#TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins Review!

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins Written By: Clint, Griffin, Justin and Travis McElroy Illustrated by: Carey Pietsch Comic book First Second Publisher, 2018 Based on the podcast The Adventure Zone: Balance

Rating: 4.5/5 Waves

This review does NOT contain major spoilers for The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins.

Summary: A D&D based adventure comic starring three unlikely friends: Magnus, a human fighter with a heart of gold, Taako, an elf wizard who can charm the pants off a bugbear, and Merle, a dwarf cleric with just enough blood to go around. When a routine delivery to Haverdale goes sideways our heroes must face gerblins, mages, animated robots and the titillating mysteries that unravel in the lost mine of Haverdale.

Review: I’d like to start this review with a disclaimer: I have listened to and thoroughly enjoyed the entirety of the podcast that this comic book is based off of, The Adventure Zone: Balance. Therefore, my review of this comic is going to be a bit biased. I know how this story ends and I’ve already bought into the shenanigans, genius and tomfoolery that are the McElroys playing D&D. Nevertheless, I attempted to approach this re-read from the perspective of someone who didn’t already know and love The Adventure Zone.

The very first thing that stands out about The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins comic is, of course, the art. Carey Pietsch does such a fantastic job of conveying action and emotion that I never lost track of the characters or their movement, even in the most hectic fight scenes. The art style is colorful, detailed and dynamic in a way that is incredibly engaging to look at. Even on my third read through I found new and wonderful details that added to the experience. Comic book art is critical to the enjoyment of comics and I am so glad they hit it out of the park with this one.

Character design is also an important component of why I enjoyed the story so much. As a fan of the podcast I knew what Taako, Magnus and Merle looked like in my head and, while Pietsch puts her own spin on the characters, everyone was perfectly recognizable. Her designs felt faithful to the spirit of the characters and the range of emotions portrayed in her art allowed me to almost hear the characters’ voices in my head.

The plot and the dialogue of The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is taken from the podcast The Adventure Zone: Balance and they did a good job of keeping both the flow of dialogue and the jokes from the original. There were many scenes in this comic that made me grin so hard my cheeks hurt and some lines like “He vas one day from spider retirement!” had me trying to explain Bryan and Magic Brian to my mother through my laughter (not an easy task). The comic also had an excellent blend of humor and seriousness. The humor rarely distracted from the meat of the story and kept what could have been some extremely depressing plot points relatively light.

The best thing about this comic, in my opinion, is its length. The first arc of The Adventure Zone: Balance podcast is more than 10 hours of audio content. The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins covers the same story, but it can be read comfortably in an afternoon. The comic is also broken up into convenient chapters for people who don’t have time to get through it all at once. I also loved that there is now an alternative to listening to this story via podcast. This may come as a surprise, but I am not a big fan of podcasts and listening to the 80+ hour entirety of The Adventure Zone: Balance was a strenuous labor of love. So for people who don’t have the time, or the mental focus to go through that, this comic is a fantastic way to engage with a potentially inaccessible story.  

One thing all readers should be ready for with The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is that it is the first comic in a series and while it has its own stand alone story, the last couple chapters are very clearly setting up the rest of the series. The ending is nearly a cliff-hanger with how much it tries to drag you into the next arc of the narrative, which for some readers is bug and for others it’s a feature. As of February 2021, only three of the eight arcs from The Adventure Zone: Balance have been made into comics so if you are the type of reader who needs to binge the entire thing, you might want to give it a few years.

The reason I didn’t give The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins full marks was because I felt there was a bit of a barrier to entry to enjoy this comic. People who haven’t engaged with the podcast will get a full and satisfying story, but they will miss a good amount of the humor and in-jokes tossed around in the characters’ dialogue. Even me, someone who loves the podcast with all my heart, felt like some things went over my head because it's been years since I finished The Adventure Zone: Balance. Additionally, readers who are not familiar with D&D might have a tough time with some of the scenes. Unlike the podcast wherein the players were learning to play D&D with the audience, the comic assumes the reader has a basic grasp of D&D concepts like what a Dungeon Master does and what a Perception Check is. Background knowledge in D&D isn’t critical to understand most of the plot or characters, but for some scenes my experience with D&D really helped me make sense of what I was looking at. At the end of the day, though, I don’t think either of these barriers would make the comic unreadable.

Overall, this comic is a very fun read with fabulous art, hilarious jokes and an engaging adventure. It’s the perfect length of story to be read and enjoyed over and over again.

[tidelord]

Happy birthday, tidemod!

((thank youuu!))

[wehavethoughts]

On a Sunbeam Review!

On a Sunbeam By: Tillie Walden Science Fiction Graphic Novel First Second Publisher, 2018

Rating: 4/5 Waves

This review CONTAINS (mild) spoilers for On a Sunbeam.

Content warnings for On a Sunbeam: Violence, bullying, transphobia (brief misgendering of a non-binary character)

Summary: Mia is a young woman just out of academy who begins work with a construction crew specializing in repairing ancient and forgotten places. Throughout her journey, glimpses of Mia’s past show that she has some unfinished and dangerous business she needs to complete before she truly moves forward with her life. A tale of love, adventure and belonging (~in space~).

Review: The first thing that stands out about this graphic novel is, of course, the art. The style is whimsical and lively in a way that I was not expecting going into a science fiction story. While I’m more used to the cluttered gritty sci-fi look, I adored this creative decision. The author also uses color well both to emphasize climactic moments and to disgust between two distinct timelines (past and present). I also loved how beautiful all of the places the characters visited were. Walden clearly had a vision for this sci-fi world and the visuals are some of the most compelling aspects of this story. The only location that I didn’t find appealing was the academy that we see in Mia’s flashbacks. While that may be intentional, the academy stood out as so bland and sterile that in most of those scenes I found myself hoping that we would switch our focus back to the interesting places Mia found herself in the present.

Walden also does a great job at building tension throughout the story. Between the art and how the plot builds I was on the edge of my seat for the final third of this book. That being said, the first two thirds of this book were much slower than I prefer in a graphic novel and it took me longer to finish this book than I usually would because I kept putting it down in the beginning. I still highly recommend it though, because once the story gets going it really moves!

Besides the great art, On a Sunbeam also has some fabulous characters and I loved that in the main cast we get a non-binary crew mate and many women of color. All of our characters get their own arc and are complex and multifaceted in a way that we need to see more of in media. One very interesting aspect of this graphic novel is that there are no male main characters. In fact, I am almost certain that there are no male characters in this story at all. Personally, I did not find this to be distracting. In fact, I didn’t notice until about half way through, but for anyone expecting male characters it is something to be aware of.

At its heart, On a Sunbeam is a love story and what resonated with me the most was that this was a sapphic love story. The journey of Mia and her girlfriend Grace is beautiful, moving and wildly refreshing in that there is no homophobia in the science fiction setting that Walden crafted. What comes between these lovers is culture, obligation and geography which are in no way related to the fact that they are both women. In fact, the captain of Mia’s construction crew is in a loving supportive marriage with her wife and the presence of multiple sapphic couples in the narrative is treated as commonplace and with the utmost respect. 

