Movie Reviews

Love, Simon– JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2018 film Love, Simon.

Story

A modern take on a letter writing romance with some very heavy themes. I get how important and intense coming out can be, but this movie seemed to have trouble deciding if it was a tragic coming out movie, teen angst movie, or romance.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Pretentious wealthy teen suburban hipsters. The characters are mostly likeable but extremely judgemental. Lots of emphasis on how people look and equating that to their moral characters. Not a fan of the nerd bashing or fatphobia.

That being said; the parents were great, the vice principal super cringe, and the friendships touching.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

When emotions are high and characters actually talk to each other, the dialogue is spot on. The coming out to his parents is heart wrenching to watch as a parent. I also loved the speech Simon gives to his blackmailer.

The rest of the time, the dialogue feels like all other YA intellectually pretentious films. (Someone should take dialogue from this, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and anything John Green; and make an internet quiz to guess who said it.)

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The cinematography is dated and looks like bad knock off of John Hughes. The use of text and email is clunky and awkward. The camera work is simultaneously too slow and too jerky.

The music is not good enough for a film with a main character who’s a music snob, but isn’t bad.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The amount of angst in this movie was palpable and the amount of cringe was painful. The letters were fun and I liked the pacing of the movie. Coming out isn’t easy and I feel like this film puts all the blame for that on the main character and not enough on society.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A coming of age pseudo-romance populated by pretentious teens making bad choices. The movie does a great job of showing the emotional difficulties of coming out, but makes it feel like it’s mostly the gay man’s fault for complicating it.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5

Vote JenEric for the Aurora Awards

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Hello friends, family, and fans!

The voting round is NOW OPEN!!!

Thanks to all who nominated. You really made a difference.

In case you missed it, the Voters package is available for download! Make sure you’re logged in!

The four categories in which Jen, Éric, and family are nominated:

  • Category 2 – Best YA Novel
    • Black Hole Radio – Ka’Azula by Ann Birdgenaw
  • Category 7 – Best Related Work
    • Nothing Without Us Too by Cait Gordon and Talia C. Johnson (Jen has a short story Semper Ubi Sub Ubi in this one!)
  • Category 9 – Best Fan Writing/Publication (these will not be included in the voters package, as they are available online)

Something to remember this time around; order matters. In order to concentrate our voting power, Éric and I have agreed to focus on The Travelling TARDIS, as it is more well-known in the community. Therefore, please vote for it first, and the JenEric Movie Reviews second.

Voting is June 17 – July 29, 2023. We’ll write a reminder post before it ends. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Thank you all so much for your time, attention, and support. It means the world to us!

JenEric

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2018 film To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Story

A very simple twist on “fake dating”, the story isn’t all that exciting or interesting on it’s own and follows the usual YA romance beats.

Score: 0

Characters

The characters and actors in this are extremely compelling. Especially the secondary characters and family. Interesting and make you want more of their story.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue vacillates between the usual precociousness of YA characters and some outright hilarious lines. The heart to heart moments are by far the strongest and hold the movie together with a lot of emotion.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals are the usual Netflix stylised shots. Nothing special.

The music is unmemorable but not bad.

Score: 0.5

Fun

There’s a lot of cringe but love wins out once the characters communicate and there’s some fun scenes in between. It’s not great but it’s not bad.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A perfectly average YA romance with the always fun “fake dating” trope. The humdrum story, visuals, and music are elevated by the sheer charisma of the characters and some excellent dialogue.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Story

This story felt like every D&D campaign I’ve read from Wizard of the Coast without being derivative, bland, or predictable.

There was a lot of worldbuilding and character set up, and I loved every second of it.

Score: 1

Characters

The characters are well defined in their quick backstory introductions, but I’m not sure how well someone who doesn’t know the game would understand what they can do. (My father-in-law was as confused as Doric why Edgin was useful.) Having not played much of the system after 3.5 edition, I spent a long time trying to figure out what they could do and what their classes were.

The actors were perfect in their roles and the character development was better than most D&D sessions.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

This was the perfect balance between epic and cheesy. The dialogue was perfectly delivered.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The dedication to practical effects was a welcome change. They filmed a real volcano!? Everything was stunning and I liked that the spells weren’t too flashy or overdone. It gave the world a sort of grounding that made it feel more realistic.

The music was a great combination of epic fantasy (honouring scores like Lord of the Rings) and of action. I liked the slight Celtic flair to it.

Score: 1

Fun

This was fun from one end to the other. My daughter complained there were no dungeons or dragons at the beginning, but loved it once they got to the Underdark.

I enjoyed this immensely and can’t wait to re-watch it.

Score: 1

Overall

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves toes the line between catering to long time fans and being accessible to casual movie goers. It doesn’t always succeed, but it does a fantastic job overall. This is an excellent adventure movie with wonderful characters. More then worth watching several times.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Bullet Train – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Bullet Train

Story

A fun mix of mystery, action, and absurd comedy; this movie is extremely well plotted. Nothing is wasted even the throwaway gags.

