Annie Hall Review

Posted on May 31, 2026 by dreager1

Woody Allen films are consistently about a whole lot of rambling and characters talking in a way that just doesn’t make sense. They fill the air but none of the lines have any real substance behind them. They’re just creating more and more problems where no character ends up being likable by the end. There’s not a whole lot of plot going on here either so the story is forced to throw in a bunch of flashbacks and third wall breaks. You’re definitely in for an adventure of some kind here.

The movie starts with Alvy reflecting on when he used to have a strong relationship with Annie before things fell apart. He has already been married twice but in both of these relationships things did not go well. Annie was someone who actually understood him and they had some fun but it seemed to be very surface level. After some time had passed, they would grow further and further apart. Wait…so we already know the ending? Yes, this is one of those films that spoils the ending immediately so the movie is about the events that take you there. I never liked that cinematic plot device but what are you going to do right?

From the start you can see why it would be hard to stay with Alvy though. He is constantly depressed and complains about everything. He tends to be a complete doomer and you can barely even tell when he is having fun because he is still finding time to complain. That’s not the kind of attitude that is really going to get him far. Alvy’s a comedian but one who lacks in confidence so he gets stage fright and panics about every little thing.

For some movies there may be a bit of a mystery on why the big romance falls apart but it’s obvious from the start here. They are just way too different. Annie is more sociable and wants to hang out while Alvy’s idea of a good time is staying cooped up indoors. While some modern couples think it makes their relationship stronger to be able to still flirt around with other people to make the partner jealous, it’s just a terrible strategy in reality. They were both friends with people who were definitely the type to mess around and that increases the chances of it happening to them as well. You become the kinds of people that you hang around after all.

Towards the end they can’t even be intimate without Annie having to get high the whole time. They just have to casually use drugs and there doesn’t seem to be anything romantic about the relationship. They satisfy their physical desires and that’s it. You’re never going to have a meaningful relationship that way. None of the side romances are any better in this film.

As for Annie, well I can’t really give her any props either. The way she and Woody meet just makes her look a bit desperate. She clearly has ambition and drive in her life so staying with someone like Woody who has already given up on his future is not a smart play. Annie also tends to be a little too scattered like how she starts seeing a psychiatrist because Woody recommended one and then takes all of the advice in without thinking about it. She starts attending school classes because Woody suggested them and that leads to meeting with the teacher and starting more drama. She kept on starting new tasks because Woody would recommend them without really thinking about it.

Needless to say, it’s hard to picture either character being a reliable friend here. They would both just be annoying you to bits the whole time. You could also rest assured that they would be talking about you behind your back right away. That’s just how they operate and again that’s not the healthiest kind of personality to be associated with. I’m sure there are people like this but these are the kinds of social circles that you want to avoid. Everyone is two faced and fake with no real sincerity anywhere.

Now that isn’t to say that the film is devoid of humor. I actually think that Woody’s fast way of talking has some appeal to it. It certainly tends to miss a lot more than it hits but there will be some fun moments in the dialogue. A few jokes that will hit or a wisecrack that feels good. I tend to like fast, snappy kind of dialogue for humor and that is what this film is going for. With a stronger writer then this could have been a good recipe for success. To be really funny you should be hitting on around half of your jokes though, not 10%.

Also the film really needed more of a plot. To me this feels like an Abbott and Costello setup. Woody Allen films I mean. They all have him being really nervous and panicking the whole time but so far without much of a plot to back it up. Abbot and Costello would be about two guys joking around with some light plot in the background but it works because they are really funny. Additionally they would also tie the plot into something throughout the movie even if it was slight. I’ve got a mystery review coming up which addresses this to an extent at least.

So if you had some cool hook like the main two were stuck on a boat or travelling to space then you would have something there. You could keep the same tone but at least there is a real story to sink your teeth into. It’s not like this would have totally saved the film or anything like that but it would absolutely be a whole lot more watchable. As it stands, the film just doesn’t have any reason to make you watch it and you are desperately waiting for the characters to get more likable but it never happens.

Overall, Annie Hall is not a film that I would recommend. It’s a bit of a dreary watch with no real end point in mind. There can be a kind of humor in the way the dialogue goes but for every laugh you will have a number of groan worthy moments. This kind of film desperately needs direction and an end point. Without that or a good romance, there is no reason to get really invested in the film. I would definitely advise staying away from this one, it’s just too mindless the whole time with a lot writing standard. I’m still waiting for Woody to deliver on making a really good film.