That being said, the society in this story not completely idealistic as the non-binary crew mate, Elliot, is misgendered by an antagonistic character. This is immediately and thoroughly addressed in the narrative, but in a setting where the author decided to exclude homophobia, I had hoped to avoid all types of bigotry.

Overall, On a Sunbeam is a quick, fun story that is a must read for anyone interested in science fiction, action adventure and/or love stories.  

[wehavethoughts]

Bonus Thoughts! by TideMod

Kiki’s Delivery Service (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 1989) may not be the flashiest or the spiciest movie out there, but it was exactly what I needed to get through 2020. This movie is infused with so much love and peace that watching it soothed my fraying psyche every time. Knowing how the movie ends allowed me to immerse myself in Kiki’s world where differences are celebrated, strangers are kind and communities come together to support one another. The cognitive dissonance I experienced the first time I watched it faded with time and I found myself trusting and yearning for this world that Kiki lives in. It isn’t perfect, but it is so, so beautiful and something that I honestly believe we can build.

Maybe one day, future generations will watch this movie and Kiki’s world and our world will have more similarities than differences. Until then, when my doubts circle and I lose my edge I’ll remember Ursula’s wise words: 

“Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you’ll be flying again!”

[wehavethoughts]

Jingle Jangle Review!

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey David E. Talbert (2020) Netflix Original Movie Fantasy, Holiday, Musical, Children’s Movie

Rating: 5/5 Waves

“I think it’s time for a new story.” – Journey

This review CONTAINS spoilers for Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Summary: Jeronicus Jangle is a genius toymaker who has everything he’s ever wanted until betrayal and tragedy strike and rip away his magic and inspiration. Jingle Jangle follows his journey with his bright, spunky granddaughter to finding his way out of darkness and towards family, love and inspiration.

No content warnings apply for Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Last year was a mess and 2021 is already on thin ice, but one of the best things to happen to me this season was my girlfriend sitting me down and convincing me to watch Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. While the trailer looked fun, especially since it was a musical Christmas story featuring a primarily black cast, I hadn’t prioritized watching it. I tend to feel that everything has already been made when it comes to Christmas movies and I don’t want or need another retelling of the same stories. If I need a bump of Christmas spirit around the holidays, I indulge in a classic and move on. Fortunately for me, she wanted to watch it and we needed a Christmas Eve movie.

I loved so much about this movie that I could write tens of thousands of words singing its praises, but I wouldn’t do that to you, so I will narrow my praises to the most important parts of this movie to me. At the top of the list is just how good this movie looks.

Jingle Jangle is one of the most visually appealing movies I’ve ever seen. From the set to the costumes to the choreography, every single shot of this movie was pleasing to the eye. The clothing was sharp and colorful in a way that I expected to get on my nerves, but it ended up stunning. Costume designer Michael Wilkinson described the fashion as “Afro Victorian”. The characters’ hairstyles are another part of the costuming that stood out. They were creative and fun while also adding dimension to the characters’ looks. And let me just take a minute to personally thank the creators of Jingle Jangle for allowing all of these black characters to have natural hair. I have never seen that in a movie and it almost made me cry. Both the clothing and the hairstyles mirrored the characters’ arcs and added depth to the narrative.

The beauty of this movie can mostly be attributed to its fabulous designers, but I also want to point out that everything looked and felt fabulously expensive. I could not find the budget of Jingle Jangle in USD, but with every set piece, CGI shot, song and outfit you could tell that someone who loved this project spent a whole lot of money on it. It is refreshing to see a story like this getting the financial backing to do it properly.

The visuals were so stunning, in fact, that even if the actual story had been terrible, I would still have been happy to just sit and watch it on mute. Fortunately, Jingle Jangle’s story was phenomenal; heartwarming and inspiring with just enough humor to keep it light without feeling overly juvenile. It also had such meaningful emotional themes that I cried at least three times (in a good way).

The emotional core of this movie is the relationship between Jeronicus and his granddaughter Journey. Jeronicus is a grumpy, disillusioned inventor who abandoned his aspirations after achieving his dreams lead to nothing but betrayal and heartache. Journey is a bright, talented child who wants to learn from her brilliant grandfather, but she realizes she has to reignite his belief in himself first. The story centers around belief in the impossible, like most Christmas stories, but instead of asking the audience to believe in something like Santa Claus, Jingle Jangle reminds the audience to believe in themselves and their own abilities. Personally, I’ve never felt more inspired than when a small child belted about how “The square root of impossible is me!” The story digs into how depression can destroy a person’s creativity and inspiration and sometimes what we need is other people believing in us so we can be reminded to believe in ourselves.

My whole deal is reviewing fantasy though, so I feel like I should mention magic. Like most things in the movie it is very pretty to look at. When Jeronicus and Journey use their magic it is glittery, dazzling and very obviously a metaphor for imagination and creativity. Personally, these characters could have probably just have been very smart, but having a visual to see them thinking in new and exciting ways was nice. Math-but-its-glowing as a magic system is not something I’ve seen much of recently, but I know just enough math words to delight in what is coming out of these character’s mouths when they talk about their inventions. This might be a difficult movie for haters of math or people who study it for a living. If hearing characters say things like, “Belief! It collapsed the wave function.” and “Take the circumference of spectacular, divided by the second derivative of sensational…” is a deal breaker for you, then maybe skip this movie.

Also, I should note that this movie is a musical. This came as a surprise to us the first time we watched it, but luckily we love musicals. The first time the music swelled and Jeronicus started singing we were swept away by the magic of the moment, delightfully surprised and in awe of the musical talent. Every single song in this movie is energetic, fun and refreshingly Black. Director David E. Talbert said that he was inspired by southern soul and gospel music as well as Afrobeat and other primarily black genres. The mix of inspiration creates joyful and fresh new songs for the holiday season.

As a whole this movie got my highest rating because the things I love about it outweigh the flaws. That being said, there are a couple pieces of the story that either didn’t make sense or it feels like they did not think all the way through. First of all, the main conflict revolves around the villain Don Juan, a toy matador who has been given sentience through Jeronicus’s miraculous inventions, not wanting to be mass produced. While the story tries to convince us that the conflict revolves around Don Juan’s narcissism, if you think about this plot point too hard you realize that our protagonist plans to mass produce and sell his creations that are clearly alive and intelligent. Obviously the movie doesn’t dig into the ethics of this, since Don Juan is more concerned about not being one-of-a-kind rather than worried that he is going to be bought and sold as a commodity, but it is a concerning angle that implies some very uncomfortable things about this universe.

Another piece that I found falls apart when you think about it too hard is the framing of the story within a story. Jingle Jangle is told a bedtime story being read by a grandmother to her grandchild (similar to the Princess Bride). The first scenes introduce us to a couple of cute kids who ask their grandmother for a Christmas story and in opening the book we get some spectacular CGI and animation to introduce us to Jeronicus’s world. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this method of storytelling, I found it to be unnecessary since the children listening to the story and the grandmother don’t add much as independent characters. Unfortunately, the story seemed to feel the need to justify these characters’ existence and so in a big reveal at the end we discover that the grandmother is Journey, Jeronicus’s granddaughter.

