"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Movie Review: Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

Fee-fi-fo-fum, the time to talk about tall tales has begun!

A trend for fantasy movies in the early 2010s was to embrace a darker and grittier version of well known fairy tales. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and Maleficent (2014) were two popular examples, but sandwiched between them was another entry in this sub-genre that had hopes for being killer. So let's see if, as folks say nowadays, it "slayed."

Spoiler warning: This movie follows the basic outline of the fairytales Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer and as those are relatively well known in their outcomes, I'll reference those more than I usually do when talking about the endings of movies in my reviews. As for the unique elements of this film, I'll talk about some details but leave how it actually turns out a surprise for you!

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013):

Premise: Jack is a big dreamer, having developed a love of reading from a young age by the stories his father read to him. Unfortunately, dreaming doesn't create food for one to eat, so Jack's uncle sends him to market to start selling some of their belongings. However, the legends about giants may have an element of truth, and evil Lord Roderick is looking for the way to the skies, and that way falls right into Jack's hands: magic beans. Meanwhile, Princess Isabelle keeps trying to escape her arranged marriage, much to the chagrin of Elmont, the captain of the guard assigned to keeping her safe. Both Isabelle and Jack are thrown into a bigger adventure in the sky as they try to get home before a clash between the worlds is created.

Genre(s): Fantasy, Fairytale retelling, Adventure.

Length: approx. 114 minutes.

Age Range: It's rated PG-13 for some intense violence, usually in the form of CGI/fantasy brutality rather than one on one combat.

Crew: Directed by: Bryan Singer. Produced by: Neal H. Moritz, David Dobkin, Bryan Singer, Patrick McCormick, & Ori Marmur. Written by: Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie, Dan Studney, & David Dobkin. Music by: John Ottman.

Starring: Nicholas Holt, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Ewan McGregor, Eddie Marsan, Ralph Brown, John Kassir, and Cornell John, Andrew Brooke, Angus Barnet, and Ben Daniels (credited as giants with the names Fee, Fye, Foe, and Fumm, which I appreciate).

General Thoughts:

This movie is relatively unknown as compared to others in this sub-genre, and I think it suffers most from critics due to the quality of the CGI. The visuals were laughably bad, which makes the violence (which, warning, includes popping eyeballs and skewered tongues) all the more eyebrow raising because THIS is what they came up with? For me drags the movie down a little but to give it some credit, there is also motion capture involved not just computer simulations. Battle choices aside, what impacts the quality the most is in the design of the giants. All of the giants are purposefully made to be grotesque and unnatural, when I feel like it could very well have just been made with people and special effects or makeup.

Comparatively, Snoke is a masterpiece.

It makes me wonder if making the giants look as gruesome as possible is an attempt to compensate for the body counts later, because the viewers surely wouldn't care! It's their comeuppance! In a fantasy world it is typical to make an us vs. them (see the orcs in Tolkien's work), but here it lacks nuance. I would've liked to see the fairy tale element of one outside the norm, i.e. one of the giants helping the little people out. In fact, the original tale is marked by the compassion of the giant's wife who helps Jack hide but there is no such show of heart for these giants in the sky. It did feel like it was missing something (maybe the Bechdel test?); making everyone bad or good and not have any grey area feels a little lazy. Maybe I'm used to Big Friendly Giants, but it rubbed me a little wrong.

This isn't to say I don't like the movie! I'll talk about what I liked it a minute, and it will show how the rest of my nitpicks made me go "huh" but didn't really change my enjoyment of it. 

The script isn't anything spectacular, as it has some cliches, but those can also be seen as part of the fairy tale genre that starts ("Once upon a time...") and ends ("happily ever after") almost every story the same way. The film walks the line between being serious and being tongue-in-cheek so I think it would've been more successful if it had picked a lane? But success is overrated, as I vibed with the nonchalant yet adventurous attitude, which felt apropos of fairy tales, even if it was unconventional in the movie sphere.

