13 Reasons Why Review

I just finished watching Netflix's new hit, 13 Reasons Why. I knew getting through it would difficult, I knew there were some tough scenes and serious content, but that's why this show is so important and relevant. Life, especially high school, is full of so many problems and I have so much respect for people who address those issues directly instead of ignoring them. 

So here are 13 reasons why I liked this show. 

Hannah is incredibly relatable and fearless. She starts off fearlessly pursuing her crush, not worrying about what other people think of her. Her best friend just moved and she just wants to get through high school unscathed. But that doesn't happen, not after her harmless crush takes a picture of her accidentally flashing her underwear and starts a viscous rumor. 

The problems are realistic. Nothing is overdramatized or sugarcoated. This show deals with real issues and repercussions. Kids make mistakes and do stupid things and start cruel rumors. They are actual teenagers, not adults parading as teenagers. They have a bad sense of fashion, hygiene, and vocabulary. They're real kids. 

The ending isn't forced. Hannah reaches the absolute bottom of her ability to get through life. There is no last minute save the day. She doesn't suddenly realize her love for her parents or Clay or anyone will give her a reason to live. It's not fake and it's not easy, it's just true. 

Nothing is glamorized. Parties aren't disguised with pretty lights and glitter in order to hide the gross games and idiotic antics of teenagers. Sex, drugs, rape, suicide, it's all real and gruesome. 

Hannah isn't portrayed as a martyr. Just because she's dead doesn't mean she's perfect. She made mistakes, she was on the receiving end of other peoples' mistakes. She lashed out at people who cared about her, but she also asked for help. 

Just like Hannah, the rest of the characters are flawed. We watch the show, essentially, from Clay and Hannah's point of view. And Clay is a nice guy who cares about Hannah, but even he messes up and says stupid things. Everyone contributes to the problem in some way or another. 

There's a nice balance between past and present. As Clay listens to Hannah tell her story, we also see how he and the rest of the "reasons" deal with her death. The transition between the two is really well done, and keeps the plot/subplot format that we are used to seeing. 

There are a lot of characters, but everyone feels real and complicated. Every character has motivation, a reason to feel guilty and embarrassed. Every character deals with Hannah's suicide in their own way. There are not stereotypes, they are just people. 

No one is perfectly good or evil. You can feel sorry for Hannah, but you can also feel sorry for everyone she left behind. You can see the things her classmates did wrong, but also how they are trying to cope with it and do better. 

The show is suspenseful. We already know the ending, right from the first moment of the first episode. Yet Hannah reveals some truly shocking things about her high school career. She gets into some of her classmate's secrets that really show you can't know anyone just by looking at them. 

The three main characters: Hannah, Clay, and Tony, are incredible. I loved Clay's awkwardness and Tony's macho mothering and especially Hannah's humor. Clay and Hannah are so cute. Clay and Tony are also pretty adorable, not going to lie.

We aren't given all the answers. The ending was an ending, everything was wrapped up, but it wasn't spoon fed and wrapped with a bow. That's not how life works. 

The final and 13th reason why I loved this show was Hannah Baker. Hannah, you broke my heart. You showed me how a pretty girl who seems fine and confident and smart can actually be falling apart. The moment when she imagined how her life could be with Clay, carefree and happy in love, if so many terrible things hadn't happened to her... that was devastating. No one person could have helped her, it had to have been multiple people like say 13 people. 

La La Land, an Ode to the City of Dreams

It took me forever, but I finally saw La La Land. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are a wonderful pair, and they portray the struggle of being an artist in Los Angeles with musical numbers and sass.

This musical is so modern. I think of musicals like Singing in the Rain and Hello Dolly, which are classics that I will always love, but there's something wonderful about watching a musical that takes place in my lifetime. Los Angeles is a melting pot of all ethnicities, genres, and artistry. There is such diversity and that is shown in this show, especially the opening number.

Mia and Sebastian show the long process of living in Hollywood, working every day for a career with few openings.

Mia is working at a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers lot, auditioning in between shifts and networking with her friends at flashy pool parties on the weekend. Her montage of auditions is both funny and sad. It's crazy what actors are put through and Mia is no exception.

Sebastian is bouncing from job to job, playing show tunes in restaurants and suppressing his dramatic jazz songs. When Sebastian forgives an old friend and joins a modern jazz band, he finds fame and fortune. But while he has at last found a steady job, he has given up his dream of opening a jazz club.

Seeing someone so passionate give up everything he's fought for changes the way Mia sees him, their relationship, and their dreams.

The truth of the matter is, it's difficult to follow your dreams. It takes years of blood, sweat, and tears. It takes heartache and compromise.

I would like to believe you can just scrape up some courage to get through the doubt and come out the other side with an amazing success story, but that's not always the case.