While seeing Journey with her grandchildren is cute, it leads to questions that I personally did not need to have at the end of this otherwise tied up narrative. For example, the children seem to have never heard of Jeronicus Jangle, Don Juan or Buddy 3000 (another important toy character), yet we are meant to believe that Jeronicus’s story happened in the universe that the children live in? Why wouldn’t they know stories about their rich and famous great-great-grandfather? Why had they never heard of Jeronicus Jangle when it is implied that the toys they have grown up with would have been his or his family’s inventions? By making the children related to the people in the story, the writers distracted me from Jeronicus and Journey whose story is much more interesting and heartwarming. Jingle Jangle is a movie that asks me to think and reflect, so I don’t feel bad poking holes in the story, but I don’t love that they left me hanging with all these questions.  

Additionally, there are also some things that I wish the writers hadn’t included in the movie at all. For example, they fridged Jeronicus’s wife almost immediately which was completely unnecessary and I hated to see that in a movie that got so many other things right. Also, having the only obviously Hispanic character (Don Juan Diego) be the villain in such a cartoon-y way left a bad taste in my mouth.

But Jingle Jangle still got my highest rating because as the sum of its parts, it was a fantastic story and I am so glad I got the chance to watch it. My very favorite part of this movie that has stuck with me even weeks after my first viewing is the relationship between Jeronicus and his family. There are sections of this movie where Jeronicus falls into the stereotypical absentee black father trope, but this story allows his character space to talk about what he did wrong, how he is hurting and Jeronicus learns to do better which is so important. I love the current trend in movies where parents apologize to their children because that can be such a healing experience and Jingle Jangle gives us that, but additionally, it makes the parent work for it and prove to their child that they are healing themselves. It offers hope to children struggling through painful situations like this and give parents an example of how they might be able to fix what they broke.

Overall, Jingle Jangle left me with a feeling of joy and contentment while inspiring me to remember what I used to love and rethink my self-imposed limits. The core message of this movie is a reminder that sometimes our lack of belief in our own skills is enough to stop us from achieving our dreams. Jingle Jangle reminds us to believe in our own capacity and lift each other up even when times are difficult. I don’t know if this movie will become a classic in the general consciousness, but it will certainly become a tradition in my family.

~TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

Crooked Kingdom Review!

Crooked Kingdom

By: Liegh Bardugo

YA Fantasy Novel

Henry Hold & Company, 2016

Rating: 5/5 Waves!

Summary: Book two in the Six of Crows Duology. Inej has been kidnapped, Ketterdam is no longer safe and our favorite group of misfits still has not gotten paid! Follow Kaz and crew on their exciting journey towards revenge, friendship, redemption and (most importantly) cold hard cash.   

This review CONTAINS (mild) spoilers for the novel Crooked Kingdom.

Content Warnings for Crooked Kingdom: Violence, Death, Drug addiction, Plague, Forced Prostitution (mentioned), Fantasy Racism, Sexism, Slavery/Indentured Servitude, Mental Asylums

“Brick by brick.” – Kaz Brekker, Dirtyhands, the Bastard of the Barrel whenever he’s brooding.

I’ve been saving my highest wave rating for a piece of fantasy media that really impressed me, something that I could recommend completely to friends, family and random people on the street. Crooked Kingdom (and by extension the entire Six of Crows duology) by Liegh Bardugo is that fantasy media! Not only does this novel fix all of the problems I had with the first book (Six of Crows), but it expands on the universe and characters in a way that kept me guessing, engaged and completely enamored.

There are so many phenomenal things about this book from its world-building to the story itself, but my absolute favorite aspects were the pacing and the characters. Plans worked, plans failed, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I never wanted to slow down and if I had to stop (to eat and sleep), I knew I would have no problem jumping back into the story. It was an easy read and even though some of the themes were pretty heavy (drug addiction recovery and self worth issues), it was still light enough that I could pick it up regardless of my state of mind.

As for the characters, every single one of our main six get to be interesting, well-rounded and relatable. Even the mastermind who is characterized as extraordinarily brilliant feels like a real person with characteristics that are easy to empathize with. Nearly everyone gets a great arc that leaves the reader more than satisfied (my favorites are Jesper’s and Kaz’s). On one hand, I am glad this series was a duology because it gave the author enough time to tell one long, very well thought out story without having to compress it into one book or drag it out to three. On the other hand, I would like at least a dozen more of these books because I love them so, so much. But I can appreciate that Bardugo showed a lot of restraint in telling the story she wanted to and then stopped, especially in today’s world of extended series that follow the same characters for years long past when the original story had concluded.

I loved so many things about this story that I literally cannot post them all, so here are some highlights that I really want to share (Note: the last one is technically a spoiler, but I won’t go into much detail): 1) The POV of the first and last chapters are not from the main characters’ perspectives so they add a fun dimension to the story that make the world feel really lived in. 2) The romance plots were very well done. As a 27 year-old, I usually can’t relate to teen romance, but I adored watching characters come together. 3) The maps were once again fantastic! When I saw the intricate map of Ketterdam I knew this book was going to be phenomenal. 4) Bardugo does NOT bury her gays. She had the opportunity to and I was on the edge of my seat, but she avoided using that damaging trope!

One thing that didn’t affect the rating but could ruin the book for some readers is that we get an eleventh hour tragedy. To me, this reads like the author didn’t want her main characters getting away with everything unscathed. To avoid major spoilers, I am not going to say what happens, but it is a major development right at the end that to me felt unnecessary. There seems to be a trend in fantasy media where something or someone important has to be lost before you get to the end or else the characters didn’t earn their happy ending. I completely disagree and don’t think clever, creative, and competent characters need to earn their happiness by losing something, especially if it is outside of their control. To me the cost wasn’t high enough to decrease the rating, but if you are interested in spoilers feel free to message me.

It is so difficult to find a series that starts strong and finishes stronger, but Bardugo delivers with the perfect balance of heist, drama and brilliance. I will be rereading this duology over and over for the rest of my life and recommending it to everyone who will listen!

Tldr; If you love heists, diversity, intrigue and/or revenge plots this is the series for you. 5/5 Waves! Go read this! It’s fantastic!

~TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

Kiki’s Delivery Service Review!

Kiki's Delivery Service By: Hayao Miyazaki Fantasy/Coming-of-age Movie Studio Ghibli, 1989

Rating: 4.5/5 Waves

Content warning for Kiki's Delivery Service: Depression

This review does NOT contain spoilers for Kiki's Delivery Service.

Summary: Kiki, a thirteen-year-old witch, and Jiji, her black cat familiar, leave home for a traditional training year wherein young witches find a new town and develop their own individual magic. Overwhelmed in the big city, Kiki needs to figure out what she is good at, what she likes and who she wants to be. A story of adventure, friendship and growing up.

In times like these the best thing you can do for your soul is to find a Studio Ghibli movie you’ve never seen and dig in. As a Miyazaki fan it was odd that I had never seen Kiki's Delivery Service and now seemed like the perfect time for something light and beautiful and boy did this movie deliver ;D

The list of reasons I loved this movie is too long to include here, so I will highlight the best of the best. First and foremost, the art and music are spectacular. The 2D animation is smooth and soothing (as you would expect from Studio Ghibli animation) and the character designs are cute and comforting across the board from Kiki’s adorable self to the kindly old dog, Jeff, we only see for a few scenes.