I'm not sure if it would go as far as being called plot holes, but I definitely have questions about how the magic works in this land because it seems conditional; I counted the beans getting wet many more times than the plot counted them getting wet. That is, if this even is a different kingdom, as suddenly--with a jolt--we were England? I don't know if they ever considered a sequel, but there was some potential through some loose threads that didn't get wrapped up. If they had considered a continuation, it would've been fun to see even more classic fairy tales included!

Now to talk about what I liked, it's time to mention the blog party this is for!


For the blogathon: 

This review is my last contribution to Hamlette's We Love Fairy Tales Week!

My favorite part of this film is that it is an ode to storytelling and fairy tales themselves, as both our young protagonists grew up listening to and believing in fairy tales. While that is frowned upon at first by others as a foolish pastime, it is their creativity and ingenuity that was nurtured by these stories that helps them to solve problems and get out of sticky situations.

This is a combination of two fairy tales: Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer.  For an adaptation, they did a good job of keeping enough of the elements so the story feels familiar and comfortable, but also adding in new plots and goals to keep the viewer wanting more. They introduced and developed characters to make it suitable for a 2 hour format, and I'll always be won over by in-depth characters.

I relate to Jack and his tendency to dream, as shown by my frequent daydreaming when I should've been writing this post that I said I would over a month ago...

Jack was sweet and I liked how he was clever and just distracted at times. The scene where Isabelle is blaming herself and Jack totally reshapes her perspective was darling. 

There's a bit of a romance, which makes my reviewing this on Valentine's Day appropriate. 

This film's biggest asset is the cast because you can tell they are all having so much fun. They take their roles seriously, but in a way that is also lighthearted? I can't really describe the attitude, but it's a fun time.

Evil Stanley Tucci played up the villain role to the max. I also really liked Eddie Marson as Crawe, the second in command for Elmont as well as Ewen Bremner as Wicke, the minion to Lord Roderick. I love a good sidekick and I thought they played their opposing archetypes with the right amounts of camp.

Warwick Davis has a cameo which was a delight but also not enough! I wanted more because it was great fun contrast for telling a story about giants.

The whole cast pulls its weight and at times I thought "why are we focusing on Jack!?" when I was equally intrigued by what was happening to the other characters and I had to remind myself that he is indeed the titular character, so it checks out.

Though, if it was up to me, this movie would be about my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE, character, Elmont. He had the exact right amount of snark, loyalty, and energy. He was brilliant and along for the ride. As a bonus, Ewan McGregor just looks like he's having the time of his life. So I can count this a Valentine's Day movie for me watching him.



Thanks to Hamlette for hosting this blog party! Check out the wrap-up post for the blog party to make sure you didn't miss out on any of the entries.

What do you guys think of this sub-genre of gritty fantasy fairy tales? Do you have a favorite "ode to storytelling"? Who are some of your favorite characters who are not the main character? Do you think there should be some nuance for fairy tale creatures? What fairy tales could you see connected to this one in a sequel?

Thank you for reading and happy Valentine's Day!

Chloe the MovieCritic

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

The We Love Fairy Tales Week Tag! // having a crisis over a dream cast for my favorite picture book

Hello, friends!

I hope you're having a magical day. This week we're celebrating all things fairy tale with Hamlette's We Love Fairy Tales Week! She's had an ode to all kinds of stories through the "we love" format for many years now and our favorite childhood fables are the theme this year. Today I'm answering the questions in the tag!


The Questions:

1.  What's your favorite fairy tale?

Based on how I will watch anything with Cinderella in the title (then usually regret it), one would think that would be my favorite fairytale. It is my kryptonite as I love to see the same story told over and over again but in different settings. What can I say, I have a ball with it!

CinderSabrina?

Maybe Cinderella is my subconscious favorite, but I usually say Beauty and the Beast as I love the idea of falling in love with what's below the surface. This theme comes up in other fairy tales, like The Black Bull of Norway!

