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Hades Miller (2 KP) rated Mulan (2020) in Movies

Dec 13, 2020

Mulan (2020)

2020 | Action, Adventure, Family

5.8

(28 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Acting (1 more)

Fight scenes

Plot (1 more)

Liu Yifei

More like...Meh-lan

I have to admit, I am one of those people who doesn't really get why they are remaking animated Disney movies and not just...animating them again. Live action is fine, but animation, especially American animation, is just much more expressive. Mulan falls victim to this problem. If they didn't try to follow the original somewhat, it wouldn't be true to the source material & if they didn't try something new, it would just be a rehash. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed quite a bit of this movie, but the finished product didn't really feel like it had a purpose.

My biggest issue is that every new idea they added never felt like it went anywhere. "Here's another woman who is a powerful fighter like Mulan...oh wait she let's gone." "Mulan has a sister! She adds nothing to the plot." Nothing new is ever followed through in an interesting way and just seems half-heartedly thrown in. This basically just leaves the rehashed parts of Mulan which, outside of more serious fight scenes...isn't all that interesting

Is it worth watching once? Sure. Is it something worth watching over and over again like the original Mulan, or heck, even the straight to DVD sequel? Well, that's obviously up to you, but I likely won't be watching this again anytime soon.

Also, replacing hard-work, dedication, and a good old fashioned dose of pig-headedness with chi is a lazy way to try and separate a remake from it's source.

Kudos

Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Inkheart in Books

Jul 10, 2019

Inkheart

Cornelia Funke | 2003 | Children

7.6

(38 Ratings)

Book Rating

A bit too drawn out children's fantasy.

I don’t read a lot of YA but if there's one thing that’s sure to get me to pick one up it’s…… bookclub pressure! I haven’t read a lot of fantasy recently so I did go into this looking forward to a change of pace and I certainly got that.

The premise for the book is interesting with the crossover of fictional characters into our world being enabled by those able to read them out. However the fact that this was something that was stated in the blurb but didn’t really get covered until well into the book I think speaks to the drawn out nature of this book. I really think it would of been better if it had been condensed. When a character gets captured for a second time I was all “oh no not this again” rather than feeling tension and excitement.

Perhaps a function of this being a translated work, I never really felt I got into the flow of this book. I didn’t like Meggie the 12 year old protagonist, although that may just be a dislike of stubborn annoying 12-year olds in general. I did however love the Elinor character (and not just for the solid name choice!) She’s a no nonsense full on book nerd. I did however find the books general and constant attitude of people that love books are far superior to everyone else to be a bit patronising.

I’m sure I would have enjoyed this a lot more when I was 12.

Kudos

Kaz (232 KP) Jul 10, 2019

I totally agree with you about the pacing of this book. It was so drawn out that it lacked any drive. I didn't mind Meggie, she came across as a typical teenager. Great review!

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Emma (519 KP) Jul 11, 2019

There's also two more sequels of the same length.

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Defying Dystopia: Going on with the Human Journey After Technology Fails Us

Ed Ayres

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

To most, the collapse of modern civilization is the stuff of fiction. Yet, science confirms that...

Globalization, Environmental Health and Social Justice

R. Scott Frey

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Book

Countries in the West regularly export their environmental harms - dumping heavy metals and...

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2510 KP) rated Digging Up the Remains in Books

Aug 26, 2020

Which Story Got a Reporter Killed?

Fall has arrived in Goosebush, Massachusetts, and Lilly Jayne is busy with the two weekend fall festival. Kicking things off is a 10K through town. Lilly and her friends Delia and Roddy are making sure the path is clear before the race starts when the find the body of reporter Tyler Crane partially buried in a pile of leaves. Tyler hasn’t been in town long, but he’s made several people upset as he has dug to uncover family secrets. He was teasing new stories coming soon. Was one of those the reason he was murdered?

I really enjoyed getting to visit these characters again. Lilly leads a large and diverse cast of characters, and they are all charming. They are also distinct, so it is easy to keep them all straight. The book reintroduces us to the characters and town while introducing Tyler and the suspects. The pacing is a bit off early on, but the time is being put to good use as it sets up the mystery. Once Tyler is found dead, we are off with suspects as strong as the main characters and many secrets for Lilly and the others to uncover before we reach the climax. Meanwhile, we get some advancement in storylines introduced in earlier books. I suspect we’ve got some seeds that will bloom in future books here as well. I wish I could garden as well as the characters in this series, but I can dream while I read these fun mysteries.