drama

The More the Merrier – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film The More the Merrier.

Story

The hospital setting for a Hallmark style romance was a little jarring at first. Being used to medical dramas, I had to remind myself that no one was going to die. Once I got over that, I found the story a great twist on the holiday formula.

Score: 1

Characters

For once, the female lead wasn’t the one moving in from the big city and no one had to give up their careers or lives. The two mains were played with more honest emotion than I’m used to from this genre, and the community a great addition.

The acting still felt a little rushed, like the actors hadn’t had the time to fully process the material, and there were a few odd things for a hospital staff.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue was fairly witty and I really liked the faster pace of dialogue between the leads.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The snow storm measured in “feet instead of inches” didn’t look that bad. Other than that, the sets were pretty and the camera work was solid.

The music was unremarkable but in this case that’s a good thing.

Score: 0.5

Fun

It was a lot of fun. Very festive and happy with the babies, and the whole family liked it.

Score: 1

Overall

A nice twist on the Hallmark formula that will leave you smilling.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

I will write… I hope

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Hello my Friends, Family, and Fans;

I’ve been having a hard time the past two weeks with a series of migraines that have been pretty bad. I’m hoping that this is the tail end and it’ll start getting better this week.

Either way, I’m planning a Christmas story and I’m hoping to write it this week. I’m also hoping to write a story for the next Siren’s Song magazine. I’m really nervous for both of these, the first because it involves a character that’s mostly Jen’s, and the second because I’ll be writing Kennedy who is completely Jen. She’s given me permission and she’s going to help but I’m still a little worried.

I really want to write, but between background stress (which I can’t talk about) and my migraines, I’ve found it hard to actually do it. I want to change that, but we’ll see how it goes.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

Strange World – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Strange World.

Story

The story mirrors the old pulp comics and stories, but with a modern twist. This felt like it would fit well with Treasure Planet and Atlantis.

The story definitely follows Disney’s new story structure of not having a villain and dealing with family/generational trauma.

I find that a lot of the screen time is wasted on the AMAZING visuals and not enough on the characters themselves.

Score: 0.5

Characters

I liked the characters, but the focus moved around a lot and the emotions were rushed for the actions. Splat was a perfect Disney sidekick, the mom was amazing, and Alan Tudyk should not be playing pilots any more.

The three male leads were stubborn and their changes of heart were nice but not heart-wrenching.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The banter and fights between the characters was great and the parent’s interactions were great.

Loved the pulpy intro narration.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

This was an absolute joy to watch visually. The world was both amazing and fascinating. The camera angles and style were just perfect.

The music was very well done with a wonderful heroic score.

Score: 1

Fun

This movie was exciting, thought provoking, and lots of fun. The whole family loved it. My wife, who has a background in biology, noticed a few really cool visuals early on and we then spent a lot of the movie pointing out inspiration for the world.

I look forward to seeing this one again.

Score: 1

Overall

A family drama with a spectacular world pulled straight from older pulp science fiction. This movie is stunning, clever, and a lot of fun.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5