Overall 2/10

Love Through a Prism Review

Posted on May 24, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for a classic Netflix romance anime. Romance is one of those genres that is incredibly difficult to master because there are so many ways it can go wrong. Did you make sure there were no rebounds? Did the characters get a lot of time to develop the relationship or did it rush straight to the end point? There are a lot of things to consider and ultimately this one wasn’t quite up to the job. The slice of life parts are entertaining enough so I can say this is a good show but the romances are all rather poor.

The show follows a girl named Lili who has always really loved painting. Her parents run a kimono shop though and she is expected to inherit this in due time. It’s not her passion though and so Lili gets her parents to allow her to travel to an art school in London. There is a catch though, Lili must become the number 1 painter within 6 months or she must return and take up the family business. Lili is rather talented so this usually shouldn’t be a problem, except she must surpass Kit who just so happens to be the greatest painter in the world. Why must this happen to her???

Poor Lili definitely had some real bad luck here. I do think that her parents were a bit harsh though. Specifically her mother since she is the one who is really calling all of the shots here though. I get that painting can often be a dead end career so you don’t want to see anyone get stuck there but at the same time 6 months is way too tight. Maybe they were thinking that she would totally bomb out and lose interest in this hobby.

Lili tries to keep an upbeat attitude at all times and is a fun main character. She also likes to talk about how athletic she is but unfortunately tends to crash at all physical activities. I couldn’t figure out if the show was having some fun with this by showing that she wasn’t as athletic as she thought or maybe riding a bike and climbing a castle are just too difficult for anyone. Lili’s biggest weakness though is in how much importance she puts in social obligations.

This gets to become a problem with the romance as the show goes on. It becomes clear that Lili is not going to be the one to make the decisive move and keeps on waiting for Kit to do something. Then later on she moves to the 2nd choice in Shin and is basically allowing herself to be pulled along into a situation that doesn’t excite her. Romance is not an area where you should ever be settling and yet it feels like that is what Lili does here. She’s not the only character to do this either and it tends to especially be an issue in titles that take place in the past like this one. You have to follow your heart, not some unwritten rules.

As for the painting, at least Lili is consistently able to perform near the top of her class there. It would be nice if she could stand up to the bullies more though. Naturally this wouldn’t be a school based show without a few of those and they do a number on Lili. She does not seem to really have a way to stop them and has to get saved each time. Lili had a hard time standing up for herself throughout the show and unfortunately never really grew out of that. She put up with way too much and that kept her from being a better character than what she was.

One of these bullies is a lady named Catherine who ironically became the better character. Catherine was Kit’s fiancé and so she was quite upset when he started taking a fancy to Lili. Catherine figured she could scare the lead off by being as mean as possible and in a way she was succeeding but only in half the battle. Kit didn’t actually like her and there was no real way to fix that. Over time Catherine stopped her petty attacks on Lili and they actually became friends. By the end Catherine was a fun character to have around and part of the reason for that is because she did have a backbone. She wasn’t the type to get bullied or anything like that.

It’s also tough to be in an arranged marriage where the partner wants nothing to do with you romantically. So Catherine was able to get out of that situation even though the social impact was fairly big. It’s what helps keep her as a really solid character. Lili could have definitely learned a few things from her in that area.

Lili’s other friend Dorothy is also more of the strong-willed kind of character. She is more willing to confront the bullies straight up and is always looking out for Lili. Dorothy does tend to falter in matters of the heart though like when she decides not to go after Joffrey because she feels like their social classes are too different. That’s not a very brave approach to have and settling for another guy is never the answer. By all accounts she still had a happy life and family but I can’t abide by the decision to go with a rebound. That’s never a good idea.

Then we have Peter who is probably the pettiest member of the main cast. He wants to be the best but doesn’t have the natural talent that Kit possesses. This causes him to have a whole episode where he blows up at the cast and blames them for everything instead of taking any accountability. That is definitely not the way to go. He does apologize by the end but never quite goes back to the level where he was at before. In the end not just anyone can handle the stress of fighting for the top spot in a competitive art school all the time. Peter was just another casualty there.

