thebookwyrmsnook

[thebookwyrmsnook]

Charming

This won’t even take a full “Read Me”

Charming is a strange fairytale that is somehow everything you’ve seen before in a foreign cartoon using famous A-listers to promote it, and exactly what you want. Once you accept that this is what you are, in fact, watching. Just strap down and enjoy the ride. You won’t regret it.

[thebookwyrmsnook]

Addams Family (2019)

I grew up watching the Addams Family movies. I love these crazy characters, and loved how they could be zany and cartoony despite being a live action film. So, when I heard that they would have a cartoon adaptation, I was ready to see what they did.

What I got... I can commend the effort, however I do think they fell short.

Something that the Addams family was always, no matter what happened, a family. They were homeless, jobless and destitute in one film, but they stood strong with each other. In this cartoon film, however, there was consistent arguments and an almost normal family dynamic about them.

So what happens? Well, the Addams Family starts with Gomez and Morticia’s wedding. However, they are mobbed by angry “normal” citizens. Fleeing for their lives, Morticia wishes for a safe haven where no one in the world could bother them. They come across a haunted house that is one punch away from collapsing. Together, they declare it perfect and Morticia declares that she would do anything in her power to protect her family here.

Which is an interesting start, however I find it a shame since the Addams were never ashamed of who they were. They never hid and the polite neighbors were always sort of forced to accept that’s just what they are like. Though, I suppose it’s just a product of it’s time. As neighbors were expected to be polite and kind to one another, and thus the Addams could be strange and all people could do were avoid them. Realistically in more modern times, they would be driven out and wish to hide for their lives. It makes sense why they made this choice (especially with its story purpose), but it’s a shame in my eyes.

The story then becomes almost completely Wednesday’s. As one day, she spots some local kids ride their bikes near their front gates. She immediately realizes that when her mother had told her that nothing else was outside their estate that she was lying. Thus, Wednesday sets out to see the rest of the world. I have seen some think it odd that Wednesday would want something different, to be “pretty”, however I truly think that she just wanted to see what else was out there. She is still a child, so it’s natural to be curious.

Thus, Wednesday Addams is dumped into the middle of a cookie-cutter “everything is sunshine and rainbows” world. Everyone is expected to be a certain way, and of course those who conform perfectly as seen as good, and those with quirks are evil and should leave. Of course, Wednesday being the little gothic freak she is, stands out. She upsets the balance, which causes the neighbor’s designer to turn her attention to the Addam’s estate, which looms over the neighbor. 

Meanwhile, Wednesday becomes friends with the designer’s daughter, who doesn’t willingly conform. Together, the girls decide to rebel against their mothers. Wednesday wears a single pink hair clip, and the other girl shaves after her head and dyes it black. Which, points for really going for it.

Both mothers panic, and try to stop whatever is going on with their daughters. 

Meanwhile, Pugsley and Gomez have a B plot happening. Pugsley is about to become a man, so he must master a certain sword dance in order to prove that he can protect the family. However, despite the fact that he has shown a skill in bombs/grenades, he is forced to learn the sword. However, time passes and he keeps failing despite everything he and his father has tried.

It all comes to a head when, at the ceremony for Puglsey, the “normal” people of the town raid their house. Of course, a big fight breaks out but it’s only when Wednesday joins in, and Pugsley is allowed to use his grenades, that they win. Which neatly ties to the “be yourself and let others be themselves” message of the film.

It was a fun film, and I don’t regret watching. However, I couldn’t help but feel like the movie was missing its usual heart. The Addams are weird, and they love it. They celebrated the dead with big smiles on their faces, and never blinked when they said and did things that we could consider “weird”. Here, however, the older Addams clung to their traditions, and the kids just struggled under it all. It just didn’t feel right.

[thebookwyrmsnook]

Over the Moon

Over the Moon is a delightful kid’s adventure film and if you haven’t seen it, go and watch it! You are missing out on a beautiful story with such a touching ending. It has its flaws but those are so minor when compared to its impact.

I would like to start out by saying that I have no right or means to judge on its culture, mythology or language. I am not of any Asian descent, and know regrettably little about any of the culture(s) presented in the film.

