Tag: Disney

TV Review: The Mandalorian

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Hello again dear readers, or I guess watchers in this case. Today’s TV Show review will be about the very popular Mandalorian show that aired on DisneyPlus.

I’ve been a bit hesitant with Star Wars content recently, and I was on the fence about whether I would like The Mandalorian or not. There was a lot of hype surrounding it, but that could have been Disney doing a hell of a job marketing it. It wouldn’t be the first time a show was overhyped and didn’t lead up to people’s expectations.

I borrowed my brothers DisneyPlus account the morning that each episode came out, and the longer the season went on, the faster I clicked on that episode.

I was hooked!

The show had everything I was hoping for, and had so few of the things I feared about it.

There was one reason I enjoyed it so much, and it is the same reason I loved Rogue One…there are no Jedi.

The Jedi ruin star wars for me. I don’t have an exact reason as to why that is, and I’ve tried to think of why I don’t like.

I think it is because of one simple aspect of storytelling.

Convenience.

Movie plots should not run off of conveniences. Random events should not happen in a story just for the sake of advancing the plot. That’s sloppy and bad storytelling.

When Jedi are involved, the Force often follows right behind them…and with the Force we get conveniences.

Now, Star Wars gets a bit of a pass with convenience because the Force tells them things are happening, or guides them to make certain decisions.

It annoys me when that happens, and the Jedi are the worst for it.

When there are no Jedi involved in a Star Wars movie or TV show, there are a lot less conveniences, and the story just becomes a great Space Action movie.

The Mandalorian is great because its a mix of different genres.

It has a bit of mystery, lots of action, a western feel to a lot of the episodes, some heist moments, and plenty of good gun fights.

There was so much going on in the show through its 8-episode run, but none of it feels out of place. The entire story is short, and a lot of people, including myself, wanted more.

A number of the episodes seemed to not contribute to the overall story much, and despite being great in their own right, sort of stood from the main story.

By the end of the story, we know they are all pretty well connected, but people still wanted more.

Its a bit greedy wanting more episodes, but I think we all know there will be future seasons.

The show was immensely popular, and the ending of the season leaves a bit of a cliffhanger for what’s coming up next.

In terms of the look and feel, the entire show is amazing. I don’t want to go too deep into the baby Yoda memes, or any of the characters, because I am sure you all have your opinions.

To keep it simple, I want to just talk about Mando himself.

I think he is a fantastic character, and Pedro Pascal does a fantastic job of portraying him.

There are plenty of characters that are well done through the show, but Mando stands out by a lot.

We follow his perspective almost the entire movie, and we get to see his story unfold before us.

Sometimes over ten minutes goes by before we even hear him speak, but it doesn’t feel out of place. You don’t feel wanting or like the show is missing dialogue…it seems completely normal.

Overall, I would give the show an 8.5. It had brilliant moments, and some beautiful looking shots, alongside the great acting.

My biggest complaint is just the story. It’s a bit lacking in real story depth, and we take a few too many steps away from the main story in such a short period of time.

Otherwise, there are no complaints, The show got me hooked nice and fast, and I cannot wait until Season 2 comes out.

Have you seen the Mandalorian yet? What were your thoughts?

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Movie Review: Frozen 2

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“What? A movie review on a Monday? That’s not right, Mondays are for book reviews!”

I know, I know, it’s crazy, but this week is going to be a little mixed up because of something special I have coming on Saturday.

There will still be a book review this week, but it’ll just be on a new day…so until then, enjoy a movie review.

There’s a reason that people say the original is always best, and Disney should stick to just making one movie, not sequels.

The original Frozen was a huge success. It was such a success that singing it was actually not allowed in some schools. Kids everywhere knew the movie by heart, and plenty of people knew the songs without ever having seen the movie (I was one of those people).

Frozen was a good movie. It played with some regular Disney movie tropes and changed the script for future Disney movies.

People were worshipping it left and right…and then time went on.

It wasn’t forgotten per se, it was just lost to time, and other movies came out. Moana was fairly popular with The Rock being a cast member, and then Frozen 2 was announced.

I was excited to see it from the trailer. It looked like it was going to be a good movie, but I am always a bit hesitant with sequels, because the story is never quite as good.

Turns out, I was right to worry.

The story for Frozen 2 wasn’t very good. It was way too predictable, relied on too many conveniences, and was way too reliant on small little story moments that didn’t add much to the overall piece.

Let’s not even talk about the abusive relationship between Kristoff and Anna (she probably needs a therapist to help deal with some issues). He tries to ask Anna to marry him the entire movie, but she either runs off to save Elsa or is too paranoid to let him speak.

Olaf loses any interest by his third joke that is too obviously for the parents in the theatre, and Sven is in the movie for maybe a minute.

The songs are less memorable, the additional characters add a minor bit of humor to the story, and its just not as entertaining as a whole.

The best part of this movie is Elsa.

Now that she has got some control of her powers, she is confident and ready to take action.

We see her act more than think in many situations through the movie, but it makes sense for her character, because she has just found her confidence again.