The animation style also allowed for another one of my favorite parts of this movie, the physical comedy. So often with live-action physical comedy I am left with the lingering guilt of ‘are they ok?’, but the physical comedy in this movie won’t leave you cringing. They way the artists clearly convey the limitations of flying on a broomstick in silly whimsical ways had me laughing out loud many many times.

Aside from the art, the story and how the characters are written also impressed me. Kiki is thirteen years old and you never forget that. In some stories, especially coming-of-age stories it can feel like the children change so drastically that they go from the maturity of a teen to that of an adult over the course of a few days or weeks. I am not sure how they did it, but they gave me a thirteen-year-old protagonist who is clearly and accurately written as her age, the entire story and still vastly relatable to a wider audience. She learns, she grows, but this isn’t a story about lost innocence, which was a relief.

In fact, most of the themes and messages were realistic and hopeful in a way that left me inspired and motivated. Kiki’s struggles resonated with me and seeing her tackle those problems with the help and wisdom of those around her was a delight to watch.

Finally, something I was so happy to see was the world’s acceptance of witches. It was refreshing to see a witch story that is not about keeping secrets and slowly destroying yourself to save the world. Rather, her powers were something that people found impressive, handy and, in Tombo’s case, awe-inspiring. She was different from other people, yes, but those differences were celebrated much more than they were looked down upon and I absolutely loved it.

The reasons this movie did not get full marks are limited, but this is a review so I’ll explain. For me the issues were the pacing, the inexplicable magical training program, and my own personal cognitive dissonance regarding how nice everyone was to Kiki. The pacing was a bit too slow for my tastes and for people who are used to animation having a Disney style pace (action, song, conflict, song, resolution, song). Since the art and scenery were beautiful I didn’t always mind the excessive wide shots and slow pans, but some scenes were just a little too slow for me.

Another minor issue I had with this movie (as an American) was the lack of logic in how young witches are supposed to be trained. At the very beginning of the movie we learn that at thirteen years old all witches leave home for one year to train, but they do not seek out a mentor, rather they are meant to just go get a job. I understand this seems to be a trial by fire situation, but it seems like a terrible way to learn magic. I also didn’t like how her mother, who was also a witch and went through the same thing at thirteen could leave Kiki so unprepared for her training year. There were several trials Kiki encountered that could have been avoided if her mother had sat her down and taught her about the world and how to be a witch. Even a basic “Here is how I did it” conversation probably could have saved Kiki a lot of trouble. If every witch goes on this training year, then it seems like it would be pretty easy to prepare your own child for this kind of adventure. It didn’t sit well with me that this mother, who was shown to clearly love her daughter, would drop the ball so thoroughly on Kiki’s early training.

And finally, one thing that I loved and that also didn’t sit well with me was how nice everyone was to Kiki. I found myself wishing at many points throughout the movie that people in real life were that kind to strangers and people they didn’t understand. Kiki’s world is stunningly beautiful in its abundance of kindness, but I kept pulling myself out of the story with worry wondering when the other shoe was going to drop. Surely people couldn’t be this nice, of course this is too good to be true. This speaks more to the world I grew up in: that in a fantasy movie the hardest part for me to wrap my head around was that a thirteen-year-old girl from a small town could move to the city and meet wonderful people and the problems she faces aren’t of the predator/poverty/“you shouldn’t have talked to strangers” variety. Like sure, she can fly on a broom and her cat talks, but how in the world did she get an apartment that nice? It’s jarring, but in a wonderful way. It left me wishing the world was truly like that, but it also reminded me that a little kindness can go a long way.

Tldr; At the end of the day, this movie left me with a sense of joy and contentment that I don’t get from movies so much these days. It is a fun, beautiful story that I highly recommend to anyone in need of a little happiness.

~TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

Six of Crows Review!

Six of Crows

By: Leigh Bardugo

YA Fantasy Novel

Henry Hold & Company, 2015

Rating: 4.5/5 Waves

Summary: Six rag-tag teens are offered the job of a lifetime: more money than they know what to do with and all they have to do is spring a scientist from the most heavily fortified prison in the world. A daring adventure filled with magic, love and betrayal. 

The review CONTAINS (mild) spoilers for the novel Six of Crows.

Content Warning for Six of Crows: Blood, Violence, Death, Forced Prostitution (mentioned), Fantasy Racism, Sexism, Slavery/Indentured Servitude

“No Mourners. No Funerals.” – All of these wonderful characters right before they do something insane.

I can’t tell you how refreshing it was for me to pick this book up and read in three days. It’s been years since I’ve found a book that I simply could not put down. From the writing style to the pacing to the clever characters, this book had everything I didn’t know I needed. Before I dive into why this book knocked my socks off, I want to give a shout out to the several friends who recommended this book to me over the years (you know who you are). You were right! I loved it <3

Aside from how highly recommended this book was, I knew pretty early on that this book was a great fit for me. The first clue was that there are not one, but two maps in the front. I might be the only one, but a good map to start off my fantasy book always puts me in a very good mood. In my version of the book, the maps are illustrated by Keith Thompson and they are beautiful. The detail and imagination that went into these maps, particularly the Ice Court schematic really allowed me to immerse myself in the story, especially since one of the characters actually sketches the Ice Court in the novel. It is so easy to imagine Wylan hunched over a piece of parchment drawing this spectacular map.

My second clue that I would love this book was that it is a heist novel. In fact, knowing that this book was about a fantasy heist was at least half the reason I decided to read it, and Bardugo did not disappoint. What I find to be most compelling about this heist story is how she lays out the mission as nearly impossible, but never gives the reader a reason to doubt the characters’ resolve. Sure this heist seems insane and doomed to fail, but our faith in the characters keeps the reader invested. Bardugo also did a great job with her foreshadowing. The plot twists and the way the characters solved their problems, while surprising, always made sense in hindsight. There were never any instances where I felt like Bardugo used her magic system to ‘cheat’ the character’s out of a bad situation or where the characters were just so clever there was no way I could have ever guessed what they were going to do. The book kept me on my toes, but it never made me feel stupid.

As I mentioned in my About Page, I love me a good magic system, and Bardugo delivers fun and vibrant magic with clear rules and expectations that just beg to be broken. She also does a great job integrating the magic into a world that feels complex and expansive. This world has both a history and a future in a way that makes me feel like the author put a lot of good work in and loves this world as much as I do. My favorite detail is how Bardugo used language and language barriers in the story. The main cast are from different countries within this world and logically speak different languages, though fortunately most are multilingual. I just love the little details like how Wylan speaks schoolroom Fjerdan because he learned it from his tutors and how Matthias only just learned Kerch during his time in prison. It gives the world a fun realistic dimension.

Hands down the best thing about this story is the characters. Usually at this point in the review I have to sigh and tell you that it was a fun book but the diversity was lacking. Fortunately for us Bardugo gives us a beautifully diverse cast of well rounded and compelling characters. Of the six main cast, only one is an able-bodied straight white man (I am making some assumptions about Matthias’ sexuality so you will have to forgive me) and in an age where I am still reeling from the Avenger’s lineup this crew was a breath of fresh air. Every single character comes out of the gate interesting, three-dimensional and just a delight to read. This book is constructed so that every chapter we switch point of view and I found myself excited to see how each character thought and reacted to the wild situations they ended up in. Also, the way Bardugo gets the reader to care deeply for her characters does a fantastic job in creating high stakes with real tension. I found myself holding my breath and flipping pages with much more force than necessary during some high stress scenes. Even the characters that were clearly not good people had me checking my moral compass from time to time and cheering for them anyway.   

