Spy

Star Trek: Section 31 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Star Trek: Section 31.

Story

A little Bond, a little Star Trek, some Fifth Element, a dash of Firefly, and absolutely no cohesion. This felt like a 2-part pilot episode that was turned into a movie. As hard as they tried to not be Star Trek, it was only the Star Trek elements that were interesting.

Score: 0

Characters

The characters were interesting and I’d love to watch them grow into more than pithy stereotypes.

The acting was way better than the script demanded and honestly each actor could have hammed it up but managed to play it straight and I’m impressed.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue spoken by lesser actors would have been laughable, but most of the time it worked. I particularly liked the “chaos gremlin” jokes.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The visuals were very clean and the special effects were great. The fight scenes were chaotic and used way too much shaky-cam.

Overall the music was good and I like the use of modern music in Star Trek when it’s used well. There’s one song that sings about a phone and it really knocked me out of the story.

Score: 0.5

Fun

It was predictable but I liked the characters so I did enjoy it.

I do have a continuity issue with it, however. Georgiou was sent from the 32nd century back in time. According to the star date at the beginning this happens in 2324. However, Georgiou originally came from season 1 of Discovery and that was in 2256. There’s sixty some years between them but San doesn’t seem to have aged 68 years. So how did he come to the future and how did he know she was going to be there? It really bugged me.

Score: 0.5

Overall

An interesting start to a series, but as a movie it lacks depth and originality. The only thing that saves it is the quality of the actors.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

Back in Action – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Back in Action.

Story

It hits every beat of a spy movie and does a great job with the family drama. The story is a pile of tropes thrown together and avoids risk with the obvious set-up for a sequel.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Excellent acting and characters that are a lot of fun. Diaz and Fox have chemistry both as a couple and as a battle couple. The kids are well picked, and Glenn Close is an inspired choice to play Diaz’s mother.

Score: 1

Dialogue

Snappy and more than a few quips. It has a lot of humour and heart in the dialogue, although sometimes it felt like filler.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals were great and the fight choreography was excellent.

The music sounded like someone trying to combine every spy movie’s soundtracks together. It was good but a little over-done.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This was a lot of fun but the “key” being still useful 15 years later felt like a stretch. The whole Mcguffin was a little over the top. It also could have been done better for the demonstration. Use it to take over Air Force One, or make the alarms at the tower of London sing showtunes. Lot of wasted potential.

That been said, the kids and the family liked it and we all hope for the the inevitable sequel.

Score: 0.5

Overall

A charismatic and excellent cast makes up for a hum-drum spy story. The heart is the family and that’s very well done.

Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5

The Christmas Charade – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film The Christmas Charade.

Story

A flavourless take on spy movies with absolutely nothing new to add.

Score: 0

Characters

Together, the main actors have great banter, and all the supporting cast are fantastic, but apart or talking spy stuff, it’s bad.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Romance and Christmas dialogue is excellent, but the cop or spy dialogue is terrible.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The movie is obviously low budget but visually they do a great job with what they have. A few sets look ridiculous but overall pretty good, and the cinematography is decent.

The music is a nice combination of the two genres and does a great job.

Score: 1

Fun

Most of the movie had me shaking my head at how bad it was but the chemistry and banter between the leads was fun. The rest of the family felt pretty much the same. I could actually see the large thought bubble over my wife’s head that said, “I could write this better.”

Score: 0.5

Overall

This movie is only entertaining on the charisma and chemistry of its stars. Anyone who enjoys spies will be disappointed, anyone who enjoys Christmas romance will see it once and forget about it.

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

Kim Possible – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2019 film Kim Possible.

Story

Kim Possible isn’t and hasn’t ever been a spy but the stories follow all the spy tropes with a few superhero ones thrown in. The movie does a great job of being faithful to the spirit of the original while updating it to modern audiences. (It’s shocking how much changed between 2007 and 2019.)

The story is mostly nostalgic for older audiences and the story is quite simple. Perfect spy/superhero intro for kids. There is some cartoony ridiculousness that is a little annoying but overall good.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Kim is great and it was nice to see her going through the awkwardness of change.

Ron was portrayed perfectly, one of those super awkward kids with a giant heart. I always cringe at Ron to start and then he quickly becomes my favourite character.

