The tropes used in Everdome
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The Tropes in Everdome
Éric
Éric has had an eclectic career which ranges from casino dealer to canal boat captain to radio station DJ. Since 2009, he’s worked as a desktop publisher for the federal government. During his off time, he works as a freelance typesetter for various Canadian-based authors and publishers, roasts gourmet flavoured coffee, runs several pen-and-paper role-playing games, writes, and helps run JenEric-Designs.ca (Home of the TravellingTARDIS.com).
He lives in Ottawa, Ontario with his author wife, daughter, and son.
Flow – JenEric Movie Review
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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Flow.
Story
A strong and almost Ghibli-level narrative that is only marred by a weak ending.
Score: 0.5
Characters
All the characters are recognizable and have unique traits. It’s impressive how well they managed to bring that forward without any dialogue.
Score: 1
Dialogue
There are no words spoken in this movie but there is plenty of communication. The writers and animators managed to convey so much with just facial expressions and actions.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The visuals were stunning for what they were, but there were some odd choices like making the whales different but nothing else. I also found the style of animation kept making me think I was watching a cutscene from an older game.
The score was fantastic and really went a long way to elevating the movie.
Score: 0.5
Fun
The movie is fascinating and fun to watch but the ending doesn’t feel resolved and certainly wasn’t uplifting. We all enjoyed it except for the end.
Score: 0.5
Overall
Combining a lot of recognizable stereotypes while only using expressions to tell a story about animals in a post-apocalyptic world is a huge challenge. One that Flow mostly manages amazingly. The ending, however, falls a little flat, and a few of the choices felt unrelated to character or plot.
Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5
The Siren’s Song Vol 4
Hello Readers,
Do you want a magazine with a bunch of free stories? How about stories related to The Gates of Westmeath and Lucky in Love?
Feel free to go check out the other three editions that have stories of Baker and Westmeath.
Happy Reading!
Book Launch and Interview
Did you miss our book launch party in July? Good news, we successfully recorded the whole interview and reading!
Fadhili Samba was our amazing host and asked awesome questions. She really made us feel at ease.
Watch it here!
Want to get the book(s)? Find them below!
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires – JenEric Movie Review
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires.
Story
A twist on Romeo and Juliet that makes both main characters into leaders on opposites on a racial feud. The romantic leads are charismatic and do a great job. The original cast shines as mentors. It’s nice to seem them happy, working together, and without any interpersonal drama. There was plenty of that with the romantic leads and the two clans.
Score: 1
Characters
The original cast are consistent with the previous movies and managed to understand the importance of being with the people you love. They romantic leads have identical stories about proving they are good enough. It’s nice to see, if less and less believable, that the authorities changed their ways when presented with overwhelming evidence.
The whole cast is charismatic and owns each scene and song.
Score: 1
Dialogue
The dialogue is a little young but there are some great quips and the message of tolerance and being stronger together is, unfortunately, very timely.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The night shots were much too dark. It was frustrating to not see the dances and character movements. When there was a lot of light it was a wonderful mix of the candy coloured and monochrome.
The sounds are catchy and had some great callbacks to the previous movies.
Score: 0.5
Fun
This was a perfect cap on the series and a great beginning for future ones without the original cast. Everyone loved it.
Score: 1
Overall
Another fun and colourful movie in the franchise that pushes hope. It’s only really hurt by the literal darkness of a lot of the scenes.
Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5
Thinking of Doing More
Hello My Friends, Family, and Fans;
I have a small yet dedicated fanbase and I think they are awesome. (The past few months have seen Dragon reading all my books and I’m loving discussing them with her.) But I’m always hoping I can expand my fans far enough that the money from writing will let me do it as a job. (Every writer’s dream!)
I’ve considered doing a YouTube vlog thing for years and maybe doing more TikTok like stuff, but I haven’t really come up with anything that hits the right balance of fun and not too much work. Too much effort will take away from my writing and I’m already having issues finding the time and energy.
While watching the Taylor Swift New Heights podcast, I came up with an idea that was bread for me:
I’m considering doing a cheesy pun/dad joke thing for short videos. It’s low energy and I’ll amuse myself.
