Luna-Phaedra Reviews

Wish (II) (2023)

Great worldbuilding, but the rest...

[5/10 · 4 April 2024]

The more I think about this movie, the more the rating drops in my mind. I like the setting, I like the set up of the wish granting system, and I like most of the characters. The location and backstory give a logical way to have a diverse cast (and diverse personalities to boot). I genuinely want to see more of Asha's friends if ever shorts or shows are inspired from this movie.

The trouble, however, is that everything else about this movie bogs down those features.

First and foremost, the villain is weak. His motivation is weak, his villain song is weak, his morality is weak- this man took one look at a potential rival and crumbled from Good King to Villain so fast it makes your head spin. The sad thing is that the way this movie starts and seems coded (in his backstory and relationship with his wife), he seems like a great candidate to being like the antagonists of other recent Disney films; where they are antagonists but not villains, and come to realize the error of their ways. It seemed almost obvious that his wife and Asha would somehow knock sense into him and remind him of his life's work and purpose. Instead... I don't know, the writers really wanted to make him evil no matter the level of illogic against his backstory.

The other issue is that the songs are forgettable. I watched it last night, and I already don't recall the melody of any songs. Some had good imagery, I certainly liked the notion of 'we are all made of stardust' to explain the star connection (they didn't word it like that exactly, but I'm aware of the sentiment); but... I can't tell you how the melody of even that song goes. They are genuinely forgettable songs and that's such a shame (and a shock, considering this is Disney).

Now, this is a personal headcanon disappointment than anything, but I had really hoped that this movie would hit harder with a a sentiment of "not every wish should be granted". Some wishes really ARE problematic, and the King is right to say so, so I figured that maybe the Star would try to grant wishes and Asha would realize that the King was right to an extent - and the two could then meet somewhere in the middle about these feelings. Basically a vibe like Starkid's Disney parody song "Dream a Little Harder". This is a nitpick, but I suppose it can translate to me not fully agreeing to the movie's 'moral of the story'.

Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006)

One of my all-time favourite films!

[9/10 · 29 February 2024]

You may wonder why an all-time favourite is only getting 9/10 stars. Well, I'm willing to admit that the first arc, with Azur and Asmar as children, is kind of boring and clunky. It's practically exposition to explain their goals and how they are as adults. That said, once they are adults, the story gets SO much better!

Firstly, before anything else, I love this and other Michel Ocelot stories because the use of colour and style in his films are GORGEOUS! Every scene feels like a piece of art, and that is especially true once you get to the Arabic city. Every time I watch this film my eyes savour all of the sights on display.

The other big point for me is that I LOVE the female character. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Azur and the other guys, too; but the women: Jénane, Princess Chamsous Sabah, and the Djinn Fairy are all fantastic characters in their own way. They are strong, intelligent, caring, funny, honestly they're just plain awesome! They're the main reason I love this story.

I've seen the film in both English and French, so it's hard to say which is best to watch. On one hand, the French version doesn't provide Arabic subtitles on purpose so that you feel the same language barrier as Azur. On the other hand, the English version give you the chance to know what EVERYONE is talking about. In that case, better watch them both: French first, and then English! Either way, it's worth watching this film more than once.

Secret Invasion (2023)

Genuinely bad

[3/10 · 29 February 2024]

Generally I scoff at complaints of MCU contents being "mid" or "the worst thing ever", yet as I continued through this show I did realize that this is actually the worst thing I've seen in the MCU. The director/story writers were incredibly lazy and clearly don't care about the source material or even MCU material in general. This most especially relates to how out of character Nick Fury is for most of this show.

Nick Fury, in all of the movies, is always in control, ten steps ahead, and is the type of man to stare death in the face. Yet, according to this show, he's changed every since the Blip. The Blip, a phenomenon named for the fact that the victims only felt a "blip" of time from the snap. For them, it's only been seconds; yet somehow that was enough to entirely change Nick Fury's resolve? That is purely ridiculous.

Also, without getting into spoilers, everything about his interactions with Priscilla also make zero sense. This is a high security level man who has a whole thing about "trusting no one". Those are two major facts in the top five about who nick Furt is as a person. Yet when it comes to Priscilla, and for 30 years of his own history ...how does ANY of that make sense?! Simple answer, it doesn't.

