Éric Desmarais

Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story.

Story

A sweet take on the next door neighbour as a love interest trope. They played it very low angst and with lots of humour. The overall mystery story was okay but felt too simple. Loved the reveal of who the clerk was at the end. (Although Jen called it almost right away.)

Having worked in a store, that storeroom with all the receipts was way too small.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Lots of characters are thrown at you quickly, which makes the large family/community feel more realistic (even though it’s not that big). I like that these movies aren’t centred around the football players but instead the fans. The chemistry between the leads felt realistic and cute.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The banter and jokes were well done and most of the dialogue was great.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals were basic but well done.

The music was okay.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I was thrown by the mix of accents and the idea that a store would keep receipts from decades past but overall I enjoyed this. The rest of the family liked the low angst feel and cute couple.

Score: 1

Overall

This is a Hallmark romance that celebrates both the holidays and the football fans equally. There’s love and family in both the love story and the crafting of the film.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Thank you Ottawa!

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Hey everyone,

Keeping it short since I’m dealing with a migraine but I wanted to thank everyone who came out and saw us this weekend. We sold lots of books and almost sold out of coffee.

Before every big con, I wonder why I put myself through it, and then the nerdy community spends a few days being awesome to us.

Thank you!!!!

Éric

A Newport Christmas – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film A Newport Christmas.

Story

I like the fantasy aspects of it, and despite being utterly predictable for the time travel, it was a fun story overall. I found it interesting and a little odd that things disappeared but no one’s memories of those things disappeared.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The main character and love interest were a fun “light” version of grumpy/sunshine. I find the age and timeline a little off and a little sanitized, but they were fun and had chemistry.

I was a little annoyed that they introduced a “genre savvy” character and didn’t use him most of the movie.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue was mostly good; cheesy with some very sweet moments.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals were good but felt a little too set-like. At times, everything felt like a filmed play.

The music was lovely.

Score: 0.5

Fun

Other than guessing the ending when reading the movie description, I really enjoyed the movie. The rest of the family including the 9yo also loved it. The 6yo was bored during some of the longer talking sequences.

Score: 1

Overall

A nice addition to the Christmas fantasies from Hallmark. The acting is decent and the time travel gimmick doesn’t get in the way of the love story.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Éric’s 2026 New Year’s Resolutions

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Hello my friends, Family, and Fans;

Last year was good for my resolutions and pretty catastrophic for the world. Let’s look to the future and make goals for what we can control. Yeah, that sounds healthy.

1. Write The Hounds of Bakerville

I copy pasted this one from last year. I managed 4 ish chapters so at this rate I should be done in… 8 to 10 years. I’d like to finish this book this year.

2. Write a serial story

I’m not sure what I’m writing this year, but I will try to get a 1000 word chapter out each month. This is going to be the thirteenth year I do it.

3. Record Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers audiobook

Jen recorded her chapters a long time ago and it’s time I do my parts.

4. Read at least 15 books

Last year I almost doubled my reading goal, so I’m upping it to 15.

5. Finish my Starry Night Lego

I got an epic Van Gogh’s Starry Night LEGO set. It has a lot of pieces and I managed to get half way done before life got in the way.

6. Update the look of JenEric Designs

We’ve been using the same wordpress template and look for almost ten years and it’s time to update the way it works. I have big plans for how to organize things. Hopefully it’ll make it more user friendly. (Jen updated the newsletter already!)

7. Pitch/Submit Speakers of The Rebel Sun

This book is a lot of fun and deserves an epic cover. I need to find a home for it. I’ll probably submit to River City and maybe try with an agent.

8. Take the kids on an some adventures

It could be the January blues but I feel the kids could use some excitement. Nothing wild, I’m thinking museums, outdoor kids stuff, and maybe going to the cinema.

9. Give myself permission not to feel well

Between the migraines and other issues, sometimes I feel terrible. If I try to force myself to get things done I feel worse, and if I don’t, I beat myself up for being lazy. I know this is a terrible attitude, but knowing and doing isn’t always the same thing. Let’s hope I can give myself grace.

10. Keep fighting to make my life better

I’m still learning about myself and how my body and mind work. I need to keep figuring out what triggers my migraines, try to increase my physical activity, and keep advocating for myself.

I hope that everyone has a productive, healthy, and good 2026.

Éric

A Christmas to Treasure – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film A Christmas to Treasure.

Story

The main gimmick of the movie was the treasure hunt, and it was lackluster at best. The love story was definitely front and centre, but the drama took more time than needed.

