Hello. Miss me? I’m sorry but I have been flat out this week! You see there have been these movies that have been sitting there this whole week taunting me to take a look at them. So that’s why I felt the urge to make this quick post.

We’re going to start off with a short film called One Voice, One Mic. It’s an under 20 minute documentary about the rising popularity of podcasting and it’s impact on modern culture over the last couple of years.

I should note that this film isn’t available until the end of September. The director, Ben Gummery, was nice enough to email me an early copy of the film and supply me with pictures to put in this review.

This film was quite interesting to me as I’m on the bench when it comes to podcasts. I’ve got a good grasp on what they are and I have actually checked out a couple, but that’s about it. This film is a bit of a summary of the lives of different podcasters, some who make a living from it and others who are just doing it for fun.

75% of the documentary is made up of interviews with different British podcasters and the other 25% is the archived footage of radio hosts. That’s pretty much it. As an outsider it was interesting to listen to, but not that captivating for me to really care. It felt like I was watching someone read out their school essay to the class.

I don’t want to sound too harsh as this is a directorial debut. I like the film’s message. If podcasting is something your interested in, but you are worried due to inexperience or not knowing how a microphone works, then just give it a go and improve on your work, which I think is a message you could apply to anything that you’re passionate about. Hell, I have been doing that for just over a year with this blog.

One Voice, One Mic. I’m indifferent on it and thanks to Ben for sending me your new film a month before everyone else. I feel very privileged. I don’t know if I want to give a rating because I might sound a bit mean. How about a sticker? Everyone likes stickers.

If you’re interested in watching this short for yourself it’ll be available on Amazon Prime Video and Vimeo in a months time for Podcasting day.

There isn’t that much of interest when looking through the long library of Netflix Originals because almost all of their own original stuff is not worth my time. It’s only when the original has a pre-established fan base like The Dark Crystal, The Witcher or Breaking Bad that I feel it is worth checking out.

Anyway, today we’re looking at the Invader Zim reboot, a movie that screams we only made this so fans would shut up about us prematurely cancelling the show. I  once again play the role as the outsider. As a kid I never got into Invader Zim, probably because the show gave me some unsettling dreams. Though I still found myself watching the show when it was on. (I’m weird, Leave Me Alone!) My taste in movies has very much grown since then so when I saw the poster I thought that looks awesome, let’s dive in!

I watched the Rocko’s Modern Life reboot not long before and I watched this movie with the same outlook. The original team and voice actors came back for both reboots and they were faithful to the original show. The only big difference is the bigger budget and the shows catching up with modern times. I mean it when I say these movies are made for the fans, because they’re going to love these movies and despite not knowing much about either show I still had a great time.

Rocko’s Modern Life was nothing amazing, but it was still a fun movie and the only highlight was the message and how it looked at the corporate side of making reboots. Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus didn’t really have any of those things and it was still hilarious, but I found myself more emotionally invested than Rocko’s Modern Life. (P.S: Invader Zim was my favourite.)

I don’t want to discuss too much of the plot as it’s quite spoilery, but it’s basically about the rivalry between Dib the human and Zim the narcissistic alien. Zim wants to take over the world to please his alien overlords and is completely ignorant to the fact that his overlords think he’s a joke. Dib wants to save the world, to get the recognition he deserves from his ignorant father and the brain dead idiots of our planet. Both are fun characters and I felt a bit conflicted on who I should be rooting for. Zim however was by far my favourite because he is such a deluded madman that he had me laughing. It also helps that he is voiced by one of the greatest voice actors ever, Richard Horvitz. The side characters were also as entertaining as our two rivals.

The film is extremely funny. The comedy blends in perfectly with the dark serious world. The silliness of some of the jokes helped make the movie more interesting for me. The other highlight is the animation which is just phenomenal. Invader Zim has a unique look that I think the animators just went to town with, especially when they experimented with different mediums. This is probably the most visually gorgeous animated movie I have seen since Spider-Verse.

That being said, this movie ain’t perfect. It takes a while for the plot to get going as there are too many twists for my liking. Even with the twists it felt pretty formulaic. I did like this movie’s sense of humour, but I also found it a little bit obnoxious at times which took away from some of the tension and emotional weight.

Overall Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus was great. Maybe if I was a die-hard fan I might like it better, but I think I might finally revisit the series. I’m giving it an 8/10.

I wanted to include one more Netflix original in this little collection of movies, though I was less than 20 minutes into Sextuplets when I wished I’d waited another week.

I have been very picky with comedies this year, mainly because I don’t want to see anymore I Feel Pretty’s or Kissing Booth’s. I want a nice soft safety net to land in so I know I’m going to have a good time because, if not, it’s going to be the most painful experience for me to sit through. Ouch!

Sextuplets is kind of like that Adam Sandler movie where he played himself, but he also played a loud more annoying version of himself. Same with this movie except there are 5 of them!!! GREAT!!!

It’s one of those lowest common denominator type movies. It’s either the characters being racist, making complete fools of themselves or the joke set-up is so obvious that  the movie treats it as a real gem and I’m on my fifth lap of rolling my eyes.

The first 10 minutes of the movie when there are no annoying siblings and it’s just Marlon Wayans and his wife is tolerable. The acting is pretty bad as none of these actors can give an emotional performance. I wanted to mention this part as I was kind of into it until the siblings started popping up and my enjoyment jumped out of the window along with myself.

It was a pretty serious movie with some bad comedy until these abominations showed up and it turned into an awful cartoon. Starting with the mummy’s boy who was just pushing it. Then that loud mouthed chick showed up and God was she so annoying! But wait, then this pimpy looking guy shows up and I completely hated his guts, but he was topped by two more repulsive creatures and, you get the point! The further the movie progressed the more I was longing for this nightmare to end!

Yeah, I had a terrible time and I hated myself for watching it. Though it has felt so good to vent this all out. It feels even more satisfying to give this piece of crap a 2/10. Do yourself a favour and avoid this movie like you would avoid a smelly fart.

That was quick! I am going to have to find some new movies to taunt me for a week. I’m sure I’ll find something, but until then I have been The Blog Complainer, signing out.