Writing a full review of something takes a fair amount of time and a huge amount of work, but not everything needs such a review. My thoughts on a lot of things can be easily summed up in a paragraph or two. Therefore I decided to start writing these “mini-reviews,” which I have divided into “reviews” and “rants.” This page contains the former: anything that is not an outright negative review. I have divided this list into various forms of storytelling. The list is also in alphabetical order so that reviews may be found without difficulty.
Books
“Guardians of Ga’Hoole” series by Kathryn Lasky
Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’Hoole series is set in a world where humans have become extinct and owls have developed civilizations of their own. Thus unfolds a dark, violent mix of World War II and the Arthurian legends that’s perfect for fans of Redwall.
“Harry Potter” series by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter is overall a bit mediocre, having a good deal of filler in many of the later books. Despite a few memorable characters, the protagonist is undeniably bland. Rowling’s supposedly wondrous Wizarding World, once you really look at it, turns out to be a rather unappealing place. Thus the stakes are lowered by the author’s attempts to play mass slavery for laughs.
“The Hobbit or There and Back Again” by J. R. R. Tolkien
Along with its sequel The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is the pinnacle of English literature. This is the book that redefined what it means to be a hero through a tragic tale of greed.
“The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien
Along with its prequel, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien is the pinnacle of literature in the English language, although I can’t speak for other languages as I’ve not read enough of theirs. Everything from the plot to the world to the characters is in a class of its own.
“Redwall” by Brian Jacques
The story of personified woodland animals under siege by an evil warlord, Redwall brings to life a captivating Medieval world. Although Matthias’s quest to find the sword of Martin the Warrior is enthralling, the best part has got to be the book’s villain Cluny the Scourge, whose growing madness is fascinating.
Graphic Novels/Manga
“Death Note” by Ōba Tsugumi
Light Yagami makes for a riveting villain protagonist, contrasted by the equally interesting L, a detective devoted to hunting down the serial killer. We see what made Light into the narcissist he is, and then we’re thrust into a gripping battle of wits with surprises at every turn.
“Fullmetal Alchemist” by Arakawa Hiromu
The story of the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric and his quest to restore his brother’s body is a masterpiece with fantastic characters, beautiful illustrations, and an unforgettable story. Neither anime adaptation can compare with the original manga.
Movies
Beauty and the Beast (2015 remake)
The remake of Disney’s animated classic was never going to be as good. Every aspect of this remake pales in comparison to the cartoon. Despite being made in the 2010s, the remake retains everything wrong with the original, from the portrayal of imprisonment as the basis for romance to the romance itself, which develops over the space of a week.
Black Panther (2018)
After the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced shallow superhero action film after shallow superhero action film, Black Panther appeared out of the mediocrity as Marvel’s last bastion of substance. Instead of focusing on flat heroes and villains punching each other, Black Panther offers a welcome change by emphasizing interesting characters, a captivating plot, and the bitingly relevant themes of inequality and responsibility.
Although the action scenes are well-done, you will likely forget them entirely in favour of Black Panther’s enthralling story and world. I daresay there’s not been a superhero film this good since Toby Maguire portrayed Peter Parker in Spider-Man. Not even the earlier Marvel Cinematic Universe films had such memorable motivations or poignant messages. Black Panther is, without a doubt, the crowning achievement of the superhero genre in recent memory.
Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
The 2000 fantasy film Dungeons & Dragons is a campy fantasy comedy unfairly maligned as an incompetent drama. The film is packed with surprisingly funny movie references, comedically over-the-top versions of genre archetypes, and overacting that could put any so-bad-it’s-good film to shame. The highlights are always the scenes with Jeremy Irons, whose performance is the funniest I’ve seen in some time. I know people like to dump on this one, but I have to recommend it. Once you realize you’re not meant to take it seriously, you’ll have a blast.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a mostly average Disney film, though this is by no means a bad thing. Indeed, it’s a very good film despite its flaws. The film’s best song is Hellfire, sung by Frollo, and it’s a fantastic villain song. The background characters are awful, whether they’re inconsistent like the puppeteer or annoying like the gargoyles. The three main protagonists are all fine. But if you take away anything it’ll almost certainly be Frollo. Claude Frollo is an amazing villain, and every scene that involves him is outstanding.