My only relief is that skipping the long intro and it having a short number of episodes means that I could binge this quickly and move on to the rest of Phase 5 since I'm behind. I'm generally generous towards so-called 'mid' MCU content, so it's shocking how disappointing Secret Invasion is.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023)

Too many plots, not enough heart

[6/10 · 23 September 2023]

I love the first two movies, and really wanted to love this one, too. Sad truth is that they were juggling too many balls and lost some in the process. Paris had TWO plots that were both pointless. Her time could have been better spent in scenes to develop Qamar and Christos's plot (and not rush Peter's reactions to it). Ian's new friendship looked interesting but it was never fleshed out (and he suddenly forgot any Greek he's learned over 20 years). I'm glad for Voula's family, as always, and appreciated when others could counter Voula's statements. I don't get the direction of Maria's character, and it felt like she should have had more time because she's practically the heart of the family and always has great lines. I really loved the wedding aspect of the story, but, again, not enough time was spent on it; which is such a shame as what was shown was beautiful. All in all, this movie had a lot of potential, but by giving everybody their own little plot, it bogged down the potential for a fleshed-out and heartfelt movie.

Dilili in Paris (2018)

Disturbing Content

[3/10 · 5 December 2022]

Michel Ocelot is one of my favourite directors, so this vote doesn't come lightly. The premise is a young girl investigating a criminal ring that kidnaps women and girls. Take a moment to imagine what happens in real life to kidnapped women and girls. Think about it. This movie does not do what you're thinking. What is does is much, much worse! I'm not exaggerating. I watched it over a year ago. I keep telling myself "maybe if I want it again, in English, I can appreciate the rest of the movie more." But I can't. I won't. The dehumanization and trauma the victims go through outways any minor positives.

And yes the positives are minor. The visuals didn't capture me the way his other films do. The main character, while strong and outspoken, has a third of her dialogue just a repetition of "pleased to meet you" or something like that. It happens a lot since the movie is also all about meeting a bunch of famous people who lived in Paris at the time. Perhaps if the rest of the movie was good I'd have finally given it another chance. Alas, I can't.

Even the epilogue in the credits, seemingly meant to give a happy ending image, was also disturbingly horrific. I just can't imagine showing this movie to a child, or anyone for that matter. I only wrote this now, because I recently started watching The Handmaids Tale, and can't decide which situation is worse. If the villains had the same level of power and control as THT, Dilili would be the worst by a landslide. That's how disturbing it is!

The Sandman (2022– )

One of the best book-to-screen adaptations ever made

[10/10 · 11 August 2022]

You know a show is going to be good when the story's author is involved in the project and excited about it. Moreso when it's The Sandman, one of the great comicbooks of all time.

The casting, while different in certain ways, is amazing. Kirby does Death fabulously (which is a relief since Death is my favourite character). Tom is a truly ethereal Dream. (I had my doubts before seeing him on screen, yet now I see why Neil Gaiman spoke such high praise of him.) Gwendolyne is also shockingly good as Lucifer. She absolutely has vibes of a Fallen Angel. Composed, regal, able to switch between menacing and sweet when it suits them. Stephen Fry as Gilbert - they couldn't have picked a better actor for that role if they tried! The only acting choice I wasn't fond of was Patton as Matthew since I always imagined Matthew with an average male voice, while Patton has a naturally high voice. It's been growing on me, but it still throws me off a bit. Aside for him, the rest of the casting has been fabulous!

Seeing the story unfold on screen is amazing. The Oldest Game - such an iconic moment, and they found a way to raise the stakes with it being a game of physical consequence. On that note, I'm genuinely surprised that the changes the writers DID make to the story actually make sense for a TV show. (Also, thank you writers for making 24/7 less traumatic than in the book!) They found the right balance of making things true to the books and palatable for new audiences. Brilliant work, all of you!

Knives Out (2019)

A truly 10 out of 10 film

[10/10 · 12 November 2021]

The plot and suspense is gripping. I remember pausing for a break 80 minutes in, shocked that there was still so much more to go. It's overwhelming with suspense and when you think it's over, there's still so much let to uncover. I love it! A fabulous movie! So glad I watched it!

Cinderella (I) (2021)

Embrace the absurdity

[4/10 · 7 October 2021]

It's meant to be silly and stupid. When you embrace it it's more enjoyable. That said, it's not a good movie. It has a lot of stupid ideas. The pros are the nice colours, you sometimes feel for the characters, and they acknowledge that Pierce Brosnan can't sing. Beyond that... yeah, a silly comedy with weak ideas.

Slay Belles (2018)

Delightfully silly and entertaining

[8/10 · 16 January 2021]

I am going to start off by admitting that I expected this to be a cheap, ridiculous film, and further admit that I was wrong. Slay Belles is surprisingly well made compared to my expectations. This film is silly, yes, but in a way that isn't cheap or cringey. It's the kind of silly you can laugh along with. You have a rough-talking Santa and three immature adults who run around abandoned buildings for the sake of Youtube hits, of course it's going to be silly. That said, the film doesn't deviate from realism in how these personalities would encounter such a messed up situation. Personally, I connected with Alexi immediately as someone being taken along for a ride by her high-energy, chaotic yet fun-loving friends. When you have friends like this, it's easy to understand how this crazy Christmas Eve can manage to unfold.

