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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

Star Wars: A New Hope – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1977 film Star Wars: A New Hope.

Story

This is a Fantasy movie, set in a Space Opera setting, populated with characters from Westerns and Samurai movies. It’s a combination that shouldn’t work, but works really well. However, all the set dressing in the world doesn’t make it any less of a stereotyped hero’s journey.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The characters are barely fleshed out archetypes and tropes. The farm boy, the rogue with a heart of gold, the strong(TM) princess, the honourable wizard knight, and the evil dark cloaked former apprentice.

The actors do a great job with what they have, but the weakest part of the movie is the characters’ motivation and personalities. (Something that improves in future movies.)

My biggest gripe is that the bad guys and the good guys treat non-human races as inferior. I’m still annoyed that the droids and Chewy didn’t get medals.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Iconic quips and quotes that are hardwired into geek culture. The movie has some amazing lines and some absolutely terrible ones.

As quotable as the movie is, its dialogue is stilted and filled with pseudo-nonsense that wouldn’t be explained for decades.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

I realize that the special effects were touched up in the version we have, but the touch ups look worse then the actual practical effects. The original effects are utterly fantastic.

John Williams wrote one of the most iconic themes in film history.

Score: 1

Fun

I first saw this movie when I was in my teens. It was re-released in theatres. It was quite the experience, but watching it at home and seeing the wonder in my kids faces was great.

Score: 1

Overall

Iconic and amazing, this movie captures the wonder and joy of going to the movies in a way that every blockbuster wants to recreate. It has its problems, but it’s a great watch.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

The Beekeeper – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film The Beekeeper.

Story

This was a pretty standard action movie but it did have an fun twist. Following the FBI agents that are trying to catch him was an interesting study in morals, justice, and law. The main character is mostly treated like a force of nature, so much of the character growth is put on the two FBI agents.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The Beekeeper is a natural disaster and is established early as nearly unstoppable. He has no character development after the first twenty minutes.

The FBI agents have significantly more and they’re really the audience stand-ins.

The antagonists are pretty one dimensional but extremely hateable.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Quippy action movie dialogue punctuated with so many F words that the script probably looked like a Jack Torrance manuscript.

The more moralistic dialogue is well done and certainly more than apt with today’s political atmosphere.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

Jason Statham still has an impressive skill set and the choreography in this is amazing.

The music wasn’t bad but wasn’t particularly memorable.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This was a lot of fun. It’s cathartic to watch bad people get what they deserve. I watched this on my own, thankfully, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Score: 1

Overall

There’s a wonderful feeling of joy in watching Jason Statham beat the crap out of fraudsters. The movie is pure action with lots of swearing and a tiny bit of philosophy.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

The Princess – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film The Princess.

Story

A standard action movie with fantasy elements. It’s not complicated, but the story is mostly shown in quick flashbacks that gives the watcher a break from the action without getting bored.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Trope-ridden with an awkward hint of orientalism. These are the characters you’d find if this movie was made in the 80’s.

That being said, it’s fairly well acted and the fights are believable. I was impressed with the main character’s physical presence and believability considering she’s 5 foot 4. I do wish someone would have taught the main character to hold her breath underwater so that we didn’t get so much gasping and heavy breathing.

The villain was deliciously evil in a very unambiguous way and it worked.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is all sorts of action movie cheese. There’s a lot of repetition about fighting from the heart and other Mr. Miyagi-style lines.

The actors deliver the lines with charisma and really commit, which makes the lines less cringy.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The choreography, special effects, and cinematography are all excellent. With this much action, it’s sometimes hard to make it distinct and not get boring.

The music is modern and very rock. It fits really well with the tone. The score is also perfect.

Score: 1

Fun

This was a cheesy action movie with all the right moves. I was concerned about the main actress since she’s mostly done rom-coms, but she was convincing and kickass.

It’s a little bloody and way too violent for the kids though.

Score: 1

Overall

This is an action movie which doesn’t just embrace fantasy tropes, it revels in them. It’s not a thinking movie but it also doesn’t spoon-feed you the plot. If you like action fantasy movies and don’t mind some gore, this is a great choice.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Damsel – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Damsel.

