Being on break gives me so much time to write! Unluckily, I haven’t done reviews for a long while! Luckily, I’ve decided to make that one of my monthly goals this next year, so stay tuned!
That aside, here is a small November list of things I watched and read. Maybe you’ll find something new to read or watch!
Here is how I rate things!
- No redeeming qualities whatsoever, visually, aesthetically, or as a story.
- It was so boring I could barely pay attention, or it frustrated me SO much I couldn’t finish.
- I had a headache, but I somehow made it through. This category is also for when I absolutely DESPISE something I’ve watched or read.
- I could make fun of it because of how bad it is or because it lacks any real merit.
- It’s not good, it’s not bad. It’s just blah.
- There were various interesting aspects, but nothing to really gush about.
- A solid story. Good characters, plot, and visuals. However, it’s not amazing.
- I genuinely enjoyed watching/reading it. I could see/read it again with friends.
- A great experience! As a film/show, it is visually stunning and has an incredible story that I could go back to multiple times. As a book, I could do the same.
- Near Perfect (nothing is perfect.) It has become one of my favorites. I could also write entire articles on it.
Movies
It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (1966), 10/10
Charlie Brown is excited to be invited to Violet’s Halloween party–his first-ever party. Before the party, the Peanuts gang plans to go trick-or-treating; meanwhile, Snoopy, dressed as the WWI flying ace, takes his Halloween persona to extremes. Linus won’t be joining them for trick-or-treating or the party: he will be waiting in the local pumpkin patch for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin.
Synopsis via Huggo on IMBD
I’m one of those lovely people who has a soft spot in their hearts for classic Peanuts shorts like this one. Out of all of them, this is my favorite because I love autumn, pumpkins, and Halloween. Someday, I truly do want to be in a pumpkin patch on Halloween just to say I’ve done it once! The trouble is, most pumpkin patches are gone by Halloween where I live.
Dial M For Murder (1954), 9/10
In London, wealthy Margot Mary Wendice had a brief love affair with the American writer Mark Halliday while her husband and professional tennis player Tony Wendice was on a tennis tour. Tony quits playing to dedicate himself to his wife and finds a regular job. She decides to give him a second chance for their marriage. When Mark arrives from America to visit the couple, Margot tells him that she had destroyed all his letters but one that was stolen. Subsequently she was blackmailed, but she had never retrieved the stolen letter. Tony arrives home, claims that he needs to work and asks Margot to go with Mark to the theater. Meanwhile Tony calls Captain Lesgate (aka Charles Alexander Swann who studied with him at college) and blackmails him to murder his wife, so that he can inherit her fortune. But there is no perfect crime, and things do not work as planned.
Synopsis via Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on IMBD
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve found an Alfred Hitchcock film I like! What set this movie apart from me was the pacing. Since I KNEW who the murderer was, the mystery wasn’t a “WHODONEIT” but rather whether or not said murderer would get CAUGHT and HOW. It was kind of like one of those Columbo episodes I love so much.
I was proud of myself, having noticed the pivotal clue that cracked the case, and I was even happier when the murderer got what was coming to him.
Fall of the House of Usher (1960), 8/10
Philip Winthrop calls upon his fiancée, Madeline Usher, at her family home. His presence is unwelcome, especially to Madeline’s brother, Roderick. Roderick explains that the Ushers are cursed, suffering from hereditary physical defects. By Madeline marrying Winthrop this would only likely continue the affliction. It soon becomes clear that something sinister is afoot: not only due to Roderick’s determination to prevent Madeline from leaving but also due to the evil that seems to lurk in the house itself.
Synopsis via grantss on IMBD
Out of the many campy ’60s horror films I’ve watched this year, this is one of the few that is a nostalgia watch for me. In the recesses of my memory, I recall seeing this film and liking it, mostly because I was particularly fond of Edgar Allan Poe at the time. Now, I can honestly say it’s GOOD (although not great). The costume and set design were stellar, and Vincent Price was fantastic as ever as Roderick, the hypersensitive, crazy lunatic brother.
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (2019), 6/10
Princes who have been turned into Dwarfs seek the red shoes of a lady in order to break the spell, although it will not be easy. A parody with a twist.
Synopsis via IMBD
This movie was NOT as bad as I thought it would be. I think young girls up to about twelve would enjoy the cutsie romance and upbeat message. That said, it doesn’t have much staying power after that age. The pacing felt odd. . . and the characters didn’t get much development beyond the main two leads.
I did appreciate how sure Princess Red was of herself. Her confidence and view of people were refreshing. She didn’t snide the fabulous, narcissistic seven but still didn’t get caught up in their looks. In fact, I’d say she was a WHOLE person not in need of fixing.
TV Shows
Mashl (2023), 7/10
In this magical world, one is easily identified as having magical abilities by a distinctive mark on their face. Those unable to practice magic are swiftly exterminated to maintain the magical integrity of society. However, deep within a forest lies an anomaly in Mash Burnedead, who can be found pumping iron with one arm and lifting a cream puff with the other. This aloof boy with superhuman strength—but no magical abilities—leads a quiet life with his father, far removed from society.
Mash’s peace is soon disturbed when the authorities discover his lack of magical powers. They issue him an ultimatum: compete to become a Divine Visionary, which would force everyone to accept him, or be persecuted forever. To protect his family, he enrolls in the prestigious Easton Magic Academy, which only the most elite and gifted students are allowed to attend. Now, Mash must overcome his shortcomings as a magic-less being and surpass the other students—relying solely on his muscles.
Synopsis via Myanimelist
Upon rewatching this show, I was lambasted with its MANY MANY flaws. It has limited, stilted character animation and settings (especially the clothes and facial animation!), boring side characters, and a predictable plot. BUT I don’t really care, especially in the first season. Mash and much of the humor make up for it.
Cromartie High School (2003), 8/10
Takashi Kamiyama is your typical mild-mannered high school student—polite, aloof, and pacifistic, with a slightly above-average IQ. But would your average high school student really enroll himself at the infamous Cromartie High School, known as a breeding ground for the toughest delinquents out there?
Apparently so, as that is exactly what Takashi does, though for reasons he’d rather leave unmentioned. However, one thing is for sure: the “hard-boiled rabbit in a den full of hungry lions” is never going to have another dull day. And how could he, now that he’s surrounded by mohawked punks, obnoxious robots, and… gorillas? And was that Freddie Mercury riding a horse down the corridor? Follow Takashi as he earnestly dedicates his new high school life to better his school’s reputation while his classmates are hellbent on wreaking havoc.
Synopsis via Myanimelist
This was one of my favorite finds this year! But not for myself. My brother Marty fell in love with it. It has his quirky, offbeat sense of humor, coupled with bad animation. It’s too bad more people haven’t found this and enjoyed its charming, self-aware lack of quality.
Books
City of Ghosts (2018), 8/10
Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn’t like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead…and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost.
So things are already pretty strange. But they’re about to get much stranger…
Synopsis via Goodreads
My favorite way to read this book, and the others in the series, is to listen to the audiobook narrated by Reba Buhrin in the fall/winter. Reba is great at accents and paces the story well. I do need to give this series another breather, though, since I’ve run through all the books again.
Dark Waters (2021), 7.5/10
Having met and outsmarted the smiling man in Dead Voices but fearful of when he’ll come again, Ollie, Brian, and Coco are anxiously searching for a way to defeat him once and for all. By staying together and avoiding remote places, they’ve steered clear of him so far but their constant worry and stress is taking a toll on their lives and friendship. So when Ollie’s dad and Coco’s mom plan a “fun” boat trip on Lake Champlain, the three are apprehensive to say the least. They haven’t had the best of luck on their recent trips and even worse their frenemy Phil is on the boat as well. But when a lake monster destroys their boat, they end up shipwrecked on a deserted island. This isn’t just any island though. It’s hidden from the outside world in a fog and unless everyone works together to find a way to escape, they won’t survive long.
Synopsis via Goodreads
This is my least favorite book in the Small Spaces series because it ends SO ABRUPTLY. It’s a shame, because it has a great buildup in the first half of the book. It reminds me of those old ’60s horror films with big creatures hunting down victims on vacation.
Empty Smiles (2022), 7.5/10
It’s been three months since Ollie made a daring deal with the smiling man to save those she loved, and then vanished without a trace. The smiling man promised Coco, Brian and Phil, that they’d have a chance to save her, but as time goes by, they begin to worry that the smiling man has lied to them and Ollie is gone forever. But finally, a clue surfaces. A boy who went missing at a nearby traveling carnival appears at the town swimming hole, terrified and rambling. He tells anyone who’ll listen about the mysterious man who took him. How the man agreed to let him go on one condition: that he deliver a message. Play if you dare.
Game on! The smiling man has finally made his move. Now it’s Coco, Brian, and Phil’s turn to make theirs. And they know just where to start. The traveling carnival is coming to Evansburg.
Meanwhile, Ollie is trapped in the world behind the mist, learning the horrifying secrets of the smiling man’s carnival, trying everything to help her friends find her. Brian, Coco and Phil will risk everything to rescue Ollie—but they all soon realize this game is much more dangerous than the ones before. This time the smiling man is playing for keeps.
Synopsis via Goodreads
Much like the last book, this one ends rather fast. I would have enjoyed it more if Arden had drawn out the characters searching for the clues and keys to get out of the carnival. That said, I do love the build-up to the climax in this book!
Taggart (1982), 9/10
Adam Stark had found gold. In the confusion of the mesas and canyons near Rockinstraw Mountain, Stark, his wife, Consuelo, and his sister, Miriam, were quietly working a rich vein while keeping their presence a secret from raiding Apaches. Worried that his wife might leave him, Stark wanted to make enough money to take her to San Francisco, where she could enjoy the style of life she craved.
But when Taggart, a stranger on the run from a vicious bounty hunter, enters their camp, tensions soon mount. Consuelo, against all good judgment, cannot resist testing Taggart. Is he the man who can make her happy? Will he give her the life her husband cannot? With thousands of dollars of gold in his packsadles, the Apaches are now no longer Adam Stark’s only threat.
Synopsis via Goodreads
Surprise, surprise, I loved this book. I truly am my father’s daughter because no matter which Louis L’Amour book I listen to, I end up liking them! For this particular book, I liked the nostalgic vibes I got from my childhood living in Arizona. I also think that Taggart and Miriam’s romance was subtle but well deserved.
That is about it! I didn’t read any new manga, comics, or manhua, so stay tuned for December!
From the Perspective of an Old Soul 