2 Stars

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

Superman (2025) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Superman.

Story

The least believable part of the story was its dated and naive premise that people can be swayed by the media. Lex had literal mind controlled monkeys manipulating the internet and yet didn’t have a plan for meddling newspaper reporters?

Beyond that part, the movie paints the most depressing picture of the human race I have seen outside of the news.

Everyone keeps talking about how hopeful the movie is and I only saw darkness. Superman may have been a beacon of hope but he was ridiculed for it, called foolish, made the butt of the joke, and even at the end of the movie, the other heroes do the most brutal acts in his name.

Score: 0

Characters

This Superman is wonderful. He’s human, believable, flawed, and impulsive. His acts of kindness, with one exception, are met with brutal retribution, mockery, and derision. However, the actor did a splendid job. Lex, Lois, and the Kents were wonderful.

The awkward misogyny of Jimmy and Tess was eye-rollingly bad.

The other metas were mostly jerks with large egos. Mr. Terrific lived up to his name however.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Any part with Lois or the Kents was fantastic.

Superman’s speeches and Lex’s rants were equally well delivered.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals were okay but relied on shaky-cam more than my migraine-addled brain would like. The large set pieces often felt superfluous to the plot. Style over story.

The music had homages to Reeves movies but the theme was played at odd times. Like they had to convince us that he was doing something heroic. It also never hits the clarity or strength of brass as the original.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I REALLY wanted to like this. I loved the new Superman but despite being named after him it was mostly “things that happen around Superman.”

Too much time was used fighting random monsters that could have been used on character development and interactions. We see Clark for one scene, there are three with Lois and him, and only two with the parents.

When I said I wanted a more human Superman, I didn’t mean I wanted to see him get beat up and bleed. I meant I wanted to see him as himself not just the icon.

I’m also annoyed that at the end he decided to start killing. I get why he needed to kill his clone but the flying soldiers at the end were fried with no chance or compassion.

Score: 0

Overall

This is a hopeful Superman in a world that believes the news and where billionaires can get their comeuppance. The movie’s message of hope is lost in the mocking and brutality, and in the fact that Superman did almost nothing except survive.

The movie spends more screen time with gags (like Krypto being poorly behaved) or pointless fights than it does developing characters or plot.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

The Working Man – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film The Working Man.

Story

The story walks the line between horrifying and a little bland. No one gets violated and none of the good people get killed. The movie writers went out of their way to make sure we felt nothing for the villains.

Score: 0

Characters

Statham tends to play three characters: the seemingly emotionless killer, the angry vengeful killer, and the befuddled killer. In this one he’s the second. Unfortunately, giving him a daughter didn’t add much to the story. It was probably the lack of interactions with her.

As usual, the supporting characters were interesting, and the kidnapped girl kicks serious ass.

The villains are bland beyond remembering.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

A few lines were great and I really liked all the interactions between Harbour and Statham; they were excellent.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The locations were great and the sets looked very grimy. Everything was shot in a way we could see the action. It was well done.

The music is a little loud but does its job well.

Score: 1

Fun

I was less invested in him and more invested in the kid and the kidnapped woman. I found myself getting bored at times. I watched this alone and although the action was great it just wasn’t all that interesting.

Score: 0

Overall

An extremely competent action movie with lots of death, explosions, and Jason Statham kicking ass. However, it wasn’t great at keeping my interest and the villains were so bland I didn’t care.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

Y2K – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Y2K.

Story

It’s a standard survival horror with almost no deviation in plot.

Score: 0

Characters

The “awkward dude gets the hot popular girl” is a really tired trope. Making her good with computers is a nice twist but makes him even blander which I didn’t think was possible.

The rest of the movie’s characters were tired tropes pulled from survival horror or stoner comedies.

Score: 0

Dialogue

The dialogue was written by nerds for nerds and is unironically goofy in the best way. The “edgy” dialogue is pretty much what we all thought was edgy back in 2000 but in retrospect is kinda childish.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The camera work was excellent and the special effects were pretty impressive.

The music was nostalgic and fun.

Score: 1

Fun

This isn’t a great movie but there were some fun parts. I watched it on my own because it is really not kid friendly.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A lackluster plot with nothing special that can’t seem to decide if it hates the 2000’s or loves it.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

The Black Cauldron – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1985 film The Black Cauldron.

Story

The story is a cautionary tale in adapting a book. I haven’t read the book so there are a lot of sections that either make no sense or give the viewer the feeling that they should have done homework before watching.

Score: 0

Characters

There is no backstory to any of the characters. She says she’s a princess but then the villain mentions she’s a scullery maid? Why does the bard have a magical harp? Why is the pig farmer boy being raised by knockoff merlin? Is the villain undead or just a monster? … nothing is explained.

I did quite like the little furry Gollum and the characters are likeable and consistant. They have acceptable arcs, but there just seems to be too much missing.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There are some nice peices of dialogue and some that make no sense at all. It’s mostly, again, because this was adapted from a series of books.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The animation was beautiful but inconsistant. Items disapeared and reappeared, characters changed sizes, backgrounds flickered.

The music was pretty epic.

Score: 0.5

Fun

Everyone kinda enjoyed it. It’s one of those movies that could have been great but was bogged down by too much lore that we didn’t get to see.

Score: 0.5

Overall

Not the worst Disney movie in existence, but it’s a missed opportunity to showcase a great story by cutting out any context.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

A Cinderella Story – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2004 film A Cinderella Story.

Story

The story is in the title and it’s very much an early 2000’s take on Cinderella. There’s an almost made-for-TV feel to it.