But those are themes. My ALL TIME favorite fairy tale is The Four Gallant Sisters, which is an adaptation by Eric A. Kimmel and Tatyana Yuditskaya of TWO Grimms fairytales: "The Four Skillful Brothers" and "The Twelve Huntsman." 

I always thought it was its own thing, and just learned about the duel inspiration yesterday! I read both original stories and while I think The Four Gallant Sisters is iconic and sails above the individual stories, there is quite a hilarious line in "The Four Skillful Brothers": 

"'Come with me and be a thief.' ' 
No,' he answered, 'that is no longer regarded as a reputable trade...'"

Why makes me wonder...was thieving ever a reputable trade? I guess it depends on who you talk to.


2.  If you could cast any actors and actresses ever in a movie version of that fairy tale, who would you pick?

Because The Four Gallant Sisters is probably unknown, here's a quick premise to show you the roles I'm trying to cast!:

When their mother dies, four sisters disguise themselves as men and go out into the world to learn a trade, resulting in a tailor, a hunter, a thief, and an astronomer. Four years later, they get back together and their talents capture the eye of the king, but the queen thinks something is off about them. Tests and adventures ensue...complete with a dragon. What's not to love?

The question gives some grace by adding in the word "ever" which means this doesn't have to be realistic, it doesn't have to be the right age or time of their life to do these roles. However, my brain won't accept it any other way and I went for as accurate as possible. Hence, this post is out later than I'd hoped, but that's also because I was trying to do it while watching the Olympics, and let's just say getting distracted by the Olympics is the best excuse ever.

People aren't actually going to make this happen, but a girl can dream, can't she? 

The oldest sister/the tailor: Tallulah Greive. I've only seen her as Princess Gwen in Cinderella (2021), and I love how spunky and sassy she was. I think she would have some great needling comments (get it, 'cuz she's a tailor? sorry, my puns are terrible today) and have great energy to be the leader of the sisters, if you will. She's a little bit older than the rest of the gals I have cast, but I think that could lend itself to the other sisters looking up to her.

The second sister/the hunter: Freya Parks. This sister gives me the same energy as Scarlet from The Lunar Chronicles, being someone who can have a loud personality but also let her shots speak for her. I really like Freya's intense performance as Hester in The School for Good and Evil (2022) and I'd like to see that same attitude here.

The third sister/the thief: Sophia Lillis. One of my favorite parts of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) is Doric's escape from the palace, and I totally want to see a similar scene here with the invisibility belt (did I forget to mention that all of the sisters have fantastic tools at their disposal?). She has a quieter presence which could go well with sneaking around. It makes it more notable when she does speak up, and her sisters should then listen to her warnings.

The youngest sister/the astronomer: Isis Hainsworth. The youngest sister needs a bit of an ethereal look to her--starry eyes and full of wonder, if you will. I liked what Isis did as Aelis in Catherine, Called Birdy (2022) and therefore want to give her a bigger part here!

I made it extra difficult for myself by trying to make the sisters look alike but I am also the first to know that sisters do not always look alike in conventional ways, such as hair and eye color. I really had to restrain myself from just making all of the sisters look like the illustrations and instead play to the personalities, so the fact that I didn't cave to that is a success!

The queen: Penelope Cruz. The queen is such a key character in this story with how she's trying to prove that these "men" are not what they seem and I think Penelope could pull off her being skeptical brilliantly. She's a little younger than in the book, but I think her magnificent presence is what counts.

The king: Javier Bardem. Now that I'm thinking of it, the king and the prince might be the same person, but I just want to see the dynamic duo of Cruz and Bardem in more things, so we'll split the role. Then we can set this kingdom in a fantasy-esque Spain.

