Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn. Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups. This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone--from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud--threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love.
But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear... In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent. (Goodreads)
The Luxe begins with the funeral of the main character, Elizabeth. This instantly made me think "no, she can't really be dead. This is one of those overly dramatic tricks." Regardless of whether or not it is a trick, it worked. I was completely pulled into this beautiful world of naivety where everyone is in love/lust with someone they can not have. There is absolutely no way for everyone to have their "happy ending", which leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering who will be the lucky one that does.
Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5
Book & Author Information: Goodreads
Published: November 20th, 2007
Anna Godbersen: Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram
Parvana is an 11-year-old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. When her father is wrongfully arrested, Parvana cuts off her hair and dresses like a boy in order to support her family. Working alongside her friend Shauzia, Parvana discovers a new world of freedom and danger. With undaunted courage, Parvana draws strength from the fantastical stories she invents, as she embarks on a quest to find her father and reunite her family. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
Genre(s): Animated, Drama, Family, War
Released: November 17, 2017
Directed by: Nora Twomey
Written by: Anita Doron (screenplay), Deborah Ellis(screen story)
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Noorin Gulamgaus
Unlike similar films that give you a few minutes to see things in a state of happiness, The Breadwinner goes straight into how the world really is. Just a couple of minutes in and I was FUMING and on the brink of angry tears. This is not a fantasy story. Things like the actions in this film have happened and unfortunately are still happening all over the world. The Breadwinner gives us a glimpse into the type of cruelty and injustice that many of us will hopefully never experience. At this point, I am sure I have made this film sound like a bit of a downer. However, the great thing about it is that instead of dwelling on all of the horrible stuff, we get a little hope from the occasional humor and the story that Parvana is telling. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, which is normally something that would annoy me, but for this movie actually seemed like the perfect way to end it.
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Should you watch it?
Absolutely.
An adventure by Il-ho the Satellite Girl and a shy cow to save the world from a black monster. (IMDB)
Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆7.5/10
11-year-old orphan, Félicie (Elle Fanning) has one dream - to go to Paris and become a dancer. Her best friend Victor (Nat Wolff), an imaginative but exhausting boy with a passion for creating, has a dream of his own - to become a famous inventor. In a leap of faith, Victor and Félicie leave their orphanage in pursuit of their passions. But - there's a catch, Félicie must pretend to be the child of a wealthy family in order to gain admittance to the prestigious and competitive Opera Ballet School in Paris. And with no professional dance training, she quickly learns that talent alone is not enough to overcome the ruthless, conniving attitudes of her fellow classmates, led by the devious Camille Le Haut (Maddie Ziegler) and her wicked mother Régine (Kate McKinnon). Determined to succeed, Félicie finds her mentor in the tough and mysterious school custodian, Odette (Carly Rae Jepsen) who, along with Victor's encouraging friendship, help her reach for the stars. (Rotten Tomatoes)
I enjoyed two things about this film. First, the animation is very nice and I absolutely loved the lighting. Second, Nora was the only character worth my time (okay...maybe Mattie too). The voice acting, especially for the main characters, is just horrible and in my opinion, the voices did not match very well. The timing of the music was weird/abrupt and what you would expect from a stereotypical animated film. Leap! is so full of overly dramatic moments, that when something that is actually important happens, it does not matter. Overall, it is not the worst animated feature that I have seen, but it is also nowhere near being close to being one of the best. Also...rooftops are not a proper meeting place, I don't care how old you are or what time period it is and the number of times that Victor hits his head is incredibly troubling.
Rating: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆5/10
LoliRock follows the journey of young Iris, a spirited teenage girl with a beautiful voice and an unending desire to help others. When Iris joins the girl group LoliRock, her life is changed forever, as a new world of music, mysteries and magical powers is revealed. These three new friends are now bound together by their destinies as magical princesses and a fight against injustice. (IMDB)
This review contains spoilers! You have been warned!!!
My initial reaction to the show was “meh”. The music is just bad and if you judge it solely on the first one or two episodes, it comes off as a complete rip-off of other higher-quality shows. It feels very generic at first, but the animation is super pretty. I quickly decided that I would just keep it on in the background to keep me company...until I began to notice I was paying more attention to the show instead of the other tasks I had meant to be doing.
A few more episodes and it went from feeling like a decent rip-off to a loving, fangirl/boy tribute. The transformation sequences are beautiful and I really love how the battles (and villains) slowly evolved with the show. The girls do not always win (or at least not easily) and are constantly being challenged to do better. Iris, Talia, and Auriana are never portrayed as “perfect” and are always stronger when together due to the “power of friendship”. Like most magical girl shows, it does become a bit repetitive at times (transformation sequences, monster of the week, etc), and at the end of season one, we are introduced to a few new characters (Izira, Carissa, Lyna), but they do not appear as often as I would like. The main villain, Gramorr, looks like he was designed for a completely different show, and around season two the animations for him are just recycled in each episode. He only shows his ability two or three times during two seasons and comes off as very weak in my opinion (granted, he is stuck in a castle...but still). His minions (Mephisto and Praxina) and even his “pet” Banes are all ultimately portrayed to be much more capable. The two-parters are without a doubt the best episodes and my favorite moments are when Iris goes into her Shanila form.
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| So pretty!!! |
Overall, when you set aside all of the numerous and obvious influences from other shows, Lolirock is a very good animated show that I would definitely recommend. However, if you grew up watching shows like Sailor Moon or Pretty Cure (aka Glitter Force) it may be hard to truly give it a chance. This is something that I had trouble with and still struggle with while writing this review. The outside influences are just too strong not to notice and unfortunately, I think it does take away from how much better Lolirock could have been (at least it does for me). It is hard to find yourself completely immersed if you are constantly noticing things that remind you of other shows (or as you will see below...easter egg-like moments) Is it really a tribute to the creator's favorite childhood shows? Or is it a well-made rip-off...I still don't know.
The creator of the show, Jean-Louis Vandestoc, grew up watching anime and had a special love of the magical girl genre. Officially, only Pretty Cure, Sailor Moon, and Jem and the Holograms were cited as references for Lolirock, but a few others began to stick out to me as I made my way through the 52 episodes.
Some of the voice actors from the show are also the main voice actors on MLP. This, combined with the personalities of some of the characters (especially Carissa) and the role that Amaru (hello furry Spike) plays left me feeling like it must have had some influence on Lolirock (or at the very least the English adaptation). Also, the emphasis placed on the power of friendship reminded me of the core message of MLP.
Pokemon
Praxina and Mephisto ARE Team Rocket. That is all...
Josie and the Pussycats
Three girls in a rock band go around solving mysteries/helping people. This may just be how the Jem and the Holograms influence appeared to me though.
Others
Others who have watched Lolirock have pointed out similarities to W.I.T.C.H and Winx Club, but as I have not seen either of those shows...I couldn't say. Also, thanks to Alishia, I was made aware of something I missed:
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| Poor Amaru...he looks ashamed. |
Season 1 Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
Season 2 Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7.5/10
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