I think it’s also important to include how much I liked the writing style of this novel. Everything I listed above wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable if the flow and pacing of the writing were not enjoyable to me. This novel is written in a fairly typical YA style of fantasy, fast pace and dialogue heavy, which I loved. There was enough description that I never felt lost, but I also never got bogged down in details I didn’t care about. Bardugo also made a fun choice to break the book up into six parts and at the end of each part there are two full black pages with the part title. The first couple times I mostly ignored it, but when a character is in physical danger and you flip the page and it’s just black! That is a great use of your physical medium! I got chills.

I have one nit-pick that didn’t deeply affect this book’s rating, but could be a deal-breaker for other readers. First of all, this novel is the first in a duology and it does not stand on its own as a story. While the main conflict does get resolved, another plot starts in the last couple chapters and the story does not end at the end of the book. It is clear that a single story has been broken into two books and it came as a shock to me. Fortunately, unlike the poor suckers who read this when it came out in 2015 and had to wait a whole year for the sequel, I only have to wait about a week for my library to have it available. Still for people who want a stand alone book or enjoy when all of the books in a series have a neat and tidy ending, this is not the book for you.

The two things keeping this book from a perfect score were the fantasy racism and how the women were framed in this world. I am using the term ‘fantasy racism’ because there is systemic oppression in this fantasy world and that systemic oppression is a clear metaphor for real-life racism, but in the story the minority group is the one with magical powers and not an ethnic minority. Generally, I think this author did a good job at showing the damage institutionalized racism can do to specific countries and the world as a whole. What I did not enjoy was the sub-plot of one of the main cast (Matthias), who was a member of the highly bigoted ruling class of the most racist nation in this fantasy world, overcoming his racism not through critical thinking or learning to understand the value of lives that are different from his own, but rather because he fell in love. I am open to the idea of racists learning to respect the cultures they were prejudiced against and when done right can be a very powerful thing, but when romance is the key motivator it feels very hollow. Also I have trouble conceptualizing a woman of the minority group falling in love with someone who is literally a part of the military death squad in charge of hunting down her people (Nina I know he’s hot, but what the hell?). Either way, the idea of reforming a racist with the power of love is not a trope I enjoy in my media.

The second thing keeping this book from a perfect score is the treatment of the women characters. One thing I noticed early on is that nearly all of the women characters had been forced (either financially or physically) into prostitution or slavery. It makes the reader think that in this fantasy world the only places to find women are the brothels or in chains. This world is vibrant and full of so many interesting things and people, yet for women the world seems so very limited. I found myself disappointed that even in a novel written by a woman, a well loved character is described during the climax as ‘a  half-naked girl in shreds of teal chiffon’. To be fair, I have read fantasy books that have done their women characters much, much dirtier, but it’s unnecessary and exhausting. I notice it even in small doses and I’m sick of it. Fortunately, neither of these issues I had with the novel got a ton of page-time and there was always something else going on that I could focus on, like the strong female friendships and the brilliant disabled protagonist.

Tldr; Overall, best book I’ve read in a long time. I couldn’t give it a 5/5 because of some issues in how the fantasy racism and women were handled, but I would still highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes fantasy stories, diverse characters and/or a really good heist. 

~TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

The Untamed Review!

The Untamed (陈情令)

Written by: Yang Xia, Deng Yaoyu, Ma Jing and Guo Guangyun

Directed by: Zheng Weiwen and Chen Jialin

Based on Mo Dao Zu Shi (魔道祖师) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Tencent Penguin Pictures and New Style Media, 2019

Chinese fantasy (Xianxia) TV series

Rating: 3.5/5 Waves

Summary: Wei Wuxian is a prodigy cultivator known for his charm and recklessness. Lan Wanji is as powerful as he is strict. Wei Wuxian has never seen a rule he wouldn’t break and Lan Wanji had never broken a rule in his life. Their unlikely friendship is tested by war, loss, and nefarious schemes. Wei Wuxian awakes in a future he never expected to see and is tasked with unraveling a mystery that could upend the entire cultivation world.

This post does NOT contain spoilers for The Untamed.

Content Warnings for The Untamed: Violence, Torture, Death, Sexual Assault/Rape, Self-harm, Suicide, Incest

The Untamed is a fantasy TV series based on the novel Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. I’ve never read the book (though I intend to after seeing this show) so I can’t speak to how faithfully the original story was retold. Fortunately for fantasy fans like myself, the context of the original is unnecessary to fall in love with this show. The Untamed came highly recommended from friends and it is the first Chinese fantasy series I have ever seen. The show is in Mandarin, but for those of us who don’t speak that, Netflix has English, Vietnamese, and Spanish subtitle options. They were easy to follow and my friend who watched with me (and speaks Mandarin) assured me that the subtitles were acceptably accurate.

I loved so much about this show from the casting and costumes to complex characters and the devastating emotional impact. Every few episodes I had to stop and admire the cast and the character design in this show. The Untamed has a cast of more than 30 recurring memorable characters and every single actor slipped into their role perfectly. Between the talent of the actors and the attention to detail in their costumes, each character came across exactly as the narrative intended. There were clues and foreshadowing that an attentive viewer could follow by simply being able to identify a character from the hem of their robes or the pattern of their headpiece. The effort and skill that went into these characters make the show both beautiful to look at and exciting to follow.

Aside from the physical appearance of the characters, they were also spectacularly written. Nearly every single character has complex and realistic motivations that make even the side characters feel like real people. You can see why each choice was made, even though some will clearly have dire consequences. Even the villains of this story have so much depth that I’d catch myself saying, “Oh I see why you did that! It’s horrifyingly evil and irredeemable, but I get it.” And because of how well written these characters are, the emotional impact when we lose one to battle or betrayal is devastating.

I promised this review was spoiler-free so I will not say who doesn’t make it, but as a consumer of mostly American fantasy, this show surprised me. I’ve been told that in this genre (Xianxia), do not assume that characters are safe and plot armor isn’t always a thing. So fair warning for anyone who is interested in this show: a lot of characters die. The deaths make sense and while some are clearly for shock value, all have the appropriate emotional and political consequences in the story. But since all of the characters are both visually and narratively compelling, it’s going to hurt.

Another aspect of this show I enjoyed was the underlying LGBT+ themes. The novel that the show is based off of has explicitly queer characters and though that is not the case in The Untamed, the spirit of the source material is still very present in the show. As a member of the LGBT+ community, the subtext was abundantly clear to me. By excluding the physical intimacy of characters who were queer in the novel, they relied on the emotional intimacy to carry the story. This felt much more impactful than other media I’ve seen that relied solely on obvious romantic cues like kissing and saying “I love you” without creating depth in the relationships. In fact, from my perspective, nearly every character in the show was queer-coded in one way or another which was a very refreshing experience. On the other hand, I don’t want to gloss over the fact that the show did try to straight-wash these characters. The Untamed aired in China in 2019. Diversity and representation are so important and it is frustrating to see something mainstream come so close to being good representation while refusing to commit to it. Overall, they could have done better, but it was still pretty gay for not being gay.