Joffrey tends to try and cut the tension by goofing off the whole time. He’s pretty talented but never tends to sniff the top spot either. He handles this in a healthy way though. Joffrey still studies hard and keeps on practicing but knows that it’s not the end of the world if he loses. He will just enjoy the adventures as they come and was one of the most well rounded characters in the series. He was always a lot of fun to watch even if he may have had a bit of a sadder ending than the other characters.

Then we have Shin who seemed to like Lili early on but seemed to realize that he had no chance as long as Kit was around. So Shin played the role of the good friend for a while until he saw an opening to get married. Unfortunately that is what hurts the character in my eyes. I never liked that kind of character. To me it makes the friendship feel fake because one party is taking advantage of the other. Lili enjoys hanging out with Shin and they have common roots over in Japan but she doesn’t realize that he is in love with her the whole time.

Shin is a nice character by all accounts so it’s not like he’s secretly a creep or a jerk though. He plans to be a great husband and also looks after his younger sister who lost the ability to speak for a while. He does all the right things but shouldn’t be satisfied as the #2 option. He should have been able to move on and then been content as her best friend. That would have been a considerably more satisfying climax to his character arc. Instead I’d argue that the whole climax just forces him to have to run around in a circle and fall back to 2nd once again.

Kit is the main guy of the show and so a big part of the adventure really rides on this guy. Romance aside, I’d say he is a decent character. That said, the romance scenes do hurt him a bit because the guy comes off as being incredibly selfish. He dashes off on his own more than once and almost never gives the characters a heads up. It feels like he only thinks of himself during a lot of these big moments. He may be the best artist out there but that hasn’t really helped his people skills.

He’s never really portrayed as being antagonistic but other people just don’t show up in his thinking process. He is concerned with being the best artist and that’s it. At least until he starts to get close with Lili but even then he tends to ditch her with no warning. It’s another reason why I couldn’t root for the romance. He does his best to watch her back but that’s not quite good enough to redeem him. I liked Kit better than Peter but he’s not one of my favorite characters in the show.

There were also a few side characters who were always around for a good scene or two. I liked the principal of the school, he did a good job of appraising all of the artwork. Art is certainly not my subject so I wouldn’t really be able to do that. After a while it all looks the same to me. He also runs a tight ship and it takes a whole lot to convince him to change his views on something once he has made a decision. Then we have Kit’s older brother Richard. Richard takes life very seriously and does his best to run the company after his father no longer can.

This leads to a lot of conflict with Kit who tends to be more absent minded and doesn’t like responsibility all that much. I was on Richard’s side for some things. He was obviously wrong about the arranged marriage part though. It was good that Catherine stood up to him on that one. Once Kit was ready to start taking the business seriously, then Richard did let up quite a lot. He just wanted to make sure that the company was in a good place which makes sense.

The soundtrack for the show is fairly light to keep in with the show’s tone. None of the themes are going to be all that memorable for you. Meanwhile the animation is decent but nothing special. I would say that the technical elements in general are passable but none of them are going to go down as strengths. The opening song is also okay but also not anything that is particularly strong.

The writing is stronger though since it is trying to mimic the old days with everyone talking very politely. I’m always a real sucker for that kind of thing. It holds up really well and is stuffy in the right ways without being annoying like Shakespeare. The show is also more of a drama than a comedy I’d say. It’s not a particularly funny show even though it does try to throw in some jokes and facial expressions every now and then. You’re not going to be laughing out loud or anything like that. The slice of life stuff and painting scenes are definitely stronger.

Although it does feel like the painting becomes less and less important as the show goes on. Later on in the show we find out about a big war that is about to happen which is part of what causes a lot of trouble for Kit and his family. It just feels so sudden that you feel like the show wasn’t really prepared for this. It was a good way to add more drama but I’d have preferred to end the story with a painting tournament or something. The way the painting plot ends just feels very abrupt. This is probably by design because nobody chooses when a war will take place but it felt like there was a lot of meat left on the bone there. The final episodes have multiple time skips as it is so things were really moving at a breakneck pace.

