#anyway at least the wish trailer gets half points for no twist villain

[deliciouspirateangel]

Tangled Frozen Moana Encanto are the Marvel “he’s right behind me isn’t he” level disney princess movies but no one wants to say it

[almondbiscotti]

Stuff I’ve Watched this CB

Sorry, really got a lot. I’ve ranked them from most recommended to least recommended. And separated movies from series. And have included some shows I’m planning to watch! 

Series

Kim’s Convenience S4 I LOVE APPA. Was a bit appalled I didn’t know S4 was out on Netflix because it’s one of my favourite shows on Netflix. It’s REALLY GOOD. So many laugh out loud moments, the characters are WONDERFULLY fleshed out and the chemistry between the actors is through the roof. Story telling is also amazeballs. 10/10 would recommend.

Dirty Money S1&2  10/10 would recommend! I really liked Dirty Money because I learned so so so so much from the show! I do think the producers had no intention of being unbiased and presenting a neutral stance on the “villains” because I wanted to punch every single “villain” every damn episode. If you’re looking for objectivity and “both sides of the story”, I don’t think this show is for you. But that said, everything presented is factual so I did learn a lot. Supplemented with additional reading post show, I felt like a whole new world was opened to me. :) 

Kingdom S1&2  JUST WATCH THIS. IT’S SO DAMN GOOD. 

Only issue I had was how damn ridiculous it was that whenever a horde of zombies were running towards our protagonists, they’d just stand there and do their typical Korean AISSSSSHEEEEBYEFUCK stance for like a full 17342154 minutes while the music and tension builds and the zombie horde comes closer and closer and closer and THEN they finally decide to run. Eh friend, what siah. Also, I concluded from watching Kingdom that if there ever was a Zombie apocalypse, I’m completely and utterly FUCKED. But I live in ridiculously hot Singapore surrounded by water... so I guess I’ll be alright? 9.5/10 

Derry Girls S1-2 Irish Catholic School Girls, I’M SOLD. I mean, come on. How can I not LOVE this show? It’s HILARIOUS. And having spent 10 years in an all girl catholic school, Derry Girls really really resonated with me. The characters are laugh out loud hilarious, and all really likeable! The only issue I had with it is that the characters don’t really grow very much over the course of 2 seasons. So season 1 first episode vs season 2 final episode, it won’t matter even if you watched it backwards.

Because the seasons are very short, only 6 episodes per season and there are only 2 seasons so far, it doesn’t matter very much. For now. But I reckon if they had like 7 seasons, it’s going to get VERY repetitive. But at the moment, ISSA GREAT! 9/10

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency S1 8 Episodes of ABSOLUTE CRACK. It’s based off something Douglas Adams wrote so I wouldn’t expect anything less. Acting isn’t great but the storytelling is riveting. If you enjoy Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the book), it’s very likely you’d enjoy this. It can get quite frustrating sometimes though because it’s so ridiculous so if you’re looking for a detective series based on solid logic, look somewhere else. But if you just want some fun and silliness mixed with some smart, this is wonderful. 8/10 

Never Have I Ever S1 I had a lot of trouble liking the main character but on retrospect, it might be because the character doesn’t even like herself that much to begin with. Had quite a few laugh out loud moments and the Asian family moments were very relatable.  THE MOTHER. THE MOTHER IS EVERYTHING. She’s my favourite, I would watch an entire series with just her. The main problem with Never Have I Ever (in my opinion) is that it tried to do a lot of things to prove the same point. So it does get a bit frustrating after a while. By the 3rd episode, I’m just like GET ON WITH IT I GET IT. I GET THAT FAMILY IS MOST IMPORTANT, I GET THAT SHE’S NOT GRIEVING HER FATHER. So... it can get a little cliche and repetitive. To me la. But still funny, still good. :)  8/10 

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt S1-4 The opening track really really grows on you. UNBREAKABLE! They’re alive, damn it! IT’S A MIRACLE! Created by Tina Fey, this show is silly and full of fun.

