Movie Review: Rosaline (2022)

Rating: 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Review:

I read Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet in high school (eons ago) and shocker, I was never a fan. Even now that I’m no longer an angsty, Goth teen but an ancient dragon, though with the same penchant for sarcasm mind you, I still find R&J a tragic waste. That said, I absolutely loved the movie, Rosaline.

Rosaline is a modern re-telling of R&J but with a slight, snarky twist that makes it absolutely fantastic. It’s told from the point of view of Rosaline, who is Juliet’s cousin. I loved the modern slang and the changes in the different characters. Rosaline, of course, was my favorite. She’s audacious, snarky, outspoken, stubborn and she marches to her own drum. Her point of view was a delight and I also enjoyed her character growth.

Now, broody Dario, ooh-la-la. You can see the maturity on him. And of course, he’s gorgeous. I liked the side characters—the sassy nurse, charming Paris.

I love how the movie portrays Romeo & Juliet as two rash teens—children really, who never had the chance to grow and learn from their mistakes. Rosaline and Dario’s characters show that world of difference. Kaitlyn Dever and Sean Teale did a great job of portraying Rosaline and Dario.

And that ending? Bloody fabulous! I enjoyed it immensely and if you watch it, do not miss the satisfaction of the post-credit scenes.

As a music buff, of course, I can’t end my review without commenting on the soundtrack. It gave the movie that modernization again and the songs fit the movie to a T.

Highly recommended!

∼Lyn

Movie Review: The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

Rating: 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Sci-fi, Action, Romance

Review:

I can’t remember exactly how old I was when I watched the first Matrix movie. I think I must have been fifteen or sixteen, but what I do remember is the wonder The Matrix brought to an impressionable teen who was already crazy about sci-fi and fantasy. And let’s not forget totally crushing on Keanu Reeves after watching him in Speed (1994).

Now, 18 years after The Matrix Revolutions (2003) finished the trilogy off with a heartbreaking end, we were given one more installment. I have to say upfront that I’m a bit wary of additional sequels to franchises that wrapped up with perfect, albeit tragic endings. You know that feeling when a franchise ends with a finality that gave you a satisfying closure and you reconciled the emotions that came with it? And now to open that door again, with an anxiety that this new chapter could just ruin how you viewed and felt about it.

Book Dragons, especially, know this feeling when an author ends a series and then does a surprising addition to it that continues it. I call it a make-it-or-break-it plot twist. So of course I was both hyper and anxious about watching Matrix 4 – The Matrix Resurrections.

I am quite pleased to announce that I absolutely loved it. In my opinion, it was an interesting take on how the original trilogy ended, with new characters and changes to the timeline adding value to the story as a whole. And let’s be honest, how many of us wanted this since we first met Neo and Trinity?

Special Effects
When talking about The Matrix, you can’t not remark on the most important part—the special effects. I enjoyed them a lot and found the new changes a seamless merge to the original trilogy. The special effects were as wicked cool as always, the dystopian world of the machines’ domination as bleak as ever. And it was absolutely terrific!

Old & New Characters
I wanted to watch The Matrix Resurrections without any spoilers or even a glimpse into it so I had no clue which additional new actors I would see other than Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss. It was a fantastic surprise to see some of my favorite actors from Sense8 in it. I was fangirling all the way. Now for Morpheus 2.0, the new face looked good lol and the update was pretty cool. As for the humorless, invincible Agent Smith, he was as evil as ever and the new actor, Jonathan Groff, portrayed the crazy evil antagonist to perfection.

Overall Plot-line
The overall story was intriguing, with twists and turns that kept me hooked in. Some die-hard Matrix fans might find fault with this new installment but I for one found none. I’m not a romantic, my default mode is cynic but I found The Matrix Resurrections to be at the root, a love story – a tribute to Neo and Trinity, that deep connection between them that surmounted all odds.

That’s my conclusion and no matter what anyone else says, I enjoyed this movie a lot and I give it 5 by 5 stars.

∼Lyn

How To Review 101

Hola, Book Dragons. Today I’m playing Yoda to your Luke Skywalker. Okay, okay, I don’t claim to be a Jedi Master expert at reviewing but I do have a basic blueprint for review of different categories of media, which I use to plan a review. It’s come to my rescue even when I got stuck with reviewer writer’s block. I’m sharing my secrets with you guys today. 😉

Books
As a die-hard bibliophile, books are my favorite things in the world. So many times, they’ve helped me cope with depression, unhappiness and so many bad things that dragged me down. But I digress. This is my list of how I review books:
1 – Book Cover
2 – Main Characters and Side-Characters
3 – Plot-Line/Story
4 – World-building/Descriptions
5 – Author’s writing
Book covers are work of arts and I think they deserve recognition too, don’t you? So when doing a review, I do an analysis of Story development, Plotline/Storyline, Character growth, Writing Style and World-building, depending on their relevance to the story.

Graphic Novels/Comic Books/Mangas
Graphic Novels and Mangas are so much fun and they are fast reads. If you haven’t read them before, you really should give them a try.
1 – Book Cover
2 – Quality of drawings
3 – Storyline
4 – Dialogues
Graphic novels and mangas are more of a visual medium rather than imagining the scenes in your head like with the written word, so the quality of drawings is a deal breaker for me. Witty dialogues are the icing on the cake, but if the illustrations are poorly-done, they ruin a good story.

AudioBooks
Audiobooks are a recent venture for me. I prefer the written word but audiobooks have their own charm. Especially when you’re stuck with chores (which I hate).
1 – Narrators
2 – Main Characters
3 – Plot-Line/Story
4 – World-building/Descriptions
For audiobooks, narrators are the deal-breaker for me. Their voice and narrating style are what make the choice for me if I want to listen to the book or not. A good narrator can make me enjoy even the most boring story but if I don’t like the narrator, it can ruin the story for me. In cases like that, I usually give the story a second chance by reading it.

Movies/TV Shows/Kdramas
Like books, I’m pretty eclectic in my choice of movies, TV shows and Kdramas. I enjoy action where things blow up, superheroes, special effects, romance, comedies. 
1 – Storyline
2 – Characters
3 – Dialogues
4 – Action
5 – Special Effects
For Kdramas, I need my element of comedy in them and rom-coms are the best kinds.

Music
1 – Melody
2 – Lyrics
Do I need to elaborate this one? 😉 A good song can reach inside you with its melody, its lyrics and shake your heart.

Like your choice of books, your review is also subjective. Your emotions are your own, and your reviews reflect how something you read, watch and listen to will affect you. That said, the one rule of thumb I always try to stick to, is NO SPOILERS. There’s nothing like a spoiler to ruin an amazing experience for someone else.

Oh, I also try to take notes when I read or listen to audiobooks. It helps me get my thoughts in line for my review.

Well, guys, this my review process. It’s not a comprehensive list and not all the points in each list will be relevant for a review.

What about you, what’s your review process?

∼Lyn

Movie Review – Captain Marvel (2019)

For all those who know me, I’m a die-hard Marvel and DC Comics fan. Hell, any superhero or action-packed  movies/tv shows with values like “With great power comes great responsibility” 😉 I’m in. What is it about superheroes that blows us away? I’m no different, I just love a good superhero movie/tv show with the huge Good vs. Evil battle.