Category Archives: Movies & Multimedia

Movies to Watch

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Lots of us enjoy watching movies, but sometimes we can’t find any movies that we are interested in. If you feel like that, don’t worry because these are some great movies that you can watch! These are all movies that I really enjoyed. I really loved watching these because they were entertaining, made me laugh or they taught me something. I hope that you will be able to find something new to watch off of this list. 

These movies are not ranked or in order. 

The Hobbit: This movie is proof of heart over height. Even though it is just a movie, it really shows that willpower is more important than being tall or big. Bilbo Baggins, a tiny hobbit, who is only a couple feet tall and way shorter than a dwarf or a man, is the main character in the movie series. Bilbo and his dwarf friends work to take back their mountain and kingdom that Smaug the Dragon took from them. There are 3 movies about this adventure. They are called “An Unexpected Journey”, “The Desolation of Smaug”, and “The Battle of the Five Armies”. 

Lord of the Rings Series: As a sequel to the Hobbit, this movie series is about destroying the one ring that controls them all. Bilbo leaves the ring for Frodo, and Frodo leaves on a mission with his friends and fellow hobbits to get to Mount Doom and destroy the evil behind the ring. This is a great movie series that combines fantasy and adventure, and it also sneaks in lessons about friendship and loyalty. The 3 parts to this movie are “The Fellowship of the Ring” , “The Two Towers”, and “The Return of the King”. 

The War With Grandpa: When a widowed grandpa unwillingly moves into his daughter’s home to live with them, they give him  his grandson Peter’s room. Peter, who wants his room back, plans revenge. Peter and his grandpa agree on a prank war. This movie is super hilarious. 

Instant Family: When a couple decides to adopt children, they probably don’t expect it to be as hard as it is in this movie. Ellie and Pete Wagner decide to adopt a teen named Lizzy, but her 2 siblings come as a package with her. Elizabeth, Juan, and Lita are the 3 foster children. First, there needs to be a trial period to see if the children and the foster parents are a good fit for each other. The kids don’t approve of the parent candidates much. Are they going to like each other and form a family unit or keep annoying each other until this trial period ends? 

The Pink Panther (2006): You might know the Pink Panther short episodes, but this is a long movie filled with hilarious scenes from the one and only Detective Clouseau. When the soccer coach is shot dead at the match with a poisonous dart , Detective Clouseau and Ponton work to discover the answer to the question: Who killed him? Clouseau’s clumsy and silly actions cause bad relations with the other detectives, but they keep searching for the murderer and the thief who stole the Pink Panther ring. I loved this movie because of the humor and comedy that takes place, especially with Detective Clouseau. 

The Last Dance ( Michael Jordan Documentary): This documentary series has 10 one-hour episodes with Michael Jordan reliving his basketball achievements and explaining them. These moments that Michael Jordan talks about include the Playoffs against the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons who were known for their rough and physical play style and it also includes his best plays and moments in the NBA Finals against Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz. If you are a basketball or a sports fan, you will love this documentary. This documentary came out on April 19, 2020. 

Tom and Jerry (The Movie):  The perfect comedy for a family! If you have watched the adventures of Tom and Jerry cartoon episodes, you’re gonna love this movie! A combination of real people and cartoon animals, this movie does a great job of blending different worlds. 

-Mert A.

These titles (and more!) are available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library

Film Review: Raya and the Last Dragon

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I remember watching Mulan from the floor of my living room, gazing up to the screen, a little girl absolutely fascinated by a princess who looks like me–and yet, doesn’t at the same time. As a first-generation of Southeastern Asian descent, I felt like Mulan didn’t represent my culture. Even as Disney created a female Asian who takes the lead role, I still felt left out. After watching Raya and The Last Dragon, I felt like my culture was now being appreciated.

A heroine who doesn’t undergo typical coming-of-age experiences, but instead carves her own path to save her world and even becomes the villain of her own story–Raya is undoubtedly one of the best Disney princesses for Asian Americans to look up to. In the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons used to live in harmony. With different kingdoms who are separated by hate, Raya finds the last dragon Sisu and embarks on a quest to restore their uninhabitable land.

I have quite a few things to mention about the movie. In regards to animation, the movie is bright and colorful with realistic shots–the perfect setting for a hero’s journey. To be honest, the plot itself was often predictable; it seemed too straight forward, especially as a quest plot. The characters however, were extremely diverse and versatile in personality and never fall short to entertain the audience. There’s never a specific villain, but rather applies to everyone in the movie–a well-thought aspect to include. All of the characters show real human emotions at the right times; negative characteristics such as anger, hatred, and mistrust contributes greatly to the story’s plot and message.

As for the Southeast Asian references, Raya and the Last Dragon does so well in including details from every Southeast Asian culture. From my perspective, I was finally able to see a representative of my culture, regardless of it being a nonfictional movie. Raya is a bold, empowering female figure that I believe many little girls can look up to, no matter the race. Unfortunately, I’ve already grown out of my childhood, yet I’m grateful nonetheless. Disney has finally created a movie that girls of Southeast Asian descent can watch on the floor of their living room, gaze up to the screen, and see a courageous princess who actually looks like them.

– Natisha P.

Throwback TV Show for Teens

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With quarantine, I found myself bored, and without new episodes of shows coming out, I turned to Netflix and Disney+ with shows from my early childhood years. One I watched over and over in elementary and middle school was H20: Just Add Water. The Australian show originally came out in 2006 and ran until 2010. It was followed by a spin-off 3 years later that ran until 2016. The original series follows three teenage girls as they become mermaids and navigate how to keep their secret hidden from their family and friends while also still maintaining a normal social and school life. The spin off series follows three mermaids who have been mermaids since birth as they discover the human world and deal with threats towards their home.

Since becoming a teenager and entering high school, I began to find new respect for the shows I watched as a kid/pre-teen. Being in high school, especially not as a freshman, allows for me to experience the shows I used to enjoy in a new light since I know some of the struggles they are talking about more, like lots of homework and more friendship drama. Shows, specifically H20: Just Add Water allow me, for at least 30 minutes per episode, allow me to both reminiscence on the past of my childhood as well as appreciate the show in the format it provided for teenage audiences. 

I would recommend this show to anyone who enjoyed shows like this as a kid and want something both familiar and refreshing. I would also recommend that even if you have seen this show before, watch it again if you haven’t recently. Shows like this, and others on Netflix and Disney+ have been great to watch back as a teenager, especially with free time during quarantine and hybrid schooling. 

Movie Directors We Love: Steven Spielberg

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Steven Spielberg has one of the best resumes when it comes to movies he has directed. His movies have grossed more than $25 billion in the box office which is a feat that has not been passed by any other director in the business. The Movie list that Speilberg has directed is unparalleled. Let me just list a few: Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, E.T., Ready Player One, and Jaws. That’s only a few of the amazing movies that he has directed and those movies are all fantastic movies that have made hundreds of millions in the box office. His record when it comes to making movies is unparalleled in the business because he has made so many big hits at the box office and that is not a thing that many movie directors can say about the movies that they have directed. Another thing that sets Speilberg apart from other directors is his style of filming by using a cinematic style while using minimal cuts in between scenes. Also, Speilberg likes to talk about family issues in his movies often using them to help the characters overcome their struggles and end up succeeding in the end and prevailing over their foe.

-Howard M.

The films of Steven Spielberg are available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Film Review: Moxie

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Netflix’s new teen movie Moxie largely fails in its potential and is decent overall, but still has something important to offer. Directed by Amy Poehler and based on a book of the same name by Jennifer Mathieu, Moxie is a high school movie whose aim is to discuss feminist topics.

The movie follows shy 16 year-old Vivian (Hadley Robinson) who begins anonymously making zines calling out the sexism in her school after meeting the valiant new girl Lucy Hernandez (Alycia Pascual) who won’t back down to sexism so easily. Later on, the two girls along with some friends made along the way form a group called Moxie, which actively challenges the problems the group faces.  

Throughout the movie, Vivian encounters many challenges. From dress codes to more serious offenses, the movie aims to discuss a wide-range of topics in feminism but fails to do so in an effective way. Because it’s so ambitious and eager to take on all of these topics within a 2-hour time frame, the movie can’t explore them in ground-breaking depth, creating a touch-and-go effect. 

The overwhelming amount of content here also detracts from the development of the characters as well, leading most of them to appear underbaked. Several times during the movie, there seems to be an attempt to explore these characters in more depth, but there’s never any further discussion later on. The marginalized identities of some of these characters seem to suffer from the same problem as they get caught up in the fray of inclusivity and are hardly ever discussed despite being involved in the Moxie group. 

But even though Moxie is rough around the edges, when I first watched Moxie, I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting yet another poorly written Netflix high school movie with the same overdone cliches, and even though Moxie is a lot of those things, I was happy to see a teen movie eager to spread a powerful and important message rather than a televised Wattpad fanfic.

While the movie’s received a lot of criticism online, most of which I’d agree with, I still think it’s important to acknowledge that its existence is a good thing. Not many movies are willing to even attempt discussing these topics or providing the amount of representation this movie did. So to that I give it props as a good next step for future movies that want to delve in these topics too. 

The one good thing about the movie is that it’s different. It tries to discuss something important which is always something worth thinking about. So for those of you at least interested in the movie, I’d still encourage watching it and forming your own opinion of the movie and how it handles these topics. 

-Elia T.

TV Review: Legend of Korra Season One

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The Legend of Korra was one of the most anticipated animated sequels for its time, given that it is the successor to the widely popular Avatar the Last Airbender. The show had a lot of expectations on its initial release and after rewatching it years later, I would say that, overall, it is actually a good show even with the harsh criticism from devoted fans.

In general, I would still recommend watching the show given that it is still an entertaining show like its predecessor and still has quality animations. I still enjoyed watching the fights and scenes overall but it felt like the story was lacking compared to the previous show.

The characters were still appealing overall, with few exceptions, and the world itself was well built and introduced an interesting dynamic that was engaging and different from the original show.

Some complaints I had were that many characters and their stories felt rushed and incomplete, with the finale of season one being very anticlimactic compared to any of the other finales in the previous show, although it is understandable given that the show was created under the pretense that it would only have one season and 12 episodes compared to the vast size of the previous seasons of Avatar. Overall the story and characters still meshed together in spite of this and the episodes were exciting up to the finale.

Overall, I would still rate the show highly given the conditions of the show, regardless if
the expectations were initially high. I think that initial expectations and comparisons between the show and its predecessor played a major role in the reaction of the fans, although if looked at as an independent show, it is still high enough quality overall to be rated well and is still a good watch.

-Benjamin L.

The Legend of Korra is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

The 100: Books vs. TV Show

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The book series The 100 by Kass Morgan was made into a television show on the CW, and the similarities between the books and the show stop at the title. 

The television series uses the same plotline; however, it is sped up and changed. In the show, the officials, and parents of the children, are shown regularly, unlike in the book. The entire four-book series is changed and made into one season. Then, the next 6 seasons are created from scratch. 

Not only are the plot lines modified in the television series, but the characters are as well. In the novels, the main characters are Clarke, Bellamy, Wells and Glass. Whereas in the television series, the main characters are Clarke, Finn, Bellamy, Finn, Raven, Jasper, Octavia, and Monte. The show does not include the main characters Wells or Glass from the books. Furthermore, the television series features the parents of the children as main characters. In the books, the parents are barely mentioned or dead.

 I personally have not watched the entire series, but I have read the book series. If you were to pick one to read/watch, I would recommend doing both, as they are completely different stories. However, I did enjoy the book series a bit more because it was more detailed and suspenseful.  

-Hidaya R.

The 100 by Kass Morgan is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.

Film Review: The War With Grandpa

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Do you need a movie for Family Movie Night? Do you want a funny movie to bring you into the weekend, or do you want a movie that has valuable lessons in it? Well, you’re lucky because this movie will bring you all of those experiences. The War With Grandpa is a super entertaining and exciting movie. When Peter’s grandpa, who’s wife has died,  is experiencing some difficult times, Peter’s mom invites him in. Unfortunately, they don’t have an extra room in their house, and they have to give him Peter’s room. Peter moves to the attic. Both Peter and his grandpa are not happy about that. Peter wants his room back, and his grandpa doesn’t want to be living in his daughter’s home. To get his room back, Peter decides to declare war on his grandpa. Don’t worry! It is not an actual war, just a fun prank war! Peter and the grandpa each keep quiet about the war, but the pranks are brutal! It’s like a boxing match where each side is struggling, but they don’t throw the towel. The pranks go on and on and get worse and worse, but no one surrenders. Towards the end of the movie, Peter’s pranks end up ruining his little sister’s birthday party and injuring his grandpa. In the end, the grandpa shares the main lesson of the war with Peter. He tells Peter that even though one side comes up victorious, none of the sides actually win because they lose soldiers, citizens, cities, and they are emotionally bruised. 

I love this movie because of how funny and entertaining it is. The pranks are hilarious, and the events in the story are fun to watch. With an amazing plot, this movie is easily one of the best movies that I have ever seen. This movie was actually written as a book first. 

I give this movie a 10 out of 10 stars because it is hilarious. I love comedy movies, so I especially enjoyed this movie. The lessons that the grandpa teaches to Peter are very valuable and deep. I would definitely recommend this movie to a friend. 

-Mert A.

TV Show Review: Gilmore Girls

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As you may have guessed, this television show features the girls of the Gilmore family.

I have probably watched each Gilmore Girls episode at least 3 times. I love the show. The series follows a hilarious and iconic mother-daughter duo living in a tiny town in Connecticut called Stars Hollow. 

Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory(Alexis Bledel) who play the mother and daughter are best friends first, mother and daughter second. This special relationship is a result of Lorelai having Rory when she was very young (16). Right after having Rory, Lorelai left her wealthy, extravagant life that her parents were living and raised Rory all on her own. 

The show starts with Rory beginning her sophomore year of high school and trying to gain admission into a prestigious, and expensive, private school. In order to afford the tuition, Lorelai must swallow her pride and ask her rich parents for financial aid in order to send Rory there. This leads to an agreement where Lorelei and Rory must have dinner at the Gilmore house every Friday night.

The two live in a small fictional town named Stars Hollow. There are many interesting characters living in the town. There is a grumpy, but loving diner owner Luke, the delusional dance teacher, Ms. Patty, the tight knit town mayor, Taylor, and many more cooky characters. 

The show features the amazing lifestyle of Rory and Lorelai, the rich lives of Emily and Richard, the weird characters in Stark Hollow, every Friday night dinner and every laugh relationship in between. This show will have you laughing out loud but also has its sad and serious aspects. No matter what comes between the two they always have each other’s backs as they navigate life.

Gilmore Girls can be found on Netflix. It has 7 seasons, starting with Rory’s sophomore year of high school and ending with her college graduation.

-Hidaya R.

A Guide to: The Office

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After fifteen years, The Office continues to be one of the most popular and loved shows, and for obvious reasons. It’s one of those shows that one can just watch again, and again, and again. Its relatable characters and original comedy contuse to pull its viewers in. I, for one, am a huge fan of The Office. After watching the entire season through around four or five times, Id like to share the episodes that keep pulling me back.

When you need a good laugh…..

“The Dinner Party”

By far my favorite episode of The Office, The Dinner Party (Season 4. Episode 13) combines humor, drama, and awkwardness to make a hilariously uncomfortable episode that will have you rolling on the floor. This episode begins in the office, of course, as Michael Scott forces everyone to stay late in order to work on a supposed corporate assignment, however; as everyone will soon find out, it’s all just Michael’s way of ensuring that Jim, Pam, Andy, and Angela can attend his dinner party that evening. After Jim admits to not having any plans that evening, Michael cancels the supposed corporate assignments, forcing Jim and Pam to accept his invitation to his house. And so the torment begins, and all four of the employees are forced to endure a painful dinner party, which ends in complete disaster.

When you’re in need of comfort….

“Niagra”

After many long years, Jim and Pam finally tie the knot, however; with the whole office in tow, their wedding does not come with setbacks. Pam and Jim have a rather difficult time before the wedding, having to deal with her grandmother’s disappointment on her premarital pregnancy. To make matters worse, a co-worker seriously injure himself and has to be rushed to the hospital. Despite these inconvencies and many more, we witness a wonderfully joyous moment as Jim and Pam are married and everyone dances down the aisle.

When you need to cry…

“Michael Leaves”

This episode is without a doubt the saddest episode in the show. Not only was the departure of Michael Scott as a character absolutely devastating to the show itself, but it was heart-wrenching to see all of the Dunder Mifflin employees say they’re good-byes. In a particularly touching scene, the office gathers in the conference room for Michael’s last meeting. Together, they surprise Michael, and actually the actor himself, with a song dedicated to him. Though this, one sees not only the characters themselves saying goodbye to their boss, but real actors saying goodbye to a co worker. The show was never the same without him, and the loss of his presence was truly felt by all.

-Yvette C.