I really liked S1-3. It’s a very light-hearted show that makes you feel really good watching it because it’s just so positive and optimistic. S4 got a bit too ridiculous for me and the characters started doing some really weird shit that is a bit too incredulous (it was never a logical show based too much on reality to begin with but S4 was really a bit much). But if you like shows like The Good Place, I reckon you’d like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. 8/10

The Circle USA Can’t remember why Housemate and I started on this but it was actually not bad! I think it’s because the OG characters were really likeable! JOEY! JOEY IS A PRECIOUS PUPPY THAT NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS. It’s not very intellectual and I was never too invested in any of the characters or relationships. BUT! great if you don’t want to think too much and just watch some mindless TV that isn’t absolute trash. (TOO HOT TO HANDLE I’M LOOKING AT YOU.)  7/10 

Tiger King S1 SIEOW ONE THIS SHOW. It’s an absolute MINDFUCK. I started with many questions, I finished with A BILLION more. I don’t even know how to describe or explain this show. IT’S MADNESS. There are big cats, gay husbands who turn out not to be gay, tiger queen who allegedly killed her husband and fed him to her tigers, crazy dude who tried to pay some other dude 5k (i think? or 3k? seriously it’s crazy) to kill tiger queen, big guns and expired meat and pizzas?!?!! Yah, Mindfuck. CRAZY/10

Cable Girls S1-4  Season 1 and 2 were BEAUTIFUL. The characters have so much depth, the acting is impeccable, the costumes are AMAZING, the cinematography is inspiring, the story telling was riveting. Then season 3 and season 4 happened and... I will pretend the show ended in S2. -_- Character development took a major hit from season 3 onwards. But I would still recommend Cable Girls because the acting, the acting is AMAZING. 10/10 for s1&2. 5/10 for 3&4.

Money Heist S4 Was quite hyped for this and was really quite let down. The beauty of Money Heist has always been structure in chaos, elegance in the mess. S4 was very frustrating because it didn’t have that. I felt like they were trying very hard to make you think the heist team was going to fail and started to fill in weird impossible things to ensure the plot was still able to proceed. Did not enjoy S4 as much as I thought I would. :(  But if you have invested in the previous seasons, you know you’re gonna watch it even if it’s absolute crap anyway. 6/10

The Letter For The King S1 Ep 1&2 Premise was quite interesting, trailer was interesting enough. But DEAR GOD WAS IT SLOW. And also, literally ALL the characters were unlikeable! I don’t understand why anyone would make a show with entirely unlikeable characters. I couldn’t get past the 2nd episode but I went ahead to read a few reviews and recaps. Yeah, was a good idea to stop at episode 2. Would not recommend. 2/10

Movies

Game Night  Rachel McAdams is QUEEN. A really loltastic film. Is a really good post dinner wind down to end the day film. And particularly because I can relate to how competitive our main couple was. :) Some parts don’t add up and there are a few times I think the story becomes a bit too much for itself, trying to layer upon layer of twists, but still a good fun movie! :) 7.5/10 

The Half of It Heartwarming. :) Enjoyed it because i think the main protagonist is very likeable. And she’s so... plain and relatable. I hate to say this though but... I found the whole movie quite forgettable. Like, it didn’t feel very deep to me though it did touch on quite a few intense and deep topics of first love, family, self acceptance etc. But it’s just doesn’t reverberate through every cell of my being. The whole movie is just so gentle and because it is so mild, it becomes forgettable. Acting is good, character development is okay I guess. But generally... just mediocre to me. But not bad. I just wished it wasn’t so... light and airy. I wish it made me cry. 7/10

Cabin in the Woods Housemate wanted to watch it because it’s horror-esque. I was okay with it cos it’s horror comedy. And also Chris Hemsworth. :D Was quite loltastic. Though SPOILER ALERT Chris Hemsworth’s character dies a bit too early for my liking. I really liked the over the top inclusion of various different monsters near the end. Was fun trying to identify them. Fun movie! Not very scary but quite a bit of gore that’s peppered with lots of humour to make it okay. 7/10

Extraction LOTS OF CHRIS HEMSWORTH. But plot wise... hmm... Housemate enjoyed it because he said the fight scenes and the things our extractor does are very real and is what a trained professional would do in the high pressure situations he finds himself in. They probably had a great consultant to keep things realistic.  I didn’t enjoy it as much because I felt that our hero was... too powerful and the bad guy was too bad. Almost caricature-ish. Difficult to have character development like that. But hey, I didn’t watch it for depth, I watched it for Chris Hemsworth’s face so... very much satisfied. :) 7/10 

Other Stuff I’m Planning to Watch 

After Life S2 I liked S1 so... just a continuation I guess. Typical English humour. Also, I watched S1 dealing with a death of a friend so the show does have some sentimental meaning for me.