I also like how colourful the sets and costumes are. I can easily see future conventions with fans cosplaying as Dahila, Sadie, and Alexi. I was also surprised at the quality of the Krampus costume. Though I think my favourite aspect of the whole movie is the music. Which is strange, because the music choices are definitely NOT my style at all -a mix of rave for the party girls with Christmas tones and other styles. It's not my scene. That said, the music choices fit perfectly with the tone of the film. I found myself getting drawn the the music continuously throughout the film (great job, Scott Glasgow!)

It honestly shocks me at how much I liked this movie. I feel like it had many individual elements that I DON'T like in a film, yet I ended up loving Slay Belles from start to finish!

Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival (2016)

A personal favourite

[10/10 · 12 March 2020]

This film is in my top 10 of favourite films. As much as the first film is quirky and fun, it's Alleluia that stole my heart. There's more given to the overall lore, plot, and character backgrounds.

The concepts behind how Heaven and Hell run are more intriguing than I'd expect. I jokingly refer to heaven as "Jazz-age America running under a North Korean style dictatorship". It certainly shows in both hidden and blatant mannerisms of the denizens of Heaven. When it comes to Hell, there's a bigger complexity than simply "punish wicked souls". There's certainly a difference between those that fell WITH Lucifer, and the young blood not understanding what's at stake against Heaven. It didn't really hit me until the final scene between Lucifer and the Ticket Keeper - I scene I enjoyed so much that I've used it in a successful audition piece. The dynamics between those two characters, compared to God and the Agent, are worth a respect in a seemingly all-campy musical.

Speaking of music, it's the best part of the film. There are times where I'll go on the composer's soundcloud just to hear the instrumental tracks. This may be biased, but I feel like the music drives the emotions and atmosphere more than the sets and actors. Seriously, give tracks like Enemy and Woe a listen to, they're fantastic! Even during sung numbers, notably After The Fall, I find myself listen to the instruments more than the vocals and lyrics.

Should ever the series continues, I will happily keep watching. If not, I am content to at least have this lovely film in my collection.

Always, Alleluia!

Georgia Rule (2007)

Why was this made?

[3/10 · 19 January 2020]

This movie is so incredibly uncomfortable. I'm not even done watching it, my mom is playing it right now and I'm like a bystander or a hostage. Rachel is the most annoying character. She's also crazy, rude, and an idiot. I feel like the fact that she's only wearing white is pure irony. It's the only explanation. That, and it gave the director a chance to make her have a wet white tank top right before she yells at a young boy for getting a toner. ...that isn't even the most uncomfortable scene in the movie so far.

I feel like this movie is meant to be an ordinary town with ordinary people, and then a character from Cool World was dropped on their doorstep. She talks too fast and too strangely, randomly offers oral sex and "free rides", doesn't have a single clue of how to act like an ordinary human being. Nothing about this character makes sense.

The only positive about this movie so far is that Georgia has had some funny lines and the vet is a decent human being.

Rim of the World (2019)

I suppose it's satire

[3/10 · 28 May 2019]

This film being satire is the only logical explanation for how this story can exist. It's jam-packed full of so many character and film tropes that it's predictable and hardly funny. It's best enjoyed with your brain turned off. That way you aren't plagued by questions like "why does a chinese visitor speak perfect English complete with American geek-culture references" or "why is a thirteen year old talking about having jello shots off a woman's ass"? This film has two saving graces. The first is Gabriel, who is the most believable character and believable teenager/human. The second is an exchange with two black guys having a very 'movie black guy' dialogue, only to hear them offscreen acknowledge that they're being forced to sound like "black guys from the 80's". Despite those saving graces, nothing can spare this movie from Dariush. It's very rare that I want a character to die this badly. Dear god, the dialogue they gave this child is just plain cruel for both the actor and the audience. I hated this character. If they cut his dialogue in half it would have still been annoyingly overdone. Also, not everybody needs a tragic backstory. Seriously, one or two is tragic, having all four of them like that is overkill. That's what this whole film is, though. Overkill. Overkill on tropes, on dialogue, and on awkward scenes. If this is satire, good on you, but I'm not planning on watching this again.

Always a Witch (2019–2020)

Corny but fun

[7/10 · 14 May 2019]

In terms of actual production and effects, this probably deserves a 4 or 5, but this was just too damn fun. Just the phrase "story about a time-traveling Afro-Caribbean witch" is enough fun to say that you want to know where it's going. Also, the relationship between Carmen and Cristobal gives me life. It's beautiful and managed to avoid the typical love triangle script (despite my major fears after episode 7 that it was heading in that direction). It's my first time watching a show in Spanish let alone a show set in South America, so I can't compare it to other, similar shows. For me, seeing a show in this setting for the first time was intriguing. The minor characters did annoy me on occasion, aside from Johnny, but I don't know if their personalities are weirdly acted or just a cultural thing so it's hard to judge it properly. If the show continues, I'll likely watch the second season.

