Watched in 2023 #7: Barbie, Your Name, Paprika, King the Land and more

Today, I’m excited to share my thoughts on some of the things I have watched recentish, especially since I enjoyed most of them.

Barbie (4 stars): This is an entertaining movie, with great performances, humor that mostly lands, and a great soundtrack, that delivers some important messages even if they are a bit basic. What I appreciated the most about this movie is seeing so many women who look so different from each other being the focus of the movie, and the fact that it resonated with so many women, took some important messages to wider audiences and it started so many interesting conversations.

Dream (4.5 stars): This is a sweet, entertaining Korean movie with a lot of heart. It’s the perfect feel-good sports movie. While the tone is playful and quirky, it deals with serious issues like homelessness. The performances are good and the characters despite not being super likable are easy to root for. The final game made me suffer and had me at the edge of my seat as if it were a real game.

The Invisible Guardian (2.5 stars): This Spanish film has good performances, an effective rural, isolated, dark, and cloudy atmosphere is created, which is perfect for a crime movie, and it’s visually well done. But there are three distinct parts of the narrative that don’t feel well integrated at all: the traumatic past and complicated family dynamic of the main character, the crime aspect, and the fantastical elements. These disjointed narratives make the way the culprit of the crime is found feel way too convenient, and forced, like they took a shortcut.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (4 stars): This movie has a beautiful and unique animation style that conveys so much emotion. It has complex characters and a story based on Japanese folklore, which is very compelling. It did a great job of capturing the mundane, the day-to-day, and making it captivating. This was a powerful movie about regret — at least, that’s how it felt to me — and it was the reason it resonated so much with me. I guess I saw it at just the perfect time. My only issue with this was the pacing during the first half of the movie; it was so slow.

Your Name (5 stars): The animation style is utterly beautiful, it has endearing characters, there’s a sweet romance, the story is emotionally engaging and the sci-fi plot is complex and a bit confusing at points, but incredibly captivating. I saw the twist coming but still, I enjoyed where the story went and I suffered with the characters and rooted for them until the end.

Paprika (4 stars): I have seen this described as a mind trip and it’s exactly that. A very weird, difficult-to-follow and understand, but captivating story. It’s visually impressive, and the imaginative but chaotic plot is perfectly captured in the animation style. Moreover, the way it’s animated brings to life the ever-shifting and arbitrary world this takes place in.

Sweet Magnolias Season 3 (3.5 stars): I don’t know if this season the writing was worse or if I was paying more attention, but it was painfully bad. Also, the acting of the guy playing Cal was as bad as it has been in every season. Nonetheless, I’m really invested in Annie and Tyler, and I can’t wait to see how their relationship evolves. I love the friendship between the three main characters, and the way the conflict between them was explored this season was very well done. Overall, I love the “small town where everyone knows each other” vibe, all the little dramas and the angst, and the fact that I know everything is going to turn out okay while I’m watching. So, definitely not a good show but good enough.

King the Land (4 stars): This was a funny, cute, lighthearted show. I loved the main romance, they were so adorable together and it was refreshing seeing them communicate and trust each other no matter what. The romance between the secondary characters was also really sweet and the only thing I didn’t appreciate was the fact that one of the main character’s friends stayed with her husband who is the worst and kept being the worst until the end. There wasn’t much plot and the little mystery that revolved around the main character’s mother got solved relatively easily. The complicated family dynamics and even the “evil” sister plot ended up having an interesting resolution. Overall, it was a fun show to watch.

See You in My 19th Life (4 stars): The performances are really good, the characters are endearing and the two romances are angsty but sweet. While the first few episodes are entertaining due to the interesting premise of the show, the truth is not a lot happens plot-wise, which causes some pacing issues because the “true” plot starts way too late, so the resolution felt rushed. Beyond that, there are some side plots throughout the show that are resolved way too easily and that lack impact. Overall, the show is more focused on the romances and the cool premise that revolves around remembering past lives, which makes it a fun and captivating show, but the plot is given less importance and the show suffers a bit for it.

Revenant (4 stars): This was creepy and atmospheric and I loved the way mythology was integrated into this horror show. Kim Tae-ri did a fantastic job playing her character as well as the evil spirit that possessed her, watching her switch between both characters was impressive. Overall, all the performances were really good. Visually the show was dark but vibrant and that fit the story really well.

What movies or tv shows have you loved lately? Have you watched any movie or tv show that really disappointed you in 2023?

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