Hollywood S1 New show seems promising! There are blacks, gays, sex, extortion, glitzy costumes, glamour and really blonde blondes. Also the guy who plays Sheldon Cooper in BBT. High hopes, I have high hopes! 

The Victims’ Game DETECTIVE SHOW SOLVING CRIMES. I’M SOLD. 

Whoa fuck, I really watch a lot of Netflix. 

[canvaswolfdoll]

CanvasWatches: Detective Pikachu

Well, I really want to play Pokemon now.

Not so much the actual Detective Pikachu game, because it’s burdened with a boring tutorial, and it’s just not engaging… but, like, maybe I’ll pick up the Blue or Gold versions I have on my 3DS. Poke away at my leisurely quest to finally catch them all by going through the entries.[1]

Anyways, my brother and I went to see Detective Pikachu. I left satisfied, and suspicious that any sequel will have to be a shameless cash-grab production, so let’s not hope for that.

Didn’t sit through the credits. Foxface was impatient, and I left Emi home alone with the lights out.[3] There was probably an after credits scene. Probably dancing Pikachu, from the fake leak.

Summary conclusion before the spoilery rambles: it’s fine. If you love the franchise, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re not a big Pokemon fan, you can skip it or see it with a fan. It’s competently adequate.

So, let’s review this thing. With spoilers! (Probably including the games. Don’t know, I write these things stream of thought style.)

The experience started when I bought the movie ticket, and was handed a promotional pack of pokemon cards along with it. I was surprised for half a second, before I thought back to receiving the Ancient Mew card when I saw Pokemon 2000 in theaters. Of course they’d give me cards to go with the movie. That’s how Pokemon movies work.

I got the Detective Pikachu card presumably everyone gets, and Jigglypuff.

Kind of disappointed to get Jigglypuff.[4]

I’ve always felt a strange relationship with Pokemon. I like the games, and do enjoy the trivia and random lore, but I’ve never absolutely loved it.[5] I’ve always felt like the franchise has a lot of potential, but never really commits. Plots could be a little meatier, the world a little more explored. A sense of wanderlust and nostalgia for a world distinct from our own that’s never really delivered.

Fanworks carry a lot of that weight, but I don’t like putting in effort for IPs that aren’t mine.

Anyways, similar deal with Detective Pikachu. Plot could use more meat,[6] world feels underexplored.

It’s based in Rhyme City, a film original locale. This provides a good excuse not to have Pokemon stored away in Pokeballs so they can mingle about the scenery, which is a good narrative handwave. However, it means we don’t get to see the locations of the games realized, the mechanics explored, and a kind of odd ‘One Pokemon per Trainer’ situation.[7] Especially since Pokemon battles are illegal in Rhyme City, making them more… well… dog-fighty.

Slash underground Fight Club-y.

Okay, to be fair, they do a good job of portraying the one on-screen combat involving Pokemon that are both willing and enjoying.

But we also miss the chance to see what an officially sanctioned Pokemon Battle looks like.[9]

Also, at no point does anyone ride a bike. One out of ten, literally unwatchable.

One thing that stuck out to me was how anime it felt. Japanese business signs filled the backgrounds, the vehicles were right-hand drive, and other subtle details really left an atmosphere of “I’m watching a live action anime!” beyond even the typical Japanifornia set media like Big Hero 6 or Legend of Korra used. Which, I suppose, helps sell the efforts to sell this as the live action Pokemon film.

Honestly, if Hollywood wants to adapt more anime, they should study this film. It understands how to portray Japan taking over the world without feeling like Blade Runner.

The movie also is very good at taking pokemon from all generations, my eye catching the fifth gen roster most often, but Aipoms, Torterras, Totodiles[10] and more are accounted for. I was worried that it’d be a genwunner pander-fest after watching the first trailer. There seemed to be a lack of Alola Pokemon, though, or at least I didn’t notice any, and they didn’t take the opportunity to reveal any Sword & Shield Pokemon.

I guess, given the choice, I’d prefer they not turn it into a Sword & Shield marketing push, but I also feel like the movie could’ve done it tastefully.

The movie is just filled with good will for the franchise, beginning with showing two friends (coded in red and blue clothes) going just outside of town to capture a pokemon (It was a Cubone! I love Cubone!) all the way to having credits showing the cast in the art style of the games, with particular nods to the lovely sprite work I miss.