Some reasons this show received only 3.5 waves in spite of me loving it include the narrative timeline and pacing, the special effects and editing, and the general lack of women characters. The Untamed made an interesting framing choice in that episodes 3-33 consist of one continuous flashback. Personally, I found it confusing and unnecessary. If 30 of 50 episodes are going to be flashbacks, why not simply tell the story in order? While this framing choice does give the audience some fun clues and increase the intrigue, by episode 34 I forgot everything that happened in the first two episodes. It also left me wondering why they would introduce the main plot and then immediately change course. While the story arcs in the flashback do cause the conflicts happening in the present, both time periods have their own distinct plot. In the flashback there is a war and its fallout that are explored. In the present timeline, the story is essentially a murder mystery. It felt like I was watching two separate shows.

A related problem I had with the show was the pacing. I loved seeing all of these characters on screen for fifty 40 minute episodes, but the source material is a single novel. This story could have been told in 30-40 episodes easily. This left some episodes lacking depth and feeling pointless, while also inexplicably leaving some subplots completely unexplored (the Yin Iron shard with the florist in episode 8 for example). This coupled with distracting editing choices-- like ending an episode mid-sentence or abruptly cutting between two unrelated scenes-- made bingeing this show difficult. Fortunately, by the time I started noticing this stuff I was already in too deep with the characters to stop. The special effects for some of the monsters also left something to be desired. While not a deal breaker for me, the poor special effects were made especially obvious by the exceptional costumes and set pieces.  

Another thing that decreased my rating of this show was the lack of women characters. In a cast this large, I was very disappointed in the number of women. While there doesn’t seem to be any explicit sexism in the show, the lack of women characters does seem to imply that women are not welcome in certain circles. In this fantasy setting there was so much room to have a balance of different genders, but the vast majority of the main characters (and most of the side characters) were all men. To be fair though, the women that were present got the same level of dedication into making their characters compelling and complex. For the purposes of representing women The Untamed is better than some media I’ve reviewed (looking at you A New Hope), but still left me wanting more.

Overall, I had a fantastic time watching this show. Is it a masterpiece in technical filmmaking? No. Did it have some of the best characters I’ve seen in a long time? Definitely. I highly recommend this show to anyone who loves deep characters, pretty costumes, or being absolutely wrecked emotionally.

~TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

Binti Review!

Binti

By: Nnedi Okorafor

Science Fiction Novella

Tom Doherty Associates, 2015

Rating: 4/5 Waves

Summary: Binti Ekeopara Zuzu Dambu Kaipka of Namib is a genius, a master harmonizer, and the first of the Himba people to be offered a scholarship to the esteemed Oomza University, the finest in the galaxy. Her journey is marred by another culture’s war and the ignorance of a galaxy that has never seen people like her. This is a story of change, understanding and harmony. 

This review CONTAINS (mild) spoilers for the novella Binti.

Content Warnings for Binti: Racism, Death, Violence, Gore

Binti is the first installment of a trilogy of novellas. At 90 pages, I was skeptical that this story could give me everything I was looking for in a science fiction narrative, but Binti delivers a rich story with imaginative and complex world-building in an easily consumable package. As a science fiction fan who rarely has time to crack open a sweeping epic, Binti was exactly what I needed. 

There were a bunch of things I loved about this novella, but my favorite was the world-building (or in this case galaxy-building). Some aspects of Binti were difficult to visualize for me, like her edan, an ancient piece of technology she found in the desert.  Generally, though, Okorafor does a great job in describing things, like the Meduse, an alien race, and the Miri 12, a living ship closely related to a shrimp, in just enough detail for my imagination to run wild. I also loved seeing a university in a science fiction book that was only 5% human and the other aliens described are not even vaguely humanoid. One of the professors is described as “like a spider made of wind, gray and undulating, here and not quite there.” The Meduse seem to be giant, floating, jellyfish-like creatures. It really drove home that this science fiction universe is not just a bunch of multicolored humans which was refreshing!

The themes of this book were also one of my favorite parts. There was a clear and resounding message to the story that felt organic and cleanly executed. Binti is a story that revolves around race, race relations and colonialism set in a science fiction world. This may sound cliché and that’s because it has been used in many science fiction narratives from Avatar to Animorphs to most of the Marvel movies that involve aliens, but Binti resonated with me in a way that those stories never did. 

The character Binti is Himba (an indigenous population from northern Namibia) and stands out from the other characters in the book both by the color of her skin and her use of otjize, an orange paste used to decorate her hair and skin. It is clear how she is set apart from her peers in the story through micro-aggressions and invasive questions because her culture is not understood by the Khoush people who are in a position of power on Earth. But these traits that set her apart also are the keys to overcoming challenges and conflicts throughout the story. Her differences are to be honored and celebrated not smothered or mocked. Binti could not have been the hero of this story without her culture and heritage.

The reasons Binti did not receive a perfect rating were the fact that the novella is written in the first person and the amount of violence. I find first-person perspective to be distracting and it tends to pull me out of the narrative. I do see the value of it in this story since it allows the reader to get inside Binti’s head and understand what she is going through, but reading first-person stories is challenging for me. Another issue I had with this story was the level of violence. It was unexpected; surprise massacres are not a plot device that I enjoy. I appreciated how we got to see Binti recover from the trauma of it and it highlights how strong she is as a character, but as a reader, the novella was so short that I didn’t have time to come to terms with this trauma and process it myself.

Tldr; Excellent science fiction story with wonderfully diverse world-building and an amazing protagonist! It was more violent than expected, but I will definitely be reading the next two in the trilogy.

~TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

World War Z Review!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War By Max Brooks Zombie/Science Fiction Novel Broadway Paperback, 2006

Rating: 1/5 Waves

Content Warnings for World War Z: Violence, Gore, Body Horror, Rape/Sexual Assault (non-explicit), Death, Self-harm, Suicide, Suicide Ideation, Racism, Slurs/Derogatory Language, Sexism (misogyny and internalized misogyny)  

This review CONTAINS spoilers for World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.

Plot Summary: Ten years after the culmination of the greatest conflict in human history, an interviewer for the United Nations has traveled the globe collecting stories about survival, loss and heroism. These interviews outline the complete history of World War Z: what happened, why it happened and how the world was rebuilt. The world survived, but at what cost?

 Before we get started, you should know I am not a zombie connoisseur. In fact, zombies are probably my least favorite of the Science Fiction/Fantasy (SFF) monsters. Sure, I know the concepts and basic rules of zombies like most American media consumers, but I never cared for the concept. Even during the boom of Zombie/End of the World/Dystopian fiction that flooded the market in the 00’s and 10’s, I couldn’t get behind the genre. Why? Mostly because zombies were scary and I am a wimp, but it’s critically important for you to know that my negative feelings regarding the zombie genre are not why I gave this book such a bad review. The zombies were honestly my favorite part. The problem I had with this book was the humans.