Score: 0

Characters

The characters are dated clichés from a bad take on a John Hughes movie. Although the actors manage to perform the roles with charm, they can’t overcome the script. The good characters are flawless (except that she’s too nice and he’s too popular. Oh, and both of them don’t want to confront their parents.) and the villains are reprehensible.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There’s some funny lines and some adorable flirting but the absolute industrial quantity of body and food shaming is disgusting.

Seriously? How did the early 2000’s think this was okay? How the hell did we go from Jennifer Coolidge being a sex symbol in 1999 to her being considered disgusting in this movie? The woman’s acting is perfect in both, but we don’t need the body and beauty shaming to show she’s ugly on the inside (as the character!).

Score: 0

Visuals and Music

The camera work was okay but everything felt very made-for-TV quality.

The music was a lot of fun and nostalgic.

Score: 1

Fun

I enjoyed the movie to a certain extent. I love the Cinderella archetype and it makes for fun movies, but this one doesn’t hold up well.

The kids enjoyed it, but not to the point of wanting to rewatch it later.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A dated take on Cinderella that is held together by the charm of the actors, but even their skill isn’t enough to save it.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

Spellbound – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Spellbound.

Story

The story felt very retro and a little like a made for TV special that is trying to explain emotions and divorce to younger kids. It was okay but missed a lot of opportunities to be more nuanced. It was also really slow to start with.

Score: 0

Characters

The parents as monsters were fun and the main character was your usual sassy but bland hero. The Oracles were fantastic and more interesting than the rest of the movie. I also really loved Bolinar although that felt forced to be comedy relief.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Glib and shallow, the dialogue was pretty unmemorable.

Score: 0

Visuals and Music

This was a beautiful movie. The art was great and the use of shadows was excellent.

The music was good and I wish there was more.

Score: 1

Fun

I was bored waiting for the inevitable quest but the kids loved it.

Score: 0.5

Overall

An interesting idea that turns out to be pretty predictable and with little for the older audience members. Fun side characters, lovely animation, and good music just aren’t enought to save this one.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

The Hunters (2013) – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2013 film The Hunters.

Story

This is a mashup of Indiana Jones and Spy Kids, but it works. The story beats are predictable but interesting, and the world building was fun.

Score: 0.5

Characters

There are a few times where I think the writers got confused about which brother was which but besides that, they were passable characters. Thankfully the acting was significantly better than the dialogue.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There was a lot of useless explaining and some mixed-up lines, along with some strange reasons for doing anything. That being said, at least the writers understood how to write a romance subplot.

Score: 0

Visuals and Music

The special effects were bad but the locations were nice (Yay BC!). The fight choreography was passable.

The music did its job but wasn’t particularly good.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I enjoyed it but it wasn’t great. The kids got bored a few times.

I usually love when this sort of story mixes myths and reality but the entire made up story of Cinderella’s shoe was frustratingly under-researched and under-utilized.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A fun take on the archeology/adventure genre but its special effects, terrible dialogue, and poor research take away from the overall enjoyment.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

Wish – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the  2023 movie Wish.

Story

There were two movies going on, the first half and the second half. The first half is a meandering mess and the second half is halfway between a revolution and some overly saccharine idealized version of Disney.

Score: 0

Characters

While the main character and the king both get some good developement, the rest of the cast don’t, and that’s too bad because they were interesting.

I loved the goat and the star (the nose booping was cute).

Chris Pine ate up this role and was fantastic. I hate that they made a relatable villain who could be redeemed and chose to make it impossible for him because of “magic rules”. It took away his agency. I prefer my villains leaning into evil instead of being trapped in it forever because they read a book. (Good message there, Disney.)

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There were a lot of great Disney callbacks and inside jokes. Beyond that, most of it was okay but not amazing. The best lines belonged to the villain and the goat.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

Normally I love Disney’s innovation but the characters in this look like a made for TV animation from a decade ago. The backgrounds are spectacular though.

The score is a great homage to older Disney films but the songs are paradoxically catchy and forgettable. Like someone who was trying really hard to write a Disney song instead of a Wish song.

Score: 0.5

Fun

When we watched the movie, it had a weird stuttering in the video when it panned or zoomed. It bothered me enough to play with my settings before I realized it was the movie. It wasn’t fun for me.

The movie itself was fun but not engrossing. I liked the ending enough.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The most forgettable Disney movie since Black Cauldron (although I haven’t seen Home on the Range). It’s not a bad movie but it tries too hard to be a Disney movie and forgets that each has their own special magic.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

Monster High 2 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Monster High 2.

Story

The tone of this one is much younger then the first. The story is simplistic; the twist is so obvious that I couldn’t believe it was the actual twist.

Score: 0

Characters

The characters were fairly consistent from the first one, but the movie didn’t give their cast much time to develop. The characters were there, but mostly ignored to make more time for forced drama.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is delightfully silly. Filled with puns and fun tidbits of monster lore. I wish there were more deep character moments, but overall the dialogue is okay.

There’s a lot of forced borderline toddler-level talk about friendship that got tedious quick.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuel style is extra poignant with the contrast to the human world. They did a great job building a colourful, dynamic, and interesting world. Unfortunately a good half of the movie is set in our world and is the weaker for it.

The music is catchy but very similar to the first and again feels better than the plot of the movie.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I’ll be honest, I was bored by the halfway mark. It’s colourful with good music, but not particularly fun to watch. The kids loved it and it wasn’t bad, just meh.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A lackluster sequel which forgets what made the first entertaining and spends way too much time in the human world. The characters and music are great, but don’t make up for the pre-school dialogue and storyline.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5