As for the actual story… it’s fine. They didn’t really go out of the kids film mold, to the detriment of doing an actual Pokemon plot. There’s no bad guy team, and besides naming the rage-inducing chemical “R”,[11] not even a nod to Team Rocket. Which I think could’ve been done very easily. Just introduce Team Rocket funding somewhere, maybe having the all-consuming corporation running the city secretly funding their activities?

Is this film lighter, softer cyberpunk? Detective Pikachu might be child-grade cyberpunk. That’s cool.

There wasn’t any sock blasting twists. The red herring villain was a red herring villain; the nice seeming CEO guy was behind it all; the Dad was the Pikachu all along. It was what it was looked to be.

I will concede I didn’t see the Ditto twist coming, but mostly because I forgot about Ditto.

And, as Suede pointed out in his Pokemon anime reviews, it’s odd that what was meant to be a one-off quirk for a one-off Ditto has become a racial trait. It lends itself to pretty decent effects, but I can’t put the thought out of my mind now that it’s been pointed out.

The actual Pokemon were a nice, even mix of Uncanny Valley to just the Pokemon. Mr. Mime wasn’t notably as creepy as he was when shown in the trailer, and in fact was the center of one of the best scenes. Pikachu is adorable when his brow isn’t pulling overtime, and the Audino that pops up here and there looks like a mascot suit. It’s a good mixture.

I must suggest that, after watching the movie, go look at the merch online. Not necessarily to buy it like crazy, but just for the fun little details that can be gleaned.[12]

I hope this opens the door to more live-action Pokemon films, especially ones that will explore the world and develop the plot out more. Maybe do a PG-13 one for the older kids. Detective Pikachu was fine, but there’s a lot more that could be done.

Thanks for reading my review. To support this and my other works, consider either Patreon for early access and regular support, or Ko-fi for a one time tip. There’s much more I’d love to do, and every dollar allows me the opportunity to do more.

Now… guess I should go plod through Kanto as I deliberate on Sword versus Shield.

Kataal kataal.

-

[1] Well, I’m switching Ruby/Sapphire out with AlphaSapphire, because I don’t actually feel like going super intense with the ‘hit every generation’ thing.[2] [2] Am going to also do HeartGold, though. Because I have it, and love Johto. [3] She’s fine! And adorable as always. Just… didn’t think ahead. [4] Foxface got Lickitung. Wish I got Lickitung. [5] Maybe because I still have scars from siding with Digimon during the wars. Maybe because you don’t have to love or hate every IP. [6] Yes, it’s a kid’s film, but kids can parse a little more depth than they’re often given credit for. [7] Because, since generation six, Pokemon has been struggling to be Digimon.[8] [8] Even call them “Partner Pokemon”. Come on! [9] Maybe the sequel can be about reintroducing Pokemon Battles to Rhyme city, with Team Plasma either cameoing or as the antagonistic force. [10] Literally all my preferred starter lines of the first six generations are accounted for somewhere. Which makes me feel good. [11] Which is a stretch. [12] The neighborhood watch sign has a Patrat!

[lunafeather]

judeehopps replied to your post “If anyone else has seen The Last Jedi already and wants to discuss,...”

I’m curious about what you think. What did you think of it? I have mixed feelings...

Overall I enjoyed it a lot, but it did have a lot of issues. I think I liked The Force Awakens a lot more, so I’m glad that JJ Abrams will be directing Episode IX and not Rian Johnson, though obviously Abrams isn’t perfect. This film also continues Star Wars’ penchant for gorgeousness; so many scenes and shots were absolutely breathtaking in their beauty. This might be my favorite film when it comes to that.

Spoilers below the cut! (Also, fair warning! I have a lot of thoughts)

I wasn’t a fan of the limited interactions between our main trio, especially Finn and Rey -- whose relationship literally drives the narrative of this trilogy. Don’t get me wrong, that hug at the end literally made me squeal with joy it was so pure and sweet, but that is seriously all we got and like??? I DO ship Finnrey but I also just enjoy watching their friendship so this was a major downside.