Score: 0

Characters

I liked most of the characters but the main character felt very petty and young. The entire group felt like they should be in their mid twenties not thirties. There was an immaturity that felt out of place.

The queer romance was nice to see however.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The movie felt like it was written too quickly and the dialogue was terrible. It felt forced, and several times like a low quality high school play.

The only exceptions being the really deep heart to hearts with the love interests.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals were okay. I question how that one man decorated so much without noticing the treasure hunt, but other than that it was pretty.

The music wasn’t great and the mixing was distracting multiple times.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The movie was infuriating because it could have been so much better. The entire family’s opinion seemed to be “meh”.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie nails one or two monologues and isn’t terrible to look at, but don’t expect a fun treasure hunt.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

2025 JenEric Movie Reviews

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Hello Movie Lovers,

This year I seem to have watched, and reviewed, 52 films. Below is a list of them in descending star order. Within each category, they are in alphabetical order.

5 out of 5 Stars

4.5 out of 5 Stars

4 out of 5 Stars

3.5 out of 5 Stars

3 out of 5 Stars

2.5 out of 5 Stars

2 out of 5 Stars

1 out of 5 Star

Éric’s 2025 Resolutions Review

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Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;

It has been a year… Lots of good and lots of bad. Let’s get on with this review and see if I succeeded at my goals.

1. Write The Hounds of Bakerville (Failed)

I’ve written the first three and a half chapters along with the prologue. I need to step up my game this coming year. I kinda lost steam on writing the novel with some behind the scenes drama that’s been stressing me out.

2. Write a serial story (Succeeded)

I really enjoyed last year’s serial story and I can’t wait to find out what I do for this year. Go read it now: The Scarlet Thread Irregulars

3. Master 1 song on the ukulele and record it. (Failed)

The shoulder injury really put a dent in my playing and then life happened. I’ve still been practicing but didn’t manage to record or master the song.

4. Read at least 12 books (Succeeded)

I read 19 books this year, which is pretty good considering I’m not commuting or waiting long hours in doctors’ offices as much.

5. Build my new book nook and Lego (Partially Succeeded)

I built the book nook and loved it. I started the Lego but got distracted by other things and kinda stopped half way. I’ll try to finish it this year.

6. Feel less guilty (Succeeded)

I’m giving myself more grace and letting myself enjoy things to relax. I think it’s going well. Yay me.

7. Design and deploy a new coffee flavour for Ottawa Comic Con in September (Succeeded)

Second breakfast brew is a delightful medium roast with English toffee flavouring.

8. Plan and plot out the first in a cozy mystery series (Succeeded)

I’ve planned the series, I’ve planned the setting, and I have a basic template outline for each book. I’m still super excited for this one.

9. Organize a massive birthday party and book release (Succeeded)

This happened during the summer. If you want to watch our Q&A, here it is on YouTube:

10. Keep fighting to learn more about myself and how to make my life easier (Succeeded)

Oh my goodness! I didn’t realize what a Gordian Knot of interconnectedness it is. The best example I can give is that as I work toward unmasking my ADHD and Autism (letting myself be myself without stressing about being “normal”), I’m starting to notice and be affected more by certain sense sensitivities (especially to light and smell) and it feels like they are triggering my migraines more. Or I just didn’t notice before.

Anyway, I’m learning a lot about myself, and even going to therapy. It’s obviously going to be a lifelong discovery and that’s okay.

Wow, that’s 7.5/10. I think that might be one of the highest success scores I’ve had. Now does this mean I worked my ass off and succeeded or that I didn’t give myself enough challenge?

I’ll take the win. This coming year will have new goals and challenges. I hate to say it, but we live in interesting times.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

The More the Merrier – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film The More the Merrier.

Story

The hospital setting for a Hallmark style romance was a little jarring at first. Being used to medical dramas, I had to remind myself that no one was going to die. Once I got over that, I found the story a great twist on the holiday formula.

Score: 1

Characters

For once, the female lead wasn’t the one moving in from the big city and no one had to give up their careers or lives. The two mains were played with more honest emotion than I’m used to from this genre, and the community a great addition.

The acting still felt a little rushed, like the actors hadn’t had the time to fully process the material, and there were a few odd things for a hospital staff.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue was fairly witty and I really liked the faster pace of dialogue between the leads.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The snow storm measured in “feet instead of inches” didn’t look that bad. Other than that, the sets were pretty and the camera work was solid.

The music was unremarkable but in this case that’s a good thing.

Score: 0.5

Fun

It was a lot of fun. Very festive and happy with the babies, and the whole family liked it.

Score: 1

Overall

A nice twist on the Hallmark formula that will leave you smilling.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5