Funnest Films/Shows I Watched Last Year

Today, something random!

Because I haven’t posted in almost literally forever, and I found this in my drafts and thought I’d finish it and share it. (A wizard is never late — my new blogging tagline for when I vanish for months. ;))

My movie and show watching is super varied and one of the few true “hobbies” I have, meaning I don’t overanalyze it or pressure myself about it like I do about everything else. XD (*cough*Writing and reading.*cough*)

That said, because last year I actually kept track of what I watched (which I don’t always do), here are a few films and shows I enjoyed!

(Just a disclaimer that I don’t necessarily endorse all the films/shows below and their content etc.)

ALL THE SHOWS I WATCHED IN 2021

(Not pictured: The Mandalorian, Leverage: Redemption, Almost Paradise, and Over the Garden Wall)

This category isn’t so much “funnest” as “all.” XD There were several shows last year I watched a bit of here or there, but the ones I watched more than a few episodes of were:

• Avatar: The Last Airbender – Finished Season 2 and 3 and YES, FINALLY HAVE SEEN IT! Adored this show. XD So happy I finished it. 😀 Zuko, Uncle Iroh, and Sokka are my faves.
• The Mandalorian — Most of (but have to finish S2) – Enjoying so far, mostly! Mando himself is the absolute best and Baby Yoda is adorable.
• Leverage — I re-watched the entire original Leverage show last year! I don’t re-watch shows, really? It takes long enough to watch one once. But it had been a long time since I’d seen it and it was a huge comfort re-watch during a stressful year last year, and was just so fun. ^_^
• Leverage: Redemption — All of it so far – Eh. There were ups and downs; not as good as the original but I did enjoy parts of it. Mostly Eliot Spencer. XD
• Almost Paradise — All of it so far – I needed something to try after missing Eliot and co. from those two shows, so I tried this one out and it was an enjoyable show with Christian Kane, and while it had the usual cop-show kind of stuff, I appreciated the extra humor. 🙂 I’m curious to see more.
• Over the Garden Wall – I don’t even know why but this was so addicting and kind of amazing and I have mixed feelings about the end but otherwise it was adorable/spooky and AAHH WHAT DID I JUST WATCH? This made an impression and I’m basically Wirt. XD (And my sister and I randomly say POTATOES AND MOLASSES sometimes now.)
• The Librarians – I watched the first couple of seasons last year, and actually finished at the beginning of this year – SO fun! As with any show there were less-favorite things, but on the whole I just really enjoyed the characters and the concept and fantasy element and it was just a crazy fun show! (Yes, I did watch a lot of Christian Kane last year. He plays a lot of fun characters. XD)

SOME MOVIES I ENJOYED IN 2021

(Not pictured: Shang Chi, A Cinderella Christmas, and The Button of Doom)

• Studio Ghibli — I watched a few of these (still need to finish them, though) and my favorite ones overall that I watched last year were probably Ponyo, Up On Poppy Hill, and The Castle of Cagliostro. Also, the hero and music in Princess Mononoke are also MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!! (Even if the film as a whole was a bit too dark for my personal taste. O_O But I adored parts of it!)
• Jason Bourne 3, 4, and 5 — Yeahhh, I figured out I love Jason Bourne movies. XD I just…I enjoy them? I was sad about a certain death in the final one but otherwise I had a blast watching the final three in the series.
• The Mummy — I finally watched this series! XD I don’t love everything about them, especially the spookiness (and the change of actress for the final movie), but they were fun adventures and I enjoyed the humor and characters a lot. ^_^ Soo much fun!
• Pride and Prejudice (1985) — I had never seen this older version! It wasn’t as gorgeously filmed as newer ones, but I found the casting to be excellent, and the adaption was great too. It was really enjoyable!
• Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — This was the only film I saw in theaters last year (I have since seen Dune, though!), for a sibling’s birthday, and while it wasn’t perfect it was definitely a super fun, enjoyable ride and it made me laugh and I enjoyed the characters and it was exciting and pretty and…yeah. Enjoyable. 🙂
• A Cinderella Christmas — This was a random Christmas movie I watched and it was cute and Cinderalla-y and…I don’t know, I just enjoyed it for some reason!
• The Button of Doom (short) — I adore the Megamind film. XD So this short in a collection of short films was so much fun! Set after Megamind. Superhero/villain fun. XD