Speaking of ships, I am VERY anti Rose/Finn. I feel like the kiss at the end of the film was incredibly forced and awkward, and came out of nowhere. They have okay chemistry, but I didn’t get a romantic vibe from them at all, so for her to swoop in with this huge romantic gesture and pull out the “I love you” before passing out was very out of place. I feel like they barely know each other, and Rose’s feelings are heavily impacted by her initial view of Finn as this Rebel Hero, and that her jump from awe to fury to love is just a natural progression of her fangirling, and not actual love. Not to mention the fact that Finn literally just froze when she kissed him, it wasn’t reciprocated at all. I hope that they have an adorable “WOW that was awkward” moment in the next film but that they remain friends only.

I really enjoyed Rey’s arc over the film. I think she is more powerful than we realize and I really hope we get to see that power as she trains to be an actual jedi (I’m sure we will). I also really enjoy her parallel’s to Luke in that she is insistent that Kylo can be turned and tries to sway him against her mentor’s wishes, that she is just SO GOOD inside (I, like others, was afraid they may try to tease her switching to the dark side, but I’m glad this film just reiterated how good she is), but I also love that where Luke succeeded, Rey did not. I think it would be very predictable and boring for Rey to “save” Kylo the way Luke “saved” Vader.

Branching off of that, the trailers had a lot of people spouting that whole, “ohhh this is just another copy cat/rehash of Empire, just like TFA was identical to ANH” (which is bullshit anyway, TFA had many homages to ANH but the story was different in a few key ways) crap that I am glad was destroyed immediately. All this chatter about the AT-ATs and the rebels trying to escape a base and Degobah and blah blah blah. None of it was founded, the film was actually VERY different from ESB. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing.... but I digress.

I am a tad miffed that Finn’s force sensitivity wasn’t touched on AT ALL. As far as I’m aware, someone has to be force sensitive to use a lightsaber and Finn used Luke’s at the end of TFA. I hope they touch back on that in Episode IX.

A big thing I am distressed about is the fact that one of the original trio is basically going to be killed off in each film. Han in TFA, now Luke in TLJ, and obviously Leia will need to be killed off in Episode IX... It’s really fucking depressing. Part of me hopes that they will write IX in a way that Leia doesn’t need to die but never appears on screen -- I feel like of the three, she would be the one to survive. It’s possible, narratively, but I doubt they’ll do that. Still.... Also, seeing as Luke became one with the force or whatever, I feel like he will train Rey from beyond, the same way Obiwan often advised him after his death. So maybe we’ll at least have that.

Upon further reflection, I feel like the Casino excursion was very misplaced and unneeded. It was hectic and rushed and urgent, the whole movie was, and I wasn’t a huge fan of that. Star Wars movies ebb and flow with their pace, usually taking place over a moderate amount of time, but obviously this film had a very short time span and I gotta say, I’m not digging it. I prefer the story building, character building pace of the other films.

Humor was out of place a lot of times. The other movies were funny, yes, but the humor in this one was much too....modern? Even in TFA the humor was more classic, in this film it was annoyingly snappy. I really hated the opening scene and its “joke” with Poe pretending he couldn’t hear Hux. Hux should be scary and looming and menacing but that scene just made a fool out of him, and for that to be the OPENING scene is just.... no. Turned me off immediately. Some of the humor was spot on, like Chewie being watched by the family/friends of the bird thing he was trying to eat. THAT was good. Even Rey knocking that giant piece of rock over the cliff and annihilating those aliens’ cart of stuff was good. But most of the other humor was off.

My favorite moment/shot, and I’m sure it’s a lot of people’s, was Holdo hyperspacing into Snoke’s ship. Everything about that was GLORIOUS. The quick burst shots of the lightning blue spikes cracking the ship, the DEAD SILENCE -- no music, no sound effects, nothing -- until the delayed noise of the explosion, I was AWED. The ENTIRE THEATRE gasped and then hushed in the same awed silence as myself. What an amazing idea and execution.

Other favorite shots, Kylo and Luke standing on opposite sides of the screen, waiting to battle -- the colors and composition were beautiful. Crap, there are more but I can’t remember them now.

Mother fucking LEIA ORGANA, using the force to survive being blown into space. SHE DID THAT, Y’ALL. Do you have any idea how powerful she has to be to do that kind of shit??? I seriously thought they were gonna kill her off.

Luke Skywalker being a sassy shit during his astral projection gave me so much life. I love him.

I’ve seen a lot of disparaging comments about Yoda showing up but I actually liked that bit. I think it was one of the times when the humor was on point, and they had to have used a puppet because he looked great.