I normally find excessive flashbacks tedious, but it was done perfectly here and even manages to mock itself.

Score: 1

Characters

The absolute strength of the movie is in the characters. They are almost all killers and all of them likable, even those you’re not supposed to like.

The relationship arc between ladybug and his handler is excellent and the emotional journey he goes on is extremely relatable.

Score: 1

Dialogue

This is a very verbose movie and I’m totally here for it. I look forward to re-watching it and paying closer attention to the details.

Lots of excellent quips, monologues, and pseudo-psychology; all very entertaining.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visual style is colourful, exciting, and vibrant. The action quick and punchy. The camerawork is excellent, considering it is all supposed to be on a train.

The Japanese versions of American pop songs, along with the score, set a perfect tone for the movie.

Score: 1

Fun

This is a rated R movie and I watched it on my own when the kids went to sleep. It was exactly what I needed to relax. It’s violent, funny, and a lot of fun.

Score: 1

Overall

A fantastic, violent, and funny movie with all the mystery of an Agatha Christie and all the irreverent humour of Deadpool. The actors pull out all the stops and despite the over the top action, the film never feels inauthentic. Seriously, go watch this.

Final Score: 5 Stars out of 5*

*A 5 star review doesn’t mean the movie was perfect nor that it is perfect for everyone but it is a movie I believe is as close to perfect as possible.

We were nominated for Auroras!

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Hello friends, family, and fans!

The nominations are up!!!

Thanks to all who nominated. You really made a difference.

Now, it’s onto the voting! You should have received an email on how to download the voters package by now. If not, check the website when you’re logged in, and follow the instructions.

There is EXCELLENT news: Our Aunt Ann, writing as Ann Birdgenaw, will receive her Aurora nomination pin!! We’re so proud of her!

The four categories in which Jen, Éric, and family are nominated:

  • Category 2 – Best YA Novel
    • Black Hole Radio – Ka’Azula by Ann Birdgenaw
  • Category 7 – Best Related Work
    • Nothing Without Us Too by Cait Gordon and Talia C. Johnson (Jen has a short story Semper Ubi Sub Ubi in this one!)
  • Category 9 – Best Fan Writing/Publication (these will not be included in the voters package, as they are available online)

Something to remember this time around, is that the order matters. In order to concentrate our voting power, Éric and I have agreed to focus on The Travelling TARDIS, as it is more well-known in the community. Therefore, please vote for it first, and the Movie Reviews second.

Voting is June 17 – July 29, 2023. We’ll write a reminder post before it ends. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Thank you all so much for your time, attention, and support. It means the world to us!

JenEric

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Story

There were elements that worked and it was interesting to see Ant-Man as a lead in something epic, but it wasn’t the right story for him.

That being said, it felt like the main story was ripped straight from early science fiction and specifically from the old Flash Gordon serials.

Score: 0

Characters

There were two sets of characters and it felt like they were in very different movies. Janet and Hope were in an epic fantasy, while the rest were in a YA portal fantasy comedy. The character development was all over the place and felt disjointed.

I did like the story arc with Darren/M.O.D.O.K., and the secondary characters were fascinating.

Points for avoiding useless romantic drama, but they lose points for having no idea what to do with Hope, again.

Bill Murray’s character was an unsympathetic clone of Lando.

Kang was BORING. The infodumping speeches and mediocre threats were the worst part of the movie.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Like the rest of the movie, it felt disconnected. The epic fantasy prose of Janet, Kang, and most of the rest of the cast were uncomfortable juxtaposed with Scott, Cassie, Darren, and Hank’s quippy superhero dialogue.

There are times it worked, like with the goo man who wanted holes, but overall it wasn’t great.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The movie’s visuals were absolutely engrossing. I loved all the details, races, and weird shit everywhere. It was a wonder to watch and so much fun.

The music was well done and didn’t take itself too seriously, but fell into the same problem of feeling like Ant-Man music in an Epic Fantasy movie.

Score: 1

Fun

This movie was surprisingly chill for all its over the top drama. It was a lot of fun to watch and I can see myself rewatching just for the visuals. The kids were glued to their seats and most of the adults liked it.

Score: 1

Overall

The weakest of the three Ant-Man movies, mostly because it wasn’t an Ant-Man movie but a vapid copy of Flash Gordon with Ant-Man and company. The story is messy and disjointed with elements that shouldn’t go together being forced to interact. The villain is one of the blandest most boring villains in MCU history.

The visuals however, were ABSOLUTELY fabulous and Paul Rudd is hilarious, both of those make the movie way better than it has any right to be.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

Zoom: Academy for Superheroes – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2006 film Zoom: Academy for Superheroes.