Fave movie rewatches of last year

(Not pictured: The Secret of Moonacre)

• Howl’s Moving Castle — Because of course! I adore the book the most but the movie’s delightful. It makes me happy!
• Mortal Engines — I don’t know why I love this movie so much but I DO; I just enjoyed it a ton. So sorry to those who dislike it. XD I’ve decided taste in films/shows is just SO individual and subjective. 🙂
• Equilibrium — This is a dark one, so beware, but uncharacteristically I really liked this one despite its super-dystopian nature. XD Christian Bale plays a very different sort of character in this.
• The Secret of Moonacre — Another case of loving the book and movie, despite them being SO different. This one was just…randomly whimsical and fun. 🙂 (The book is called The Little White Horse and I adore it. They’re almost unconnected though. XD)
• Labyrinth — I had only recently discovered this one after hearing about it for YEARS and yeah, it’s kind of strange but it was just kind of a blast. So many great moments! And I finally “met” the Goblin King.

So there’s a glance at some of the funnest things I watched last year! Told you I have strange taste. XD

I’ve not been keeping close tabs on my watching habits this year, but I’ve been dipping into anime this year (give me recs if you have any!) and I saw Dune in the theaters this winter — oh my word. It was so epic!

Let me know if you like any of these, or about something fun you’ve watched recently, or if you have a favorite anime you recommend!

Thanks for reading!

Movies I Liked Better Than the Book (& Other Confessions)

Hi, my name is Deborah O’Carroll, I’m a bookworm, and I’m here to talk about… movies.

Let’s face it: I’m a bookwyrm. (Wyrm here implying dragon, not earthworm/caterpillar/other creepy-crawly, thanks very much.) And Bookwyrms have a reputation for being strongly biased in favor of the book version as opposed to the movie version of many stories. This is almost always true of me, anyway. 😉

But there are a few cases where I liked the movie even more (*shock*), or where I actually saw the movie FIRST (*gasp*), or where I have seen the movie and still haven’t read the book. (*more gasps* *cue bookworms in the back row fainting and having to be revived with smelling salts which smell suspiciously like books*)

This is by no means an exhaustive list, since, unlike with BOOKS, I do not keep lists of all the movies I’ve watched, with star-ratings, and whether they’re based on books, etc. So cataloguing every instance of the following categories would be exhausting — and if I’m going to be honest, I’d way rather go reorganize my bookshelves again and weep over my lack of shelf space these days.

ANYWAY.

Welcome to Bookworm Confessions: Movie Edition. (Including other categories because I don’t actually have all that many movies I liked more. XD)

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Movies I Liked Even More Than the Books They Were Based On

Disclaimer: This isn’t to say I disliked the book versions — far from it, in some cases — I’m only saying that the movies were even better… in my opinion.

The Princess Bride

It’s just a fun movie! I haven’t seen it in ages and need to re-watch it, and it’s cheesy, but… eh… I don’t care! It’s just so epic and swashbuckling and original and funny! 😀 The book is fun too, but the movie just improved on it, IMO. Basically, it’s CLASSIC and I love it.

Treasure Island

THIS MOVIE! I like the Treasure Island book, but this is just the perfect movie version of it! Young Christian Bale as Jim Hawkins and Charlton Heston as Long John Silver are both perfect, the music by the Chieftains is AMAZING and just… I feel like the changes they made only made it better (like Jim’s mom, and less people dying. XD). It’s a little bloody because swashbuckling pirate movie, but I just really like it. 🙂

The Muppet Christmas Carol

IT’S SO ADORABLE. The original Christmas Carol story is fine, but the Muppet version just makes it so FUN, and I don’t even like musicals usually (don’t throw things, please) but there’s a couple songs in this I love. And Michael Caine as Scrooge is just fantastic — plus there’s Nephew Fred and he had so much character. XD Anyway, it’s sheer fun but also has the spirit of the book’s message down just right. I just like it a lot. 🙂

The Willows in Winter

I don’t know if anybody’s even HEARD of this, but it’s a sequel thing to The Wind in the Willows, and since it was animated the same, with the same voices, as a Wind in the Willows movie I watched growing up, I just loved it as a direct sequel and felt like it fit together really well. XD When I read the book it was based on, the book was all right, but it just didn’t have quite the heart that the movie version did, somehow? I felt like the movie made sense of it and made it fit with the original better. But it might just be because it went with the version I liked to watch. 😛 Anyway, it’s a fun movie.