The prince: Álvero Rico. I have to be honest here and say I have not actually seen Álvero Rico in anything. But I needed someone who could reasonably be Cruz and Bardem's child, even with the correct age. And it was very important to me that everyone was actually Spanish (totally didn't have someone who was Italian in the role of the prince for a hot second there...). I have seen quite a few Hispanic actors with Latin American roots, but no one seemed the right age. So, he's what I got from looking through lists of "Spanish actors in their late 20s/early 30s." He looks a little more intense than what I was originally going for, but I think he could be a good surprise!

You can tell I'm a little too immersed in K-dramas right now, because as soon as I thought of casting the princess from far away I went to my K-drama casts without a hesitation. In the story I believe it is a princess and her four brothers, yet as much as I LOOOOOOOVE my k-dramas, it's actually really rare/unheard of to have FIVE siblings in Korean culture. So maybe they're cousins instead of siblings? That still feels like a weirdly big family, but just roll with me on this and we can figure out the logistics later when I'm getting paid to cast this, haha.

The princess: Kim Se-jeong: This is purely because I'm watching a k-drama with her at the moment (Business Proposal) and I find her fun and spunky but also able to have slower moments. She just captures one's attention immediately which I think is important for her small role. Which we should totally make bigger, though, if we're making this into a movie anyway.

The brothers/cousins: Kang Tae Oh (Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Doom at Your Service), Cha Eun-woo (True Beauty), Lee Chae-min: (Crash Course in Romance), and Kim Min-gi (True Beauty). I will not consider myself well versed in K-dramas until I have seen 10, so this is a very biased pick of just some people I like, were the right age, AND kind of looked similar enough to possibly be related distantly. I don't actually like Kim Min-gi's performance that I've seen, but he was the youngest that I could find and he previously played an annoying youngest brother, which, I figured, could work here.


There you have it! My childhood favorite picture book come to life. Or, at least, giving my dreams a visual element...for now...


3.  Do you have a favorite fairy tale movie?

Into the Woods (2014). I love the aesthetic, I love the casting, I love the songs, I love all of it. That's all that needs to be said.


4.  Do you have a favorite book that retells a fairy tale?

I have a favorite book that retells a fairy tale 6 times: The Rumpelstiltskin Problem - by Vivian Vande Velde. I talked about briefly years ago, but I'm still thinking about it as it was so fun and creative. That's the joy of fairy tales retellings, is that we get to ask some "what ifs?" and here it's not confined to one, but many!


5.  If you got to be in a stage or film production of a classic fairy tale, what fairy tale would you want to be in, and who would you like to play?

My sisters and I used to act out plays of fairy tales for our parents on their anniversary, and my favorite role was when I was the Narrator in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I might also have been the prince; there were only 3 of us, so we had to double up the roles. Our most creative moment was that we decided to narrate the building of the coffin in darkness and just use sound, so for "sawing" I was scratching a cardboard tube with my fingernails. Maybe I should work in sound design.

Nothing quite can top that, but I do think it would be fun to be a villain of some sort. Let's say it's a stage play of Rapunzel, and I'll be the "Mother Gothel" character. We can do some fun rigging--complete with all safety mechanisms--and stage combat to make it look like I push the prince out of the tower.

That's my curtain call.


6.  Do you like fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or the Grimm Brothers best?  Or someone else's?

We had this book when I was little which had fairy tales from all over the world. From there, I remember my absolute FAVORITE fairy tales were the ones from Czechia/Slovakia. Do I remember what they were about? No clue. I just remember being blown away, even though I was only all of...9 years old? I just remember thinking they were THE BEST.

 I just went and dug it out and it was book 1 of The Young Folks' Shelf of Books series, Fairy Tales and Fables.

For this blogathon I thought I should go through and count all of the collections of fairy tales that we have but one glance made me think otherwise. You should just know that we have A LOT. It's reminding me again and again of my love for fairy tales. Generally, I'd say I like the themes from Hans Christian Andersen a biiiiiiiit better than the Brothers Grimm.