After being brainwashed to hide her powers and make sure she has them under control, she is free to use them whenever she wants.

She is confident in what she can do, as she should be. She is curious, and wants to fulfill the adventurous itch she experiences.

I wouldn’t say Frozen 2 is a bad movie. It was fun, lighthearted, and it had its funny moments.

I think my biggest issue was that it was a sequel that didn’t live up to my expectations, and that they were trying too hard for it to be a good movie. Or at least as good as the original.

I still recommend seeing it. Frozen 2 does answer a number of Disney fan theories out there, whether thats good or bad is up to you.

I also want to point out that this is a review from a grown adult man. Frozen 2 is probably a terrific kids movie, because it is a Disney movie after all, and kids love anything they make.

Have you seen Frozen 2? Did you enjoy it? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

The Snow Queen Review

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Title: The Snow Queen
Author: Hans Christian Anderson
Rating: 6 / 10

Happy Monday again fellow readers. Since Frozen 2 just came out in theatres recently, I thought I would review the short story that inspired it all, The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson.

”The Snow Queen” is the story of a little girl’s grit, her way with animals, and a magic mirror. It was written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1845. One of his longest and most famous tales, ”The Snow Queen” has been the inspiration for books and films, including Disney’s Frozen.

Despite being written in 1844, I actually quite enjoyed this little piece. The thing I liked about it the most is also the thing I disliked the most, but I’ll get into more of that now.

The Snow Queen is quite lacking. There are not a lot of details given in the seven different stories contained in this piece.

Anderson literally jumps months at a time in a matter of sentences, which can get frustrating because I wanted more substance to it.

I wanted the story to be fleshed out more, because I wanted to get into the mind of Anderson more.

He is a fantastic author, and one of the most famous authors in the world.

The fact that there isn’t much fleshing out of the story is also the great aspect of it too. Its not bogged down with pointless detail and story.

The reader gets to use their imagination to enjoy the piece, and fill in any blanks if and when they want.

The story is rather simple. Two friends, a Gerta and Kay, are playing together when Kay gets a piece of glass stuck in his eye. This glass was a part of a magical mirror that the hobgoblin possessed, but had now broken on the earth.

When Kay gets this mirror stuck in his eye and in his heart, he starts to see the worst in the world, and starts treating Gerta badly.

Kay gets taken away by The Snow Queen when he is out on his sled to her winter palace.

Gerta becomes worried when summer comes and nobody can find Kay, and asks the trees, the plants, the river, an evil old lady, a pirate, an old man to see if they knew where Kay had gone, until finally she found Kay in the Snow Queen’s castle.

Kay didn’t respond to Gerta at first, until her tears melted his frozen heart. The Snow Queen saw her reflection in Gerta’s mirror, turning her back into the kind little girl that she used to be, letting Kay and Gerta return to their home together.

If you know anything about Frozen, you know these stories are not similar at all.

Instead, there are some aspects of the two stories that overlap.

The frozen heart, Ice Queen, and the act of love thawing their heart are two of the aspects that overlap, but otherwise there’s nothing similar about them.

The Snow Queen is what it is. A short story that, at its time, was something of magic and wonderment. It’s a great story for kids and adults.

I hadn’t actually read the story until recently, and I quite enjoyed it. Its a simple piece to read, but I found it very inspiring and thought provoking.

Anderson is a fantastic author, and does a good job of creating a story filled with joy and wonder for all ages.

Have you read The Snow Queen? I’ve never spoken to someone who has, so let’s talk about it in the comments.

My Top 5 Instagram Artists

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The word artistic is one word that is never associated to me. I am far from artsy, and should steer clear of making art, for fear of ruining what the word means.

What I can do though, is appreciate some really wonderful artists that I enjoy, so I’ve made a Top 5 list of my favourite Instagram artists.

Before I start I will apologize now for all of the butchering of any and all artistic terms that will be found somewhere in this post, and if you have any suggestions for artists to take a look at, please let me know! I’m always looking for new accounts to explore. 

NUMBER 5: @albin_smaili97

Albin does some really amazing work creating anime themed art, and has a focus of doing different mashups for each piece. Another thing Albin likes to do is create the same picture, but in three different styles and each one of them looks distinct and cool in its own way.

He has a big focus on Naruto themed sketches, but does include some other anime and uses the same style. If you’re an anime fan I definitely recommend taking a look at Albin’s nice, what looks like pen, drawings. It’s a sort of ‘messy’ look, but when it’s all done it looks really cool.

Check out some of the awesome mashup art here.

 

 

NUMBER 4: @lulusketches

So as I found out, Laura (lulusketches) is an artist that works for Disney (dream job for many I assume) and creates some really spectacular pieces. Some scenery art, some character design, Laura creates some beautiful pieces of art you should definitely check out.

I don’t know the term for her type of art style, but its cartoonish and her use of colours truly mimic the real life they are eminating.

Explore her other wonderful creations here.

View this post on Instagram

another background I painted for #tangledtheseries!

