Key

I love talking about video games but I also love talking about movies and TV. So that's what I plan to do with this journal. It's nothing formal or anything, more-so just a space for me to talk about the movies and tv shows that I've watched that I like, or disliked, and just give my overall opinion on them.

I just recently watched Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness so that will most likely be the first thing I touch up on. After that, it's anyone's guess. Hope you enjoy the reading either way!

Key

Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness

Generally, I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to movies. I love anything that is exciting to watch and also anything that I'd be willing to go out of my way to either see again or recommend it to someone and watch it with them in the process. I remember seeing the original Doctor Strange back when it was first released in theaters and it absolutely blew me away with itself altogether but also because the visuals were and are still phenomenal. Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness is much the same but adds enough to the equation to allow it to stand on its own. I don't want to go too far into detail about the plot just in case anyone hasn't seen it yet, but I would strongly recommend watching this one if you're both a fan of this particular universe and obviously a fan of Doctor Strange in general.

Even back when the original movie was released, I already sort of knew just based on what I knew of the character that I would enjoy it. Has everything from mind-****ery to a story that makes you think from time to time, and really does a nice job at allowing the viewer to experience it instead of expecting certain things to happen. Hell, the first movie and Multiverse of Madness did an excellent job in creating an experience that I really don't know where it was going to go. And that's what made it even more exciting.

Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness is one of those movies where even if you haven't seen the first movie, this one is still worth every minute. Though I would strongly recommend that you not only watch the first one, but be sure you're a bit more up to speed with marvel in general because, as we've seen in a lot of marvel movies and even in Doctor Strange, there are little details you wouldn't know unless you were familiar with Marvel and the franchise altogether. So, honestly you'd probably enjoy this one more if you know enough about what's going on. But again, to each their own. Like I said, I could easily enjoy this movie even if I wasn't a big fan of Marvel in general. It's just a spectacle to watch, and a fun ride at that.

I don't give this movie as high of a recommendation that I would give a lot of other movies out there, but it's definitely worth seeing at least once just for the fun little easter eggs and the visuals. Oh, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Key

The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor

As a huge fan of Star Wars, you'd assume that I've been a pretty big fan of the things they've been doing lately, and you'd assume correctly. However, my opinion has changed on the movie side, specifically the new trilogy. It's hot trash. With the exception of The Force Awakens being somewhat decent, The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker are both hot trash. That's the nicest way I can put it. Fortunately, where I have been really getting all my Star Wars enjoyment recently, is the TV shows. And man, they have been nothing short of stellar, perhaps with a few exceptions here and there. And I'll say it now before I forget, Andor is my numero uno as far as Star Wars shows go. Everything else just kind of closely follows by lingering at the number two spot. They have all been so good that it wouldn't really feel right to rank them. So I'm not going to. Instead, I'm just going to discuss my overall experience with the Star Wars TV shows. It's easier to not spoil anything when I just talk about it this way:

Where do we even start? All three shows have gone away from the standard Jedi vs Sith Star Wars and instead have focused on characters that quite frankly should have gotten a lot more air time far before Disney took over. But thank god they are getting their time to shine now. Each show offers a deep look into a character that you wouldn't have otherwise thought much about, perhaps maybe the exception of Mandalorian and Boba Fett. Or maybe people have been wanting shows about these people all this time and I've just been ignorant to it. Either way, it's good that they are getting their time to shine now, and with the teams behind these shows not only giving us some of the best written Star Wars we have seen in a long long time, we are also getting some of the best looking shots Star Wars fans have ever seen. Of course, we saw some spectacles in Rogue One, but again we are just focusing on the TV shows. I've personally been really enjoying learning more about these characters and in some ways humanizing them and being able to sort of understand their reasons for doing the things that they do. The Book of Boba Fett does a nice job at this by not just giving us the Boba Fett we already know, but also giving us a Boba Fett we didn't think we needed, and now I'm glad I've watching this show. Not only for the fact that it ties in with The Mandalorian, but also, it was just nice to see a show focused on one character that people have loved for a long time, and in my opinion, served him well. I know people are not huge fans of The Book of Boba Fett, but I personally enjoyed it. I would imagine both The Mandalorian and Andor are pretty universally loved given that I have heard nothing but praise for both shows. And praise well deserved at that.