After a lot of discussion with my ex, we came to the conclusion that Leia must have known Luke wasn’t really there at the old rebel base. Initially I thought it was a vision/wonder twin connection like Kylo and Rey were having (which..... wtf???? Why was that happening? Could it not?) but then everyone else saw him so.... still, I think Leia knew it wasn’t really him. I think that’s why she didn’t touch him/hug him -- because they are VERY huggy twins -- and why she left Han’s dice behind. I think she knew she wouldn’t see him again, which breaks my heart. Because how alone is Leia now? She lost the love of her life, she lost her son, she lost her brother. Ughhhh.

So yeah, this stupid “connection” between Rey and Kylo the film was trying to force on us just.... irked me. I have heard that R*ylos are fangirling over the movie, which boggles my mind because Rey literally hates his guts?? She was disgusted by his naked chest and demanded he clothe himself?? She literally tried to save him because she’s a good person, not because he’s ever done anything to deserve it or because there’s some kind of “love connection” there?? He fucking mind raped her, guys. He almost killed the first person to ever COME BACK FOR HER. (again, why did this movie focus on the Rey/Kylo shit when there is a goldmine with Rey/Finn??????) Oh he’s also a fucking pyscho murderous asshole who killed Rey’s friend and hero in cold blood.

Anyway.

Snoke as a villain: Disappointing. Boring. Anticlimactic. I pity that we didn’t get backstory on him, though I suppose we never got any for the Emperor until the prequels. Still.... Snoke was a very thin and half assed master villain. Shouldn’t there be waaaaaaaaay more lore about the Knights of Ren? Is that going to come into play in Episode IX, seeing as Kylo is now the Supreme Leader? Also, how the fuck am I supposed to take Kylo seriously as the next major villain when he continues to throw temper tantrums and be easily manipulated by outside forces?

On that note, did he choose to spare Leia because of that conflict inside of him, or did Leia force sense him and mind influence him to not shoot?? WE’LL NEVER KNOW.

Second to last point: Not enough Chewie.

Final point: I liked the examination of perspective. Luke’s story of what happened the night Kylo went crazy, Kylo’s story, and finally the truth. How we twist things to feel better/to get what we want. How every story is biased. I thought that was neat.

I lied, one last thing: I am on the fence but leaning towards hating Rey’s parents being “nobodys”. I think it’s an interesting choice but not one that lends anything to the narrative. I think the hype around her parentage was stoked just so they could say, “HAHA she actually isn’t anyone special, you were speculating for nothing!”. Speculating is fun. Bloodlines are fun. Let nerds discuss! A big part of me hopes that Kylo was lying to Rey to make her more upset and thus “more likely” to swing to the dark side. To encourage her fear that she really was abandoned for no reason. BUT it would also be unique to have her be so special despite coming from nothing.

Alright, I’m done. I may think of more but that’s it for now. My rating would probably be like.... 6.5/10. In the top 5 but not the top 4. Enjoyable and beautiful but nothing special and a let down in regards to story and character development.

[destressjournal]

DCOM Rankings #74: Dadnapped

As I said in my previous review, I didn’t care so much for this movie. I thought the trailer was kinda dumb and a little too kiddie for me. (It was 2009 so I was 14). I was getting to the age where I was growing out of these movies. I think after 2011 I kinda stopped watching DCOMS altogether, but we’ll get there soon.

Anyway, after watching this movie, it was actually kind of cute! I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did, even though I kind of wanted to hate it.

So, flaws.

- ummm I guess the first half was really predictable and boring. I mean you KNOW the dad is going to stay for the convention even though Emily osmet’s character is like we gotta gooooo (by the way, I honestly forget all the character’s names....so I will refer to them as either another character or their real names) I mean nothing really happens until the dad gets taken.

- I feel like children’s novels wouldn’t be this popular among adults. Unless the writing was just THAT good. I get maybe kidnapping Stephanie Meyer during the Twilight series craze, but I don’t really know of any YA books that would be popular enough to create this kind of cult following. But hey, maybe I’m wrong. I guess captain underpants and diary of a wimpy kid were good enough to get big budget movies. Either way, in order to get me to believe any of this, I feel like there needs to be some realism grounding the story.

