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Tell Your Children (Reefer Madness) (1936)
4.7
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High-school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll (Josef Forte) relates to an audience of parents that...
Zackary Drucker recommended The Portable Dorothy Parker in Books (curated)
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
There are certain classic movies that should never be recreated or warrant a sequel. The 1939 cinematic musical masterpiece The Wizard of Oz happens to be one of them. I consider this movie to be the birth of the modern movie film industry, it set the standard for all movies to measure themselves against for many years to come. For those who have been living under a rock and are not familiar with the story of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, a young farm girl from Kansas, along with her dog Toto, get whisked in their house by a twister to the land of Oz, a magical fantasyland, where Dorothy wants nothing more than to return home. Per the advice of a Good Witch and some munchkins, and with a new pair of ruby slippers, Dorothy and Toto follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard, who will hopefully help the two make their way back to Kansas. Along the way, she befriends a scarecrow in need of a brain, a tin man who is lacking a heart, and a cowardly lion desperate for courage. They each decide to join Dorothy on her adventure where she defeats the Wicked Witch of the West, who wanted those magical ruby slippers and in the end reaching the Emerald City and safely finds her way back home.
The Legend of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is 3-D animated musical follow up that begins shortly after Dorothy (Lea Michele) returns home from the Land of Oz. The aftermath of the tornado has left her hometown in shambles. Dorothy fights to try to convince everyone that this is their home and it can all be repaired despite the government demanding everyone to vacate the town and seek refuge elsewhere. Back in Oz, the Jester (Martin Short) who happens to be the brother of the Wicked Witch of the West, has sought to rule the World of Oz. He and his band of flying monkeys (same ones from the original movie), begin their reign of terror turning the leaders from all corners of the land into marionettes. The beloved trio of Scarecrow (Dan Akroyd), the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer) and the Cowardly Lion (James Belushi) believe the only person who can stop the Jester’s tirade is Dorothy. With the help of Scarecrow’s new invention, a machine that can bring Dorothy back over the rainbow and to the land of Oz, they summon for Dorothy. Instead of arriving to the Emerald City, Dorothy arrives in a far off land where she tries to locate the yellow brick road, knowing it will lead her to the Emerald City. On her journey we are introduced to new lands, new people and creatures, new songs, and a new adventure and obstacles that she must overcome before it’s too late.
As a standalone movie, this is a great kids film, one the whole family can enjoy. Lots of fun musical numbers, a mediocre storyline, engaging characters, and beautiful scenery. I would recommend watching this movie with zero expectations and do not attempt to compare it to the original movie, it doesn’t hold a torch!
The Legend of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is 3-D animated musical follow up that begins shortly after Dorothy (Lea Michele) returns home from the Land of Oz. The aftermath of the tornado has left her hometown in shambles. Dorothy fights to try to convince everyone that this is their home and it can all be repaired despite the government demanding everyone to vacate the town and seek refuge elsewhere. Back in Oz, the Jester (Martin Short) who happens to be the brother of the Wicked Witch of the West, has sought to rule the World of Oz. He and his band of flying monkeys (same ones from the original movie), begin their reign of terror turning the leaders from all corners of the land into marionettes. The beloved trio of Scarecrow (Dan Akroyd), the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer) and the Cowardly Lion (James Belushi) believe the only person who can stop the Jester’s tirade is Dorothy. With the help of Scarecrow’s new invention, a machine that can bring Dorothy back over the rainbow and to the land of Oz, they summon for Dorothy. Instead of arriving to the Emerald City, Dorothy arrives in a far off land where she tries to locate the yellow brick road, knowing it will lead her to the Emerald City. On her journey we are introduced to new lands, new people and creatures, new songs, and a new adventure and obstacles that she must overcome before it’s too late.
As a standalone movie, this is a great kids film, one the whole family can enjoy. Lots of fun musical numbers, a mediocre storyline, engaging characters, and beautiful scenery. I would recommend watching this movie with zero expectations and do not attempt to compare it to the original movie, it doesn’t hold a torch!
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Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated The Astonishing Color of After in Books
Jan 30, 2019
FEELS!!!!!!!! ALL THE FEELS!!!!!!!!!! The Astonishing Color of After brought to light feelings for me that I didn’t know I was feeling. I cried tears I didn’t know I needed to cry. This book resonated with me in ways I’ve never experience before while reading. This book rebroke my heart but it also healed it in ways I couldn’t heal myself.
Let me start at the beginning… Leigh’s mother commits suicide. Her mom’s name is Dorothy and goes by Dory for short. While my mom didn’t commit suicide, she did die unexpectedly in August of 2016. I know, I know you’re thinking what does this have to do with the book but just put your patient pants on. My mom’s name was Doria, and she went by Dory. While Leigh was lucky enough to be the one that didn’t find her mom, I wasn’t lucky enough to have the same luxury. I could relate to how Leigh was feeling on so many levels. So much so, it felt like the author had interviewed me and then written the book based on that interview. Leigh feels like she is to blame partly for her mother’s death. She feels like if she would have only done x better, if only she’d been in y place at z time she would have been able to save her mom. I know because I had these same thoughts and still do until this day. After reading this book and realizing there just wasn’t anything I could have done to change the outcome of what was destined to happen. But just because my mom isn’t physically here anymore doesn’t mean she’s gone forever. I still see her in myself every time I look in the mirror. She is always with me.
