August's Watch List

Movies:
🌷 Miraculous Ladybug: The Movie (2023)
🌷 The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022)

TV Series:
🌷 American Dad (2005 -)
🌷 Death Note (2006)
🌷 Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)
Read the review here!
🌷 The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022 -)
Read the review here!

TV Series Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime Video, Season 2, 2022 - )

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a teen drama based on the books of the same name written by Jenny Han. The show and books follow a girl named Isabel "Belly Conklin and her teenage years hanging out with her mom's best friend, Susannah Fisher, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, in their summer house. The show deals with relationships, love triangles, and family issues from the perspective of Belly. The show stars Lola Tung who plays Belly, Gavin Casalegno, and Christopher Briney. Season 2 aired July 14, 2023, and ended August 17, 2023. There are 8 episodes in season 2 with each episode being 1 hour long.

Season 2 picks up where season 1 ended, with Conrad and Belly getting together at the end of the summer. This upsets Jeremiah, which causes Belly to stay friends with Conrad. There is a time jump to the end of the school year, where we learn that Susannah passed away from cancer and the kids are no longer speaking to each other. In each episode, there are flashbacks to Belly and Conrad's relationship and demise, which leads to the present day and how they act towards each other. In the present day, it's learned that the summer house is being sold by Susannah's half-sister, Julia. Conrad leaves school, without anyone knowing, to try and stop her. Belly and Jeremiah make up and go to Cousins to find Conrad and stop the sale.

There is only one word that comes to mind to describe this season which is angsty. Last season was more romantic and didn't focus heavily on family issues since it was just the kids figuring out their feelings for one another. This season has lots of dark tones to it, with grief being the main one for every character. Each character is affected by the death of Susannah. Belly's mom, Laurel (Jackie Chung), deals with her best friend's death by not talking about it, shutting herself out from her family. Both Conrad and Jeremiah deal with it the worst, making reckless decisions and causing the Conklins to come down and help out with the house. Belly and her brother, Stephen, are also in shock over the death, with Belly losing her relationship with Conrad over his mom's death.

There are a few light-hearted moments in the season, one being when the kids go to the boardwalk and spend the day reconnecting and remembering old memories. However, each episode always ended on a cliffhanger or some dramatic moment, pushing the story. Each episode literally never ended well, except for the season finale where Belly chooses one of the brothers to be in a relationship with. One dramatic ending that I enjoyed was from episode 6 "Love Fest", where drunken Belly calls her mom for help. When an adult has to step in, you know it's serious.

This season shows a lot more of the consequences of the actions from last season. The biggest one is between Belly and the brothers but there is also the dilemma between Belly's best friend, Taylor, and her brother Stephen. Last season, Taylor admitted her feelings to Stephen, which he rejected. This summer, Stephen is trying to win back Taylor before he goes off to Princeton. Taylor keeps pushing away but she finally comes around in episode 6 and they start dating.

Season 2 does end with happy endings for everybody. Belly chooses Jeremiah, Taylor and Stephen start dating, Laurel accepts Susannah's death and can talk about it, and the house is saved, with Conrad taking care of it. Some of my favorite things from this season are when Belly and Conrad go to the summer house during Christmas time, all of episode 6, and the soundtrack. Even last season's soundtrack was amazing. One thing the show does right is choosing the right music to play. Of course, one thing I disliked from the season was how they dressed Belly. Her makeup was very dull and just made her look flat. My guess for doing this is because of her grief. All the color was drained from her life when she lost the Fishers to the point where she looked unhealthy. But other than that, the season was so good and captivating.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 was one of the highlights of my summer. I love watching it during the summertime because of how it puts you in the summer mood and makes you feel carefree and happy. It shows the emotions of summer really well with the setting, music, and storylines. Summer is a time to find yourself, go out, and be happy. Even watching it last year just made me feel so good. It fits in so well with the teen drama genre. It just does everything right, from the plot to the tiny details. Perfect. I will be tuned in for Season 3. (After the strike) Also #TeamConrad.

Rating: 10/10

TV Series Review: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (Netflix, 2021)

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a Netflix Korean drama about Yoon Hye-jin, a dentist opening up a clinic in a small seaside town after being unfulfilled in her previous job. She meets the townsfolk and Chief Hong, and becomes a part of their community, finding friendship and love and a new place to call home. The show has 16 episodes, each episode being 1 hour and 30 minutes long. The show premiered on Netflix on August 28, 2021, and released episodes weekly, ending on October 17, 2021.

The Korean dramas I usually watch are more romantic, with the story focusing on the main characters' relationship. This show was very different from that which surprised me since it was marketed as a romance drama. The show has a basic romantic plot, but the stories also drift off into the side characters' lives and dilemmas. Since the show focuses on Hye-Jin being the town's only dentist, the beginning episodes' problems deal with the townsfolk needing dental procedures and their fears with that. Then as the show goes on, the problems become more personal, resulting in the town helping them. One example from the show is when Ms. Gam-ri needs a root canal but does not want to spend the money on it. Chief Hong tries to help her out by calling her son and asking him to help her. Her son does call her and tells her not to go through with it as it is too expensive. She realizes that she does need the procedure and goes through with it, which helps her in the end. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is about love and family while dealing with topics such as death, financial struggle, and failed relationships.

I have this weird thing where I think TV shows will come to me when I need to learn from the plot or the characters whenever I'm going through something. This is one of those shows. I never plan when I want to watch a Korean drama, I get this urge to press play. And I'm thankful I did. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha is a good comfort show when you want to escape your life for some time and dream about a small seaside town, walking on the beach, and leading a simple life. One part of this show that I enjoyed was the comedy and relatability between the viewer and the characters. I could relate to the characters with how they dealt with a situation or problem in that episode. Also, for most of the show, there is a lot of empathy shown for the characters by the viewer. I cried a few times over the backstories of two characters who had family problems. The show does tackle a lot of family problems with each character. That's another way the show is relatable to the viewers, showing certain situations and how the characters lived through them and got by. Korean dramas deal with a lot more emotions and everyday problems than American TV shows, which makes them more enjoyable to watch.

One thing I dislike about the show is the episode lengths. There are 16 episodes, each 1 1/2 hours long. That is practically the same time as a movie. Television should be something you enjoy and can pass through. While there was a lot to see in each episode, I found myself at the end not even being able to remember how the episode even started. American TV shows go up to, at most, an hour and that is what I am used to. I can handle one hour of a show but not an extra 30 minutes.

Overall, I loved Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha! I don't know that many other shows like this because of how fun and entertaining the show is with the stories, setting, and comedy it presents. But I hope to see more playful and light-hearted shows like this!

Rating: 9/10

Movie Review: Barbie (2023)

Barbie follows the doll with the same name as she tries to understand why she is feeling new emotions for the first time. She travels to the real world and uncovers the illusion of how women are treated between both worlds and figures out her place between these worlds. The film stars Margot Robbie (I, Tonya, Babylon, The Suicide Squad) , Ryan Gosling (Blade Runner 2049, The Notebook) , Issa Rae (Insecure, Spider-Man: Across the SpiderVerse) , Simu Liu (Shang-Chi, Kim’s Convenience) , and America Ferrera (Superstore, The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants). The film released on July 21, 2023.

This movie honestly felt like one of those 2000’s coming-of-age movies. One that came to mind while watching was 13 going on 30. Both movies have the main character learning their place in the world and finding themselves and how to be better. Everything in the Barbie movie was so well thought out for the viewer, even the jokes were about current events for relate-ability. The sets were so eye popping and aesthetically accurate to Barbie and her world.

The soundtrack as well is so fantastic and catchy. Most of the songs are in the movie so it’s fun to listen back and remember the scenes. My personal favorites songs are Silver Platter by Khalid, Speed Drive by Charli XCX, and Dance the Night by Dua Lipa. The beginning of the movie starts with Lizzo’s ‘Pink’ playing shows how perfect Barbie's days are. As the movie reaches the conflict, 'Pink' matches Barbie’s mindset and how she’s unhappy. The song ‘What was I made for’ by Billie Eilish played throughout the film, specifically during scenes when Barbie is questioning her purpose.

A lot of opinions online try to explain how the purpose of Barbie is to show how women are treated and their stance in the world. From Barbie’s perspective, women are important and are treated equally, without hatred towards one another. This is shown in the scene at the middle school where Sasha (Ariana Greenbelt) describes her as an unrealistic standard for women when Barbie is trying to introduce herself and ask for help. The movie also presents the argument of how men evolve from loving everyone and treating everyone equally to acting selfishly and cold-hearted for attention. This is shown with Ken entering the real world and seeing how men are treated by women and each other. Men stick together and applaud themselves over the smallest accomplishments and women stand back. Eventually, Ken does realize the error of his ways and talks to Barbie about who he wants to be, his own individual being.

My opinion of the movie? I loved and enjoyed every minute of it. Barbie has so many fun moments for people to talk about and also makes some serious points on how women are brought up in today's world. One scene I enjoyed was when Barbie is at the school, looking for her dolls owner. She's there with good intentions and faces the harsh reality of what Barbie is to some women, an unfair expectation. The movie will forever remain a classic and hopefully won't be dragged down by the future sequels and other Mattel movies coming out.

Rating: 10/10