-All the “home alone” style pranks they pull on the bad guys. Seen it, been there, done that. I’m just not interested in the slapstick comedy throughout the whole thing. Funny enough I didn’t like all the scenes when the characters just get covered in all kinds of stuff (trash, toothpaste, bubble suds, cheese whiz, water balloons full of onion juice or something). And guess what specific scenes they chose to play in the end credits? All those scenes AGAIN. Sorry they all just gross me out and it’s not funny to me. Home alone is the ONLY movie in which I can tolerate those pranks.

-The characters are honestly pretty one dimensional. Maybe except the main character. But besides her, everyone else has like 1-2 personality traits. The dad is obvlivious, and forgetful. The three kids are the cute nerd, the funny nerd, and the commanding little brother. The bad guys are the funny one and the serious one. And the bad guy is just a guy with an evil plan and an evil laugh. Maybe it’s set up this way for a reason, cuz they want to to be like a “kid spy agent” type movie. But eh. It’s just not my taste. But like I said, it’s cute!

- speaking of the bad guys, the hotel manager’s motives were kind of out there and didn’t make a lot of sense. Kind of going back to the point about the author being THAT famous being a tad unrealistic. At least for me. Like, is his writing like the voice of God or something???Y’all need to get a grip.

-one last thing. There’s a scene in which Emily’s character says “wow I need to get a comb” referring to how messy her hair looks. IT LOOKS PERFECT ARE YOU KIDDING ME???. I WISH I could style my hair perfectly like that. (I know the there are stylists who do their hair tho) but yeah that literally had me pausing the movie and going wtf!

To sum, the over-the-top stylized gimmicky nature of the movie is cute but I don’t usually like those kinds of movies for myself because they seem too aged down.

Okay, the good things now!

-Emily osment’s character (I just looked it up, her name is Melissa, huh) Was actually a pretty good character. At the beginning she was a little bit annoying but like I can’t blame her because everyone around her was even MORE annoying. (This part got deleted and I’m so mad so I have to type it again). But throughout the film you really get to see how she grew as a character, using her imaginary Zoom friend as a guide. At first, he was just a manifestation of Melissa’s hate for her dad, and someone for her to talk to for the audience to understand what’s going on in her mind. But then as the movie went on, you can see how Melissa and Zoom think more and more alike and she embraces a side of her she didn’t know she had. And she liked it. And as it turns out, the Zoom character was based on Melissa all along. Even though you KNOW that Zoom isn’t real and it’s just Melissa talking to herself, this is still great character growth that’s happening internally. It’s her realizing that she has strengths and is smart all on her own. She is capable of doing great things and is a real person, aside from a character in a book. If only the dad told her this at the very beginning of the movie instead of the end but....then there would be no movie so...but anyway this is basically as deep as the movie gets.

-the acting was great all around! The story definitely flowed from one thing to the next. I actually did like how they did the twist villain, and while I had hints, I was not actively like “oh the hotel manager is the villain”. So that was surprising. But there were also 2 twists! One that was the kids just pulling a harmless prank and the other two older guys being the bad guys. And then the second twist villain.

-I did like the chemistry between David Henrie and Emily osmet. It’s not like omg amazing but I think it works, even if things did go a little quick. But I guess when it’s literally a kidnapping emergency you tend to get vulnerable and close really quickly. So I will forgive the movie for that. I honestly forgot how cute David henrie is. I wonder what he’s up to now....probably bored like the rest of us.

-I don’t think there’s a character that I absolutely hated. There are some weird ones that I didn’t really like, but I understood their place in the story, so I can’t 100% justify kicking them out of the movie. So I guess the movie did a good job with the characters.

- this movie was filled with action and a bit of suspense too. While the over-the-top gimmicky films are not my taste, drama, kidnapping, suspense, those are the parts of the movie that I like, and it definitely has that “home alone” feel that I mentioned earlier. Is it perfect? Hell no. But at least I’m not bored for most of the movie, so that earns this a point!

So in conclusion, this was better than I thought it would be. It’s not amazing and I don’t know if I will voluntarily click to watch this again, but I had a decent time with it. All in all, this is definitely a kids movie. There are movies like high school musical that both kids and adults can watch and it’s not totally weird. But this movie...if you’re an adult and love this, I’m not judging (like I said I liked it too) but this was 100% directed at kids. And that’s why it’s not going to be an A on my list. I think it’s going to be either a plain B or a B-. Most likely plain B for the character development alone.

So that’s that. The next movie is another favorite of mine. Cuz high school drama is what I live for. Let’s go!!