To say this book is all bad would be an outright lie; the premise itself was enough to invoke more than a passing interest. World War Z is written as a collection of interviews from people who survived the zombie war and so it is essentially a series of short stories that all take place in the same world and illuminate different sides of this fictional global conflict. Most zombie media, in my experience, is incredibly American-centric so when this book opens with Dr. Kwang Jingshu, the Chinese doctor who identified Patient Zero, it sparked my interest. World War Z does such a great job making sure the reader remembers that there is a great wide world out there and that the zombie apocalypse is coming for everyone. We get perspectives that I had never even considered like from the astronauts at the International Space Station. This book also does a great job of keeping the story moving. Max Brooks did excellent work because even though each interview is its own independent story, the stories further the narrative in essential and creative ways. No one’s story feels extraneous and they flow together which is no easy feat for a book containing over 42 independent short stories.

I also loved the implicit hope ingrained in the very structure of the book. Each of the characters that are interviewed have survived the zombie war, for better or for worse. Most other zombie media that I have seen gets its tension off of the ‘Will They Survive?’ question hanging over each character’s head; but World War Z guarantees that at least the narrator of each chapter is alive at the end of the war, so the author has to be more creative with how he builds and releases tension. There is a level of creativity and imagination that really makes the world stand out from all of the other zombie apocalypse media that I have seen.

One obvious manifestation of this creativity is the zombies themselves-- which are clearly zombies that the American consciousness recognizes-- with a few fun twists that keep the imagination engaged. When an author wants to take a well known SSF monster, like zombies or werewolves or vampires, and make them their own, they walk a very fine line: if they are not careful, the audience will not recognize the monsters. Max Brooks did great in making the zombies a recognizable threat that the average reader can make correct assumptions about, while also surprising us in ways that make sense within the logic of the story. For example, these zombies can walk under water until their decomposition gasses cause them to float. That is a fun twist that allows the author to create terrifying images of people trying to swim to safety and being pulled under the water and never surfacing, or of zombies climbing ship anchors in the dead of night. Very scary. I love it.

So why in the world did I give this book my lowest possible rating? It’s the people. This book is composed of 57 interviews from 42 unique characters and not a single one was likeable. Nearly ever character utilizes racist or derogatory language to the point that I learned new derogatory words. I shudder to think what my search history looks like from an outside perspective. The book does a good job of showing that just because you survive doesn’t mean you are a good person, but it almost goes out of its way to show that you have to be (or at least become over time) a terrible person to overcome this type of hardship. The humans in this book are at times orders of magnitude more terrifying than the zombies.

There are, of course, a few characters that the author was very clearly trying to make sympathetic, and it would have worked if the character’s internal monologues had not turned their derogatory language inward. Instead of cursing other races or genders or religions, these characters made a point to remind the audience that they were lazy or stupid or fat or useless, and that they honestly believed they should have died (and some more than considered suicide as an option). Unfortunately, for me these were the characters that were most relatable as far as their character background. It was exhausting. It was demoralizing. It was bullshit. Average people, without military training and without a bloodthirsty drive to kill, kill, kill, have their own strengths and can be the heroes of their own story. Not in this book, though.

Finally, and probably the biggest reason this book is rated so poorly is the treatment of the women narrators. The first time we hear from a woman narrator is page 91 of this 420-page book. There are 42 unique narrators in this book, yet less than 10 are women. I understand 2006 was a very different time but even if I forgive the severe lack of representation, I can’t forgive the stories that centered around these women which vary from ‘yikes!’ to ‘Jesus Christ why would you do that?’ Two of the women end up ‘crazy’, either feral or prone to delusions and hallucinations. One ends up essentially a prisoner in a baby factory, doomed to spend the rest of her life producing as many children as she can before she dies. Most of these narrators also show pretty clear internalized misogyny that remains unchallenged and in some cases reinforced. And those are just the women narrators. It is clear throughout the narrative that women across the world were harshly abused during the zombie war. Yet, unlike some of the environmental and governmental messages which came back at that end and showed how the world was fixing itself, the sexism is never addressed. With how much thought clearly went into this book, how the women characters are treated sends a clear and toxic message.

Tldr; With cool zombies, and a creative premise I cannot tell you how much I wanted to like this book, but it was highly offensive and left me feeling exhausted by the end. I cannot honestly recommend this book to anyone. 

~TideMod

[wehavethoughts]

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope Review!

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

George Lucas (1977)

20th Century Fox Productions

Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Fantasy Movie

Rating: 3.5/5 Waves

Content warnings for A New Hope: Character death, Violence, Implied torture

This review does NOT contain spoilers.

“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid.” – Han Solo 

Summary: A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the evil Galactic Empire has lost the plans to their planet-destroying battle station, the Death Star, to Princess Leia of Alderaan, an agent of the Rebel Alliance. Unfortunately for the princess, the Empire has sent the mysterious and powerful Darth Vader to retrieve the plans. Cue the epic space adventure starring a farm boy, a smuggler, a Wookiee, a Jedi and a pair of sassy droids. Can they save the princess, deliver the plans to the Rebels and restore hope to the galaxy?

It’s difficult, some might say impossible, to think about Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope as a stand alone movie. This movie launched one of the biggest and most lucrative brands in western media, and it is hard to think of the movie without considering the impact it has already had on our culture. I personally love every chapter of Star Wars in their own way. These are stories of adventure, friendship, and hope. Who wouldn’t love that? However,  it is easy to get lost in the iconic-ness without actually thinking about the movie itself. So I am going to do my best to judge this movie for what it is (as I see it), not what it’s done. 

Let’s start with the obvious: the special effects. A New Hope premiered in 1977 with state-of-the-art, groundbreaking visual effects. It won an Oscar for Visual Effects, that’s how good it was. So how does it hold up more than 40 years later? Honestly, not bad. During blaster fights and light saber battles, it’s clear that this film is very old (there is something about the lighting idk), but I personally never found it to be jarring enough to pull me out of the experience. The well developed sets and reliance on costumes and prosthetics allow the audience to be swept away by this alien universe in spite of the dated effects.

One thing that does not stand the test of time, though, is the movie’s pacing. Modern audiences are used to fast paced action adventure stories with a lot of explosions and yelling, especially when it comes to intergalactic wars. A New Hope, in contrast, finds itself meandering through deserts and space stations at a glacial pace. While it is clearly trying to build tension with its long, quiet shots, it gives the audience just enough time to check out emotionally. 

There are two main points that kept me from giving this movie a higher rating: 1) the lack of diversity, and 2) the unrealistic way the characters respond to trauma. 

First of all, there are only two women characters with speaking roles in this entire movie and no people of color. With all of the aliens and droids, they chose not to include a single person of color in their galaxy far, far away? It just doesn’t speak to diverse audiences in 2020. 

Second, Luke and Leia have to weather insanely traumatic events in this film, yet these characters dust their shoulders off and move on with hardly a scene to process. It might be trying to speak to their resilience, but it also sends a message to suck up your emotions and get the job done, which frankly is just plain unhealthy.

That being said, I still gave this movie 3.5 out of 5 waves. So what does this movie have going for it? At the end of the day, the big draws for me are the music and the character dynamics. 