A post shared by Laura Price (@lulusketches) on

 

NUMBER 3: @jasricart

Jasric loves her her superheroes, and does a hell of a good job drawing them. Don’t get me wrong though, her superheroes are spectacular, but she does other pieces as well.

Whether it’s anime, comic book, or fantasy inspired, Jasric’s Instagram is a perfect platform to showcase her talent.

I don’t know what her art style would be called, but whatever it is, you can see her progression of some of her drawings, and she has gone from great to somehow even better

Check out her Instagram profile for some beautiful artwork.

 

 

NUMBER 2: @danielkordek

Daniel has got his subjects figured out on his Instagram page, and does a great job capturing them in his work.  There are some really gorgeous pieces, whether they are based on his own imagination or using a cartoon to base his drawing off of.

He has a lot of simplistic art pieces that are truly amazing to look at, and his pieces are a lot more tasteful than some other artists who have a similar style. There are some wonderful cartoon style drawing you should definitely check out.

Check out his wonderful art here. 

 

NUMBER 1: @megancrisp2424

I don’t know what this art style would be called, but I have always loved it, and Megan’s Instagram account is filled with it! The pieces are usually pretty simple, but it is in the simplicity that the beauty is found. Her art tends to have one main focus, taking up most of the picture, but the one subject is all you need to look at.

Megan has cute and adorable pieces and even some more serious ones. When I was looking at most of her pieces I could imagine it being from a cartoon or animated short film.

Check out Megan’s Instagram page here.

 

This isn’t an extensive list of the whole art community on Instagram, but just my favourite artists that I know about. I hope you enjoyed the list!

Book Review: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

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Rating: ★★★☆☆

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is a truly extraordinary Viking hero known throughout Vikingdom as “the Dragon Whisperer”…but it wasn’t always so. Travel back to the days when the mighty warrior was just a boy, the quiet and thoughtful son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. Can Hiccup capture a dragon and train it without being torn limb from limb? Join the adventure as the small boy finds a better way to train his dragon and become a hero!

The third and final movie in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy came out over the weekend, so I figured it would be a good idea to give a review of the book that started it all.

How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_First_Edition_Cover

I read this book when I was a kid, obsessed with dragons and knights and everything magical and mystical.

I originally thought the movies were only based off of the first book, because I thought that there only was one book. I had no idea that there was a whole series about the How to Train Your Dragon world.

The movie was good, I saw it on the weekend, but I thought the book was good too.

I honestly don’t remember a good portion of the book, but from what I do remember it was a sort of “manual” of how to train a dragon, and the main character Hiccup had to do just that, with a dragon he later calls toothless, who he needs to pass the initiation for his Viking Tribe.

It’s a fun little book. I don’t remember ever reading a book where the dragon was considered a “pet” of sorts, but I thought How to Train Your Dragon took the idea and played off of it well.

If you’ve seen the movie but haven’t had a chance to read the book yet but plan on it, don’t get your hopes up too high. In this case the book and the movies are VERY different from each other, but in this case I’m actually okay with it.

The general premise is the same. A scrawny viking chief-to-be has to fit in with his culture and train a dragon but that’s basically where the similarities end.

Some characters have the same names, some dragons too, but the overall story is different.

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Usually I get upset because the movies ruin the books for the most part, but in this case I think the movies did a fantastic job at taking their source material and making it something new. I wouldn’t say the books are better per se, they’re just different.

Did you know How to Train Your Dragon was a book before it was a movie? Have you read it? Or if you’ve seen the movie I’d love to discuss the new movie in the comments, I really enjoyed it. 

Next week I’m gonna take a look at a book with different short stories in it, given to me by some wonderful authors. The book might be a little spooky, so I’m excited.

QOTD: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

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If you’ve been up all night and cried till you have no more tears left in you – you will know that there comes in the end a sort of quietness. You feel as if nothing was ever going to happen again.

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Channel Update

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Alright so I originally started this blog as a school assignment but I really started to like it and spent some free time during the term figuring out whether or not I should take the blog full time, and how I would be able to do that.

Well good news is I figured out how I can do both of those. I’ve got new ideas for the blog and plan on updating it every day, but I’m not guarenteeing anything with school going on.

So here is the updated schedule of what the posts will look like:

Monday: Book Review

Tuesday: Type it Out Tuesdays (post different writing prompts for people     interested in writing themselves)

Wednesday: Book related news (books being adapted to movies/tv shows, new books coming out, etc.)

Thursday: Thursday Thoughts (different thoughts I have on book related things ex. My Top 10s, Book related life stories, seasonal book topics, writing challenges etc.)

Friday: Quote of the Day (from the book I reviewed that week)

Saturday/Sunday: Taking a break to relax

I also have some channel updates coming out too. I want to update the books I’ve read/want to read  and throw in alphabetical shortcuts so it’s easier to find the author.

I’m also gonna make a Facebook group book club so theres an easier platform for more people to chat about a book. The book club will be one book a month to start instead of every week.

I’m also going to update some pictures and minor pages on the blog itself.

I hope everyone is as excited as I am for this update.