Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires – JenEric Movie Review

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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

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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:

Image with a stylized loaf of bread that says, "Loafing him was Bread." Sourdough's Version

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!

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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

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The tropes used in A Case of Synchronicity

She meets her mother!, hidden magical world, young adult, urban fantasy, detailed worldbuilding, time travel, dual POV, March break
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

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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

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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

The Tropes for The Sign of Faust

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The tropes used in The Sign of Faust

Mysterious band, hidden magical world, young adult, urban fantasy, detailed worldbuilding, genie grants wishes, single POV, science competition
The Sign of Faust

Edition is discontinued. Will be available at in person events until a new edition is released.

Heads of State – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Heads of State.

Story

The perfect meld of comedy and action with a story that keeps you guessing and never condescends.

Score: 1

Characters

This movie would have been interesting with one well fleshed out character but in a film with this much action it’s rare to get three mains and a half dozen others with realistic motivations and nuanced backstories.

The three main characters not only hold the film together, they make it both entertaining and interesting.

Score: 1

Dialogue

A lot of the dialogue is hammy but done in an intentional way. The trailer shows a lot of these lines without the buildup which made seeing the whole thing more interesting.

There are a few lines that really stand out because of their delivery. The British PM is complaining about how bad a day they’re having in the middle of the banter and the American President replies with something along the lines of tell that to all the people who died. It’s an exchange that starts out funny but reminds both the characters and the audience about the stakes of the movie. It also shows the kindness of the president and helps to build character.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie avoids the sin of shaky-cam and uses some extraordinary pans. The cinematography matched the tone and the events in the film, leaning into the comic book action when needed and then the more dignified when it became more serious.

The song choices were perfect, really focussing on what was going on and not just going for the feeling of a scene. The score was good and its use was fantastic.

Score: 1

Fun

Witty banter, silly fights, a hopeful message, and lots of social commentary. It was lots of fun. The whole family liked it.

Score: 1

Overall

A film that balances humour, action, and hope in a way that I wish more did. This is a movie that believes humanity can be great but only if we work together, without being preachy or ignoring our faults. It’s cheesy, funny, and the three leads are fantastically charismatic.

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.