The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023)
“In an Insane World, the Sane are called Insane.”
The movie follows Mario, a Brooklyn based plumber, and his brother Luigi as they find themselves in the Mushroom Kingdom and have to team up with Princess Peach and Donkey Kong to face the dreaded Bowser and get back home.
Featuring a stellar cast of Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Anya-Taylor Joy (The Menu), Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), Jack Black (School of Rock) and Keegan-Michael Key (Keanu).
In my opinion, this movie wasn’t all that bad. It was a fun and enjoyable 90 minutes. Bowser’s song was a lot of fun and I will enjoy annoying my fiancé with it for years to come. Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, I LOOOOVE YOU. 4/5.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
“The red wizards created an army of the undead”
Loosely adapted from the popular tabletop role-playing game, this movie follows a group of consisting of a human bard, an elf wizard, a barbarian warrior, a human paladin and a tiefling druid as they set out to find a lost relic while the red wizards work to enact an evil plan.
Featuring a star-studded cast,including Chris Pine (known, by me at least, for his role in the first Wonder Woman), Michelle Rodrigues (Fast and Furious Franchise), Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton), Justice Smith (Paper Towns), Sophia Lillis (IT Chapter 1), Hugh Grant (good ol’ Notting Hill) and Daisy Head (Shadow and Bone)
It was okay. I might have enjoyed it more if I’d ever played Dungeons and Dragons before and could pick up on the little easter eggs (I’m starting to get into it though, subscribe to find out how that goes) but it was a fun watch. The characters were relatively likable, and you did root for them during their adventure.
Can we talk about when Hugh Grant went from playing the heartthrob to now playing the villain in every film? I’m sure it’s a fun, new challenge for him to play villains now, but I’m worried he’s going to fall into the category of standard British villains like Mark Strong or Sir Ben Kingsley.
3.5 stars
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)
“George. I will stand with you between the heavens and the Earth. I will tell you where you are. Do you love me?”
The show centres around Queen Charlotte and her marriage to King George, as well as how her becoming queen shapes and changes the ton depicted in the Bridgerton series.
This show KILLED ME. I didn’t want it to end. I actually think it was better than Bridgerton due to its mental health representation and the fact that the couple are not as toxic as the others have been. Or maybe I just like a tragic love story.
It is not 100% historically accurate but if you’re scrutinizing it for historical accuracy, you won’t enjoy the beautiful love story this show has to offer.
5/5
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015)
“Praise was hard for him to take, maybe? And he didn’t know how to handle that.”
This documentary is centred around the life and career of Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain and features home videos, audio recordings and journal entries and sketches from the man himself. The film starts off with his childhood and his relationship with his parents and chronicles through the bands growing success and also shows his relationship with wife, Courtney Love and daughter, Francis.
This documentary was hard – even hard to write about – but beautiful. Would I watch it again? Probably not. This documentary, much like Kurt Cobain’s life, is difficult to sit through as it gives you a front-row seat to his thoughts, his pain, his heart, and his life.
I’m still glad I watched it, though. It allowed me to connect, in a way, with this gentle soul who will forever be missed. Rock on, Kurt!
Chante & Jeremy’s rating: 5/5
Beautiful Disaster (2023)
“What’s up, Pidgeon?”
This movie… Disaster? Yes. Beautiful? No. Now, don’t get me wrong, Dylan Sprouse playing a bad boy fulfilled all the Adult Zach fantasies I didn’t even know I had, but as someone who has read this book in high school (and loved it despite all its issues), this was not the Travis Maddox I had imagined.
This was the Travis Maddox I imagined.
Putting aside the fact that the actor didn’t look how I imagined, the acting itself was also terrible. Absolutely god-awful. Jeremy walked in at one point and thought I was watching a comedy. It seemed like the actors weren’t taking the role seriously or didn’t really care about this movie at all. The editing and directing was also really bad.
There were a lot – and I mean A LOT – of After references which I could’ve done without. I get that it’s all fun and games, but again, this movie wasn’t supposed to be a joke. I don’t know maybe I’m overthinking it, maybe I’m too passionate about it, either way, don’t watch this movie.
1/5
Rookie Blue Season 2 (2011)
“I like the idea of being a horse cop. It’s kind of like being a cowboy.”
I don’t remember much of this season except that Luke’s a fucking asshole. 2/5
Rookie Blue Season 3 (2012)
“Jerry, who proposed to me by engraving it on the back of a knife.”
Dove got a new haircut, we lost someone nearest and dearest to us, and Andy is still kinda bland.
In saying that, this season hit me in a way none of the other’s had. With the loss of one of the most likable characters, I was gutted. But it was a beautiful send-off and now we’re going to see what else this show throws at me. 4/5.
Air (2023)
“A shoe is just a shoe until my son steps into it.”
Despite my… difficult relationship with Nike, Jeremy and I decided to watch this movie. Surprisingly, I loved it. Based on the true events of how Nike signed rookie basketball player Michael Jordan and created a shoe line in his name that absolutely skyrocketed the brand and is still being made and sold today. You don’t have to look very far to find a kid rocking a pair of Air Jordans. The star-studded cast included the likes of Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, and Viola Davis. Each of these actors absolutely nailed their roles, and Ben Affleck did a stellar job in directing.
The film currently sports (pun intended) a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s well-deserved in my opinion. Funny, inspiring, and impactful.
Chante & Jeremy’s rating: 5/5.
Idiocracy (2006)
“There are plenty of ‘tards out there living really kick-ass lives. My first wife was ‘tarded. She’s a pilot now.”