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Movies I Saw Before Reading the Book

The Secret of Moonacre (movie) / The Little White Horse (book)

So, I didn’t know these were the same thing until I looked it up one time and went “whaaat?” But at the same time, kudos to them for changing the title since they changed everything ELSE about the story too. XD I saw the movie first, so I found it to be quite fun. And then I read the book and it was one of THE most gorgeous books I’d ever read. So I’m sure if I’d read the book first, I’d have been horrified at what the movie was like, but as it is, I ended up enjoying both, even if the book was better. 😉

Sense and Sensibility

Actually, I saw two different S&S versions before reading the book… but I still liked the book best. XD This one was better than the other one I saw, though. Colonel Brandon! (Edward Ferrars is best as his book self. 😉 But I loved him playing with Margaret, and that she was even IN it — which the other movie I saw was lacking in. They just cut her character out?? Like… rude?)

Emma

Saw this one before reading the book, but, again, I still liked the book (especially Mr. Knightley!) much better, even though this one was fun. And before you ask, I’ve since seen two more Emma movies (after reading the book) and my fave might be Gwyneth Paltrow’s just because it’s so fun. XD But the book is still my favorite. None of the films do Mr. Knightley justice, IMO. And that’s a shame, because he’s so fabulous!

Mansfield Park

I actually hardly remembered this one when I read the book since it had been so long since watching… So I don’t even know if this counts. Ha! Anyway, I don’t remember this much but I don’t particularly love either the book or the movie. XD

The Princess Bride & The Muppet Christmas Carol & The Willows in Winter

Which may partially account for my liking them better as movies… since I saw them before reading their book versions. AHEM. (Nothing to see here, folks, just toootally coincidental, I’m sure. *cough*)

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Movies I’ve Seen and Haven’t Read the Book Yet (But Intend To)

Captain Blood

I love this movie and totally need to read the book! It’s been sitting on my shelf waiting patiently. 😀 I know it won’t be… well… Errol Flynn, but I imagine I’ll enjoy the book all the same!

Eragon

I’ll probably read this sooomeday… I just haven’t felt like it/gotten around to it. I hear the movie is way more original than the book, even if it’s cheesy. XD But I do find the movie to be kind of fun, in a slightly ridiculous way. And of course I like Murtagh, so there’s that… 😛

Tuck Everlasting

I actually got the movie and the book at the same time at a library sale and was going to read the book first… but then I caved and just watched it. 😛 It’s kind of fun though I can’t always decide how I feel about it. XD But sometime I’m going to just sit down and read the book because it’s tiny. I just… haven’t yet.

 Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (movie) / Stormbreaker (book)

(I find it vaguely hilarious that when I was searching for images of this book/movie, I kept getting Thor’s new hammer-axe thing. XD)

I randomly watched this movie and it was fun, if cheesy. I have the book and I’ve actually started it since, but haven’t finished because review books and deadlines. But it looks like it might be kind of similar to the movie… Not sure. But the movie had Ewan McGregor as Alex’s uncle, which was so cool. 😀 And Alex’s character looks kind of like a younger version of my character Adrian, which is also fun. XD

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Movies I’ve Seen and Don’t Necessarily Plan To Read the Book

(but I might)

The Hunger Games / Catching Fire / Mockingjay

Dystopian is not my thing so I don’t know if I’ll get around to reading these. But I DID see the movies and enjoyed them in their own scary-movie kind of way. XD Just don’t get me started on annoying things about the last one. *cough* But who knows, I might surprise myself, and everyone, and read these sometime… Or at least the first couple. But maybe not.

Divergent / Insurgent / Allegiant

These were also surprisingly neat/interesting, particularly the first one (I think? I watched them all together so I hardly remember which is which except it gets progressively tiring the more Peter switches sides…). I also might end up reading these sometime (partly because I have a copy of the short stories about Four around, which I’m curious about) but, again, Dystopia… not my thing… and all that. So I don’t really feel like I need to.

