Okay, not all of my avid moview readers know that I am also into reading books. Well, I have a long break from reading books…more like a 10-year-gap kind of break. I got busy with life, that’s how it is. although there are also times that I was able to read books through audiobooks, so it’s not actually a good to nothing break. I still had a chance to read some new books through listening to their audiobook versions. But this 2024, I am trying to convince myself that I really need to go back to reading because why not? Especially now that people are finally returning to the reading paperback and hard bounds.
Aang! Yes, you know it! From Nickelodeon, the famous cartoon has released its live action this 2024. We all know Aang as the Avatar, we have seen its cartoons in 2005, to my memories, it had 3 seasons and it was a kid friendly cartoon.
Avatar is a story of a world where 4 elements lead the balance of life, Air, Water, Land and Fire, these elements create the balance that the world of Avatar needs and there comes the Avatar, the only creature who can bend all the the elements, making him/her the leader of all elements. But when the last Avatar died, The Fire Nation took over and conquered other elements’ kingdoms, ruling the whole world as if their own. Killing all the element benders that can possibly become the next Avatar. But one remained and lived for 100 years.
Who thought we need so much of Willy Wonka that we wished for a sequel? Well, me thought so too! This Christmas, we are gifted another Willy Wonka movie, although this is a prequel story and this tackles the hard-earned beginnings of Willy Wonka. Wonka never started big. He started from nothing to having everything. Because of his mother and his dream of making the best chocolate in the world, he pursued on becoming a chocolatier, creating very unique and out of this world varieties of chocolates.
In 2005, Tim Burton directed the second Willy Wonka movie which was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Yes, you read it right, this was the second Wonka movie, starring Johnny Depp. The first movie adaptation of the famous Roald Dahl’s children’s book was in 1971 and it was entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starred by Gene Wilder and the third one is the new movie entitled Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet.
Here’s another book adapted series and it is something that you would want to check out. From Ali Novak’s novel, with the same title, My Life With The Walter Boys. Starring Nikki Rodriguez, Noah Lalonde, Ashby Gentry, new faces but not so new in the film industry too.
This is a story about a girl who lost her family due to an accident and had to lived with her mother’s best friend’s family who is very far away from what she was used to. Jackie, who was born and lived all her life in New York is forced to move away from the big apple to live with her mother’s best friend after the accident. Katherine is married with kids living in Colorado, with a family of 12 boys, She has known Jackie’s mother since they were college and so, they agreed to be the guardian of each other’s family in case something bad happen to them in the future and that’s how Katherine got the custody of Jackie.
Look at this stuff, isn’t neat… Oh yeah, that song, we all know that. And this is one of the most famous Disney fairytales which has now been remade into a live action movie, meaning, there’s a real life girl playing as a Little Mermaid, Ariel. If you’re a 80s-90s baby, you’ll appreciate the fact that technology has its ways to make your favorite cartoons come to life, and as impossible as it was when you were a kid, now, you can just imagine yourself being that girl, but this time, seeing it as a real human not a cartoon character. We’ve watched, Mulan, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, and Aurora in live action films and this time, we’ve got ourselves the opportunity to witness Ariel coming into life.
For this who don’t know, Little Mermaid was written by Hans Christian Anderson in 1870 which became a cartoon story made by Disney in the late 80s. From then and there we got all the dish about Little Mermaid and being the only mermaid as a Disney princess, she is definitely became one of the favorites.
The book and the cartoon, however constructs a different story. The cartoon, was made for kids but the book was made for Fantasy seekers and not for fainted hearts. I believe I not need Andy versions on where I compare the two but, I’d be happy to include this before I even review the live action movie of the Little Mermaid. So let’s start.
For those who never read nor watch any of the Little Mermaid versions, please do so, at least one of those available so you will understand where I’m actually coming from. Before you click/scroll more, this will be my official disclaimer.
Remember when Leighton Meester played as a creepy roommate in 2011? Yes, I do, and that’s one of the reason I chose to have a dorm room of my own when I was in university…just coz…And this is also played by Christina Wolfe, you know her, she’s the latest Batwoman. Yes, I knowLeighton Meester is the OG.
Anyway, it’s been a long time since I saw Leighton in the limelight ever since Gossip Girl, and I think this new Netflix movie she is starring is giving us the Leighton we missed. The story is about best friends spending the time abroad for a weekend to party and catch up, that’s all we do, right? But what will you do if the weekend you expected to be just a weekend full of fun turns out to be a weekend you will regret having? And what if you wake up only to find out later on that your friend died? or worst, what will you do if you became the prime suspect in a murder case?
Yes, getting the chills yet? The story is quite interesting but not everyone knows that this story was adapted from a book of the same title that was published last 2020 and written by Sarah Alderson. I have read the book before so I get all the heads up here while watching the movie but of course, they won’t follow the book as is, although I think getting to compress the whole story in just an hour and thirty minutes is a little challenging. Do you wanna know the differences from the book VS the movie? I mean, scroll down if you do!
Like the usual, if you want to see some spoilers on both novel and the film then here’s your key…
Wonder Roanne 