Idiocracy, starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, and Terry Crews, is a 2006 comedy following a US Army librarian who wakes up 500 years after being placed in cryostasis and finds out that the world is run by corporations and, due to evolution, everyone in the world is really dumb.
So technically, I shouldn’t be reviewing this movie because I fell asleep a little at the end, so it doesn’t actually pass the ‘Chante Sleep Test,’ but it was just so prominent in my mind that I have to talk about it. Jeremy and I had heard about this movie on TikTok where we saw a video about a guy talking about how they had everyone wear Crocs in this movie because back then Crocs was like a small shoe company, and the costume director thought that they just looked so dumb. This piqued my interest, and it ended up being my load-shedding movie pick. If I’m being honest, I actually found some parts of this movie quite funny. As a whole, it was kinda dumb, but THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT, so I was able to look past it because of that. Jeremy thought it was too dumb and hated it.
Jeremy’s rating – 1/5
Chante’s rating – 3/5
XO Kitty (2023)
“Everyone’s got their person, and I’m still trying to get in touch with mine.”
The spin-off to ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’ follows Lara-Jean’s little sister, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), as she travels across the world to Korea to attend school, surprise her long-distance boyfriend, and learn more about her late mother who also went to the school.
This show was surprisingly cute and fun. The bi-rep was unexpected but amazing, and the show provides ample eye-candy in both their male and female cast members.
As someone who’s never delved into the world of K-Dramas, this gave me a small taste of what it could be like, and let me tell you, it left me wanting more! So, if you have any recommendations for fun K-dramas, let me know in the comments below.
The only thing that annoyed me on the show is the fact that basically everyone was falling in love with everyone, and it was just triangle upon triangle upon triangle. Maybe that’s how teenagers are, and I’ve just forgotten cause I’m so old. But I suppose it’s good in a way that she’s exploring herself rather than being with one person at the beginning of the show and then just being with that person for the rest of her life.
All in all, I’d give XO Kitty a 4/5.
Yellowjackets Season 2 (2023)
“We’re not a cult. We are an intentional community, turning suffering into strengths so we can live as our best selves.”
Yellowjackets never disappoints. If you still haven’t seen this show, and you think you can handle the gore, then I highly recommend it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, and I actually don’t know what I’m going to do not being able to watch it every week.
As the previous season, this season jumps back and forth between the present and the past where our past girls are trying to survive winter, and our present girls are meeting up and falling back into their old habits to give “it” what it wants.
Part coming-of-age story, part survival epic, this show will always have a special place in my heart, no matter how many times it breaks it. 5/5.
Upload Season 1 (2020)
“You know, for an L.A. douchebag, you’re the best L.A. douchebag I’ve ever met.”
The concept for this show is very cool. Basically, in the year 2023, after you die, your consciousness gets uploaded onto a virtual world of your choosing, run by a corporation. When Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell), a computer programmer who was trying to create a free virtual world for those who couldn’t afford, dies in a mysterious self-driving car accident, he gets uploaded to the most expensive virtual world, Lakeview. As he’s trying to navigate his new life, he starts to befriend his ‘angel’ (Andy Allo), and the two work to solve his murder together.
The show currently has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series at the Critics Choice Super Awards back in 2021.
Despite its cool concept and high rating, this show fell a bit flat for me. It wasn’t bad per se, just unmemorable. The jokes didn’t make me laugh, and the characters were alright. It was a good way to pass time but not really impactful in any way. Will I watch season 2? Probably. Am I rushing eagerly to watch it? Not really. 3/5.
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
“I’m not a policeman, I’m a princess!”
Now, despite the fact that this movie is being cancelled, and its low Rotten Tomatoes score of 53%, I actually found it pretty funny.
The film centres around a detective who has to work undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate the wife and child of a prominent drug dealer.
Although this plotline is not exactly innovative, it’s not dumb like you’d expect it to be. While the plot line was slightly predictable, the jokes were pretty funny—especially being screamed in the accent of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me that finds toddlers saying “vagina” and “sex” hilarious. 4/5
Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023)
“How come folks always come asking us for help?”
This hilarious little French movie released on Netflix, and as my fiancé was raised on Asterix and Obelix by his grandfather, we wasted no time watching it. This is the fifth instalment in the Asterix and Obelix series, and it did not disappoint. As someone who didn’t read the comics that much, I’m still amazed by the interesting names and hilarious situations this pair find themselves in. The film is currently sitting at 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, which isn’t as high as the 2002 movie ‘Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra’ which is set in Egypt.
Chante & Jeremy’s rating: 4/5
Ted Lasso Season 3 (2023)
“Be a goldfish.”
What can I say, I’ve been crying for three weeks. I put off watching this show for so long because I didn’t want to watch a show about a bunch of guys playing football. But Ted Lasso is so much more than that.
In a world filled with gritty dramas and complex characters, a little show called Ted Lasso emerged as a refreshing breath of positivity. This Apple TV+ series, created by Bill Lawrence, Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly, quickly captured the hearts of viewers with its heartfelt storytelling and lovable characters. Ted Lasso is not just a comedy; it’s a delightful and inspiring journey that reminds us of the power of kindness, empathy, and unwavering optimism.
Ted Lasso is a heartwarming comedy series that follows the journey of Ted Lasso, an American football coach who unexpectedly finds himself coaching a struggling English soccer team, AFC Richmond. With his unorthodox coaching methods and unwavering optimism, Ted brings a fresh perspective to the sport and forms meaningful relationships with the players.
This last season absolutely broke me. Without saying too much, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend this show.
Chante & Jeremy’s rating: 5 million/5
Chante JVR 
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