How to Train Your Dragon

I don’t know if this actually counts, given how different the books/movies are. XD But from what I can tell, the books don’t really look like my thing and I just don’t think I’ll get around to reading them, which is fine with me. I love me these movies, though. ^_^

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Movies I Actually Love Both the Book and the Movie

(even though, of course, the book is always better. ;))

Because sometimes, despite all odds, even if it’s not much like the book, I still like these movies. XD

This will not be an extensive list, but a few are:

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings movies are just so epic, okay? I can’t help it. I love them. Even if they do wreck a few things along the way, which we just… won’t talk about right now. (*cough*Faramir*cough*) They’re just so gorgeous! ❤ The books are still way my favorite, but I can’t help loving these too.

(We just won’t talk about the Hobbit movies right now. *another coughing fit*)

Kidnapped (1995)

AAHH, this movie! It’s just delightful and Scottish and yes. Alan Breck Stewart is totally different in the book/movie, but I actually love both versions of him. XD And the MUSIC and bits of story they stole, ish, from the sequel, and… I just like it a lot.

Howl’s Moving Castle

Just because it’s so adorable, okay? I don’t know howww it works that I love the book so much and then the movie is TOTALLY different and I love that too, but… just don’t question it. I think they’re SO different that I can keep them separate in my mind AND IT’S JUST PRECIOUS HALP. (I do find it hilarious how movie-Howl and movie-Sophie etc. are so NICE and in the book they’re so… not. XD) I love the book way more, though, because the book version is amazing. 😉

Jeeves and Wooster

I don’t know what this is doing here but I was thinking of Bertie and Jeeves the other day and how I love the books but the show is really fun too. XD Like… they’re really rather different but, I don’t know, still super fun. 😀

Anything Sherlock Holmes

I LIKE ALL THE HOLMES THINGS, OKAY? I think the book version is still my favorite — he just has so much going and is awesome — but I just enjoy all the movie versions anyway. XD They all seem to bring out different sides of him (although I’m pretty sure people tend to forget that the REAL Holmes from the books was also a gentleman… *cough*) and while the book is the definitive version for me, the adaptions are just way too much fun. So. Yes. Give me all the Sherlock Holmes.

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I know that as soon as I post this I’ll think of important movies/books that should be on this list, but OH WELL. It’s just a few, dontcha know. 😛

If there’s interest, I may do a sequel post about books I wish would be made into movies. (*gasp* The shock!)

If you want to read another Bookwyrm Confessions post, you can check out this one:

Talk to me!

So how about you, fellow bookwyrmish friends? I want to hear what you think! Have you seen/liked any of these? Is it indeed terrible to see the movie first?? (Have you disowned me yet?) And do you have any book/movie confessions to share? Let me know below in the comments! 😀 Thanks for reading! ^_^

10 Reasons Why Ren the Series is Awesome

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) prompt was is Ten Reasons I Love X — which I’m turning into Ten Reasons Why Ren the Series (a.k.a. Ren: The Girl with the Mark) is Awesome and Why You Should Watch It.

I’ve mentioned it before, but it deserves its own post.

Let’s get to it!

(Warning: If you’re allergic to fangirling, this post is not for you. There will be a lot…)

Ten Reasons Ren the Series is Awesome

1. It’s an original, indie-made fantasy adventure webseries available to watch online.

Okay, so if that’s not reason enough…? Well read on. But really! It’s basically the best indie-made film-ish thing I’ve seen, tying with Beyond the Mask, I’d say (even though they’re both quite different). And it’s fantasy and online and indie authors and film-makers are awesome, don’t you agree?? Speaking of which…

2. It’s made by the talented Kate Madison (and Christopher Dane) and their crew, who made Born of Hope.

These people are AWESOME I tell you. In case anyone doesn’t know (where have you been? Goodness. XD) Born of Hope is a fabulous fan-film that’s a sort of prequel to The Lord of the Rings, about Aragorn’s parents and the Dunedain. (It also features the sons of Elrond, who are EPIC, by the way, but I’m getting sidetracked.) I loved Born of Hope back in the day, so I’m so incredibly excited about the Ren series, which is even better than BoH (if possible) and is an entirely NEW story. It would be like if a favorite author of mine wrote wonderful fanfiction I loved… and then came out with an original novel so that even the people I know who don’t know the fandom can enjoy it because it’s ORIGINAL. EXCITEMENT.

3. The CHARACTERS

So… characters tend to be one of my favorite things about books/film. This show has so many fascinating and cool characters!

Ren, Hunter, and Karn are my favorites so far… Ren herself is a really likeable heroine. Hunter, the rogue-for-hire, is awesome. And my favorite of all, the mysterious Karn… YES. 😀 But I love all of the characters (except creepy villains. EEK). They’re all fantastic and real and loveable. ❤

4. The Visuals/Scenery/Sets/Costumes

The awesome forest (can I live there please and thank you) and real-feeling medieval-esque village are just so amazing. And don’t get me started on the costumes because I could be there all day. XD This thing just looks so REAL. I’m so impressed at what this small group of filmmakers was able to accomplish. It feels like a large-budget movie/show and it’s just fantabulous, I tell you.

5. The Music

THE MUSIC. I love love love the music so much. Here, give it a listen in the credits. It has a sort of Celtic-esque, thoroughly fantasy feel that I love. It’s so wild and beautiful and free and it just makes my heart soar and my feet want to leap in a dance and go off on an adventure through the forests and mountains with Ren and her friends. ❤ I need a soundtrack for this thing, SO MUCH. ❤

(I was in fact assured that there will be one forthcoming, since I managed to get in on a live-stream chat thing Kate Madison and company held after the final episode aired. You know, one of those things where fans type questions and they answer them. They answered my question about a soundtrack and mentioned my name when they did, and later moved the camera over to show off Ren’s costume since I asked to see it up closer. Excuse me while I fangirl, but THAT WAS KIND OF AMAZING OKAY SORRY BUT NOT SORRY.)

6. The Accents

Okay, so call me shallow. But I adore accents. And all of these characters have absolutely fabulous British accents (some Scottish perhaps thrown in there) and I’m assuming they’re real too because the actors are British and it was I believe filmed in England… Like how cool is that? (I particularly love Ren’s father’s voice… the accent and growly quality. He just has a really cool voice. *thumbs up*) (Aaand you all probably think I’m crazy. Oh well. :P)

7. The Story

It’s exciting, action-y, mysterious and thrilling. You’ve got the scary uptight “officials” who are basically out to terrorize everyone (apparently. I mean, what else would scary guys in ninja-esque outfits who march grimly around be doing). You’ve got the secret fugitives on a mission… Mysterious backstory that’s only hinted at… Family troubles… Mixed in is some humor… (particularly from Baynan. XD) And I don’t want to give all the story away but I’ve really enjoyed it so far and I have so many questions and just yes.

8. The Worldbuilding

I should have put this one up front because IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THIS SHOW. Don’t you love that feeling when you read a really good fantasy book and are swept away in the world? This is like that. You can tell this one’s really well put together and that we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. It makes me really really excited for more! (And also it’s fun to rewatch and discover stuff I missed and make theories…)

9. Because it’s awesome and I love it and I need another season, so it needs to go viral so that we’ll get one soon!

I… don’t really think this point needs further elaboration. XD

10. It’s free on YouTube and short enough it won’t become a black hole that eats your time.

So you don’t have to worry things like: “Oh, well, it sounds kinda cool, but I don’t have TIME because I’m in the middle of 10904930 shows already and I need a time machine to keep up with them all already,” and/or “Oh noooo not another show — it will suck away all my time faster than pinterest!” (Or am I the only one who thinks that last thing? *cough*) The point is (much as I would love to watch hours of this thing) the first season consists of 5 ten-minute episodes, so it’s less than an hour to watch, and we all probably spend at least that much time obsessively reloading our inboxes waiting for a particular email (oh, just me again? >.>) — so why not go watch an awesome thing instead?? 😀 (And did I mention FREE?)

Ren the Series Website

Watch Ren

On Youtube

So shoo, why are you still here, you lovely blog-readers? Go watch it! (And if you have already, well then you obviously know what’s up. ;)) Did you enjoy Ren? Do you need the second season as badly as I do? BECAUSE I NEED IT LIKE I NEED AIR. *flails*

This has been an almost-belated (but not quite! It’s still Tuesday, I promise!) Top Ten Tuesday post from a vaguely sleep-deprived writer who should be asleep (which may or may not account for the flailyness of this post).

Thank you and good night. *exits stage left*

(*whatever on earth that means because I fail at theatre references*)

(*Ahem*)