Chloe-h1994 Reviews

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

The Best Robin Hood Film

[8/10 · 31 March 2024]

This is my favorite film adaptation of Robin Hood! Kevin Costner portrays the perfect charismatic leader who's self assured and passionate. Morgan Freeman embodies Azeem and he's a great man to keep Robin Hood from getting too cocky because he's equally good at fighting - he keeps him humble. Friar Tuck is perfect - a great character of faith with a dedication to beer. The Littles are such a fun family and the Will Scarlet angst is chefs kiss. Of course, Alan Rickman is iconic as the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham. Marian and Sarah are not just damsels in distress and Marian and Robin Hood have great chemistry. The extended cut is worth the extra time. It's such a fun movie!

The Book of Boba Fett (2021–2022)

Slow

[6/10 · 3 August 2022]

There's some interesting world building and the Mandalorian gets his own episode so it's definitely worth a watch. However, the slow pacing and aimless plot made it hard to get to the awesome cameos. Many characters lacked development so it was hard to connect with them.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998 Video)

Under appreciated gem

[7/10 · 21 March 2020]

This is a such a great little film about forgiveness and finding yourself! The songs are catchy and original and the characters are fresh and fun. They do justice to Simba without making him perfect or the star of the show. Kiara and Kovu are great with their own strengths and shortcomings. The villains motivation and actions make sense. I pull this one out every now and then for a heartwarming watch. Also, I really appreciate how the conflict gets resolved in this film. It's refreshing to see sympathetic villains in a Disney film. I would recommend this movie - I always have a good time watching it.

Kids on the Slope (2012)

Music, Friendship, and Growing Up

[8/10 · 28 January 2020]

A perfect coming of age story and love letter to Jazz and friendship. I loved the characters. The drama was realistic and believable. None of the 12 episodes was wasted and each one led the characters through growth and challenges. Growth and challenges aside, the characters themselves are compelling with interesting backstories and motivations. The soundtrack is amazing and the animators nailed the characters playing their instruments - extremely impressive. I would recommend giving this show a watch - it touched me and I have rewatched it since my initial viewing.

Carole & Tuesday (2019)

Great Soundtrack and Heartwarming Message

[6/10 · 28 January 2020]

There are some truly touching songs on the Carole and Tuesday soundtracks - I love Loneliest Girl and Lay It All On Me. However, despite the truly stellar soundtrack, I found the story fell a bit short of a home run. Each episode in the first season seemed like it was trying to do a stand alone episode which led to a disjointed middle. The second season started to have a more overarching story but it still felt a little like a show that didn't know what exactly it wanted to be. Themes and characters where introduced never to be heard from again or just popping in again once or twice for a performance or two. It was hard to feel the emotional resonance of these brief appearances even though I knew what I was supposed to be feeling. The soundtrack patched many of the plot holes - providing the emotional oomph that was lacking. Many character relationships were left unresolved completely. It's worth a watch for the soundtrack and the heartwarming message but its not perfect.

Given (2019)

Capture those hard to describe moments of being human

[10/10 · 21 September 2019]

This story catches those small, everyday actions of being human. Those awkward silences, fluttery feelings, and pauses that are so hard to put into words are beautifully animated here. The characters are so easy to relate to and they interact so easily. This show is so mellow and restful but it covers hardships and trauma with grace that is rarely seen. I can't recommend this story enough. It made me laugh and fan girl and think - I love this story.

Terror in Resonance (2014)

Powerful Storytelling

[9/10 · 28 August 2019]

This was a powerful story: well plotted, with great characters throughout, and an amazing atmosphere created by haunting music and gorgeous cinematography. The mystery is a mature and commanding presence throughout that ties all the strings together as the climax reaches its peak and descends. This story makes you think and the characters demand empathy. Several twists and turns throughout took me by surprise and still the series retained it's integrity - not sacrificing story for a shock and awe and yet achieving it all the same.

I can't recommend this series strongly enough - give it a chance. I don't subscribe to any service that streams this, so I got it through the Interlibrary Loan program through my library and I'm so glad I did. It's a story that lingers with you after the impactful finale.

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

Scripted and Unsurprising

[6/10 · 5 August 2019]

While the acting on the part of Tom Holland and crew was great, this movie felt campy, scripted, and none of the twists surprised me. I didn't feel like anything new happened and it seemed like the conveniently forgot much of their own cinematic lore. Many of the plot devices felt like plot devices and the villain was unoriginal and forgettable.

I found it hard to believe that the same man who essentially put training wheel's on Spider-Man's suit in the original movie would have given high tech glasses to the same teenager and left no safety measures in place. Also, watching the glasses get tossed around during action sequences was painful - why are the controls to the entire Stark system in something so easily lost and/or broken? Much of the plot dealt with Stark tech but seemed to forget all the earlier films, particularly Avengers 2 and Iron Man 3, where Tony learned that his tech could be used for evil and taught him to install safety measures and generally be more cautious than he had previously been. Also, everyone in the film kept acting like Spider-Man was the only superhero left on earth... like, what? Apparently Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Valkyrie, and any of the other superheroes still around are completely irrelevant? That was hard to believe and so was everyone's expectations that Peter and his webs would be able to take on elemental monsters??? What are sticky webs supposed to do against a water monster? All to say, I didn't find the plot to be very believable or surprising.

Looking now at the good, the acting on the part of Tom Holland and the rest of the "high school" cast was great. Both of the teacher's were hilarious and the sub plot with Ned worked way better than I had initially thought it would. The visuals were amazing - I know that will surprise zero people.

I think you can definitely wait to see this movie until it comes out of theaters.

Second Act (2018)

Get what you expect

[6/10 · 21 June 2019]

I was expecting a fun, heart warming chick flick with a few laughs. It wasn't as much fun or as heartwarming as it could have been but it wasn't awful. The midway twist isn't as effective as the writers might have hoped but I definitely don't regret watching it. I don't think it deserves a lot of the below 5 star reviews simply because if it's below 5 then it must be truly horrendous or so bad it's hilarious. This was a very middle of the road film and the star power helped carry it above a 5. If you want to give it a watch then just grab a copy from your local library and enjoy an easy film to watch.

Run with the Wind (2018–2019)

Characters that are real, believable, and worth rooting for.

[10/10 · 10 June 2019]

I was skeptical of this show because I figured I didn't want to watch a bunch of guys running when they would probably follow the typical sports anime tropes where they win after monologuing about hard work and the like. Essentially, I didn't think there would be any suspense or point to it. Interestingly, I now believe that running actually adds a lot to the anime that other sports maybe couldn't. Largely an individual, mental sport - running allows everyone to compete against themselves. If winning is your goal then you run to win, if mental fortitude is what you want you run to build that up, if you want to be fit, if you want to gain a hard work ethic, if you want to prove you can do something hard, if you want to build your resume or beat addiction or meet friends - running can do that for you. Running allows each member of the team to face their own issues while also working as a group to conquer a larger goal which really allows this show to shine. Hard work genuinely and believably pays off in this anime while the team also comes together as close friends. Also, this show is hilarious - especially the first few episodes had me laughing out load. I also appreciated how realistic each character was. They had their own unique goals and wit and charm. This anime is definitely worth your time. The animation and soundtrack are well put together - which is to be expected from the studio that brought the world Haikyuu and Psycho Pass. It's a quality, well paced plot with characters that you want to root for while they develop and change. Please give it a watch.