Story

The story works. It’s a nice mix between superhero and underdog sports movies. It has a lot of awkward moments and more than a few scenes that could have been cut or replaced.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Yikes is Jack an asshole. Seriously, he comes shy of insulting everyone but racial minorities (and that’s probably because there are none in the movie). His turnaround from asshole burnout to father figure is not believable and neither is the love story.

Thankfully, the kids are fantastic and bring the emotional heart to the film. The secondary characters felt a little out of place and there just for gags.

The little girl acted a lot younger than my 6yo does.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Lots of ableism, racism, sexism, and just meanness. There are a few good jokes, but the movie doesn’t balance it’s slapstick, seriousness, and heart very well.

The little girl had some of the best lines.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The special effects look cheesy but still hold out pretty well. Lots of nice practical effects and I liked the comic book style of filming.

The music was so mid 00’s that it was nostalgic. I kinda want the soundtrack. It’s dated but not in a bad way.

Score: 1

Fun

It’s hard to like a movie when the main character is so unlikeable. The 6yo and 3yo loved it and ran around the house pretending to be Zoom or Princess.

I did enjoy the obvious twist with the scientist girl.

Score: 0.5

Overall

Despite Tim Allen’s thoroughly unlikeable character, the movie is fun and exciting with a few surprises along the way. Great movie for kids and for those who have fond memories of Smash Mouth.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

Prey – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Prey.

Story

The story is fairly simple and predictable but extremely satisfying. Everything is set up and everything pays off perfectly.

There are some excellent emotional moments and I am impressed with how tight the script was.

Score: 1

Characters

The main character is awesome. She is the perfect underdog in this sort of story and she kicks a lot of ass. I loved her brother. Their individual arcs and their sibling arc were wonderful.

I was impressed with how accurate the French was for the time period.

I’m a little sad I didn’t know there was a full Comanchi version before I watched.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue was well done. In the version I watched, they transitioned from Comanchi to English and it worked well. I liked the nods to previous Predator movies.

The main character’s body language helped with the intensity of the movie. She reacts realistically and viscerally to the horror.

Score: 1 

Visuals and Music

The great plains are a great backdrop for something so epic. The wild is just so big and the predator is so much more terrifying in comparison to the bears and mountain lions. They are also beautiful.

The camera work is clean and lets us see the impressive fighting.

The music was understated but effective.

Score: 1

Fun

The movie didn’t grab my attention right away and could have used a little more action right at the beginning but I think that’s because I was expecting an action movie not a horror.

Overall it was a lot of fun though.

Score: 1

Overall

An intense action horror with enough references to make Predator fans happy but not so much as to make it unwatchable on it’s own.

The action is amazing, the acting is fantastic, and I want a whole series of kick ass woman throughout history fighting off predators.

Final Score: 5 Stars out of 5*

*A 5 star review doesn’t mean the movie was perfect nor that it is perfect for everyone but it is a movie I believe is as close to perfect as possible.

Peter Pan & Wendy – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Peter Pan & Wendy.

Story

I’ll be honest, I’ve never liked the Peter Pan movies. They always feel like growing up propaganda. I get that growing up is important, but this story is one of the biggest reasons that our society equates growing up with giving up childhood things. I think that’s a sad outcome.

All that being said, I liked the changes to the story from the traditional stage play and Disney movie. It’s exciting and fun. Lots of set up and some long monologues slow it down though.

Score: 0.5

Characters

It’s nice to see a Tinkerbell that is not jealous of Wendy and a Wendy that is a capable fighter. Tiger Lily was amazing and wise without being a stereotype. Great to see and hear the Cree language. (Although subtitles sometimes calling it a foreign language was silly.)

Hook and Pan have some great character moments and although there were a few monologues that went a little long, they both had a depth of character that is refreshing. Pan being a normal kid whose emotional maturity stalled was an interesting take.

Score: 1

Dialogue

As I mentioned, some monologues went a little too long. Some of the dialogue came off a little hammy like the actors were reading lines.

Overall it was a nice mixture of time appropriate dialogue and updated text.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The scenery was beautiful. The action well choreographed. It was easy to believe that Pan was an extremely good fighter. The camera work and framing were superb. At times I found it a little dark and maybe a little desaturated.

The music was epic and perfectly timed. I liked the mixture of the Disney animated movie soundtrack with the new orchestration.

Score: 1

Fun

I enjoyed the film, but the longer monologues seemed to bore the 3yo. The 6yo loved it, but seemed confused at the Hook and Pan friendship.

The rest of the family seemed to love it and that’s saying something since my MIL and SIL are both big fans of the book.

Score: 1

Overall

A film that both respects it’s source material and updates it in interesting ways. Fun action with fun characters. If you like any Peter Pan stories, you’ll love this one. A Disney update that is definitely worth the watch.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5