As Mia explains to Sebastian, some people just aren't the lucky ones. Some people have to be realistic and find a different dream.

But thankfully, Mia's dream makes it through. She helped Sebastian reach success and after she goes home to recover from her one woman play, he drags her back for an audition and returns the favor. Mia's audition is beautiful and vulnerable and her last attempt to salvage her acting career.

While we don't see the beginning of Mia and Sebastian's journey, we do get to see the middle and a bit of the end. We see them struggle and compromise and work for their dreams, then the results of that hard work a few years down the road.

As perfect as Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are together, Mia and Sebastian do not have the perfect love story. They get their happy ending, but separate from each other. Sometimes people can help you reach your dreams, but they don't stay in your life. That doesn't make the dream any less important.

And in the end, when Mia reimagines how her life could have gone if Sebastian had stayed in it, she knows there is more than one outcome that could make her happy.

This story shows two people doing everything they can to achieve their dreams, and maybe they don't end up together but that's the beautiful thing about life. Sometimes amazing people come into our lives just when we need them and show us how to be amazing too.

Moana Review

Moana is the heroine we've been waiting for. She's a girl who dreams, a girl who loves her family and her island. But most of all, her heart lies with the sea. As an islander, she is surrounded by the ocean her whole life yet she is forbidden to explore it. 

Her fascination shows even as a baby, when the ocean gives her the heart of Te Fiti. She is chosen to save her island, and many other islands, by finding Maui and helping him return the heart of Te Fiti to its rightful owner. However, her parents urge her to follow their example. She is to stay on her island, safe and dry, and become the next chief. 

But her awesome grandma knows Moana better than anyone and ultimately, gives her the push she needs to start her adventure. 

Moana finds Maui, dives into the monster realm, and gets a crash course in sailing. She pushes and pulls and drags that demi god across the ocean. She knows it's the task of the century, she knows she's inexperienced, but she also knows how her people will suffer if she fails. She loves her family and her home, and while she's her truest self at sea, everything she does is for the sake of her family and stopping the sickness spreading. 

Moana is amazing. Yes, she has doubts. She tries her parents way, she wants so badly to be who they want her to be. But she knows she's not that person. She takes a risk and takes a boat out to an ocean despite not knowing how to sail. She trusts the ocean to help her and it does. She's humble enough to know she may not have the most knowledge, but she trusts her heart and that's what saves her. 

Also, her agile rope swinging skills. 

Moana has a lot of courage and a lot of heart. She saves Te Fiti, her people, and her island. She restores her people's purpose, voyaging, and restores Maui's honor. All while singing beautifully and showing off the gloriousness of Polynesian hair. 

Auli'i, you sing like a true Disney princess. 

Beauty and the Beast Review

First of all, Emma Watson is Belle in real life. She is Belle. I cannot get over how perfect this casting was. 

She collaborated with the director and put a lot of thought into Belle and her backstory. She made sure that Belle used her intelligence productively, inventing a machine so that girls could learn how to read instead of doing chores. She never changes herself based on the opinions of people who clearly don't know her at all. She doesn't agree with her father's way of life, choosing safety instead of discovery, but she stays with him and takes care of him. She doesn't care what she wears or what she looks like, just that she stays true to herself and doing some good in the world. 

Some people didn't like how heavily this movie depends on CGI, but it's about a girl who falls in love with a beast... who lives in a castle full of talking furniture. So I think CGI is okay in this one. I loved the shots of the castle, especially the ballroom. There are so many beautiful images. I know they built the set and props to make everything as realistic as possible. With all the CGI, it was important to still be able to step onto the set and feel part of Belle's world. 

And of course, her yellow ballgown was stunning. It wasn't a corset and petticoat kind of dress, which fitted Belle's personality very well. All of her costumes were practical rather than stylish, which stayed true to her character. And even though her ballgown wasn't that giant sparkling skirt, it was beautiful. 

Belle bravely takes her father's place as the Beast's prisoner. She plans to escape and refuses to adhere to his demands. But then he saves her life, and she saves him in return. While nursing him back to health, they learn to talk to each other. She gets to know the castle, the servants, and a little bit about the Beast's past. She reveals bits of her past as well, particularly about her mother. 

Then comes the library. 

The town library is one shelf, not like the animated version at all. They really wanted to set up an environment in the town of small mindedness. People are illiterate and intolerant, partly because of the Beast's curse. The enchantress takes their memory of the prince and castle, but she also seems to take away their love of beauty and ability to believe in the impossible. You know, just in case the Beast had a fighting chance.

Unlike the rest of the town, however, Belle is smart. She is concerned about education, kindness, and discovering new things. She tries to improve the town and standard of living, unlike her neighbors who just destroy anything different. The townsfolk are the direct opposite of Belle.

But the Beast is not. 

The Beast enjoys reading. His library is massive and beautiful, instantly making Belle speechless. It's not just that the Beast shares this enormous library with Belle, it's the fact that he clearly cares about the same things as her. Their mutual love of reading opens her mind to the possibility that they have something in common, so they could have other things in common as well.

While all the other main characters got backstories, Gaston got left in the dust. Gaston is funny and shallow and destructive, but we never get a real sense of his purpose. We know he's determined to marry Belle because she's the most beautiful girl in town and he likes how she's a challenge, but it's not enough. He's missing real drive and I wish they would have put more effort into his character.

Instead, his goofy side kick Lefou gets the extra character development. Lefou is supposed to be the comic relief, not a funny guy who is sometimes also sincere and serious. I understand that Disney was trying to broaden their audience, and I am not offended at all by the fact that they payed more attention to sexuality in this film.

But the fact of the matter is, Lefou detracted attention. He stole attention from Gaston, he distracted the audience from Belle and the Beast. I loved Josh Gad as Lefou, that was a perfect choice. The musical number, Gaston, was entertaining and fun. That should have been Lefou's most significant moment. There could have been more humor in Gaston and Lefou's antics, but those scenes just fell a little flat.

My favorite part of this movie was the music. The original movie score was mixed in with a couple additional songs from the Broadway version, along with a few new songs. The new songs were beautiful, and it made me realize that Emma Watson can sing. I's easy to judge her smaller voice when she's singing classic Disney princess songs, but with the new songs I discovered I do like her voice. I have no one else to compare those songs to, just her. Though I have to say, Audra McDonald was definitely the most gorgeous singer of the show. Her voice is stunning and I kind of wish she sang the title song.

Props to Emma Watson for taking Belle and making her such an incredible woman. Belle is smart and kind and fearless. Taking on that character, especially when that character is a Disney princess, is no easy task.

Belle and her Beast show us that people can change. Belle never expected to stumble into an enchanted castle so close to her poor provincial town. She never expected to meet a beast, much less fall in love with one. Emma Watson mentioned that she likes to think Belle opened the castle library to the public and used it as a school. I really like that idea.

Belle is still spreading knowledge, fighting prejudice, and reading to her heart's content.

Avatar the Last Airbender Review

I've been binge watching Avatar and I've consumed more tea in the past two weeks than I have in the past year. There's just something about Uncle always insisting Zuko drink tea that makes me want to drink tea. 

I was twelve years old when the first season came out and was enthralled with the idea of kids traveling the world, controlling the elements and fighting impossible battles. Katara and Sakka find Aang, the avatar, and journey with him all over the world. They find master benders so Aang can learn all the elements and defeat the Fire Lord. Along the way, Katara becomes a master Waterbender, Sakka masters swordplay and survival, and they all get into plenty of mischief. 

I especially loved the second season, when Toph joins the group. She's tiny and blind, but easily the strongest in the group. She figures out how to bend metal, which is so cool.

And though I personally would rather be a flying Airbender fly, I respect Toph's ability to destroy things. 

Between Aang being the Avatar and Katara and Toph being master benders, Sakka is the relatable one in the group. He is a necessary addition to the group, as proven in the third season. Sakka's sarcastic jokes balance out Katarra's nurturing and Aang's optimism. 

It's so cool to get into the culture and history of each element, especially after watching Legend of Korra and seeing how everything progresses. Watching Aang and his antics now, I remember watching it the first time and why I enjoyed it so much. It's still a show I can watch, even as an adult.

The first season is definitely more lighthearted. It's full of quirky little adventures and fun moments. I'm the most familiar with season two, that was the one my sister bought. Season two is focused on earth bending, it's a little more serious than the first season.

By season three, Aang and the gang have reached the fire nation. Aang has mastered air, water, and earth bending and knows the basics of fire. At this point, they are hiding in plain sight and preparing for Aang's battle with the Fire Lord.

I appreciate how complex all the characters are. You would think that for an animated series, the characters would be standard cut and copy. But Avatar not only drives the plot forward while occasionally reflecting on the past, but also keeps the characters interesting and unique.

So while Aang, Katara, Sakka, and Toph are the good guys, they still have weaknesses. They all have tempers and make mistakes but the difference is, they apologize and try to fix things. Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, are constantly chasing the Avatar and his friends. They are the designated villains, but they're not terrible people.

Well, except Azula but at least she's entertaining.

Uncle is the only one who truly manages to walk the line between both sides, which is interesting because he was originally supposed to be the Fire Lord. Instead he follows his nephew around, making tea for everyone and giving advice to anyone who needs it.

The only straight up evil person is... the Fire Lord. No surprise there.

I haven't gotten to the end of the show yet, but I'm working on it. I would say slowly, but surely... but that defeats the point of binge watching. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 20 years later

So I was a little late to the Buffy fandom... like 20 years late. I just started watching Buffy slay vampires on Netflix last year because I heard Alyson Hannigan was part of the cast and I love her in How I Met Your Mother. So I started the show for my love of Lily Aldrin, but I kept watching it for Buffy Summers.

Buffy is smart and sassy. She takes crap from no one, not even the undead. Well, let's be honest... especially the undead. Buffy moves to Sunnydale after her parents divorce, moving with her mom and leaving behind her dad in Los Angeles. Buffy just wants to start over. She wants to have friends, have fun, and be a normal teenage girl.

But normal is not her calling.

Buffy is the Slayer. She is given supernatural powers, such as strength and agility, in order to hunt and slay vampires.

She is also given a Watcher, in the form of the school librarian. He guides her through he duties as the Slayer. He helps her train, but mostly researches vampires and other mythical creatures.

Buffy befriends Willow and Xander, best friends who are a little off beat for the popular kids. Willow provides the computer skills and intelligence, and Xander pretty much just adds humor and moral support when he's not getting possessed, kidnapped, and attacked. So basically, Xander is the typical pretty blonde girl of the show.

I love how Joss Whedon came up with the premise of this show. He imagined the stereotypical situation of a vampire following a pretty blonde cheerleader down a dark alley. But then he thought, what if that tiny little cheerleader totally kicked the vampire's butt?


And Buffy was born.

Not only is she the pretty blonde cheerleader, she really is just a typical teenage girl. A typical teenage girl who slays vampires after school, but whatever.

She spends her days worrying about her hair, trying out for cheerleading, and keeping an eye out for suspicious characters. She cuts class, hangs out with the librarian/her watcher, and avoids giving a straight answer to her mom.

It's not just vampires overrunning the town. Willow chats online with demons and dates a werewolf, Xander gets possessed by a hyena and kidnapped by a giant praying mantis disguised as his science teacher.  They run into witchcraft, old legends, and curses.

Essentially, their high school is a truly hellish experience.

But Buffy finds moments of peace with Xander and Willow, when she's not battling with vampires and her destiny of course.

While she may be killing monsters and deciphering ancient legends, Buffy is still a relatable character. She goes to prom, fights with her mom, gets called to the principals' office, and falls in love... with a vampire, but still.

Buffy's determination to have some normal in her life and be a teenager balances all the demon hunting and hell raising.

She's strong, and not even a destiny to save the world is going to take away her right to live her life. She is truly one of the great television heroines.

Happy 20 year anniversary to Buffy and her vampires.

Reign Review

I started watching Reign. I studied abroad in London, and enjoyed studying the European art and history. The parade of Marys, Elizabeths, Charles, and Henrys makes it all a bit confusing. Mary Queen of Scotts is one of the bigger power players.

I love the pilot episode. Mary enjoying her nunnery, reflecting on memories of her childhood with her prince charming, hopeful that he will love her. I especially love Mary with her ladies. They are best friends in a crazy situation, adjusting to life in the French court. 

Mary struggles with the reigning King and Queen of France, standing her ground and defending her own country. Her primary concern is protecting Scotland, and the best way she can do that is through marriage. Mary is strong. She was sent away from home and betrothed at just six years old. She was then sent to a nunnery because the English kept trying to kill her. 

Nothing makes you grow up quickly quite like staring your responsibilities and enemies in the face at six years old. But Mary takes it in a stride. She works hard to ensure the safety of her country. She takes care of her ladies. She devotes herself to Francis, though not so much as her country. 

Francis is a kind prince, if a bit weak willed, but Mary's stubbornness and temper balance out their relationship. Francis's half brother, however, is sassy. He and Mary have a fun friendship, which gets a bit complicated but resolves eventually. Mary's rivalry with the queen keeps things interesting. The queen has a tendency to scheme and manipulate. Mary has a tendency to lose her temper and make demands. 

She's not always a relaxing person to be around, as her friends well know. She tends to start fights as much as she ends them. But she fights for those she loves, which is good news for her country and her friends. And she does know how to have fun and enjoy herself when no one is trying to kill her, which happens occasionally. 

But my favorite part about this show is probably the fashion. The dresses Mary wears... They are gorgeous. She looks absolutely stunning all the time. I love how she and her ladies always wear these fancy little headbands, it sets them apart and marks them as the young ladies of the court. The dresses that Mary, Lola, Kenna, Greer, and Aylee wear are definitely a modern spin off of the 16th century. Mary wears a lot of gold and silver against black, a stunning combination. She also wears a lot of white gowns. Her wardrobe truly reflects her dominant personality. 

Mary, Queen of Scotts, is exceptionally well dressed.