This was another favorite, so well done, Arthur Rackman 


7.  What more obscure fairy tale do you think more people should know about?

I've been thinking about The Three Sillies a lot recently and think it is very applicable in today's world. It's about a guy who, after an incident, thinks his fiancee and her family are ridiculous and says he won't marry her until he finds three other such silly people in the world. That's not necessarily my favorite, but it talks about thinking things through but also giving people some grace when they get stuck on things. I have the neurodivergent urge to get stuck on things a lot and am grateful for the people around me to talk me through some of these things.

The Tinder Box is another perennial favorite of mine, that as wacky as it its, I feel like I reference it a lot? I mean, explaining crazy fairy tales is one of my favorite pastimes, actually, but people wouldn't have to sit through that if they already knew it. It's about a solider and a witch and a princess and three HUGE dogs. It's a good time.

Amazing illustrations help.

Oh, or the actual ending of The Little Mermaid! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the 2023 version, but just for cultural understanding I think it could be beneficial if people knew the original tale, so then they can appreciate the changes that are made in retellings!


And, sadly that's the end of the tag!

But have no fear, there will be all kinds of fairy tale goodness all week long! Just make sure to check out the master post HERE so you don't miss anything!

What do you guys think? Has anyone else heard of "The Four Gallant Sisters" or its source material? Would you watch a movie of it with my cast? Does anyone else want to dramatically (but safely!) push someone out of a tower? Do you have multiple collections of fairy tales?

Thanks for reading! May you all live, "happily ever after!"

Chloe the MovieCritic

Saturday, January 24, 2026

The Smashing & Dashing 2025 Character Awards! // feat. movies and shows, too, because I can't help it

Hi, friends!

I've already listed out all the books I read in 2025 and all the movies I watched in 2025, but it isn't enough to just say them, I want to talk about the characters.

I know, I know, I should stop talking about 2025 and just move on with the new year. The thing is, though, that I experienced about 100 different stories last year, from words on a page to people on a screen! One doesn't just get over that.

With the recent announcement of the Oscar nominees for this year, I'm in the mood to give out some awards myself. Therefore, I'm going to fill out the Smashing & Dashing 2025 Character Awards! Credit to C. G. Drews of PaperFury for creating the tag ages ago, and to Katie Hanna and Sarah Seele for always reminding me about it. Their posts are awesome, you seriously need to check them out. I'm just a copycat.

But me being me (i.e. too obsessed with a visual format), I'm going to be including characters from movies and TV shows, so each question will get a book answer and a movie/TV show answer.

Additionally, I'm going to try to only use each story once as I have a ton to choose from. Wish me luck!

Just because I'm talking about these characters does not mean that I like the stories they are from, but they should get props all the same. Let's get into it!


1. Most Relatable Character

Book: Harriet Manners from Geek Girl. I'd related to her in the TV show, and this year I related to her just as much in the book. I want to read the rest of the series ASAP. She's awkward but adorable and I want to strive to have her compassion.

Movie/TV show: Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries. She's just wants to do her job and experiment with poisons and not be bothered by people. I'm not into poisons, but there were so many times that I felt what she was feeling, especially when Jinshi is trying to be sparkly and flirty and Maomao has her priorities in a different place. 

#notimpressed


2. Most Pure Animal Companion

Book:
Paganini, who is a rabbit, from the Vanderbeekers books! Those kiddos also have a sweet, sweet dog, but I can't think of his name right now.

Movie/TV show: This has made me realize how few animals I see in movies and that makes me sad. The cow from The Rare Breed (1966) is pretty stinking cute. His name is Vindicator, which doesn't quite live up to how adorable he is, but that's fine. The poor guy has been dragged all over the place, from England to the Wild West!


3. Fiercest Fighter

Book: Agatha from The School for Good and Evil. She and her best friend Sophie are stuck in a magical school and Aggie will stop at nothing until they're out of there, and she has tons of obstacles to face, like Sophie herself.

