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The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2010 film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Story

This story takes liberties with history, mythology, literature, and physics but it has excellent beats and a good urban-fantasy story.

Score: 1

Characters

The leads are charismatic and so are the villains. There’s a distinct arc for all the characters and it’s well acted. I did find the love interest a little bland and his behaviour around her a little creepy. She felt like she was in the wrong movie but she did save their asses so that’s nice.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Cheese and one liners between scenes of pining and info-dumps. It sounds tedious but they did an excellent job of alternating and keeping thing fresh.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The movie was stunning. The special effects look fresh even a decade and a half after it’s release. They did a great job with night filming without making it too dark.

The music used the original theme extremely well and created a pretty epic soundtrack.

Score: 1

Fun

This movie was made for fun and everyone in the family loved it.

Score: 1

Overall

One of the best urban-fantasy movies, it keeps you on your toes and despite the warping of history, it’s well paced and wonderfully acted.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

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.

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

Captain America: Brave New World – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Captain America: Brave New World.

Story

This was a Captain America movie, it had all the heroics, all the intrigue, and all the big set pieces that were needed. That’s not to say it was predictable or boring. It dealt with twenty years of lore and not only told a story but connected it with the world.

I know it’s setting up a lot of the next Avengers movies but I never felt like I was watching a prologue.

Score: 1

Characters

There was so much in this that I found the villain got lost. I get that the real villain is the systemic oppression of the American people, especially those that are different, but the Leader wasn’t all that scary once they figured out his mind control trick.

Captain America, the new Falcon, and the agent following them around were a great group and a lot of fun to watch. The softening of Ross was interesting. Much more than the Red Hulk. I also loved the cameos.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

You’d think with such a big brain, the Leader would be able to come up with better one liners. His dialogue was boring.

The quips by the heroes were great and there were some great lines about government’s mistreatment of people.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

I think, hope, and pray that this movie is proof that Marvel is fully moving away from jump cuts and shakey cam. The action was clean and the special effects were pretty good. The camera work was spectacular.

The music was great.

Score: 1

Fun

I wasn’t looking forward to this movie but I really enjoyed it, as did the rest of the family, although there were a lot of questions about who people were and what they were talking about. Thankfully, I can’t remember important information but I’m great with superhero lore and trivia.

Score: 1

Overall

The movie lives up to the first three in every way possible. It’s an excellent set up for future movies, while being a great political thriller and having fun with superheroes. It’s Captain America and if you loved the others, you’ll love this one.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Red One – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Red One.

Story

A standard buddy-cop action movie dressed up for the holidays. It has some facinating world building and leaves some unfortunate story threads. (Why bring up that the kid didn’t know his father if it wasn’t important?)

Score: 0.5

Characters

At first, I thought the characters were flat, but around half-way through the movie, I started to see their depth… for an action movie anyway.

The two main heroes were the disillusioned cop and the criminal with a heart of gold.

The supernaturals were far more interesting. Their take on Santa was fun and interesting, and I’d love to see more about M.O.R.A.

Score: 1

Dialogue

There were plenty or great quips and ridiculous dialogue said with a straight face. The speech from Jack to his son at the end was nice and heartfelt.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals were great. Lots of over-the-top action and special effects. The fight scenes and camera work were done cleanly and made it easy to follow.

The music was good but could have been done so much better by integrating more holiday music into the action scenes.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This was a movie made for fun. Everyone in the family liked it and we all finished with a smile. It also had a lot of great supernatural and fantasy elements that made me happy.

Score: 1

Overall

This is a Christmas action movie mixed with a fantasy. It’s not the most original plot, but the setting and action is worth the watch.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Deadpool 2 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2018 film Deadpool 2.

Story

With a bigger budget comes a bigger story… Although fairly simple, it takes a few random turns and even seems to forget what’s going on. In the end, everything is explained and then paradoxically erased.

Score:  0.5

Characters

The core of the movie is the same as the previous; Wade needing to accept who he is and deal with his trauma.

The rest of the cast are interesting and fun.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Like the first movie, this one doesn’t let up on the references, fourth wall breaks, and silliness. It’s also oddly poignant at the end.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals are upgraded and the fights are fantastic. The convoy fight was just spectacular.

The music is great. Wonderful songs and score. I particularly liked the Juggernaut song.

Score: 1

Fun

This was pure R-rated fun and was fairly cathartic.

Score: 1

Overall

The second in the series doesn’t disappoint and ups the quips, the odds, the drama, and the fights.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Deadpool – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2016 film Deadpool.

Story

The story is extremely simple while doing a great job of lovingly mocking the superhero formula.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The cast is nice aand small, giving lots of room of Wade’s emotional journey. The cast that we do get to know are interesting and varied.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is next level, mixing meta references, fourth wall breaks, and general silliness.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The budget shows with the digital effects but the fight choreography and practical effects are spectacular.