Story

A touch of Epic Fantasy and a whole lot of survival horror. The movie tries too hard not to be confusing, and by doing that, it ruins any drama or empathy for the pseudo-twist. The entire first part of the movie, a prologue that over-explains, should have been cut. Everything after that would have flowed and had better emotional impact.

The story is bare-bones and could have pushed harder on the psychological horror. They also introduced the main character’s love of labyrinths which didn’t really lead anywhere.

Score: 0 

Characters

The wet noodle prince, domineering queen, and weird cult like people were okay. Again, if you hadn’t been told what was coming, it could have been eerie.

The movie really survives on the charisma and acting ability of the lead, who is excellent. Special shout out to the step-mother who seriously rocks in her love for her step-daughters.

The dragon was brilliantly voiced.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

This was mostly generic fantasy language.

It really shines when the damsel and the dragon are talking at the end, when the damsel is on her own, or whenever the dragon talks.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The dragon design was impressive, a few obvious CGI moments but overall well done. The camera angles, and frantic cuts worked well for the horror style.

The music was good.

Score: 1

Fun

The actress did a great job and despite being predictable, it was fun. I was annoyed by how much the story structure was designed for the reveal that had been blatantly stated at the beginning.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie mixes fantasy and horror but tries too hard not offend fans of either. Because of that, the horror is tame and doesn’t get the chance to really sink in, and the fantasy is pretty bland. If it wasn’t for the quality of the acting, the movie would be bad. As it is, it’s an okay romp with a cool dragon.

Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5

Argylle – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Argylle.

Story

At first, the story feels insultingly simple and a little over-the-top. Once the twists start coming in, the inconsistencies not only make sense but are quite clever. There’s a lot of little details sprinkled throughout that telegraph the twists but doesn’t feel cheap.

Score: 1

Characters

The problem with Matthew Vaughn, the director, is that his characters are very over-the-top and it often feels forced. I did like that the worlds of fiction and reality merged. The downside to it is that some character stories are obvious early on.

That being said, this movie is filled with actors who ooze charisma and at no point is watching them boring.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Pure cheese that covers up a lot of world building and story. The dialogue sometimes feels like it’s there to be quippy, but it’s always doing three things at once and it’s frankly amazing.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

This is a surreal action movie and no one does over-the-top action like Vaughn. It’s so pretty and ridiculous that you can only love or hate it.

The soundtrack is spectacular and the score does everything right.

Score: 1

Fun

Once I remembered what sort of movie I was watching, I greatly enjoyed it. Jen and my mother in-law loved it too. That ice skating scene was so much fun.

It’s fun and clever.

Score: 1

Overall

If you like your spy movies dark, gritty, and realistic, this isn’t for you. This is a big action homage to Romancing the Stone with all the twists, turns, and ridiculousness the director is known for.

Final Score: 4.5 Stars out of 5

The Babysitter: Killer Queen – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2020 film The Babysitter: Killer Queen.

Story

I’m impressed with the continuity of feel from the first one. The story is fairly linear and is more of a chase situation, but everything is well set up and a little surreal like the first.

Score: 1

Characters

I love that my complaints from the first one were dealt with in this one. If it was set up the whole time I’m impressed and if not, I’m more impressed because they must have taken audience feedback.

I found the main guy a little whiny and annoying until he took things into his own hands. The new girl felt very much like a tough on the outside girl with a hard past. She played it well and was surprisingly charismatic.

I’m so glad they brought back the old group of killers. They were so entertaining and Robbie Amell was wonderful again. The younger killers were pretty forgettable and didn’t have the charisma or interest of the others.

The dads were just annoying and I could have done without them.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Lots of surreal cheesyness but nothing particularly great. Again Amell had the best lines.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The location shooting was great. The desert is always a great place to highten the weird. As a person who’s grown up around lakes and rivers, seeing a river in a desert was unerving.

I liked that continuity of using Queen for the babysitter and the music was well done overall.

Score: 1

Fun

The movie was fun. Once they got to the first twist it was a lot of fun. I think I like it better than the first. The sex scene was weird. I’m glad I wasn’t watching it with anyone who I’d have to explain that it was a metaphor for sex.

Score: 1

Overall

This was an excellent slasher but an even better sequel. The gore is higher, the twists more twisted, and the surreal action more entertaining. If you liked the first one, this is great.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5