Ignoring those last episodes though, this one is really what you’d call a calming show. While there are bullies and such, there are no truly evil characters here. Nobody is getting seriously sick or injured either so the show is more about following Lili’s adventures and having fun along the way. You get to imagine what it would be like to live in London as you paint all of the fun sceneries. The show may not be a home run hit but it’s also why this title was never going to be downright bad. It’s a safe title that you could watch at any time and is just short enough at 20 episodes where it isn’t a big investment to watch it all.

Overall, Love Through a Prism is a good show. It’s definitely one of those very quiet ones though. Unless you are really interested in the characters it will run the risk of being a tad bit boring. So that’s one thing to keep in mind here but on the whole it avoids that. The characters are fun and while the romance doesn’t really land, the slice of life parts are good enough. There isn’t a ton of replay value here but the show delivers on what you are expecting in this adventure.

Overall 6/10

Queen’s Quality Review

Posted on May 10, 2026 by dreager1

It’s always pretty cool to see a manga get a big sequel like this one. QQ Sweeper was a relatively unknown series that didn’t last all that long. Then you have this title show up with over 20 volumes to its name! So that was a really big switch and this one becomes a really serious drama manga with a ton of fight scenes. While you can quickly catch up on what is happening if you start here, I like that this sequel throws you right into the action without stopping to have some kind of super large flashback recap.

The series revolves around Fumi, who is one of the sweepers. Sweepers are those who destroy the dust and bugs that bring nothing but darkness and destruction with them. This is done in a very literal way by cleaning up the dust from all around but also can be done by entering peoples’ minds and destroying monsters. Fumi has amnesia herself and doesn’t remember much although it turns out that she is a “Queen”. Not a member of royalty though. This is a person who can bend anyone’s mind and force them to do whatever she wants to do. This isn’t an ability that she asked for but there’s no way to get rid of it. Several organizations are after her now. Additionally, Fumi has different queen personas within her heart and any of them can take over if she lowers her guard. For now she has this under control and Fumi works with Kyutaro and the other sweepers to keep it this way. As her feelings for Kyutaro get stronger, this balance may be undone.

This is one of those series where you will get annoyed at how passive the main characters can be though. Everyone is always trying to test Fumi by putting her in dangerous situations to see if either of the queens inside of her will awaken. One of them ties her up and threatens to burn a lawn and another one throws her in a lake to be eaten by monsters. Fumi usually ends up turning into the queen and getting out of the jam but that should be enough for the heroes to take these opponents out. Instead they often let bygones be bygones which is way too much for me. That doesn’t make any sense. The amount of times where Fumi gets hit or slashed by the villains and the heroes say to let it go is absolutely crazy. Usually Fumi agrees but that doesn’t make it any better.

Takaya was the illusionist who played these tricks on Fumi. They basically forgive him immediately an then he is having fun with the rest of the group by the next chapter. While he does end up being one of Fumi and Kyutaro’s biggest supporters, I don’t know how you can get out of that initial appearance. He makes it clear on several occasions that he is about defending the safety of the family over Fumi. While that may make sense, it still isn’t a good look for him. He is a good ally to have but I definitely did not end up liking him as a character.

Kyutaro is a decent lead but I feel like a lot of his problems are self inflicted. For example, he constantly torments himself for not being able to confess his feelings to Fumi. The reason that he doesn’t is because he was told that letting her know about the past could awaken her dark impulses. See, he was in love with her under her former name from before the amnesia so he can’t let her know the context. At the same time, she knows about him being in love with someone by that old name so Fumi does her best to keep her distance.

It’s definitely for the best that Fumi was the same person so we avoided the rebound though. Otherwise while they did try to restrain themselves, I dare say that it didn’t last for very long. Before you know it they were messing with each other quite a lot. They were simply too close and so it becomes one of those things were the title could not buy into such a close friendship. I feel like this could have worked but the series is emotionally like that of a Shojo title.

Kyutaro does come a long way as the series goes on. At first he could be threatened by the likes of Ataru as that guy would absolutely bully him in a fight. Before you know it, Kyutaro is one of the strongest fighters in the series and has the offensive advantage. He could really only be matched by one of the Queens and generally they will do whatever he says since they are related to Fumi. It was nice to see Kyutaro feeling so confident and taking charge. He was definitely not going to be getting possessed by his snake towards the end of the series.

