3.5 Stars

The Curious Case of Dolphin Bay – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film The Curious Case of Dolphin Bay.

Story

This felt like a middle grade book from the early nineties. The twists of the mystery are simple but satisfying and the overall ecological message is solid. It’s definitely aimed at a younger audience.

Score: 1

Characters

I liked the characters on their own and when they got along but the fighting between the girls was frustrating. One of those, “Just talk to each other!” type of things.

The villain was well hidden and a lot of the secondary characters were very likeable.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Some of the dialogue was very young but overall it was okay.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The setting was spectacular and it elevated everything. The camera work was solid and the use of shadows was great.

The music was kinda bland but still did it’s job

Score: 0.5

Fun

The whole family liked it and we’ll probably watch it again. Loved the queer representation and acceptance.

Score: 1

Overall

A solid middle grade story with plenty of beautiful scenery and good acting to make it worth everyones while.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Shotgun Wedding – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Shotgun Wedding.

Story

A classic “Die Hard” style story with a fighting couple that borders on enemy to lovers. The plot is simple and only complicated by bad decisions.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The cast is fabulous and the characters wonderfully flawed. I like that they had no combat training and survived by luck and a little skill.

They did make a lot of really foolish decisions, and at times it felt forced.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is cheesy and fun with lots of quips. It is really frustrating how much of the dialogue happens where the bad guys should hear them.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The location was beautiful and the costuming was amazing and consistent. The camera work was good and steady.

The music was okay and did a good job of punctuating when the dialogue was dangerous and when it was just exposition.

Score: 1

Fun

It was a lot of fun to watch, even with the frustrations of poor character decisions.

Score: 1

Overall

A solidly written homage to Die Hard with a wedding twist. The characters have no idea what they’re doing in combat or love but by the end they find both.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Boss Level  – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2020 film Boss Level.

Story

A hyper violent time loop story. I’m surprised there aren’t more than a few of these. The story was good and unfolded well but felt like the character development wasn’t as extreme as most time loop movies. The ending felt like the screenwriters got stuck and couldn’t think of anything better.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The main character is likeable and trying really hard to pretend to be a dick. The interactions and emotion with his son are the best part of the movie.

The rest of the cast does a great job but most of them are very cartoonish.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The narration was fantastic and the snappy dialogue was a lot of fun. Again, the dialogue between the main character and his son make the movie.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The action was great, the cinematography passable, and the special effects were well done.

The music was perfect for the film.

Score: 1

Fun

I watched this one on my own and there are so many fun moments but the ending was so bad it made me enjoy the movie less.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A run of the mill time loop movie where the action and character drama are fantastic but the story and ending are mediocre.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

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

The Last Mimzy – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2007 film The Last Mimzy.

Story

A great adaptation of the short story, if only in spirit. It unfortunately relies a lot on the “parents don’t believe” trope which I hate.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The parents read like a dynamic from movies in the 70’s or 80’s. The mom is all over the place and the dad is an ass. I’m glad that they were supportive after they saw proof but they were by far the worst part of the movie.

The kids were fantastic and I loved the teacher and his wife.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The kids’ dialogue felt well done but some of the spiritual stuff was a little meh and the science overly simple.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The movie held up in the way it was shot and its special effects. It relied a lot on the kids interacting with the effects and it really worked.

The music was fantastic and I loved it even if I recognized some shades of Lord of the Rings.

Score: 1

Fun

The 9yo wasn’t impressed but the 6yo loved it. The adults all enjoyed it and so did I.

Score: 1

Overall

A fun science fiction with a great message and some adorable kids.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

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

Now You See Me 2 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2016 film Now You See Me 2.

Story

The movie spends too much time recapping and dealing with the events of the first movie. Once we get to the actual story, it goes out of it’s way to humble the protagonists. Several scenes feel like they were written before they had a story and just wanted to do something cool.

Score: 0.5

Characters

There’s a little more development of characters but not much. I like that they didn’t just replace the woman in the group with someone who did the exact same things.

Overall, it feels like the few lessons for the characters there are, are too short, and the growth doesn’t feel deserved.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Witty and quippy and just as good as the first.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

Several parts of the movie feel disconnected. The entire heist in the vault is overly long and ridiculously overdone. If it had been on stage it would make sense, but otherwise it feels like they are playing to an audience that didn’t exist.

The music is the same but just a little different to make it unique.

Score: 1

Fun.

The movie was a lot of fun. We had issues with the DVD which wasn’t great, but besides that it was a good movie and everyone loved it. There were some ambiguities that frustrated me though, and the twist at the end didn’t have much impact.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A fun sequel that isn’t as good as the first, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

The Legend of Zorro

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2005 film The Legend of Zorro.

Story

A straight sequel to the first one, it relies on miscommunication to move the plot forward. It also fall into the superhero trope of only failing when it’s a plot point.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The kid is adorable and the two leads are just as charismatic as the first time. Unfortunately, they are split up most of the movie when they work best as a team.

The villain is mustache twirling, British, and evil.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There’s some amazing banter between the two leads and with the villain.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie looks just as beautiful as the first and the fight scenes are amazing.

Score: 1

Fun

I hate that the characters can’t just be happy… It’s frustrating and feels forced when they work so well as a team. That being said, it was still an extremely fun movie.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie suffers from needing to split its leads but it’s still an excellent movie.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Home Alone – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1990 film Home Alone.

Story

Completely improbable in so many ways but extremely entertaining. There is a lot of care taken to not waste time or story threads.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Little eight-year-old Kevin is innocent, resourceful, and mostly kind. I was worried at how brutal I remembered him being but other than the traps, he was a sweet kid. The same can’t be said about his family. They were pretty terrible.

As a kid I had a hard time relating to the mother and father and even watching this with my eight-year-old I had trouble.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Other than the family that talks like an 80’s after school special on bullying, the rest of the dialogue is well thought out, funny, and clever.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

Most of the movie relies on practical effects, pratfalls, and a beautiful neighbourhood. It works and for a 34-year-old movie, it holds up extremely well.

The score is great and the Christmas music is fun.

Score: 1

Fun

I was worried watching this with my kids because of how violent I remembered it being. But other than the traps and pratfalls, it’s a pretty heartwarming movie and we all enjoyed it.

Score: 1

Overall

A nostalgic, silly, and cartoony film with lots of heart and some great dialogue. Definitely worth rewatching.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Tomorrowland – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2015 film Tomorrowland.

Story

It’s a little heavy handed in some aspects and takes way too much time getting to Tomorrowland. I know there was limited time, but I would have liked to know more about what happened to Tomorrowland itself. It seemed to go from clean and heavily populated to some sort of fascist police state.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I liked the characters but it took a long time for them to get to the point where they get over themselves and start working toward a goal.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

There’s a lot of funny, interesting, and deep quotes. The dialogue rolls well and is mostly logical.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie is absolutely beautiful. The cinematography, locations, and special effects are top notch.

The music does it’s job but isn’t particulary impressive.

Score: 1

Fun

This might be a silly gripe on my part but I wish more of the movie was in Tomorrowland. I get it’s a metaphor for needing to strive but I wanted to spend more time in the beautiful hopeful world.

It was fun and action-packed but felt like it got lost in the journey and didn’t give the characters a chance to shine.

The rest of the family really enjoyed it.

Score: 0.5

Overall

An uneven movie that brings the thrills, the wonder, and hope. The movie is a visual feast with fast-paced action and a simple message that more people need to ask; “What can we do to fix it?”

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5