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David McK (3576 KP) rated Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance most fowl (2024) in Movies

Dec 29, 2024 (Updated Dec 29, 2024)  
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance most fowl (2024)
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance most fowl (2024)
2024 |
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
It's been, what, nearly 20 years since the last Wallace And Gromit feature length film (Curse of the Were-Rabbit).

That's from 2005.

A Matter of Loaf and Death is from 2008, and was the last tie the dynamic claymation duo were on our screens.

In the intervening time, the voice of Wallace - Peter Sallis - has passed away.

Which, if I'm being honest, did make me wonder how the new film would cope with somebody else (Ben Whitehead) voicing Wallace.

I have to say that, thankfully, he actually does a pretty decent Peter Sallis impersonation.

This film also sees the most-anticipated return of the evil penguin Feather McGraw (from "The Wrong Trousers"), who hijacks Wallace's latest invention too break out of Jail (aka the Zoo).

Gotta love the Blofeld bit ...
  
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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress #2) in Books

Jan 23, 2020  
KO
Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress #2)
Julie C. Dao | 2018
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
If there's anything I like from Forest of a Thousand Lanterns other than the writing and world, it's how delightfully evil Xifeng is.
When I picked up the sequel, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, I just wanted to know how this story will end rather than "I WANT MORE." After all, villains meet one end only in fiction.

I love my characters dark and ruthless sometimes, but Forest of a Thousand Lanterns just didn't hit the mark. The first novel focuses a lot on the journey Xifeng takes to the palace and I found myself frequently drawn away from the slow pacing of the story. That certainly didn't stop me from diving headfirst into Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix though.

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is much better than the first novel.
The sequel to Dao's debut novel is set 18 years later, told in Princess Jade's perspective. Xifeng is ruling as the evil empress of Feng Lu and Jade has been sent away to grow up in a monastery until she receives a note summoning her back to the palace.

She's not interested in going back to the palace, though, and would much rather stay at the monastery she's called home. But do we really want an evil queen when you have the power and right to overthrow her? Probably not. Like Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, Dao takes readers on a journey as Jade sets off to prove her worth as the heir and take on Xifeng.

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is action-packed and Dao's writing really grows.
The sequel is filled with so many stories, which I think adds to the world and captures the attention of readers. Dao's writing really grows through the stories she tells, and I love seeing how the different versions all tie together in some way in Jade's journey.

Likewise, I can see how some may find the sequel a major disappointment - the quest felt a little too easy for how long Xifeng has her hold as the Empress, and we take some time at the palace before the journey sets off. But it's not as long as nearly half the book in Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. However, I still enjoyed Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix more, and I'm delighted to see what stories Dao come up with next.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/kingdom-of-the-blazing-phoenix-by-julie-c-dao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>