Movie/TV show: Evelyn from Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). If you've seen the film I don't think any explanation is needed. If you haven't, just know that Evelyn is facing both physical and emotional battles.


4. Am Surprised That I Loved You??

Book: Lord Peter Whimsey from Gaudy Night. I'd read Whose Body? a couple of years ago and did not like Peter. Here, I had several times where I was cheering for him. He'd mellowed and had a deeper side and we met his nephew which explained a lot.

Source

Movie/TV show: Mary Yellan from Jamaica Inn (1939). This is surprising because I'm not usually a fan of her Maureen O'Hara's acting, but I sympathized with her immediately (debut for the win!) because she's just trying to find a new home and instead immediately gets thrown into conspiracies.  


5. Best Sassmaster

Book: Hercule Poirot from The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot. I already talked about this, but he says such cutting things to Hastings and I love it. I should've written down more of what he said because at least once per story he had me giggling. 

Movie/TV show: Myeol-mang/Kim Sa-ram from Doom at Your Service (2021). ACK. I LOVE my sassy boy. I mean with iconic blue/green hair the sass has to live up to the look. He's the personification of doom itself, and has been nihilistic for a while until he found someone to bother. Then the sass comes out full force when he's in front of Dong-kyung. For example, he can hear peoples thoughts and the first time we see him, someone has bumped into him and thought, "wow, he's handsome" which Sa-ram immediately answers out-loud with "I know." 

And now my computer dashboard is covered in gifs of him that I don't know what to do with, so another one is going into this post. It's the only rational thing to do.

That sassy smirk!


6. Best Antihero

Book: André-Louis from Scaramouche. He does some heroic things, but the term might fit him because he doesn't believe what he's saying, he's just using a means to an end? I already compared him to Anne Elliot, so check out that post for more about him.

Movie/TV show: Charlie Babbitt from Rain Man (1988). He's a jerk, he's selfish, he's greedy, and to top it all off he's kidnapped his brother. Then he grows and goes through some character development and does unexpected things so that I was cheering for him.


7. The Best Friends Of All

Book: Betsy and Tacy. Tacy is bashful (sorry, I will never get over that being the one word used to describe her) but not around Betsy! They trust each other and will do anything for each other. Even skipping school, kind of.

Movie/TV show: My dudes Arjun, Kabir, and Imran from Zindagi na Milegi Dobara (2011)! They have their issues (especially two of them have beef with each other) but they work through it (with Kabir's help of being the peacemaker) and I love them. 


8. Best Villain To Hate

Book: The Snow Queen from Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy! She is horrible to the sweet Marvelous Boy and I just want to keep him safe.

Movie/TV show: Velma Von Tussle from Hairspray (2007). She's HORRIBLE. Yes, I guess the word I use to describe villains is horrible as I've used it for both these gals, but it's true!


9. Award for Best vs. Worst YA Parents

I don't really read enough YA to say, so we're just going with parents in general. And having four seems like a lot, so I'll have one from a movie/show and one from a book.

Best: (Book) Peter and Kira from Beartown. This book in and of itself can capture such a spectrum from best to worst for parenting, and in addition to being amazing parents, Peter and Kira are now one of my favorite couples of all time. They go through absolutely horrible things and have to figure out how to keep their family together and how to feel whole again.

Worst: (Movie/TV show) Do Min-Ik's mother from The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019). Her son isn't really her son, but he loves her and they act like they are related and all Min-Ik wants in life is to be loved by her. Early on there's this moment where the mother is telling him who he should date (for mergers in the company) and he asks, "If I do this, will you accept me as your own?" and she callously replies: "Her family will, at least." CRUEL.


10. Ship Of All Ships In 2025

Book: I'm really struggling with this one, now that I've already used Peter and Kira. But they don't even really qualify as a ship because they got together long before the book started. 