Powerless (2016–2017)

What were they even thinking?

[2/10 · 9 February 2017]

The story idea is awkward, but perhaps had to potential to be doable. Ordinary people in a comic book superhero universe could provide an interesting and funny take. However, what comes out of this show is less comic book and more cartoon-ish. I feel like the best way to describe it would be to imagine what Moulin Rouge would look like if it was stripped of its musicality and nice sets. The dialogue is awkward. The characters are more two-dimensional than their comic book origins. No, really, they are just extreme representations of one personality trait (exceedingly pretentious, sweet, robotic, pathetic, etc). The setting, and the lead for that matter, and sickeningly sweet and would be better placed in the set of a live action version Power Puff Girls. Honestly, I'm not even sure what they're trying to achieve with this show. Child's shows take their audiences more seriously than this.

The Giver (2014)

Most accurate book-to-movie production I've ever seen!

[8/10 · 7 September 2016]

I'm almost shocked that this movie has a 6.5/10 average rating. Then again, I suppose the majority of audiences didn't read this book in school.

I did, and was blown away at the way the movie brought the atmosphere of the book to life. The setting, the society, the philosophy, THE COLOURS! I feel like it added perspective from what I remembered reading 10 or so years ago.

Okay, yes, there's not a whole lot of action, a lot of exposition, and a rather awkward exchange between Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges over contrasting philosophies. But, come on, when you look at bungled movie projects like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Queen of the Damned, and Twilight (yes, the books weren't good, but those movies were horrid on several levels), you got to give credit where credit is due. At least The Giver actually TRIED to explain things and filled in the gaps outside of the protagonists' perspective. Book readers always complain that movie adaptations are never like the book. This is one of those few times where we got exactly what we asked for.

In summation, if I had to judge it on accuracy, I'd give it a 9.5 out of 10. But, if I also had to add in how it was as a film, the I would round things down to an 8.

The Rainbow Kid (2015)

Not what you were expecting

[8/10 · 23 December 2015]

If you want a film that centres around characters with disabilities, but don't want any happy-go-lucky pandering, this is a film worth watching. A great combination of adventure, humour and drama all wrapped up in a realistic (and surprisingly dark) package. And when I say dark, I mean DARK. It's starts off small (some bullying and poverty issues) and then it escalates step by step (robbery, abuse, etc.), easing you into things until BAM! The drama skyrockets in a way that you wouldn't expect for a movie about a kid following a rainbow.

Speaking of the kid (Eugene), this was an awesome character to watch. Brave, sarcastic, doesn't put up with BS and is certainly one of the sanest people in this story (which I'm sure they did on purpose). But the most interesting things about him are his character development and the way he USES having a disability to his advantage. When he wants to avoid attention or have people not take him as a threat, he will pretend to be more disabled than he is so that they won't push him around. And this kid starts off as someone who would use this to hide from bullies out of fear; but, by the end of the film, pushes back his fears and becomes a hero in SO many ways, more than you would expect from any everyday person.

Truth be told I came to see this movie without high expectations. I was just there to support my cousin who was one of the many physically and/or mentally disabled actors cast for the film. But I left that theatre completely floored with how well this story was done. It's honestly worth watching, you'll be sure to enjoy it.

Interstellar (2014)

Good, but audio difficulties and plot holes bog it down

[6/10 · 20 December 2014]

If it weren't for audio troubles and a few confusing plot holes I'd give this movie an 8 or 9. There are several moments of conversations where lines are muddled or overpowered by background noises, leaving you unsure as to what is being said. The story itself is interesting in terms of main plot and visuals, but my family and I left the theatre confused with many aspects of what went on and felt that there were plot holes that made the end result questionable.

Actually, even the beginning of the story is questionable. At this point, I am still confused with the central feature of the plot, being that the Earth's agriculture is dying. At first I thought it was due to muddled speech, but I've asked on message boards what was said, and everyone that has replied said that it was 'left open to interpretation'. To be honest, that just seems like lazy writing. I appreciate that the space travel features were guided by a theoretical physicist (albeit the science probably went over most audiences' heads); but certainly someone in agriculture could have guided them with a reasonable explanation for the Earth situation to make it seem realistic?

Look, over all it's a decent movie. It could have been great, but if people leave a movie theatre not understanding what was being spoken or are annoyed with questioning plot holes, then it's hard to judge something as worthy of greatness.