The soundtrack is excellent and filled with great songs and a fun score.

Score: 1

Fun

This was the third time I’ve seen it and despite a few crude moments that I didn’t like, I find it a lot of fun. There’s a joyfulness to the character that’s refreshing.

Score: 1

Overall

Deadpool is often treated as a joke and this leans into the jokes while still having a lot of heart. The action is top-notch and Ryan Reynolds is perfect in the role.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Deadpool & Wolverine – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine.

Story

The story is basicly the same as the second movie (saving his family) and the emotional journey is the same as the first (accepting who he is); this time however they have the lore, budget, and cameos from all of Fox and Disney.

No one is watching this one for the deep storyline but it felt a little reductive compared to the first two.

Score: 0.5

Characters

This was the first time I found Deadpool annoying. It was needed to show his contrast with Logan but it was a little much at times. It was also a reflection of his own insecurities and frustrations.

The Logan storyline was great and all the other characters were awesome but I did miss Domino.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue somehow manages to top itself from the first two. It’s next-level meta and wonderful.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals are spectacular and the fight scenes absurdly well done.

The soundtrack was epic and the score fantastic.

Score: 1

Fun

There was a lot in this movie and it was fast. I feel like it’ll take a few more viewings before I catch all the jokes and references. It felt overwhelming having so much so fast. It’s nearly thirty years of movies referenced in 2 hours. It was a lot of fun.

Score: 1

Overall

Bigger, bolder, louder, and with so many more cameos; the movie doesn’t hold back and integrates Deadpool into the greater universe of Disney. Its impressive, funny, and a little heartfelt. Despite the greater budget and change of studio, the heart, humour, and cussing are, thankfully, the same as the first two films.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Story

Like every other movie in this series, it feels like they come up with set pieces and added story as they went along. “I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go.”

That being said the plot in this one is, despite time travel, way more coherent than some of the others.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Instead of the confident, mellow, Indiana from the last movie, we have the Indiana who’s given up. Apparently, the screen writers liked Mutt less than I did and killed him off between movies to give Indiana more motivation. Once he stopped moping, he went back to his quippy roots.

I was glad the leading lady wasn’t a love interest and that makes this movie unique in the series as he doesn’t have a love interest that follows him through.

As for his niece, she bordered between fun and frustrating. The kid was awesome though, and it was nice to see Salah again.

The biggest frustration was offhanded way they kept killing people. I hate it when a story introduces someone interesting and then kills them off because they’re inconvenient.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

This movie had much improved banter and dialogue. The archeology-babble was about the same but the conversations and jokes were great.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

This was shot differently then the others and it worked really well. The camera work, effects, and colour palette was really good. I did find the “age reduced” Harrison Ford a little weird looking, and it was discordant to have the older voice coming from the younger character. Seeing as those effects look weird now, I can’t imagine they’ll age well.

The music was great as usual.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The movie straddled the line between nostalgia and new content and did a good job. The whole family enjoyed it. I feel like any Indiana film with Salah in it is awesome.

Score: 1

Overall

One of the better Indiana Jones films, and that means you’re in for lots of action, lots of adventure, and more than your fair share of quippy dialogue. It’s slowed down by experimental special effects, a depressing storyline, and more character deaths than were needed.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Story

There are things about this story that work better than the others and some that just don’t work as well. The soviets as villains don’t have the same feel as the Nazis. Aliens just doesn’t work as well as supernatural artifacts. Frankly, the whole “ancient aliens” thing is an insult to human ingenuity and progress.

Score: 0

Characters

The older, more relaxed, Indiana is a joy to watch. It’s great to see Marion again and Ox is brilliant.

Mutt and the villains aren’t all that fun to watch and are treated as plot devices instead of characters.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

They seemed to want to recapture the dialogue that worked so well between Indiana and his father, but Mutt is a little too young and innocent for it to work.

Indiana has some amazing lines and the banter between him and Marion is excellent.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

Despite my memory telling me there were some terrible green screen issues with the movie, I didn’t see them this viewing. The locations are great and special effects are okay. The large action set pieces are fantastic as usual.

The music was amazing.

Score: 1

Fun

I don’t like Mutt. He feels like a bad set up to replace Indiana Jones. (Mutt Jones and the…. sounds terrible.) I also feel like the soviet scientist was underdeveloped and kinda boring. They should have brought back short-round.

And all that isn’t talking about the random use of the skull’s magnetism. It didn’t stick to the metal car, it attracted coins, and at times did nothing.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie suffers not from the protagonist’s age, but from the studios awkward attempts to create a spin-off character. Beside that and the bland villains, the movie has some very fun Indiana Jones style action pieces.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5