Then we have Fumi who is a solid heroine. She is quick to step up to evil and that emotional bravado is also part of why the queens are always trying to take over. Fumi takes a while to really gain full control but always had a strong personality from the start. After all she was quick to stand up against a teacher that was bullying her students and also made sure to protect Kyutaro even without any powers. In another world Fumi would have just been a normal kid trying to survive high school. She was really thrust into a crazy world with snakes and powers but managed to get through it without any big issues. She’s a pretty good character and I would put her above many iconic heroines.

She is able to accept her dark side rather quickly and then moves on to control the rest of her personas. While she does allow things with Kyutaro to progress a bit even while thinking he was in love with someone else, at least it is different than if he was engaged or married. Still not a great look of course but I tend to put more of the blame on him for constantly making things as difficult as possible on her. Fumi also deals with a lot of injuries during battle and still stays strong so that also goes a long way to showing just how strong she is.

There are also a bunch of snakes which all grow more important as the series goes on. The main one is inside of Kyu for most of the series and I can’t say that I liked him at all. He makes several passes at Fumi immediately and gets embarrassed in his first fight. There was no real coming back from that. He is a creature that is all about desires and getting stronger by feeding off of them. It’s really not the kind of motivation that will ever make him a really fierce villain to me. So he easily ends up being one of the worst villains in the series as a result. Yes, he gets the sympathetic backstory and all by the end but it was far too late. enemy snake

The first big villain in this series is Ataru and he doesn’t have nearly as much composure. He looks tough in his very first appearance and then it’s all downhill for him from there. He is scared of bugs and gets beaten up by everybody. It’s not like his personality is all that bad. In his first appearance he makes sure the villains don’t go after an innocent girl. He believes in only opposing those who he deems deserve it. So Ataru does have some standards.

He also has a pretty grim backstory about a girl who was bullied relentlessly until she died. It’s pretty easy to see how he would join the villains at that point. The world of Queen’s Quality does seem to have quite a lot of villains everywhere. From abusive teachers to nearly every student being a bully as well, it just feels like the negative emotions running within humans have gone way too far by this point. Even the Sweepers are not really able to keep up.

Then we have the main villain Yanagi. This guy basically wants to spread as many bugs as possible and destroy all the goodness in the world. As an immortal snake he really has a lot of patience to play the long game and has been around for many years. He always has some kind of a plan up his sleeve and can even fight pretty well thanks to his large array of abilities. Being a snake allows him to do just about whatever he wants. You do wonder what his wife Kaede ever saw in the guy. He just seems obviously evil from the start but I guess we can just jot this down to his being a really crafty fellow. Sometimes there just isn’t a way to figure these things out.

He is memorable for being a big villain but I can’t say he was all that interesting. It also felt like he kept running off during the climaxes just to extend things a bit longer. The heroes should have taken him out during the first big fight. Another villain who gets a big role is Tsubasa, although you could argue he gets more screentime as a hero than a villain. He is introduced rather late in the story but ends up having a big role and a whole origin story as well. It’s definitely a tragic one where he was manipulated into making the wrong choices time and time again. That’s really the general vibe for all of the characters in the flashback.

We get to see Fumi’s mother, Kaede as she worked to destroy all of the snakes. Unfortunately she didn’t realize that she married the main villain and was falling right into his traps. She still did a lot of good in the world but ultimately was unable to escape. I do question how she couldn’t have done a little better with how her powers work. A queen can make anyone do her bidding, I feel like she needed to react a bit quicker and force all of the villains into submission. These powers do fluctuate based on emotion which is probably the excuse that the series would use here.

There are quite a few sweepers on the hero side that I haven’t gotten into although most of them don’t have a huge role. We have Kyu’s brother and then his sister in law. The two of them are reasonably tough and do their best to help out but usually do end up being on the back foot here in the bigger fights. Koichi does get a bit of a backstory involving one of the other Sweeper clans though and at least he advocates for destroying invaders more than the others. Still, there isn’t a whole lot that they are able to do against the villains once the snakes all start appearing. While I may not be a big fan of Takaya, at least he can fight a lot. You also have the old lady who watched over the family and has a lot of experience.

Everyone has their role to play but the group really could have used some more fighters. We get a long flashback arc for Kyu’s parents and now they were true fighters. They were taking down snakes left and right back in their prime while still protecting him. Unfortunately things went sideways and so that’s why they aren’t around in the present but they did put up a good fight. They went up against unlimited odds in a battle with an eternally regenerative snake and still didn’t give up a complete loss.