I mentioned that these shows bring us some of the best looking Star Wars we have seen in a long time, and I want to add to that by saying that besides every episode being movie quality or better as far as what you're getting out of each episode of each show, each episode throughout each show just really packs a punch. I watched through the first two seasons of The Mandalorian very recently given that the third season is releasing over the next couple weeks, and I wanted a refresher / get all caught up. And man, every single episode whether it was 30 minutes or 45 minutes felt like I was watching a movie. And each episode really tied in nicely with the last one that it felt like one long movie. I would easily watch it all over again, as well as Boba Fett and Andor.

Andor has a special place in all of this however, because I along with a few of my friends were all watching the show as it released. And I gotta tell ya, having to wait for a new episode of a show I'm enjoying is a feeling I didn't think I missed. It was really fun theory crafting what was going to happen next with the people I was watching it with, and I realized that because of modern streaming, that really doesn't happen that often, if at all. It's definitely a part of watching a show that I missed dearly. Again, didn't even really realize that I was missing it. Andor is amazing by the way, and I don't want to spoil anything about it. Just watch it.

All of these shows are not only shows that I would consider personal favorites of mine now. They are also shows that I wouldn't mind sitting down with people that haven't seen it, and watching it again. It's got the same spell that Breaking Bad has where you can definitely watch each episode again, and possibly pick up things that you didn't pick up the first time. Especially considering that there are connections between The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian, that point goes even further. I'm sure I missed a lot in all these shows and I would not miss an opportunity to watch them again. And again, and again.

Key

Obi-Wan Kenobi

There's a reason I didn't include Obi-Wan Kenobi in the post prior to this because I feel like this show in particular didn't live up to the standard that I'd personally put for it. And I'm one to say that it's still worth watching, despite its flaws. And I'm willing to admit that even as a hardcore Star Wars fan and specifically an Obi-Wan Kenobi fanboy, this show is not perfect. Not even close to it.

I do love Obi-Wan Kenobi as a character and I've always enjoyed watching the movies because of the chemistry between him and Hayden Christensen. So when Disney+ announced that Ewan Mcgregor was going to be reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi, I, along with many others were excited not only for the fact that we were going to see Ewan Mcgregor in this role again, but also for the added fact that Hayden Christensen was going to reprise his role as Darth Vader. And as specific roles go, both did a trememdous job bringing back their characters while also still giving them a unique flair in this shows setting. I enjoyed pretty much all the scenes where they were either being talked about, or were in the scenes themselves. It's one of the flaws of the show that there isn't as much focus on them as characters as I was hoping there would be.

The story is where the show lost a lot of people, myself included, and what I briefly mentioned in the last batch of sentences is that for a show titled Obi-Wan Kenobi, it didn't focus a whole lot of the character as a whole, more-so focused on a story that involved more that what some bargained for. I understand that sometimes shows need to make more story arcs for potentially later shows, but I don't think making a show where Obi-Wan Kenobi is basically hunted the whole time makes for interesting television. And again, I still enjoyed the show as a whole, but I really don't think they focused enough on what people actually wanted. They attempted to make a story that revolved around the character instead of on the character itself. And I think the show definitely dragged on at certain points which just furthers the point that the story just was not interesting enough to move the show along.

The show still has a lot of redeeming qualities because like I said, there are scenes with both Ewan Mcgregor and Hayden Christensen reprising their respective roles, and they both do great jobs. Every single positive part about this show has something to do with them, which is precisely why I wish they had focused on it more. Not enough scenes in the show as a whole that really dove into them as a characters and their current relationship. But hey, it's only the first season, so perhaps in a next season there will be more focus. Hopefully.

Show is still pretty good though but I definitely would recommend watching the three that I mentioned prior to this before watching this one. Those at least are really fun to sit through not only for the topics at hand, but just the overall feel of them is very much rid of Jedi/Sith craziness, and instead focuses on other matters in the galaxy.

Key

Some of my favorite movies (pt.1)

Like I mentioned in the OP, I don't watch a lot of TV or movies, but the ones I do watch I typically really enjoy. I usually will stick to genres that I like whether it's horror or indie, etc etc. I also don't really enjoy action movies very much because I find it both hard to believe and secondly just overall really boring. There are a few exceptions, but not many. Anyway, here are some of my favorites:

The Royal Tenenbaums
I love Wes Anderson movies, and although I have not seen every single one, The Royal Tenenbaums was the first one I ever saw and from then on, I really enjoyed Wes Anderson style films. He's got a very good eye for angles and the ability to let the movie sort of present itself without really giving anything away. A lot of shots that he does in his movies are some of my favorites in any movie. I really enjoy his stuff probably more than other directors and it's simply because I find his movies interesting. Like I said, his movies don't always directly give things away which as a viewer, is really fun. I've watched The Royal Tenenbaums countless times throughout my life and I have enjoyed it for different reasons each time I watch it. Because I catch new things each time. That's always exciting.

