Christmas classic if it isn’t already. I think it has the right amount of sentimentality and family-friendly humor that it really can be enjoyed by all. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas I feel it’s more about Santa and not so much about any other traditions around that particular holiday. Well, unless you really don’t like Santa in any way…

I have to say that there are a lot of child actors in this as most of Santa’s elves are also played by children. They do a really good job in their roles though, especially the actor playing Charlie. I think it helps that everything about this movie is more than a tad silly. It makes it almost perfect for children to play a part.

Oh, one more thing before I score everything… that you already know the answer to because I put the answer at the top. But it’s rare for me to see a film that doesn’t really have a villain that also works as a film in its entirety. This does have a little bit of Man versus Society that you might remember when learning about types of conflicts in High School English class, but it’s not really what drives the film. I’m actually not entirely sure what drives the film outside of a general sense of wonder and letting yourself imagine a little.

SCORING:

+8: a funny film about Santa that is a nearly perfect Christmas film, despite not having an antagonist

-1: The graphics are super dated. It’s painful to watch

+1: Surprisingly good child actors in this

Air Date: April 28, 2015

Rating: 6.5/10

Shield has to team up with Ward in order to break into Hydra!

Okay, the problem here is that the above sentence is basically all that happens in the episode, aside from a teaser for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. This basically all happens in the last 15 minutes of the episode and everything else is people spouting exposition at each other. I think that the last fifteen minutes where they storm an enemy compound would have been a much more interesting and exciting episode overall.

I do like seeing Ward again as he’s a much more interesting villain than he ever was a hero. I also like how everyone is at everyone else’s throat as it’s almost impossible to know who to trust now. Also, Skye’s gotten a lot more interesting now that she has superpowers. There’s a great scene in this in between boring bits where she kills an entire platoon of Hydra agents and she doesn’t even use her powers. It’s actually pretty sweet.

SCORING:

+5: I’m pretty split as it feels like it could have been a lot better than it was but almost makes up for it with the last fifteen minutes or so

+1: I like Ward’s inclusion in the episode and hope it’s gearing up for something huge involving him

+1.5: Skye’s turning into quite the badass all of a sudden

-1: Far too much exposition

Air Date: November 20, 2020

Rating: 10/10

The Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister) are back! And Pinky and the Brain manage to take over the world!…for a bit.

As an adult who likes children’s cartoons, this is pretty good. I suppose the Animaniacs has always been a cartoon that can be enjoyed by children as well as adults. They’ve always snuck in more grown-up jokes that kids probably won’t get along with the off-the-wall zaniness.

I think this might be a reboot I can get behind, but it’s also playing it safe in this initial “re-pilot.” It involves four separate sketches, though one is a continuation of another. And the first is incredibly short (but really funny). Within twenty minutes there are two songs, and a Pinky and the Brain sketch. I would say that the music and the two world-domination-obsessed mice were two of the biggest pulls of the old show. This isn’t a bad thing though, and I hope to see more of both these things as the show continues but it’s a bit obvious they’re sticking to their strengths for this.

I know people were complaining about this show getting too political but it doesn’t seem to be so much in this episode (just a tad). There were always some jokes centered around politics in the initial series, such as the “Bill Clinton plays the sax” line in the original opening. Something they changed when he was no longer in office. I’m just saying the Animaniacs being a little political isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just so long as it’s not what they’re leaning on most. It’s just not that type of show.

SCORING:

+10: A great start to hopefully what is a solid re-first re-season