Movie scores can make or break a movie: one of the reasons why I love A New Hope so much is because of its fantastic music. With each swell of the orchestra, we are transported fully into this fantastical world. The music plays as much of a role as the characters, adding comic relief and dramatic tension in equal measure. 

The sound effects are equally compelling. It takes quite a bit of work to create believable sounds for things that do not exist, like lightsabers and TIE Fighters, but the sound designer, Ben Burtt, was up to the task. He created the iconic lightsaber sounds using a projector motor, an old tv, a speaker and a moving microphone. This fun blend was essential to make the lightsabers buzz, hum and zoom the way we know and love. Ben Burtt was also responsible for Chewbacca’s growls and roars (bears, walruses, lions and badgers) and R2-D2’s classic chirps and screams (a synth and Ben Burtt making weird sounds). 

My absolute favorite thing about this movie has to be the dynamic between the three main heroes. They embody such youthful and relatable energy, and together they make a team that is not only effective at getting the job done, but fun to watch. It comes across as an authentic and organic friendship that I just love to see.

Tldr; Definitely worth the watch. It’s a fun movie with relatable and unique characters, but you will be disappointed if you go in expecting diversity, a typical action movie’s pace, or much emotional depth. 

~ TideMod

(wave icon by Nawicon from the Noun Project) 

[wehavethoughts]

WeHaveMods!

By now you know that WeHaveThoughts! So, allow us to introduce who we are! 

TideMod

Hello, TideMod here! I’m a recent PhD grad who is just a huge nerd about SciFi/Fantasy (SFF) media of all kinds. Most of my reviews will fall under the very broad SFF umbrella, with a focus on movies and TV shows. I will occasionally branch out and review media set in the real world, but don’t hold your breath. The media I review will be rated out of 5 waves:

with one wave meaning that the media offended me greatly and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, and five waves indicating that, as far as I can judge, it was perfect in every way. 

I love media that prioritizes diversity and creative world-building. Dragons, pirates, and complex magic systems will automatically add at least half a wave because I just love them so much. I am always a sucker for happy endings, so I will very rarely rate ‘grimdark’ or hopeless media highly. 

And before you ask: No! My PhD is not in anything remotely related to Media Studies! I’m a scientist with way too many thoughts!

PodMod

Hi! I'm PodMod! After being lovingly appointed 'Podcast Queen' by my loved ones, I'm excited to share podcast reviews with WHT! My rating system will be 'hot mics' on a scale of 1-5, with 5 hot mics being terrific, and 1 hot mic being poor. My reviews will focus on content, host, information, and delivery. Please note: Sound quality is important, but if a podcast rates highly in other areas, poor sound quality will not factor in as weightily in their review. 

So what can you expect to be reviewed? If you were hoping for a more centrist approach, you will be disappointed to know that there will be no reviews of podcasts such as 'Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs' or 'The Rush Limbaugh Morning Update'. If the podcast is at all conservative or too centrist, it is automatically disqualified from review.

What you CAN expect are reviews of podcasts that promote empathy, education, humor, and intersectionality, and of course, true crime podcasts (with the stipulation that the podcast host(s) speak respectfully about the victims and survivors). ;) I'm excited to share reviews to podcasts that make us better and more thoughtful individuals and inhabitants of our little planet.

CinniMod

Hi! I enjoy exploring the world through food and working with new spices. For the past two years, I have attempted at least one new recipe a month.  

My reviews will mainly feature recipes that I have tried, and will include notes on any alterations I may make. Some dishes are meant to be an all-day affair, while others are a weeknight dinner. I love making both! The time it takes to complete the recipe will generally not factor into the overall rating. 

My rating system will be out of five cinnamon rolls. Five cinnamon rolls indicate that the end result is well worth the effort, the recipe was easy to follow, and I’ll make it again. One cinnamon roll means that the end result was unsalvageable and/or the recipe was difficult to follow.

DogMod

Hi there, I'm DogMod, an eclectic lover of content, including cartoons, documentaries, fiction novels, and comics. Only the tastiest of media will do for me and I cannot wait to share with you the best tastes and worst wastes of the web, written word, and streaming services. My reviews will be rated in tastiness, as in, "in short, this book was delectable, a mega'tasty treat of literary delight. A super fine 5 out of 5 Tasty." Or, "this book would have been better off if it would have just stayed a tree. At least then you might get something tasty like maple syrup, or a hickory nut out of it. 0 out of 5 Tasty, and God help anyone who ever has to read this.” Let's get lapping up the best and forgetting the rest- together!

MargeMod

I have retired after nearly 40 years in public service. I come from a large extended family and have been a hospice volunteer for approximately 10 years. I have always enjoyed reading and was raised in a home with loads of books (Thanks, Mom) and a stern attitude for "wasting my time by sitting around" (Come on, Dad).  My life journey is movement toward happiness for myself and those around me.

My reviews will be on a variety of books relating to: Encouragement; Answering life's little and big questions; Self-help; and an occasional straight-forward Murder Mystery.

I will have only 3 rating categories: 

A sprout is the lowest rating and it will indicate that the author did not capture my interest and I will not be looking for more work by that author. A single flower means that I enjoyed the book and will probably look for other works by this author. A full bouquet indicates that I loved the book, will definitely look for more works by this author, and highly recommend that you read it. Highest reviews will go to books that teach me something, are humorous, and/or hold my interest. I dislike violence against innocents, topics I can’t relate to, and when I can’t figure out what the heck the author is trying to say.

DesignMod

Welcome to my digital space centered on interior design! I’m DesignMod, your humble host on a journey thinking through the material aesthetics of our living spaces. On this page, we’ll discuss books found in the interior design or home organizing sections of your library. My goal is to identify which books encourage personal creativity and expression, and offer insightful guidance that is accessible to all people. 

I also hope to curate a collection that strays away from the typical audience of this genre: rich, white, Christian women. These types of books are --for many reasons-- marketed to people who have time and money, who are culturally shaped to express themselves within the domestic space, yet in a way that also insists upon pleasing visitors and guests. I hope to open the discussion of interior design to all audiences, because I think that being mindful of our living spaces will make us all happier and more peaceful when we interact in the world and with people around us.

I will rate these literatures on a scale of one to six geese. One goose could mean that the book: isn’t worth your while in terms of style, is incredibly illegible or hard to understand, is classist or inconsiderate of lower socio-economic classes, or simply isn’t what it says it is. The prize of six geese will be awarded only the most stellar books, those that inspire genuine creativity, offer insightful advice and knowledge, are written for the proletariat, and actually are fun to read.

I, DesignMod, have a Masters degree in cultural studies --she’s verbose. My goal is to write a blog with accessible yet articulate information on how we learn how to take care of our living spaces. I enjoy tending to my plants, drawing kawaii illustrations, learning languages, and thinking critically about the world. My favorite animal is a seal (aka water doggo), and I also very much love pelicans, hippos, elephants, and puppy angels (especially pit bulls and other thicc bois and girls.)

Icon Credits from the Noun Project:

Wave by Nawicon

Podcast by Jejen Juliansyah Nur Agung 

Cinnamon Roll by Kaylen Yul Lee

Teeth Biting Tongue by Vectors Point

Sprout by Jae Deasigner 

Flower by Hat-Tech

Bouquet by Vectors Point

Goose by Tatyana