The Butterfly Effect
This movie has Ashton Kutcher in it, and while it may not be his best role he's ever done, and certainly not my favorite of his, I still think the movie is pretty good. I've lost count of the amount of times I've watched it. It's definitely one of my favorite movies for various reasons, but one being that I was relatively young when I saw it for the first time, so it has that sense of nostalgia to it. On top of that, while the movie has a pretty unorthodox plotline and surely there are many plot holes throughout, I still have found enjoyment from watching it each time I've watched it. It's nothing truly believable and I doubt this would ever happen to anybody in real life, but the characters and story are interesting enough for me to get enjoyment out of it despite seeing the movie as many times as I have. This and The Royal Tenenbaums are probably tied as far as my favorite movie of all time. However, I don't even really know if either of these are my absolute favorites, but i'll just say they're both tied for #1 right now.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
I've talked about how much I love this movie amongst the other Star Wars movies, but even as a movie on its own, it's one of my personal favorites and one that I see myself easily watching again and again and again. I mentioned before that I don't see much redeeming qualities in the new sequel of movies, but I have always held the opinion that the prequels are not nearly as bad as people make them out to be. Sure, Jar Jar Binks is out there as far as character design goes, and sure, Hayden may not be the best actor ever. But this all changes with Revenge of the Sith because I feel like everybody knew that this was the movie that was going to connect the prequels to the original trilogy and in my opinion, it was done pretty well. I still hold the Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Anakin Skywalker fight at the end of Revenge of the Sith as one of the best lightsaber fights in all of the Star Wars movies.

Halloweentown / Halloweentown 2: Kalabar's Revenge
I grew up when Disney Channel Original Movies were a thing, and man, thanks to Disney+ for allowing me to relive my childhood that is these movies. Johnny Tsunami, The Thirteenth Year, Brink, all these movies amongst many others really shaped my childhood by providing hours upon hours of movie entertainment. The two that I really enjoyed out of the bunch were definitely Halloweentown and Halloweentown 2: Kalabar's Revenge. I will be talking more about Disney Channel Original Movies in a separate post at some point, but I'm choosing to focus on these two now because they really are two of my favorite movies of all time. And recently, I watched Halloweentown 2: Kalabar's Revenge recently after years of not watching it, and absolutely enjoyed every second of it. It's not the best movie ever made, but for me, I get everything I want out of it. Just a fun lighthearted movie with some really good moments.

Key

Mandalorian Season 3 So Far Is Pretty Good

Every Wednesday for the next few weeks, we'll be getting new episodes of The Mandalorian to bring upon season 3, and while I hadn't been caught up with the series until recently, I've been pretty excited about this since it's just another great show that I get to watch. And while I won't spoil anything, I gotta tell ya, with only 2 episodes into the new season so far, there's already a lot going on that could potentially make this quite the incredible season for the show. While in a lot of cases I think the writing in Andor is far better than this, The Mandalorian still does an amazing job of simply making this a show worth watching, even with the addition of The Book of Boba Fett, which I will say, if you have not watched that show yet, you'll want to. The Mandalorian's new season basically continues on from the end of Boba Fett so it's best to be caught up with that. It's pretty good too so nothing wrong there.

Grogu or as people know him as "Baby Yoda" gets a lot more attention in the season so far. This is probably more due to the fact that he just spent a long time training with Luke Skywalker to get a better handle on his force powers. And while he decided in the end to back with his Mandalorian father of sorts, he still packs a powerful punch in the 2nd episode of this season. I'm excited to see how this progresses as far as character arcs for Grogu. Certainly the 2nd episode lets him shine just a little more than he already has up until this point. And man is he cute as ****.

So, yeah watch the first two episodes of season 3 if you haven't yet, and also perhaps catch up with The Book of Boba Fett. Despite what some people say, the show is pretty good. Yeah some people didn't like that it made Boba Fett look weaker than he actually is, but I always felt it was more about his backstory than anything else, and they did a really good job of making you feel for his character and sort of humanized him much like they did with Loki.

dnbgirl

the transporter