The villains are wonderfully portrayed with the perfect level of overacting.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is cheesy and irreverent. Lots of good lines but I found the mixture of mid 2000’s slang and late 2010’s a little weird. Hearing Lit and Fam followed by Booya, felt wrong.

The scene between Kim and her Grandmother was one of the best training dialogues I’ve heard.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The action sequences are very Disney Channel but overall they did a great job with the visuals and the music was acceptable.

Score: 0.5

Fun

The kids loved it. The adults, who watched the original in university also loved it.

It was fun and struck a great balance.

As an adult it was nice to see the kids and family talking instead of hiding things.

Score: 1

Overall

Cheesy, fun, and angst free. The story might be a little young and cartoony but they commit and there are some genius scenes.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Barbie: Spy Squad – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2016 film Barbie: Spy Squad.

Story

Definitely geared towards younger audiences, it’s a solid intro into the secret agent / spy genre. The twist was predictable for me, but I’ve seen a lot of these.

Score: 0.5

Characters

The main three characters are the usual super awesome Barbie and friends. They fit into the basic spy stereotypes very well. The techie computer guy felt really relatable and the over-the-top spy aunt was pretty funny.

The villain felt a little meh and the heel-face turn was abrupt and could have used more set up.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue oscillates between cutesy and inane. There are a few funny jokes and the overall message is good.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals are standard Barbie movie with lots of cute spy and action bonuses. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible.

The music is catchy… too catchy. They have 1 song and they use it A LOT!

Score: 0.5

Fun

I enjoyed this the first time I watched it. It has constantly been on of my daughters favourite movies since she could ask for it. She used to say she was going on missions with her spy girls and then do a bunch of flips.

Score: 1

Overall

One of the best Barbie movies available with a strong message and catchy music. It’s a great intro into spy and action movies without the gratuitous violence. It’s fun and one of my daughter’s favourite movies.

Score: 3 stars out of 5

The Sleepover – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2020 film The Sleepover.

Story

The main plot seemed to be that the kids needed to save their parents… except they didn’t need to nor did they save them.

Someone took a bad “I’m a secret spy” movie and mushed it with a decent Adventures in Babysitting ripoff.

There’s nothing I dislike more than having competent kids end up being useless.

Chekhov would be very disappointed in the laser pen and alarm underwear.

Score: 0

Characters

There were two characters out of 7 that actually got a story arc and growth. The rest were just there to prop up the plot and make jokes. Mim started out as an amazing and fun character but had to be toned down to make the main girl look more awesome. The dad was goofy and fun and then he became a complete idiot.

Score: 0

Dialogue

The dialogue wasn’t bad. A lot of over acting, but that was a bonus in this genre. It wasn’t particularly great but not bad.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

This movie was stylish and had some impressive action scenes. It also had a significant amount of vomit which loses it points in my book.

The music was good and had a small moment of great, but overall was derivative.

Score: 0.5

Fun

There were times I enjoyed the movie, but the complete lack of agency in the kids at the end and the vomit scene really took my enjoyment away.

Score: 0

Overall

This movie wanted real hard to be a spy movie and then forgot to do anything like a spy movie. The excellent actors were underused, characters were changed for plot, and the awkward bodily humour wasn’t much fun.

Final Score: 1 star out of 5

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2020 film Secret Society of Second-Born Royals.

Story

An interesting mix of Kingsman and Sky High with very little original content. It’s fun but neither complex or original. I called the twists way before I should have and felt disappointed rather than proud that I did.

It also suffered from excess world building, making it feel like a pilot episode rather than a movie.

Score: 0

Characters

The characters were pretty much a mixture of superhero and high school stereotypes but they were very well played. The actors made some awkward character arcs seem more believable than they should have.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Neither bad nor memorable, the dialogue was passable. There were a few standout moments between the kids and the narrator/teacher and a great scene between the main character and her future queen sister.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The special effects were okay, but the scenery was great. The camera angles and cinematography were good but not great.

The music was mostly pretty bland until there was someone playing on screen, then it was great. A weird mixture of styles and feels like they’d originally made this a musical and then changed their minds but couldn’t let go of some of the music.

Score: 0.5

Fun

I enjoyed myself and liked watching the characters develop, but it wasn’t gripping.

Score: 0.5

Overall

Bogged down by world building and a derivative script, the movie felt like its goal was to set up the characters and world for a TV show. Nothing about it was terrible, but it wasn’t very good. I’d watch it again for the rock music and impressive actors.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

The Spy Next Door – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2010 movie The Spy Next Door.