I guess it’s time to start writing out a list of puns and creating scripts.
Leave your worst and best puns in the comments, please.
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric
Let there be sauce!
Hello Friends, Family, and Friends;
The psychologist who assessed Pegasus explained that for neurodivergent people, one of the best ways to combat burnout is to make time for things you love. Recharging isn’t just resting but also allowing yourself to indulge in your passions.
So last night after work, I canned two massive boxes of tomatoes into thirteen 1L jars of sauce.
Despite the aches and pains from processing that many tomatoes, I do feel better. It’s nice to do things I enjoy. I just have to work on not feeling guilty about it.
Be kind and stay safe,
Éric
The Tropes for A Case of Synchronicity
The tropes used in A Case of Synchronicity
Edition is discontinued. Will be available at in person events until a new edition is released.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – JenEric Movie Review
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2025 film The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Story
The story was fairly simple using the Marvel formula and infusing a little bit of a family drama. There were times it was a little self-indulgent and times it moved a little fast but it was fun.
Score: 0.5
Characters
Each of the characters was well established by quick clips and the impressive acting. It was nice to see all four get screen time and to prove their intelligence. For the first time in a Fantastic Four movie, I believed they were exceptional, not just for their powers but their minds as well.
Galactus was all forms of silly and terrifying. A threat that needed them to truly rise to new heights.
Score: 1
Dialogue
The silences spoke as much as the dialogue. The dialogue is both cheesy and well-thought out. I loved the characters playing with words, and the use of media as a framing device for information is one of my favourites.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
This movie was stunningly beautiful. All the elegance of 50s futurism and colour of a superhero movie. It was well filmed and everything felt grounded, despite the science fiction elements. (If Disney is going to do an update to Tomorrowland, this is the right aesthetic.)
The music was epic and sad and everything you needed it to be. Hearing the chorus in theatres was great.
Score: 1
Fun
I went to see this with my mother-in-law and the kids. The 8yo was a little freaked out but loved the action. The 6yo didn’t stop saying, “It’s clobbering time” for a few days.
Score: 1
Overall
A standard Marvel feature that is elevated by its superb cast, aesthetic, and music. The fun of the characters is seeing them interact and be a family, and this movie understands that.
Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5
This shouldn’t be so hard
Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
Since February, I have been trying to get permission to work from home full time. Work has been kind enough to let me work from home while I go through the DTA (Duty to Accommodate) process.
I am so so so grateful for my amazing bosses. I think this could have been infinitely harder and more stressful without them. They’ve supported me and fought for me the whole time.
Unfortunately, this decision isn’t theirs. It’s the HR department’s and they’ve been pushing back. Their first response was that they could accommodate my ADHD and Autism in the office with some minor changes. As for my migraines, they said, “As for the migraines, when Eric is feeling unwell, we encourage you to remind him that sick leave is available to take. The LR team also understands that should a migraine begin, it is understandable that he may not be able to commute to the office and may be required to work from home that day. That being said, if you notice trends, we encourage you to reach out to us to ensure compliance.”
That’s a lot of words for, “His migraines are his own responsibility and he should use his sick leave for them. But if he does it a lot, contact us to deal with it.” It gives me flashbacks to being yelled at for absenteeism by my former manager.
I didn’t understand how people could accumulate sick leave until Covid hit. Suddenly, I wasn’t getting as sick and I wasn’t getting burnt out every month.
Anyway, now HR is requesting an evaluation by my primary care physician, not my psychiatrist. The form they’ve given me is the same for someone who has a chronic injury. (I know this because my former doctor filled it out when I started my arm pain.)
My worry is that all the things on the form, I can do. I can sit at a desk and work, I can do my job. But there’s no room for what doing it in the office does for my physical and mental health. Sure I can do it. I did it for 14 years before the pandemic, but I had to take lots of sick days (was fired for that), some unpaid vacation, and it physically hurt me.
I’m fairly certain, unless my doctor reacts better than I expect, that I’ll be going back to the office by the new year. I feel helpless, angry, stressed, and worried.
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric