Inklings // March 2021

 Hello, friends and readers!

What’s up, everybody? Are you ready to enter fictional worlds and share our favorite scenes? That’s what I’m going to be doing today as I join Heidi at Along the Brandywine’s monthly link-up, Inklings!

How it works:
1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back to the original post in your post.
2. Leave a link to your post in the comments section of the monthly post and she'll post all your links with the next prompt.

Click HERE to see all of the times that I have participated. Heidi's choice for this month is HERE where she gave this prompt:

March 2021’s prompt: A scene involving a mirror in book or film

When I read this prompt my first thought was to do something from the book that I was reading, Keeper of the Lost Cities 3: Everblaze - by Shannon Messenger because that book was chock full of mirrors. It turns out that there were too many! I couldn’t possibly ever chose which scene to include! It still was awesome, but I decided to think of something else. Next, I was musing about using something from all of the Snow White adaptations I’ve read or watched in my life. Eventually something won over this as it wins over everything.

Star Wars.

My pick is from the movie Star Wars episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017). Though it is very controversial, I LOVE this movie and I love talking about it.

SPOILER ALERT! This scene happens about 3/4 of the way through the movie and it reveals a lot so don’t read this post (or scroll because the pictures I’ll use will give things away, too!) any further if you haven’t seen that movie! I’m serious, it is in my top five favorite movies of all time so I don’t want anything to mess up your experience of it.

Kylo Ren just told Rey that Luke had tried to murder him. Confused and alarmed Rey seeks out the dark part of the island: the place that she knows she can get an answer.

Rey walks to the edge then kneels down and looks in. A sound echos and she falls in with a yell to water down below.

Emerging, she crawls on shore where she sees the mirror for the first time, but it’s only when she reaches out and touches it that it changes from a dark reflection to an ongoing path. 

From one direction everything is coming and in the other it is going, she can see as there is a millisecond delay, so she turns that way and raises her hand. 

All of the others do after a pause that lengthens with each one. She snaps and the sound carries into the distance.

We hear Rey in a voice over: “I should’ve felt trapped or panicked, but I didn’t. This didn’t go on forever, I knew it was leading somewhere and at the end it would show me what I came to see.”

She focuses on an action and follows it through by concentrating on where it will bring her. Through that she gets to the end with all other Reys that were leading up to this spot. Scared, but determined she steps forward, raising her hand to touch the glassy surface. We hear her words coming before she speaks them herself.

Let me see, let me see, let me see, let me see...

“Let me see,”

My parents, my parents, my parents, my parents...

“my parents.”

Please, please...

“Please.”

On the other side of the mirror silhouettes appear then converge into one. Rey is breathing heavily as the still dark form reaches for the mirror separating them. When the figure touches the mirror all of the frost and fog melts away and Rey sees...

Herself.

Suddenly she is back where she started and she slumps to her knees.

Her voice over again: “I thought I’d find answers here. I was wrong.”

We see her actually talking now, firelight cast on her face, instead of just her voice. “I’d never felt so alone.”

A different voice: “You’re not alone.”

She looks up to see Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren, who she’s been talking to.

Rey: “Neither are you.”

Shot to outside where it is raining and Luke is yelling for Rey.

Rey: “It isn’t too late.

Rey slowly reaches up and offers her hand.

Ben pulls his glove off and reaches out. We see Rey’s hand in the hut...and Ben’s coming towards hers.

Their hands brush together and thunder rumbles in the distance.

Through this Force connection they see each other’s future.

Luke comes in and sees them sitting across from each other in the hut holding hands.

Luke: “STOP!”

The Force in his hands blasts away the wall and we zoom in to him. Zooming out Rey looks and sees that Ben has vanished. The rain douses the fire and all warm lighting is gone.

This scene is so cool because we have a double mirror going! We have a literal mirror that Rey explores but we also see how Rey and Ben Solo reflect each other in different ways. Darkness rises with light to meet it. I love redemption character arcs, even if they take awhile, and here we see the start of Ben's!


This is one of my favorite parts of the movie so I went a little crazy with the photos. They filmed a lot of this movie in Ireland and...I actually went to the filming sites in 2018. Does this picture that I took look familiar?

Photo taken by MovieCritic

I’m sorry, I’m done now with obsessing. Make sure to check out the other entries HERE! Thanks to Heidi for continuing to host this!

Thank you to anyone who made it this far! Does anyone else love The Last Jedi like I do? If you don’t, then please tell me why so we can discuss it! Have a great rest of your March, and happy Palm Sunday!

MovieCritic

The (Yet Another) Fandom Tag!

Salutations!

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How’s it going all of my story lovers? I am here to day to talk about some of my favorite stories. It’s good that this is in writing because otherwise you would have to listen to my screaming which I have been doing the whole time while writing this post.

I’ll be answering The Fandom Tag, created by Madeline. My thanks goes to the three people who tagged me: Ivy Miranda, Katie Hanna, and Hamlette! Thanks for including me!

Rules:
-Include the graphic somewhere in your post
-answer the questions
-and tag two fellow fan-people to answer them, too!


My additional rule that I’m setting for myself is that I can only use each fandom once. Just to make myself suffer from decisions unnecessarily, you know.


Questions:
1. What’s the first fandom you remember becoming a part of?

There were a lot of stories that my sisters and I were absolutely obsessed with when we were little but it would take me a long time to name all of them. The first time that I experienced a story where I knew that a lot of people loved it and talked about and came up with theories for was Harry Potter.

My mom read all of the books to my sisters and me separately and it was such a magical experience. I went up and down for how much I liked them through the years and was very frustrated with everything after the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was so spectacular that I don’t have any words.

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Just joking, it’s rare that I’m speechless. The characters had grown so much through the seven books and had sacrificed so much of their childhood. Sometimes the ending of an epic story can be disappointing, but not here. It was better than anything I could’ve imagined. It was perfect.

2. What’s the newest fandom you’ve come to enjoy?

Everybody say it with me. *deep breath*

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS!

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My sister and I watched this show for the first time in January and it is OUR FAVORITE THING.

If you’ve never heard of it before, it’s a show about three ghosts who want a living girl to join their band.

That might sound simple, but it is the opposite. It’s not just a “kids show”. Characters experience a lot of pain, grief, and anxiety about the changes that are happening. Contrasting that, it is full of so much heart, joy, and hope. The music is out of this world by being so uplifting! The characters have clear motivations and fears and getting to know them is an amazing journey that I’m so glad that I took. There is not a single thing about this show that I don’t like.

I love every. single. one. of the characters so let me introduce myself, we’ve got some time to kill. Consider me the pearly gates to your new favorite thrill. show off our main four quickly:

Julie, a girl who lost her mom and music and the same time.

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Alex, the drummer. “Don’t tell me how to ghost!”

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Luke, the lead singer and guitarist. “Our instruments are attached to our souls.”

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Reggie, the bass player. “Tell your friends!”

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And they aren’t the only characters. I could be here all day talking about Flynn, Willie, Nick, and Carlos, but I’ll let you find out who they are.

I can’t express how much I love this and how I want everyone to see it. I have tried to explain it a few times when I reviewed episodes 1-3 HERE and episodes 4-6 HERE. I’ll talk about my favorite episode in April, so stay tuned for that! Please, if you haven’t seen this show then give it a try!

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3. What’s a fandom guaranteed to give you feels?

(The answer is truthfully everything. I have been very emotional lately and cried during every movie that I’ve watched. For example, last night I watched Unicorn Store (2019) for the first time and it hit me deeply, man.)

My official answer is anything and everything Pixar. The movies that this company makes reach a level of excellence that is hard to surpass. I have cried during nearly all of their movies for different reasons because they know how to make you care for all of the characters and see what is going on inside them. My favorites that I bawl during ever single time that I see them are Coco (2017) and Up (2009), but so many fill me with a million other different feelings.

Especially Inside Out (2015). Because even though it’s one of my least favorite for personal reasons, you have to agree that it is filled with the most feelings. Yes, I think I’m very funny.

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4. What’s a guilty pleasure fandom of yours?

The Masterpiece series Poldark (2015-2019). This show has a lot of content that I do not like, making me loath and never quite forgive a few characters, but I still like it. There are precious characters whom I love and cheer for. This is the favorite series of one of my friends and I asked her to tell me all about it in detail, spoilers and everything. Through that, she convinced me. It is one of the few times in my life that I liked knowing where everything was going and not getting any surprises.

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5. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve heard of/are a part of?

Anything by Lemony Snicket. His writing is so quirky and breaks every single rule which I used to hate but have now come to really enjoy. A Series of Unfortunate Events is so dark and gloomy that I never understood why people liked it. That is, until I watched the Netflix series. Then I became one of those weird fans and have been listening to the audiobooks again.

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Overall I like his other series, All the Wrong Questions, just a little bit more because it is a fun and mysterious roller-coaster. Just thinking about it makes me want to go join Lemony, Moxie, Jake, Cleo, and Ellington to see their camaraderie and secrets all over again.

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6. Favorite popular/widely-known fandom?

This seems so basic to say, but considering that this fandom has the highest grossing movie of all time and I love it so much, I don’t care if I’m predictable.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe! I’m rather a baby in the fandom community considering that I was 10 years late to the party. That’s right, I didn’t get into the movies until 2018 and only saw Avengers: Infinity War (2018) for the first time three days before seeing Avengers: Endgame (2019) in theater.

For years I’d assumed that they were just action movies with a lot of fighting. By Avengers (2012) I was hooked because of the internal battle that was waging through Tony Stark. He was one of the most complicated characters I had come across in a LONG time and since then I was sold. They have just kept expanding and created a brilliant character arc for every. single. character. No one is shoved aside and forgotten!

7. Favorite bookish fandom?

The Anne of Green Gables series. It is fully a book series and nothing else because I am determined to never see a movie or TV version of it. Anne of Green Gables is my favorite book of all time and I love seeing it in my mind, my way. I devoured the first 6 books when I started reading them, but then I didn’t want to get into the last two because they didn’t have “Anne” in the title and I thought they would be boring. Was I wrong? Of course I was. Rilla of Ingleside is one of the most beautiful books that I’ve ever read, no doubt about it.

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(An honorable mention goes to all of Kate DiCamillo’s books because they are MASTERPIECES and brilliant in all ways.)

8. What do you consider your ‘homebase,’ a fandom you can always come back to?

This one is so hard because I want to use every single fandom that I love. I DON’T KNOW.

I am going to steal Katie’s answer and say Jane Austen. No matter what I’m feeling, when I watch or read Jane Austen I feel BETTER. There is such a cozy vibe with her work that welcomes everyone. At the same time there is depth to her works that make you ponder things for days. Anytime I talk to anyone about books or movies, I’m sure to mention Jane and if you love her then we are guaranteed to get along well. I love debates about favorites!

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9. What’s a fandom you know all about…but aren’t actually into it?

Star Trek. I have seen bits and pieces of several movies as well as episodes from The Next Generation, which I liked well enough, but I’m not interested in the original. Kirk just seems like the most annoying person ever and I’m not that interested in Spock, either.

10. Which fandom has the best characters?

All of them because characters are what make or break everything for me. This is what we all respond with, right?

I’ll answer with one of my favorite fandoms of all time: Star Wars.

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I wrote a whole post about why I love and relate to Luke Skywalker right HERE, but he isn’t the only one. I love all of the characters. The friendship between Luke, Han, and Leia in the originals. The journey that Rey goes on in the sequels with Finn, Rose, and Poe. Even Obi-Wan in the prequels. Especially the villains Darth Vader and Kylo Ren as the battle with the dark side of the force.

I can’t name anything better.

11. Name your all-time favorite ship.

Robin and Marian from the BBC Robin Hood (2006-2009).

These two are the reason that this is one of my favorite shows of all time. They have problems and they know it, but they work through them. Robin isn’t the best person as he gets cocky and selfish, but he cares about people. And above all he cares about Marian.

Look at these two and tell me that they deserve to be together through everything.

Marian: “Uh-uh. That won’t help you make your decision.”

Robin: “It might!”

Marian: “It won’t.”

Looooooook. At. Them.

It’s been about a year since I last watched this show, so now thinking about them has made me want to see them all over again!

12. What’s a fandom you’re curious about joining?

I’ve been hearing about Doctor Who for, literally, as long as I can remember. I’ve never had a way to watch it, but as soon as I do I will. Time travel? That’s a part of it, right? That happens to be one of my favorite things ever.

Also, She-Ra: Princess of Power. Katie Hanna has talked about this show frequently and my interest is piqued. I love animation and pictures from this look like it has a cool style.



Some of you may have noticed the lack of anything relating to The Chronicles of Narnia. Have no fear, that is still one of my favorite fandoms of all time. I will be doing a tag devoted solely to it soon so I wanted to let other things have a chance in my answers here.


I tag:
Fawnabelle @ Geeky, Nerdy, and Proud of It
Rachel @ R’s Loft
Rakayle @ A Story Detective

(Yes, I was only supposed to tag two people, but I myself was tagged three times so it seems only fair.)
And anyone else who wants to do it! Here are the questions for easy access:
- What’s the first fandom you remember becoming a part of?
- What’s the newest fandom you’ve come to enjoy?
- What’s a fandom guaranteed to give you feels?
- What’s a guilty pleasure fandom of yours?
- What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve heard of/are a part of?
- Favorite popular/widely-known fandom?
- Favorite bookish fandom?
- What do you consider your ‘homebase,’ a fandom you can always come back to?
- What’s a fandom you know all about…but aren’t actually into it?
- Which fandom has the best characters?
- Name your all-time favorite ship.
- What’s a fandom you’re curious about joining?


Thank you muchly to the lovely ladies who tagged me! Thanks to all of you for reading! Are there any fandoms that you would recommend? Are there any fandoms on here that you had never heard about? Has anyone else seen Julie and the Phantoms?

MovieCritic

Movie Review: Paddy O'Day (1936)

Top o’ the evening to all of you!

Two days ago, on March 17th it was St. Patrick’s day, a day that my family has always been very invested in. In fact, when I was little if you asked me to name the most important holidays that would’ve been one of my answers. Some of you might’ve guessed that already, based on how many Irish films I’ve reviewed. Four times in my life we have not celebrated like we usually do, and this year and last year are two of those times. Nevertheless, I’ll be reviewing a film for you today in the spirit of it all the same!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!


Paddy O’Day (1936):

Little Paddy O’Day has traveled across the ocean making new friends while she’s on her way to the United States. There she is going to be reunited with her beloved mother! However, when she arrives an unexpected problem occurs. The immigration office decides to keep her there and she panics by running away. Will she find where she belongs and always keep a twinkle in her eye?
Genre: Comedy.
Length: approx. 76 minutes.
Script: 8. There are no bad words, but I have this lowered because the accents are atrocious! Paddy speaks with an “Irish accent” and it is so bad. Maybe I only notice this because I have heard a lot of Irish accents in my life and others wouldn’t notice how off it is.

‘“I hope it isn’t spoiled.”

“It seems alright.”’

(The context behind this was quite funny!)

Crew: Directed by: Lewis Seiler. Written by: Lou Breslow, Edward Eliscu, and Sonya Levien.
Starring:
Jane Withers as Paddy O'Day.

Pinky Tomlin as Roy Ford.
Rita Cansino (aka Rita Hayworth) as Tamara Petrovitch.
Jane Darwell as Dora.
Russell Simpson as Benton.
George Givot as Mischa Petrovitch.
Francis Ford as Tom McGuire.
Vera Lewis as Aunt Flora.
Louise Carter as Aunt Jane.
Michael Visaroff as Popushka Petrovitch.
Nina Visaroff as Momushka Petrovitch.
Robert Dudley as Robert.

“Robert, we mustn't miss the boat even if you have to drive 25 miles per hour!”

Costumes: 7. Pretty standard with nothing to say for them, but nothing to say against them either.
Cinematography: 7. There was one time where it was extremely obvious that using a mode of transportation the background was moving but the characters weren’t (just a pet peeve, it always annoyed me when I was little), but nothing bad.
Cinematography by: Arthur C. Miller.
Music: 7. There were about 4 songs in here and I didn’t really like any of them except “Keep That Twinkle in Your Eye”. It was not a breakthrough, but it was cute! One song had a reference to Bing Crosby’s music which shows that it actually takes place around year that it was made instead of earlier.
Music by: Samuel Kaylin.
Notes: There is some confusion as to whether this movie should be credited towards 1935 or 1936, but I found one source that says it was released on January 17th, 1936 so that’s what I’m going with.

Quotability: 7. My family has “quoted” this movie a lot making fun of the terrible accents, but when I watched it this last time I found that not all of the lines were bad. One line about sticking out your tongue was very amusing. In another part, Mischa gives a speech and is super confident yet uses words like “incorrupted” instead of “incorporated”. It is the context that he’s not fluent in English which is not nice to make fun, but honestly that is how I talk even though English is my first language. I always quote Much Ado About Nothing as an example of how good my vocabulary, as I say, “You will be condemned to everlasting redemption!”
Content: 7. I’m sorry to be so harsh when there is not a lot here, but it is just personal preference. One “point” that it seemed to be telling me was that smoking and drinking lead to a freer life. No way, man! This is me being really particular as it is moderately unnoticeable, but this is what I’m here to do, be a critic! This movie is so short that they decided to take a few cheap ways to make plot points happen but it just felt flimsy to me. I’m sorry that I’m being so negative right here (I’ll get to the positive in just a moment!). I have been really working on editing lately so my mind is super focused on spotting problems like this. If you don’t take it seriously it is absolutely fine! In addition to that a few characters get into a fight and throw a few punches, but it’s not too violent.
It deals with problems that occur when entering a country, and honestly I wanted to see more of that! This is something that is relevant today and could be and should be looked into more, both the good and bad together.

Originality: 7. It has cute elements, but I wasn’t blown away by a spark of something new.
Good For: Families.
Age Range: Because we have such a young protagonist (I’m guessing that she’s 6, 7, or 8) then it is probably most enjoyed by young viewers!
Overall Score: 6.5.
Worth watching?: Stick around and I’ll let you know that yes, there were enjoyable parts!
Will I watch again?: I don’t know. It’s very short so that makes it easy, but if I do it probably won’t be for many, many, years.


For the blogathon:
I decided to talk about this today for Pure Entertainment Preservation Society (PEPS)’s Luck O’ the Irish Blogathon! Their focus is on the Motion Picture Production Code in Hollywood (which was used from 1934-1968) and two important figures in its formation, Martin Quigley and Joseph I. Breen, were Irish they are hosting this in their honor! To enter you could talk about anything Irish from any era of film, but I picked this because it is in that sweet spot that PEPS really focuses on, 1934-1954.

My whole family watched this together when I was little (which was rare that all five of us would decide to do that together) and it came to be known in our house as the “Mither movie”. This is because we thought that Jane Withers sounded like she was saying “mither” instead of mother in her accent. Watching it this time I found that it wasn’t as bad as all that.

One part that I do like of this is Jane Withers’s performance aside from the accent! She is darling. I am used to seeing her in Bright Eyes (1934) where her character is named Joy, but let’s just say that that is a misnomer. She was very sweet in here!

I also liked seeing “Rita Cansino” who changed her name to Rita Hayworth a year later. Being a fan of classic Hollywood movies, I’ve heard her name a lot but had never seen a movie with her! She was only 16 when she made this, which is so young! I’ll look forward to seeing her in more.

The short part played by Jane Darnell was a surprise! I have only become familiar with her in the last year, but she’s a very recognizable actress who is always comforting.

Last but not least, the dog, Tim, was adorable! Put an animal in a movie and I’ll always think it is precious.

Overall, it is a movie that has a certain charm to it! I’m glad that I put the time in to watch it this year so I could talk about it!


Thank you to the Brannans for hosting this event! Check out the other entries HERE.

Thanks to all of you for reading! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to type for as long as I did! Let me know what your favorite Irish movies (whether filmed in Ireland, featuring Irish actors or characters, or etc.) are. Have any of you seen this? Do any of you commemorate St. Patrick’s day in anyway?

MovieCritic