Aaaaaaaaaand, I've got nothing that I haven't already used, which is pretty sad. But, I do complain every time I read romances, so maybe it should be expected. I have to dip into my rereads from last year, so in that case it would be my All the Crooked Saints couples. Forever and ever, Beatriz and Pete. Forever and ever, Marisita and Daniel. *hugs them*

Movie/TV show: Let's see how many times I can get away with talking about k-dramas...I'm giving this award to my DARLING Woo Young-Woo and Lee Jun-ho from Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022). Just thinking about them I want to CRY because it's the cutest of all cute things and ACK. I can't. I watched most of this series in 2024, but in the three episodes that I watched in 2025 I cried several times just looking at Jun-ho's face. Real, body shaking, sobbing, tears. 

Find yourself a person who will listen to you talk as much as Jun-ho will listen to Young-Woo talk about whales. 

SOULMATES

11. Most Precious Must Be Protected

Book: Poppet and Widget from The Night Circus! I ADORE these twins and would do anything for them. They have premonitions that make them worried and it makes me say OH BABIES and just want to feed them hot chocolate and treats and keep them away from it all.

Movie/TV show: Pugsley Addams from Wednesday is a sweetie and I need him to be more careful because as it is, he doesn't think things through. He himself may not be the most precious from everything I watched, but he's definitely the one who most needs to be protected. HE JUST WANTS A FRIEND. And baby doesn't realize that a zombie is not an ideal friend. I want him and Agnes to become BFFs. Is that too much to ask? And she's got her head on her shoulders better than he does, so she can help protect him, too.


12. Honestly Surprised You’re Still Alive

Book: Sophie Foster from Legacy, book 8 of Keeper of the Lost Cities. The girl just goes through a lot, and it's amazing that she's made it this far, what with multiple near-death experiences in every book. Book 10 hasn't come out yet, so I can still be worried for her.

Movie/TV Show: Barry Allen from The Flash. I'm only 2 seasons in with 7 to go and I have no clue how Barry has lasted this long. I get it, he has supernatural recuperation skills, but dude. He basically breaks bones every day of his life and I just feel bad for the poor guy. And I'm fairly sure it's just going to get worse as the seasons go on.


13. Award For Making the Worst Decisions

Book: Poor Zoey from The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner. I relate to her, she's really trying to make her life better, but she does that in ways that hurt other people. She just needs a hug and a cupcake and someone to read her stories.

Movie/TV show: All of the characters in The Mummy (1999). I feel like banging my head against a sarcophagus watching them do things that they were told not to do. Like going back to the creepy haunted place. Or leaving each other alone when they are being hunted by supernatural beings. Come on, guys!

This was a valid reaction, though.

14. Most In Need Of A Nap

Book: Poly from Spindle. I know, she's been asleep for a couple of hundred years, but that wasn't good sleep. And besides, I get tired just reading about whatever Luck is doing without explanations, so I can only imagine being around him would want me to have a nap, too.

Movie/TV show: Brian from The Breakfast Club (1985). Poor baby is just trying to get good grades and escape from the pressure and is instead put into detention. And made to do all the work, which is totally unfair.

Honey, if you drink that Coke you won't be able to take a nap.


15. Want To Read/Watch More About You

Book: I want more of all of the stories in The Chronicles of Harris Burdick. More new stories, continuations to the old stories, all of it.

Movie/TV show: This is going to be a hot take, but I wanted more of Roger's mother, Mrs. Thornhill in North by Northwest (1959). I was vibing with that movie at the beginning when it was Roger trying to prove to his mother that he's not crazy and I wanted that to be the whole movie. I don't need Eve or anyone else, I wanted just the two Thornhills on a wild adventure. 



And with that, the awards have all been given out! Do you know any of these characters? How well do you think they deserve these awards? How would you describe best villains? Any one have any good k-drama suggestions (I just finished a new one and I need help)? Who are your favorite sassy characters?

Thank you for reading!

Chloe the MovieCritic

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles