My Visit to San Diego Comic-Con 2023

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Chloe C.

In July, I had the pleasure of attending Comic-Con at the San Diego Convention Center. For those who don’t know, the event, which is officially listed as Comic-Con International: San Diego on its website, is an annual convention that was first established in 1970 and is held for comic book fans (and really fans of anything in pop culture) to come together to share their interests.

This year, it was held July 20-23, and to get into the convention center, participants must either purchase a badge in advance through the group’s website (https://ww.comic-con.org/cci) months in advance or apply for the free badges that are set aside for professionals who work in the comic book or other related industries.

Since the badges that are available to the general public usually sell out, it can be challenging to get into Comic-Con, but if you’re lucky enough to get in, there is a lot to see and do, including hundreds of informative panel discussions, industry parties (although these are usually only available by advance reservation or special invitation), and sneak-peek showing of upcoming movies, shows, games, and toys.

One of the most popular features is the massive exhibitor area where companies like Disney, Blizzard, and Funko host booths where they showcase their latest offerings. There are also a large number of smaller companies and individuals who come to display their handmade art, fandom apparel, and other related merchandise.

Personally, I enjoyed the panels I attended. I went to one about makeup artistry, where Brenda O’Brien, a veteran makeup artist who has worked on the Lion King musical on Broadway, Saturday Night Live, and many other shows, demonstrated how she creates characters and explained how she had to adapt her skills to work in incredibly fast-paced backstage environments.

I also attended the “How to Make a Minicomic from One Sheet of Paper” with veteran comic book creator Zander Cannon, and another panel that celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Studio Ghibli movie My Neighbor Totoro, which was led by the movie’s original production coordinator, Hirokatsu Kihara, and his interpreter. He presented the original drawing Hayao Miyazaki made of the character that became Totoro, as well as many original, hand-painted animation cels used to create the iconic movie. It was amazing to learn from him that the studio considered these cels to be trash once they were used to make the film. Each one was so beautiful, it was stunning to think that anyone could have considered them rubbish.

In addition to the panels, I also got to see many cool booths, such as the Studio Ghibli booth, where my family and I took our photo in a re-created Cat Bus, which is a character from My Neighbor Totoro, the Marvel booth, where we saw costumes worn by the actors in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and an animatronics company’s booth that featured an animatronic Baby Yoda.

Another highlight on the exhibitor floor was an entire area dedicated to books. There were authors showcasing their own books, and booksellers selling all sorts of science fiction and fantasy. I even spotted a Little Golden Book biography of Taylor Swift, which I personally thought was pretty funny.

I also heard there was going to be a cosplay wrestling match, where people who dressed up as various characters from pop culture would wrestle another cosplayer in an actual ring. I’m a little sad that I didn’t get to see that because it sounded super funny.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy any books while I was at Comic-Con, but there were many graphic novels and such that caught my eye and I’m hoping to get some or all of them eventually.

If you can, I definitely recommend going to Comic-Con at least once if you are a fan of comics or anything nerdy. There are so many things to do, things to see, and people to meet. It was a wonderful experience, and I hope I’ll be able to go back

Transformers: Rise of Beasts Movie Review

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Nicole R.

Transformers: Rise of Beasts is the newest Transformers movie. Set in Brooklyn, New York in 1994 (7 years after Transformers: Bumblebee but 13 years before the first Transformers movie), we follow older brother, Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) who tries to help out his single mom and sick younger brother. They don’t have enough money to pay for his brother’s medical bills, so he turns to car stealing for some quick cash. At that moment, Noah meets the Transformers. In order to get home, they need the help of museum employee Elena (Dominique Fishback) and Noah. Noah and Elena have to team up with the Transformers to defeat another evil power, Unicron. The Transformers and their human allies team up with a new species (the Maximals) to save each other’s worlds.

This movie was overall pretty great. I sat in the theater rooting on the protagonists, my mouth was left gaping open and I laughed at a good amount of the jokes there. I managed to jump right into this movie despite not having watched the last four movies of the franchise. In fact, my friend has never seen a single Transformers movie until now, but we both still enjoyed this movie immensely. It was super fun and had good tension, good jokes, and was really immersing.

Transformers: Rise of Beasts stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback; the human allies. They were wonderful and really enjoyed watching them throughout the movie but I really wish they had more interaction so they could create a deeper bond. I also wish that the movie was longer as I didn’t feel like there was enough time for all the characters. There were some that I wish had more screen time and interactions. If you were to watch the movies in chronological order, there would be a good amount of characters you would wonder about after. I barely have any information on newly introduced characters. The movie only gives you a good surface view of who the characters are but doesn’t go deep into depth or show you who they really are. However, that would be the only thing that I would improve despite the movie already being two hours long. If the movie was longer, I don’t think I would have minded.

The plot of the movie, character developments, and new characters were really good. The only thing I could have wished for was more character bonding. I would definitely recommend this movie to others, whether they’ve seen previous Transformers movies or not. I did enjoy the movie and I can’t wait to see what comes next in the franchise.

-Nicole R.

Original vs. Parody: Sword Art Online

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Luke M.

Sword Art Online (SAO), written by Reki Kawahara, is a name that sparks many arguments among anime fans. Some claim it to be one of the greatest shows ever made while others claim that calling it hot garbage is an insult to garbage. Meanwhile, SAO’s YouTube parody counterpart Sword Art Online Abridged tends to be much more beloved by general anime fans with much fewer people complaining about the negative aspects of the show. The review/dissection seeks to examine the two shows to discover why SAO Abridged is considered to be a better show than its original.

Likely the first thing to talk about when discussing why people like SAO Abridged over SAO proper is the characters. In the original Sword Art Online, most of the characters had very, very bland one-dimensional personalities. The general lack of personality in these characters usually meant that the storylines arising from them tended to be rather flat. Additionally, the main protagonist of the series, Kirito, shares this lack of defined personality traits or is at least perceived to. Meanwhile, SAO Abridged infuses even minor one-off characters with personalities. From the NPC Gary and his goal to save his family to the now psychopathic protagonist Kirito every named character in Abridged has personality in spades something which makes it vastly superior to the original.

The next thing to be talked about in SAO Abridged is how it improves upon the character arcs. In SAO Kirito does not have so much a character arc as he effortlessly transforms from a (supposedly) cool loner to a (supposedly) cool loner with a wife, a kid, and a close group of friends. Meanwhile SAO Abridged follows its version of Kirito on his journey to becoming a better person because he frankly is not a good person at the series start. In fact in episode four of Abridged Kirito is described by one of the characters as “like, the worst person I’ve ever met.” However, Abridged improves upon the original SAO by having Kirito struggle through a variety of setbacks to eventually become a better person.

The last thing to talk about with SAO Abridged is the improvements to the story. Now, I’m not going to bring out the dead horse of the community of the “lol I forgot” comment because I disagree with that necessarily being a plot improvement. However, Abridged has many more improvements to the plot beyond the aforementioned scene. For example, episodes five and six are improved by addressing the fact the original show’s version of the plot only works as an idiot plot and in Abridged the plot instead works because Kirito does a wee bit of trolling. Other plot improvements include the removal of the incest subplot (don’t ask if you don’t know) and the fact that Asuna retains her personality in the second arc.

In conclusion there are many a reason SAO Abridged is considered to be superior to its original incarnation, not all of them mentioned here because there are way to many. So to anyone who wants a surprisingly thought provoking series with admittedly raunchy humor I would highly recommend SAO Abridged. And to those who want a power fantasy with a protagonist who is very easy to project onto, I present you with SAO proper.

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Madison C.

*this review will contain spoilers*

I would like to start by saying this movie felt like the OG Marvel, this is coming from a huge Marvel fan. I had high expectations going in walking in due to the hype surrounding this movie and when I left the theaters, those expectations were fulfilled. I would say I like the Guardians of the Galaxy but they wouldn’t be my favorite characters in the MCU but after this movie they definitely got higher up on that list.

This movie was oriented mainly on the character Rocket who in the past 2 movies was in denial about who he was. However, we see the backstory of this character and the environment he grew up in, which was harsh and demanding. We see that he was always cunning and smart in how he handled certain situations. It was nice seeing baby Rocket and how he grew up over the years.

The plot of the movie tied perfectly into his character and allowed for more details to pass through such as his previous friends before the guardians being Teefs, Floor, and Lylla. Also, I would like the mention the fighting sequences were AMAZING. This action kept me in my seat HOOKED to the screen whether it was them Starlord and Groot fighting on the High Evolutionary’s ship or the hallway of them all fighting, nonetheless all were amazing.

Usually, I’m a big crier when it comes to movies so I was expecting to cry and well, I did. So many moments when James Gunn really tied the scene together to make it more impactful. When Lylla told Rocket it wasn’t his time to join them yet that really got me and resonated that Lylla was a bigger impact in Rocket’s life then I had anticipated. Another moment was when Rocket went back to save the animals but specifically when he saved the baby raccoons. In that moment, when he read they were raccoons he finally was able to stop his denial and fully accept that he is Rocket the Raccoon.

I had to create a separate section just for this specific moment because it truly encompasses the ties between the Guardians and how they truly are each other’s family. When the audience hears Groot say “I love you guys” and not just “I am Groot,” that truly damaged me. It is said that James Gunn had Vin say it in that manner so that the audience is now a part of this collective “family.” Throughout the movies, the Guardians were able to fully understand what Groot was saying while us, the audience only heard “I am Groot.” I think this process of understanding what Groot is saying essentially means you are a part of the family. To back this up, this new Gamora had no idea what Groot was saying at the beginning of the movie but towards the end she easily catches on and understands what he is saying.

This film was so impactful on the way I understand the Guardians and it deserves the utmost attention. Phase 4 has produced some amazing films and this would rank high on there for me. I would recommend this movie to anyone, but you should first watch the other movies to get general knowledge on the dynamics of the guardians.

-Madison C.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Dodosolsollalasol Show Review

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Rizza Mae R.

Spoilers are contained in this post!

Dodosolsollalasol is a romance and comedy K-drama that features the actors Go Ara and Lee Jae-Wook. It aired on October 7, 2020. It can be watched on Netflix and it has 16 episodes.

The main character, Goo Ra-ra, finds herself in shambles after her father dies the day of her wedding and her fiancé runs away during the wedding. Her life completely changes as she has to adapt from riches to rags. The male lead, Sunwoo Jun, is a high schooler who runs away from his parents due to high expectations and is currently hiding away from his parents.

Both characters find themselves closer to each other after an incident that led Ra-Ra to the hospital and due to financial reasons, Ra-Ra ends up staying with Jun and this develops their relationship. In the second half of the show, it’s more serious as the characters start to uncover each other’s secrets, but this problem is soon resolved. Although, after Jun’s secret is exposed, Ra-Ra and Jun are separated by Jun’s mother and Ra-Ra finds out Jun has an illness. Jun goes abroad for treatment of his illness and after a while, Jun was supposed to come back to the town on the day of Christmas, but he doesn’t show up. Ra-Ra thinks Jun is just running late but her world is shattered when Jun’s mother breaks the news of Jun’s passing.5 years after Jun’s death and everyone is trying to move on, but Jun comes back and tells Ra-Ra that he did not want her to see him sick so he faked his death for 5 years.

Most of the plot of the drama is Ra-Ra trying to survive on her own with the help of Jun and I honestly really loved it. The first half of the story is really cute and wholesome and I loved the interactions with the characters. The second half of the story was more serious but it was still really interesting and cute. However, like most people who watched Dodosolsollalasol, I did not like the ending of Dodosolsollalasol because the main male lead just randomly shows up after 5 years of faking his death. I felt like the ending was rushed and I honestly didn’t like it, but the show is overall really good and I definitely recommend it.

The Summer I Turned Pretty Season One

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Moer K.

The Summer I Turned Pretty: Season One, which was released on Amazon Prime was an instant hit. The trilogy shattered many reader’s hearts but the show ultimately uplifted the audience’s hope for a different ending.

There are two main love interests which are brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly is the main character of the show and she has this transformation that she went through in which she becomes prettier.

In the first scene of the show, we see past photos of her and then it transitions to Belly as of right now, where she looks like a completely different person. Her hair is flowy and long, her braces are gone as well as her glasses.

She goes to Cousin’s Beach every summer and spends time with her other “family,” brothers Conrad and Jeremiah, along with their mother, Susannah, who is best friends with Belly’s mom. They spend every summer in the dream beach house that Susannah owns.

The drive down to Cousin’s Beach is idyllic and beautiful. Every year leads up to the feeling of summer where Belly is able to let go and be herself. This summer feels different, however. Tense feelings replace feelings of excitement and problems arise. Conrad has withdrawn into himself and Belly is having more trouble fitting in as she’s going out more. A love triangle springs up between Conrad, Jeremiah, and Belly.

As summer comes to an end, we watch shocking and deeply saddening events unfold. The Summer I Turned Pretty is an uplifting and heartfelt show that will tug at your heartstrings while drawing you in. It is a must watch as the awaited season two has come out. Both seasons are available on Amazon Prime.

Over the Garden Wall – Cartoon Review

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Asmi A.

Over the Garden Wall is such a special cartoon for me, and it is unlike anything I have ever watched. Every single element of this short series plays a part in conveying a detail important to the story, whether it be the lighting in a given scene, the animation style of a setting, or the tone of the background music. Having only 10 episodes that are each about 10 minutes long, its an extremely concise yet sweet story that for me, personally, evokes a lot of nostalgia.

I would assume this series is set in a small town in the 1970s judging by the overall feel of it, specifically in the fall (which is why I always binge the episodes with my brother on Halloween). Wirt, a self-conscious, anxious high schooler and his little brother Greg, a hyper ball of energy, find themselves lost in a part of the woods called ‘The Unknown’. In an attempt to try to get back home, they embark on a journey with the help of a pure-hearted yet deceiving bluebird named Beatrice. They meet many people with diverse origins and mindsets along the way, but trust becomes a dangerous game as the band struggles to avoid an evil spirit known as ‘The Beast’.

This cartoon grapples with topics such as moving on, feeling like you don’t fit in, self acceptance and feeling confident/comfortable about who you are, etc. It indirectly gave me a lot of insight on the existence of different personalities in the real world, and how you should be selective of the people you choose to surround yourself with and avoid. I was also reminded that just because individuals may find it hard to open up or express their feelings, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have good intentions; they’ll always support you. The story makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have true friends and family who love me, and reassures me that I’m not alone in trying to figure out exactly who I am.

Despite all of these heavy topics that can be interpreted from this series, it is a roller coaster of emotions suitable for all ages that never ceases to pull on my heartstrings and sense of attachment.

So, given that the plot is so amazingly thought out and the animation as a whole is absolutely beautiful, I would never not recommend this journey of a cartoon to anyone.

Over the Garden Wall available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Movie Review: Creed III (2023)

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Lawrence B.

As this movie came out in March, I became interested in the movie after an amazing trailer and rewatches of the previous two movies of the Creed series. I watched the movie twice — once with my family the week after it released, and another with my friend — and I was not disappointed with the film. Despite the unfortunate and controversial absence of Rocky (Sylvester Stallone), the film really did well as it cemented the legacy of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and gave Jordan a great showing in his directorial debut.

In the movie, Adonis Creed lived a great life, as he became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and retired happily after a significant win in a rematch with his opponent in the first film, Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew). Creed lived happily with his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and his daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). He ran a gym alongside his trainer Little Duke (Wood Harris) as they trained various boxers, in particular the new heavyweight champion after Creed’s retirement, Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez Jr). However, Creed’s world turns upside down after his former friend Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) showed up out of the blue after Creed negotiated a fight that pitted Chavez against his former rival, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu).

The past between Creed and Anderson came out to be tragic. The two were friends as kids, however they faced abuse at the hands of their adoptive father, Leon. As they grew older, Anderson actually came out as a boxer focused on going professional, while Adonis was the ring assistant to Anderson. After a Golden Gloves championship win by Anderson, the two encounter Leon, which eventually led to a physical altercation that led to Anderson getting arrested after pulling out a gun and Adonis escaping after he abandoned the scene.

After Anderson came back, he focused on revenge and restoration of his path towards professional boxing. He manipulated Creed’s guilt and help as he hatched a plan that consisted of injuring Drago’s hand and taking his spot against Chavez, where he fought in a dirty fashion and won the heavyweight championship from Chavez. After he won, he publicly insulted Creed, his family, and his legacy, claiming that Creed only got his status due to the fact that Anderson was left in prison, which led to Creed coming out of retirement and challenging Anderson.

As Creed got ready for his fight, he realized that he had to let go of the past and focus on his situation. Despite him feeling guilty and shutting himself out from Bianca and his loved ones, he corrected his mistake and opened up to Bianca as she and Amara supported him. He became forced to dig deep and became ready for the fight — physically and mentally — thanks to Little Duke and an unexpected ally in Viktor Drago, who returned to help Creed train with his hand recovered.