The magical realism aspect of this book brought the journey and the imagery to life for me. I could picture this big beautiful red bird soaring around Leigh. The more I read of this book the more I found myself looking to the sky to see what is out there for me, and then I realized that looking to the sky is something that I’ve done since the day my mom died. I find myself looking around at the clouds and the sky seeing if there is a trace of her looking down on me. Now my favorite time to look to the sky is at night and I imagine her as one of the stars looming overhead keeping an eye on me.
The characters in this book are so real. Leigh, her grandparents, her dad, and Axel. Though, I must admit I feel as though the story could have been just as good without Axel. Sometimes he just seemed to crowd the story and take away from what was happening. I think my most favorite character was Feng, and all the she represents. I absolutely loved this aspect of the book. I also loved Ghost Month as this was something I had never heard of before and it and it reminds me of one of my other favorite holidays El Dia de los Muertos. I loved learning about the Taiwanese culture.
The way the author wove this story together through her words brought the magic and the storytelling to life. Her writing style worked extremely well for the subject of this story and I can’t wait to see what she is going to write in the future. The only aspect of this story that just didn’t mesh for me was all the colors sprinkled throughout the story. Honestly though, that is such a minute detail that it’s barely worth mentioning.
As you can see this story hit me very close to home, and I am so incredibly grateful to the author for writing it. It rebroke my heart and then helped to heal that same broken heart.
Now, on to the important bits… Suicide… If you are ever in a position where you feel that you just absolutely can’t go on do me one solid. Pause. Pick up your phone, and text HELP to 741741. This is the number for the Crisis Text Line. You will be connected to one of their trained Crisis Counselors. I am a trained Crisis Counselor on the CTL and I can guarantee you that you are not alone in how you’re feeling. Ask for help, we’re here to listen, we’re trained to help you. You are not alone. Just remember 741741 and HELP. That’s all it takes and someone will be there for you.
Let me start at the beginning… Leigh’s mother commits suicide. Her mom’s name is Dorothy and goes by Dory for short. While my mom didn’t commit suicide, she did die unexpectedly in August of 2016. I know, I know you’re thinking what does this have to do with the book but just put your patient pants on. My mom’s name was Doria, and she went by Dory. While Leigh was lucky enough to be the one that didn’t find her mom, I wasn’t lucky enough to have the same luxury. I could relate to how Leigh was feeling on so many levels. So much so, it felt like the author had interviewed me and then written the book based on that interview. Leigh feels like she is to blame partly for her mother’s death. She feels like if she would have only done x better, if only she’d been in y place at z time she would have been able to save her mom. I know because I had these same thoughts and still do until this day. After reading this book and realizing there just wasn’t anything I could have done to change the outcome of what was destined to happen. But just because my mom isn’t physically here anymore doesn’t mean she’s gone forever. I still see her in myself every time I look in the mirror. She is always with me.
The magical realism aspect of this book brought the journey and the imagery to life for me. I could picture this big beautiful red bird soaring around Leigh. The more I read of this book the more I found myself looking to the sky to see what is out there for me, and then I realized that looking to the sky is something that I’ve done since the day my mom died. I find myself looking around at the clouds and the sky seeing if there is a trace of her looking down on me. Now my favorite time to look to the sky is at night and I imagine her as one of the stars looming overhead keeping an eye on me.
The characters in this book are so real. Leigh, her grandparents, her dad, and Axel. Though, I must admit I feel as though the story could have been just as good without Axel. Sometimes he just seemed to crowd the story and take away from what was happening. I think my most favorite character was Feng, and all the she represents. I absolutely loved this aspect of the book. I also loved Ghost Month as this was something I had never heard of before and it and it reminds me of one of my other favorite holidays El Dia de los Muertos. I loved learning about the Taiwanese culture.
The way the author wove this story together through her words brought the magic and the storytelling to life. Her writing style worked extremely well for the subject of this story and I can’t wait to see what she is going to write in the future. The only aspect of this story that just didn’t mesh for me was all the colors sprinkled throughout the story. Honestly though, that is such a minute detail that it’s barely worth mentioning.
As you can see this story hit me very close to home, and I am so incredibly grateful to the author for writing it. It rebroke my heart and then helped to heal that same broken heart.
Now, on to the important bits… Suicide… If you are ever in a position where you feel that you just absolutely can’t go on do me one solid. Pause. Pick up your phone, and text HELP to 741741. This is the number for the Crisis Text Line. You will be connected to one of their trained Crisis Counselors. I am a trained Crisis Counselor on the CTL and I can guarantee you that you are not alone in how you’re feeling. Ask for help, we’re here to listen, we’re trained to help you. You are not alone. Just remember 741741 and HELP. That’s all it takes and someone will be there for you.