What I can judge, however, is what it presented me. Over the Moon is a simple yet emotionally complex story. It follows the same formula, however it punches you straight into the gut so hard that it could rival Up. 

So what happens? Over the Moon is about our beautiful little girl Fei Fei. She is an adorable little Chinese girl who loves science, but still believes in the legend of Chang’E and Houyi. The legend shows two young lovers separated by time, as Chang’E became immortal and was for an unexplained reason sent to the moon with her pet rabbit, Jade. Meanwhile, Houyi remained mortal and on Earth. Fei Fei loves that story so much that she is later given a small rabbit, to mirror Chang’E.

The way that this legend is conveyed, both in art style and in the story context, I already love this film. There was so much love put into the story within these first 10-15 minutes that it had my heart. Especially when the regrettable but staple trope of a parent passing away happens. It’s the mother, who is shown constantly being the one that Fei Fei looks up to. She loves her entire family, but her mother was so special to her. So it was heart breaking to see Ma Ma slowly fade and finally pass.

The story’s main conflict then presents itself quickly. Years have passed and Ba Ba, Fei Fei’s father, has found someone new. At first, I was ready to roll my eyes and think “oh, it’s just another ‘change is scary’ story, but she’ll open her heart to it”. That is, until I saw how this change came about. Ba Ba wasn’t introducing the new woman as a potential “somebody new”. He was introducing the new woman as his future wife. Plus, this new woman has a son who acts like a typical hyper-active 8 year old who keeps insisting that they are family. Fei Fei is more than justified to be upset, since this change wasn’t just new, it was blindsiding her completely. I would react the same that she did. 

Predictable, she lashes out and runs away upset. That woman wasn’t her mother, and even though it was never stated, Fei Fei didn’t want her father to replace her mother in the family. Which is a very emotional complex problem, one that many single-parent families have.

So Fei Fei, being the calm and rational person she is, resolves to go to the moon to find Chang’E. Because if she can prove the legend is true, then her father would realize that true love is forever and he wouldn’t marry the new lady. Out of context it makes very little sense, but it does within the story.

So within a fun little montage, we see Fei Fei invent her own personal rocket ship that she actually is able to launch into the sky. However, it turns out that the younger brother, Chin, snuck on board and ruined her calculation. Meaning, they start to plummet back to earth. Until, two dragons are sent to retrieve them, and lead them straight the Moon capital to meet Chang’E herself.

I honestly don’t know what to make of her. She has a beautiful voice, has a beautiful design, but she’s so in-your-face from the beginning. Her first moments, she is a silhouette singing like she’s in an Opera. But then the curtain drops and she is a pop star and wowing the crowd. That, combined with the neon colored surroundings/citizens of Lunaria (aka the Moon), I realized we had left all the tasteful and beautiful culture and scenery of the Earth behind. We were now in the kid’s movie “wonderland”. I will admit, I was disappointed about this section of the movie.

Anyways, we are presented with our goal for this adventure. Apparently, Chang’E had saved Fei Fei and Chin because they had this “gift” that would allow her to revive Houyi, her lost love. In exchange for the gift, Fei Fei could have a photo of the moon goddess to take home with her to her family. Determined as ever, Fei Fei sets out to find it.

This is where the movie breaks into 4 plot lines, with varying degrees of importance. One is with Chin, as he enters a ping pong game with Chang’E to try and win the photo that way. Despite the fact that he won, Chang’E just walks away saying “she must have the gift”. I suppose that this moment was suppose this scene was meant to show how jaded and cruel she has become in her isolation. However, it is completely eclipsed by the rap battle that Chin and Chang’E had during the ping pong game. 

Another was to follow Chang’E ‘s friend, Jade. He has a small plot line of him struggling to make a magic potion which would help with reviving Houyi. However, he’s missing something. That something was love, as shown by Bungee (Fei Fei’s bunny) cause she fell head over heels with him immediately. However, though a slip up, some of the powder is spilt on her. Which, naturally, gave her laser-shooting ears. As cute and cool a concept, it doesn’t really serve a purpose.

Another follows Chang’E as she paces and waits anxiously for Fei Fei to return with the gift. This was a really good way to keep the tension up, since we as an audience want her to succeed. 