Inside Out (2016)
When I first heard Pixar was making a film about the inner workings of a person’s mind with personified emotions, I wasn’t entirely convinced of the idea’s worth. And although I was a few years late in seeing Pixar’s execution of this idea, I must now commend their success.
Inside Out focuses on a few traumatic days in an eleven-year-old’s life and how her emotions struggle to restore balance. From the first few viewings, at least, I have been unable to find a single thing wrong with this movie. I’ll grant it feels a bit short at only around an hour-and-a-half, but that’s likely just the length it needed to be.
Every aspect of this film is executed with great skill, from the animation to the feat of telling an emotional story about walking, talking emotions. The emotions aren’t one-dimensional like I thought they’d be. They’re more abstract concepts than literal people, yes, but somehow they feel fleshed out.
The Little Mermaid
This isn’t my favourite Disney film, but as an adaptation it’s a major improvement over a book that ends with the Little Mermaid committing suicide so Hans Christian Andersen can guilt-trip children into behaving and thus shortening her time in purgatory. A happy ending is far preferable to Andersen’s. Otherwise, everything wrong with this film is carried over from the book.
My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
My Little Pony: The Movie feels like a Disney movie, only with more complex, rounded characters and a dark story that puts The Hunchback of Notre Dame to shame. The characters act in believable and often flawed ways, and the villain Tempest Shadow is superb. The songs are fun and memorable, with the best of them being Open Up Your Eyes. As long as you’ve seen the first four or five seasons of My Little Pony, you don’t want to miss this one.
Yesterday (2019)
Yesterday explores many of he implications of a world where arguably the greatest band in the history of popular music simply vanished from memory. Himesh Patel, whose name I assume must sound not unlike mine with the vowels switched around, portrays a deeply flawed man who (imperfectly) remembers The Beatles’ songs and claims them as his own.
With there being so many movies about characters who make it big and then discover that stardom’s not so great, Yesterday proves that talented people can still produce something fresh in the genre. The actors do a great job (my personal favourite being Robert Carlyle). Protagonists are flawed and develop throughout the story, and the villain is suitably despicable. The film has many fun and comedic moments that mesh seamlessly with the more serious scenes.
Television
Avatar: The Last Airbender
My favourite television show of all time, Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in an utterly unique world with some of the most memorable characters ever. Avatar’s action, drama, and comedy are all top-notch. There honestly isn’t anything negative I can think to say about this anime. You owe it to yourself to watch it.
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
The premise of legendary heroes brought back to fight over the Holy Grail makes for a fun action show with an interesting twist near the end. Better yet, the characters are interesting enough to hold my attention.
Fate/Zero
I liked Unlimited Blade Works, but Fate/Zero is—with the exception of a few stand-out moments—a little bit boring. The characters aren’t as interesting and I really wasn’t invested in most of them. Worse, it just feels like backstory for Fate/Stay Night, lacking much of a story of its own.
BBC’s “Merlin”
Merlin is beautifully acted by a cast full of great British actors, and it’s an inspired retelling of the Arthurian legends. Although it has its share of problems, including the fact the villains may actually be right if you think about it, I found it very enjoyable.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
The best show of the decade, with complex characters, great writing, expressive animation, and a well-developed fantasy world. Each episode has a moral, and they tend to be great. Usually the episodes are light-hearted, but this show can and does tackle some mature themes—usually very well. Despite a number of bad episodes, when My Little Pony gets it right, it really gets it right.
Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time takes numerous fairy tales that Disney has adapted, weaves them together, and crafts a dark and engrossing story from them. Although most of the characters are interesting, by far the best is Robert Carlyle’s portrayal of Rumpelstiltskin. It is very difficult to think of a better portal fantasy story than this.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
A commendable attempt at a dark deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre is marred by underdeveloped characters and an slightly pretentious ending. And when I say “underdeveloped,” I mean that the writers cared so little about the characters that they didn’t even bother to name them till they’d finished the script. Puella Magi Madoka Magica, despite its high hopes, was to me nothing more than another Harry Potter.