In the fight between Anderson and Creed, the two face off in a cinematic masterpiece that left me in awe in the theater. The personal battle that these two fought became apparent in various ways as they left it all out in the ring in a grueling yet captivating war. After a brutal fight that consisted of 12 rounds, Creed defeated Anderson to reclaim the title. However, the two truly put their differences behind them and restored their friendship as Creed apologized to Anderson and Anderson accepted while also showing respect to Creed and his abilities. Creed then went on to share a heartwarming moment with his family to end the movie.

Overall, this movie proved to be an amazing movie from start to finish. However, what really connected with me and stood out to me was the lesson of being there for the loved ones in your life. In particular, Adonis showed it in his character arc as he realized his mistake of leaving Anderson without any form of contact for years, as well as pushing away Bianca when she tried to know what was going on between the two. However, he learned from his mistakes as he opened up to Bianca and finally apologized to Damian as they moved forward and put their past to rest. I would heavily recommend seeing this movie, as it competes highly with its predecessors for the best movie of the current Creed trilogy.

Creed III is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Movie Review: Missing (2023)

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Madison C.

*this review will contain spoilers***

I was on Netflix and saw this new movie and felt the need to watch it and let me say, best decision I could of made. I feel really enticed my projects that feature like a “crime/mystery”, it makes everything more exhilarating for the audience.

The movie is essentially a teenager, June who is home alone due to her mom and mother’s boyfriend leaving to go on vacation. When June goes to pick them up at the airport, there is no one there for her to pick-up and this is when she gets suspicious of things and starts investigating where her mom could be.

What made this movie so incredible is the organizational aspect and format it was presented in. The audience is taking this all from June’s perspective, more specifically, her MacBook. The movie is essentially a “screen recording” of what June is doing on her computer whether it be facetiming, texting, researching, etc. There isn’t anyone actually filming the actors but rather just the use of cameras from technological devices in how this movie is compiled.

I think what made this movie interesting for me is that there were plot twists every step of the way. I kept getting shocked from the amount of layers this movie had. I would recommend this movie to anyone but if you get scared of these “mystery” genre movies, I would stray away from watching.

-Madison C.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Nicole R.

I just saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and wow. This one was a ride, but so is every Marvel movie. You would think I would be immune to this feeling by now, but I guess not. So let me give you a quick rundown on the story.

We start off with some already dark undertones; everyone is kind of struggling and the song Creep is playing in the background. As if they weren’t already having a rough time, the Guardians and the planet of Knowhere are attacked, leaving Rocket standing at death’s door. Now the Guardian’s have to find a way to save him before it is too late, uncovering secrets of one’s past and overcoming the hurt and trauma along with it.

This movie is dark. First it was Spider-Man, then Doctor Strange, then Wakanda, and then this. At first I was honestly a little bored. The humor they were trying was just not getting to me and it felt out of place. But then I realized maybe it was supposed to feel awkward. The entire tone of the movie was anything but comical. It was serious, dark; it even felt like a horror movie at some points. Of course there were happy moments and a couple of good one liners, but the movie made me feel very bittersweet. The movie was packed with action, amazingly directed scenes (that really helped set the tone of the movie), great song choices, and fantastic character development.

I realized some major themes/thematic topics in the movie. Friendship, family, letting go and overcoming the past were huge aspects. Throughout the movie, you find the Guardians mention how friends are there for each other, that they care about each other because they are a family, and how they have to let go of the past. The main focus is on three groups: Rocket and his past, Gamora and Quill, and then Nebula with Drax and Mantis. These three groups go through each of these themes, in their own ways. It was fantastic to see each character grow by the end and it was even better to see how they got there. We learn about Rocket and what he went through in his past, we see how different things are now with Gamora and Quill, and we see Nebula learn more about her teammates and friends, Drax and Mantis. And of course, there is Groot, who doesn’t have too much drama, but is instead just there for his friends.

This movie was a fun one. Each scene was intense, bringing out different emotions each second. At times it would have me dancing in my seat as the characters fought, and other times it had me sitting as still as a rock as I watched traumatic events. This was an amazing movie that had me clapping at the end. I would definitely recommend watching it at some time. It was definitely worth it to see how characters grew and what they ended up doing in the end. If you’re looking for a good movie to watch, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is definitely one to take a look at.