The most important, of course, is Fei Fei. She travels out back to where her spaceship had crashed onto the moon to look for the gift. There she meets Gobi, a strange green-glowing dog-porcupine creature. Gobi is a strange one for me. He is clearly the Olaf of this adventure, the supposed comedic relief, that usually just ends up being annoying to more mature audiences. He, at least, was a good character and had a story-related purpose so I could overlook the more childish antics. 

Together they find the gift and race back to the palace. Of course there are complications and enemies, but they do make in it time! With seconds to spare, Chang’E does the ritual. The chamber is suddenly changed into a beautiful forest and Houyi appears. Together they sing a hauntingly beautiful song about how “forever and always I love you”. That is, until Houyi reveals that he can’t stay, that he is gone and that Chang’E must move on. He slowly fades away, leaving Chang’E (and those watching this happen) completely alone. It’s so simple, and so effective.

Immediately, the sadness overwhelms Chang’E. She curls up into a ball, and the entirety of Lunaria goes dark. Fei Fei and the others are left outside this dark void, which is clearly a metaphor for that deep depression that only losing a loved one can bring. Fei Fei forces her way in, and immediately was shown a painful vision of her and her mother, but then her mother disappearing. The image mirrors how Houyi disappeared so closely that it hurts. With that, Fei Fei curls up and gives into the darkness too.

What is a pleasant surprise is that Fei Fei isn’t the one who breaks free of this depression. It’s Chang’E who notices what is happening. She tells Fei Fei that she isn’t alone, that she still has family and friends who love her. Which triggers Fei Fei to realize that Chin, and the new woman her father had introduced, had tried to reach to her and that she never gave them a chance. She then turns back to Chang’E and say that the goddess had people who loved her too. She had her citizens, and Gobi, who all adored her. Neither of them were truly alone. 

With that emotional climax, I was actually crying. I’m sure that there was some controversy about Houyi not returning, but that’s not what this story was about. Which is completed with Bungee wanting to stay behind on the moon with Jade. At first, it was saddening to see the cute mascot character go. But then, I realized. Bungee was one of the last pieces that had Fei Fei clinging to her mother. By letting Bungee stay, she was giving up that piece and finally moving on.

Fei Fei and Chin return to Earth, and the ending is so satisfying to me. There is a year time skip and it shows how the happy new family is doing. Fei Fei is seen smiling and happy with her new mother and brother. Her arc is complete and the movie could have ended there. 

I am so happy that it didn’t. After showing the family so happy, it includes a small little scene of just Fei Fei and Ba Ba sitting together. They don’t say much, but they actually have a good conversation about how they miss Ma Ma. They haven’t forgotten but they have continued their lives.

This story is so sweet, so emotional, and I absolutely adored it. The middle bit with the neon colors and uniform characters in Lunaria was a little disappointing, especially since those kinds of things feel so stereotypical in family-friendly movies these days. However, I will gladly look past that in favor for the amazing message and the way they conveyed it here.

[thebookwyrmsnook]

Knives Out

I was told that this movie was amazing, and a great mystery. I cannot truly argue with that, however I found myself a tad underwhelmed. It’s a solid story, its characters is easily it’s strongest part, and the final twist is really good!

To be completely honest. I did not watch the trailers for Knives Out, and I’m not sure if that would have shaped my thoughts during and after the film. I simply watched it based purely on recommendation. Having said that, what do I think? I think that Knives Out is an entertaining story that fell just short of being truly amazing. 

The story is based around a rich family, which is full of eccentrics, and the murder/death of the patriarch. The family members are quick to scramble for the will, all arguing over who will receive what. However, they are all distraught to find that everything went to the patriarch’s nurse. The film had a running theme from the beginning, that the nurse was the only one who truly cared for the patriarch. The family clearly just wanted his money/company/house. 

There’s only one problem. The family isn’t satisfied by this, and they try to coerce the nurse into giving everything back to them “where it belongs”. When they doesn’t work, they try to say she clearly killed him. A law is stated many times, one that states that if the benefactor of the will is convicted of the murder, they are forced to forfeit the inheritance. With so many money-hungry people glaring at one another, that is where the murder mystery truly begins. Each family member is individually interviewed in a very fun montage. These characters are easily the strongest part of the film. They are strange, and judgment towards everyone who isn’t themselves. It was so much fun to watch.

But that’s when the story takes a strange turn from most who-done-its. The film shows us who did. It shows us in excruciating detail how and what happened. And for those who do not wish to see any spoilers, I suggest you stop here. 

The nurse accidentally gave the patriarch the wrong medicine, and an overdose at that. Knowing that he was dying, the patriarch was quick to give her a very thorough plan on how to escape, give herself a fake alibi, and cryptically wishes her the best of luck to escape “them”. So this murder mystery suddenly turns into a liar-revealed story. Where we as the audience follow the nurse as she tries to hide the fact that she inadvertently killed the patriarch. 

Of course, her circumstances gave her every opportunity to be right next to the action and for her to sabotage it at every turn. The ace detective, played by Daniel Craig doing the world’s strangest southern accent, trusted her to be the “insider’s perspective” and insisted that she help him. So, we as the audience ride along with her as she goes through every nail-biting situation to hide the truth from this clever detective.

Meanwhile, there’s another person who enters on her side. That’s the grandson, who is wild and reckless, and has little to no respect for the family. He felt like a natural ally, even though I suspected him for wanting a piece of the fortune. 

There are several instances when sins of the family come to light. For example, the grandson had an argument conversation (that another family member overheard two pieces of), that made it seem like there was bad blood between them. I’m not sure if these were met as red herrings, however they were wholly ineffective in my book. They were weak motives for murder, were too rushed to be important, but by the time I saw the ending, it did serve a purpose. Just not the one you would think.

So, who actually did it? Well, despite what the movie spent a good 75% of its time on, the nurse did not do it. In fact, the detective figured out that the labels were switched because the actual culprit wanted her to actually kill him. However, the nurse was so practiced that she noticed the weight difference and gave the patriarch the correct medication. It’s then revealed that the actual culprit used the same escape plan as she did, and that’s why both the nurse and the culprit weren’t caught when they used it. I will admit, that having the grandson, the supposed ally, be the real culprit was a good twist. Especially since the story worked just so that there was no evidence that he did it.

That is, until three clues come back to light. One clue was so throw-away that I had forgotten about it. Especially since it was heavily dependent on a clearly senile grandmother. Another was so weak in its execution that I couldn’t help but laugh at it. However, it was the final one that actually cinched this finale together. You see, the ace detective was hired by an outside source (not the police) but he doesn’t know who. The only clue he had was that he was hired before the will was released (and thus before all the family drama had started). 

Remember when the patriarch and the grandson had a fight in private? Turns out that fight was about how the grandson would receive nothing from the will. Who else would think to try and frame the nurse through a private detective BEFORE the will was read? Just the grandson.

That was a satisfying ending to the story, and I was happy to take it. There were so many other things happening. I could argue that too much was happening, but it juggled everything relatively well. One thing I cannot understand, was the fact that the nurse involuntarily threw up when she lied. It worked alright as a tension factor, since she couldn’t lie to the detective. However, I am a little disappointed how it was used in the climax.

Overall, it was a solid film, with good tension and great characters. I would recommend you give a watch if you want to have a nice little murder mystery time.

[thebookwyrmsnook]

Diabolik Lovers

I am honestly not sure what I just watched here. 

Diabolik lovers is a dark story trying to pull off a mystery, much akin to the story of, say, Dracula. However, it fails to give all of the clues needed for the mystery to make sense. It’s visuals are stunning, and appropriately scary, but that’s all it really has going for it self.

This series is surprisingly short. Only twelve 15-minute episodes. It centers around a young girl, Yui, who is sent to live in a large mansion with 6 brothers. We come to quickly find out that the brothers are vampires, and that her blood is very delicious to them (this will be a constant theme). 

The first few episodes just keep showing the brothers being creepy in one way or another, her making attempts to escape, fail, and then them biting her. It makes sense that she could be easily overpowered here, however her attempts to break free are pitiful at best, and nonexistent at worse. She tries to push them away, or just stands there and accepts her fate. Given the short amount run of this story, there was truly no time for them to show the slow descent into acceptance. 

Then the show realized it spent the first half of its time meandering and not doing much, and it kicks into high gear. Suddenly, all the bare minimum hints given before are given a little (and I mean little) context. We see into the boy’s pasts in tiny glimpses. I’m not sure why we needed all of it, when only half of their stories actually end up mattering.

Because apparently, the whole point of them bringing in her (and all the past human brides) into their home was for something called “The Awakening”. It was pointed at a few times, however never said more than “you won’t survive so it doesn’t matter”. Turns out this “Awakening” was a magical process that would transfer the soul of one of the mother’s into the girl’s body. A process that isn’t ever explained, just shown that it can, and does in fact, happen. Thus the boys fight to get the human girl back, because I guess that she won them over or something.

No really. I can’t decide if she did or not. The only firm impression I got from the boys was that they like to toy with her. That they like to make her scared and squirm around before they suck her blood. An argument about one of them loving her, simply because he kept saying “you belong to me”, but it would be shaky at best. The show was clearly to pull off something that only longer run shows can do. The best example I can think of is Ouran HSHC. Where the leading lady was given an episode with each character, that moment that they decided that she was worth all the trouble. But those were strewn across episodes that built the whole team up as a lovable family. Here, we just see the boys torment her, claiming they want to kill her in so many ways (something that is loosely explained to be the ultimate kind of love) but it does little to explain why they would want her back. Other than, perhaps to get rid of the mother’s soul residing in her.

The only thing that worked for me, was the visuals and the horror. For those first episodes where the boys would torment her, I understand why she felt so helpless. They were faster, sneakily and stronger than she was. No matter where she went, at least one of the brothers knew where that was. One even followed her everywhere. But then... then they had her go to school. Though the show doesn’t focus on them, there are other students and people that she passes by in the streets. Yet, outside one two short instances, she doesn’t reach out to people. She stops trying. Which is so aggrivating since they are right there, and the brothers never made an explicit threat against her if she tried to receive help from others. Just that if she tried to run, she would be killed.

The story and characters are interesting enough to make a solid show. However, given it’s time restraints, it’s rushed and confusing. To the point that they thought it necessary to have a mid season recap for 6 episodes. In which they added some narration from Yui herself. You know, something they should have done from the start. If the show was given more time, say a regular season length, it could have been great. But what we got, was kind of a mess.

[thebookwyrmsnook]

Fate: A Winx Saga

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting for this one. It’s a fine enough story with the Winx name slapped onto it. It’s somehow exactly what you expect, when you finally look past what you originally thought it would be.

More below~

If you grew up watching the fairy fable like I did, you know that Winx was a product of its time. Like many early 2000s shows aimed towards girls, it was all glitz/glamour, boy crazes, magic and overall girl power. It was by no means groundbreaking, but it stole a special place in my childhood’s heart.

So, when I heard through the grapevine that they were going to do a live action show, I was interested to see what they might do! Sure, it would no doubt lose some of it’s glittery charm, but the show had plenty of good characters and themes to latch onto, right?

Well, not quite. When the trailer dropped, the smile I had from the cool logo slid completely off of my face. What I saw was exactly what every other reboot/live action remake seems to do. It was darker, edgier, a very “not your parent’s show” type of thing. Immediately, I knew that Winx had somehow gotten the Archie/Riverdale treatment. 

So how was the actual show? In truth, not bad. Once you looked past the fact that they shamelessly slapped familiar names (both in it’s title and a few of it characters), the story is fine. It’s a fish-out-of-water-protagonist-who-finds-out-they’re-the-powerful-chosen-one story. It’s Harry Potter, it’s Star Wars, it’s Eragon and all those stories we have seen before. I honestly think that that is the show’s biggest strength, and it’s detrimental flaw.

We’ve seen this all before. We have the fish out of water chosen one, we have the snooty popular girl, we have the hot guy that the two previously named girls fight over, we have the cool hipster type that uses music as a personality, we have the sweet and innocent one who finally stands up for herself, and we have the “everyone has secrets” theme. This show is just a million common tropes for young adult media smushed together, but this one is fairy themed~

So what’s the storyline? Well, like the cartoon, Bloom is a fairy who was placed on earth and discovered by someone (in the cartoon it was Stella, establishing their friendship quickly) but in the live show, I don’t think they said who found her. She goes to Alfea to learn magic, and the adventure begins.

Alfea is a magic school set in the “Other World” which are now countries, instead of planets like they were in the cartoon. Also in the cartoon, fairies’ magic attacks were based on specific attributes (fire, sun, nature, technology, music etc);  however, all of the girls seemed to be able to do basic other spells/hexes. In Fate, however, it seemed like there were the three elements (water, fire and earth) with a few exceptions (one electricity fairy, a few mind (mind readers basically), Stella, and whatever the headmistress was). And that’s all they could do. Disappointingly, the show about magic, didn’t properly explain or explore the rules of magic.

But Alfea also houses the Specialists, a group of non-magical fighters who team with the fairies to fight the monsters and evils of the world. In the cartoon, that was a separate school for boys only, and where the main love interests for the main girls lived. In the live action show, however, the Specialists are open to both genders. Which makes sense, since the show writers had to condense their stories down (including cutting the witches out) into 8 hour long episodes. So if they weren’t world building, what were they doing?

They were delving into the social ecosystem of our main characters. All five of our leading ladies got their own arc, no matter how rushed that made everything feel. Aisha went from Bloom’s protector to a roadblock in her way. Terra (Flora’s little sister?) was the sweet girl who finally stood up for herself. Which I can appreciate, since it’s nice and an easy story to have going on in the background. Plus Terra easily had some of the best dialogue in the show. Musa (now a Mind fairy) had it the worst. She kept pushing people away, and we find out pretty quick that she’s an Empath that doesn’t know how to to tune out her magic, except when she’s listening to music. Which makes sense, and I was ready for that to be her entire thing, especially since that worked really well. But then, in the last episode they threw something else in completely, and ruined it all for me, personally. Stella’s had really good potential. Her mother, the apparent ultimate Queen, had high expectations, and taught Stella in a results-driven way; giving way to anxiety and lack of proper control for Stella. Which is a great story, but this show isn’t really her story, it’s Bloom’s. So, it got pushed to the side.

Bloom’s was the best timed, given that hers took the entirety of the episodes. Like Bloom in the original show, she was trying to solve where she came from, who she is, and just what her powers were. In Fate, Bloom is just a powerful fire fairy, which kind of killed a lot of the original Bloom’s story (given that there’s a reason she’s that powerful in the cartoon). Not to mention that the teachers kept trying to drill “magic comes from your emotions and positive feelings are better” into both our and Bloom’s mind. Which is immediately squashed by the fact that Bloom’s earth parents were kind of... abusive? Anyways, she wants to know where she comes from, but everyone is keeping it a secret. By the end, when she kind of figures it out, I was elated right there with her... that is until it was thrown in our face that the story she was just told was a lie (we know that, but she doesn’t).

That had to be the second biggest flaw to this show. The writers seemed to be hellbent on trying to pull the rug out from under the audience as many times as they could. We learn to trust nobody, not the headmistress, not the teachers, not her friends (except to change their minds every five minutes but we’ll get to that), there was no one we could trust. Meaning, that we never truly figure out the truth about anything, making the resolution feel hollow and unearned. They leave it open to say “I’m happy where I am but I’m going to keep looking for the truth” when we were hardly two steps away from where we had started.

The story could have progressed if her friends didn’t flip and flop so much. While the audience and Bloom are getting yanked around with promises of answers, her friends only see parts of the truth (cause Bloom keeps forgetting to invite her friends to the party) and so they are constantly flip flopping on whose “side” they are on. I honestly got emotional whiplash for that. I’m all about the “good intentions but misguided friends” trope, but that was not a good execution of that.

Overall, Fate is a fine story. It’s cliched and everything you have seen before in a young adult show/movie. It doesn’t world build fully, and it honestly feels like scenes are missing. It honestly left me feeling a little let down. But, some of the dialogue is snappy (namely from Terra), and some of the characters are great (namely Terra). But the original cartoon, despite it’s cheesy-ness, is the clear winner in my mind.