Mekkin B. (122 KP) rated Howl's Moving Castle (2004) in Movies
Sep 17, 2017
fundamental changes it has made to the source material that serves to remove so much agency and power from the protagonist, Sophie, for reasons that continue to baffle me.
That said, if you like Miyazaki films, you will like this one.
The following is a rant replete with spoilers for both the movie and the book.
OKAY SO
1. In the book, Sophie is not cursed because of the witch's jealousy over seeing her with Howl, but because unbeknownst to Sophie, SHE IS AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL WITCH IN HER OWN RIGHT, and the Witch of the Waste is incredibly aware of this.
2. In fact, she is successful as a hat-maker because she's subconsciously ENCHANTING THE HATS THAT SHE MAKES.
3. The reason that Howl cannot uncurse her and make her young again is because Sophie is secretly quite comfortable in her guise as an old woman and is keeping the curse in place because she is ACTUALLY MORE POWERFUL THAN HOWL.
4. She is able to save Howl at the end only because she is finally willing to come to terms with her own incredible power. It's not the power of love. It's HER OWN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL WITCHCRAFT.
In the book, Sophie is a magical equal to Howl in every way. Her journey is about unlearning the idea that she is a plain nobody and cannot be destined for greatness in the way that Howl is, and seizing control of the magic she has always had.
The entire war plot was shoved in, and I could have gotten behind it if it didn't involve stripping Sophie of her witchcraft. Made me so angry I couldn't really enjoy the movie, although I do recognize its objective merits.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
Hecate Hall is similar to any other high school, just with a paranormal twist. The werewolves can still talk and walk upright, so they are not considered true shapeshifters. The fairies don't have to hide their wings, can turn into balls of light for travel, communicate through mirrors, as well as many other traditions of legend - but all seem to be pretentious snobs. The witches are divided into dark and light, and Sophie is unknowingly cast as a dark witch, though she can't guess how, which puts her in the line of fire from the other three dark witches on campus, who swing from classic "mean girls" to her best friends unpredictably. Plus, what school would be complete without the resident "hottie", whom Sophie can't help but fall for, especially since fate keeps putting the two of them together. And finally, two vampires also reside at school - though they are not considered equals - Sophie's roommate, Jenna, as well as a teacher condemned into hiding, none other than Lord Byron, the poet. While Lord Byron's role turned out to be a major disappointment, Jenna seemed to be the one with all of the secrets, even as she is repeatedly blamed for the new deaths cropping up.
Sophie is easy to like, with a fantastic sense of humor and strong moral sense. The flip-flopping emotions of the cast of characters matched the average teenager well, and made for many entertaining situations. The many surprises that saturated the plot made the book engaging, and I look forward to reading about what Sophie does with her new-found information about herself in the next book, Demonglass.
Pom Pom Quarterly - Knitting Podcast
10.0
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Podcast
Pomcast is Pom Pom's knitty and witty monthly podcast. Lydia and Sophie talk to all sorts of...
Flack - Season 1
TV Season Watch
Robyn, an American publicist working for a cutthroat London PR company that represents troubled...
Shortcut (2020)
4.0
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Movie
A mysterious creature terrorizes five teenage friends after their bus takes a shortcut on a desolate...
Roxanne (13 KP) rated Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster in Books
Nov 14, 2018
This is a beautiful collection, handled in a very sensitive way, I hope for this to reach more people as things need to change.
Rest in peace beautiful Sophie.
The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel , #2)
8.0
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Book
After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for...
Lady of Magick (Noctis Magicae #2)
8.0
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Book
In an ancient kingdom full of secrets, unease and myth, Sophie and Gray Marshall are about to be...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2247 KP) rated Legacy in Books
Dec 31, 2019
Naturally, that just scratches the surface of this book since it is almost 800 pages. But it is worth it to watch the plots and sub-plots unfold. Sophie is on quite a journey, and this is another large step forward since we get some twists and revelations in this book. Obviously, I don’t recommend starting here. There’s been a lot of world building in the previous seven books, and that’s always important in a fantasy series. Plus, because the books build on each other, there are major spoilers for events in the earlier books. The characters and their relationships continue to grow, and I loved watching that. Plus there’s plenty of humor and alicorn cuteness. The target middle grade audience will love it, as will anyone who enjoys fantasy. The pages flew by as I got lost in the story. Just be ready for that cliffhanger.
The Diary of a Submissive: A True Story
Book
Sophie Morgan tells her true story in The Diary of a Submissive, the real-life Fifty Shades of Grey....