Story

The story is cute. Sort of a Uncle Buck meets Jackie Chan. It was just as formulaic as you can expect from a “fighting guy takes care of kids” type of movie.

You don’t watch this for the story.

Score: 0

Characters

Nerdy boy, angsty teen, and cute little kid. They all did well and their was some surprising depth in the characters. Although I did get annoyed at how young the 4 year old acted and was frustrated by the old trope of the Hispanic character being the mole.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Overall it was stilted and awkward. Some of it made me cringe.

However Jackie Chan was both adorable and hilarious.

Score: 0.5

Visual and Music

The fighting was top notch, the rest was okay.

The music wasn’t great and sometimes jarring.

Score: 0.5

Fun

This movie had Jackie Chan signing a lullaby and using stunts to get kids ready for school. It had him beating up a future MacGyver. It had heart, humour, and great action.

Fun for everyone.

Score: 1

Overall

The movie isn’t great cinema but it is a lot of fun and if you’re looking for a cute action movie, or if your child is currently in a spy obsession, this a great choice.

Overall Score: 2.5 Stars

Spy Kids 3 and Spy Kids 4 – JenEric Movie Review

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Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2004 and 2011 movies Spy Kids 3: Game Over and Spy Kids 4-D: All the Time in the World.

I reviewed Spy Kids 1 and 2 in a previous post

Story

Spy Kids 3

Villain captured in a cyber prison turns that prison into a game in order to enslave kids minds and …? Spy organization sends kid spy into game to find his sister and shut the game down.

It has serious potential but there was so little story and what there was, was confusing, ableist, or just boring. I spent most of the movie shaking my head or yelling at the main character. The first two were all about family but this one barely makes a cameo out of everything.

Score: 0

Spy Kids 4

It took seven years for people to forget about the last one. This one brings in new kids, new parents, and a very updated OSS. The time manipulation was utterly unbelievable and made my head hurt.

The story did go back to it’s roots and become all about family. The cameos by the original kids was great.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Spy Kids 3

They really tried to make Juni the sensitive outsider here and it failed completely. He’s basically a bumbling idiot. While in the others he and his sister bumble together and solve the problem, in this one the villain is helping him win and his sister is only in a tiny part of the movie.

Stalone is fantastic at chewing the scenery but his character is confused, confusing, and barely above useful. And don’t get me started on the one girl character.

Score: 0

Spy Kids 4

The characters in this were much better and less insulting stereotypes. I like that the boy being hearing impaired doesn’t make him weak, I like that the mom kicks ass while pregnant, I like that the kids are smart again. That being said, they were all a little bland as characters.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Spy Kids 3

There’s a scene near the beginning where the main character is talking about family and another character says, “Everyone is family Juni.”

His reply is, “That doesn’t any sense.”

That’s the best description of this movie. Nonsensical drivel followed by insipid dialogue.

Score: 0

Spy Kids 4

It wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible. There are a few good puns and a lot of clock or time jokes. It’s ok.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

Spy Kids 3

I thought 2 had a lot of 3D gimmicks and stupidity. This one practically based the entire movie on it. It’s cheesy pseudo computer game graphics for the entire movie. It looked bad sixteen years ago and looks worse now. The music was better.

Score: 0.5

Spy Kids 4

It took a few movies but they finally moved back to the hyper-saturated cartoon look of the first one. The action well done and the scenery is great. The music wasn’t fantastic but it was pretty good.

Score: 0.5

Fun

Spy Kids 3

The beginning and the end are a lot of fun and the middle parts are interesting if non-nonsensical and dumb.

Score: 0.5

Spy Kids 4

This was my daughters favourite of the four. She said it’s cause there was a dog and a baby. I liked it because it was a fun kids action movie. It doesn’t hold up to the original, but it was ok.

Score: 1

Overall

Spy Kids 3

Taking out the sibling dynamic from this series was a mistake. This movie doesn’t live up to the first and frankly is one of the worst movies I’ve seeen. It’s not offensive (Except the honeypot, nerd bashing, and ableism) just boring.

Final Score: 1 Star

Spy Kids 4

This movie tried to recreate the whimsy and awesomeness of the first but doesn’t quite get there. It’s bogged down by fart jokes and 3D gags along with a premise that makes my head hurt if I think about it too hard.

Final Score: 3 Stars