There are also other factions of sweepers but they tend to either be helpless or downright antagonistic. One faction shows up and immediately captures Fumi. They basically try to drown her until the queen awakens. Fumi would have slaughtered them all but Kyu stops her. That happens quite a lot in the early days as Fumi is always ready to murder everyone in her way until Kyu steps in. Honestly sometimes you wish he wouldn’t step in. Obviously Fumi tends to get pretty drastic but she never starts it. These guys were willing to straight up murder her as well so it’s not like they were good people either.

I actually miss the black queen because of that. She is absorbed by Fumi early on as they merge into one personality but she really got things done. It’s always tough when the personalities become sentient like this because then you do end up missing them. Another faction has Sarara as its main figure. She’s not a big offensive fighter but is good at barriers and does show up as an ally the whole time. So that part works out well since the heroes needed some backup. If she could have been a little stronger then that would have been even better but you can’t win them all.

She also just ends up being a very cheerful character which is nice. A lot of the characters here tend to be very emotional and dramatic so sometimes it is nice to have a change of pace there. There are a lot of slice of life moments and downtime for the characters but Sarara mainly keeps her personality at all times. This is one of those series that tends to be at its best when it is in the middle of action scenes though. Maybe it’s just because I tend to hold grudges against these characters so I’m glaring at the people trying to cozy up to Fumi and Kyu when I know they would change sides at the drop of a hat.

Now this is still a romance title first and foremost so how does that part fare? Well, at first it’s a bit rocky because of Kyu’s first love and all. I would have said this was a rebound but fortunately it turned out that he loved Fumi all along so that worked out. They begin dating by the end of volume 9 so they have over 10 volumes of being together. I would say that it is generally a pretty strong romance. I don’t have many real issues there and it did get a lot of build up. I’d be cool with more flirting and less action within the romance personally but it’s not something that I would strike against it.

As for the artwork, it’s generally strong. At times the characters can be drawn a bit too similarly but to an extent you can blame this on the outfits that they all wear. It naturally makes them all blend in together more than they otherwise would have. The action scenes look sharp. They can sometimes get a bit muddied but then he series always ends up delivering on some really intense looking splash pages. It definitely gets a thumbs up from me.

My biggest problem with the series will ultimately be that it doesn’t always do a good job of balancing the tones. One second it is a light hearted school romance with characters falling on each other and getting all shy about it. The next second you are learning about a genocide that happened in the past with people being burned alive and threats of this happening in the future. To an extent the tone change is intentional because in this world negative emotions are what power up the bugs. So the main characters are taught to always be happy no matter what because that is the only way to keep the villains in a weakened state.

A lot of the battles here tend to be in the psychic realm for that reason. The villains try infiltrating the hearts of the heroes in order to break them or lay traps while the heroes try to go into the hearts of the villains to shut them down for good. Usually it’s the former though as the heroes tend to take a more passive approach here. They usually have their hands full as it is while the villains tend to have a lot more free time. I suppose it is always easier for the villains to launch their own attacks at leisure.

The series does start to fall into the vampire stuff during the second half of the series though. There is a lot of blood sucking as that is how you add someone into your staff as a familiar. The characters go around biting everyone later on and while it is for their own protection, it’s definitely always a rough thing to look at. I’m not a fan of vampires in general so seeing any homages like this doesn’t help things. I gotta say it also looks super painful but I can see why you would go through with this in order to stay safe from the enemy snakes. This is how the characters are able to resist hypnosis and other such abilities. You almost feel like the author wanted to make a story about vampires halfway into the adventure with how frequent it started to occur.

Overall, Queen’s Quality will always impress me with how intense and action packed it is. Initially I was expecting this to be more of a sappy romance with a little action here and there. Instead we actually get long fights that can last for a whole chapter and consistently large-scale climaxes. The series can push the envelope a little bit at times with how much the characters go through though. Several of them get tortured and Fumi in particular goes through a lot in her origin story. You’ve also got all the vampire stuff that makes me shake my head. The title definitely has that real gothic feel to it. If you’re up for a really in depth romance that also ends up being an action packed end of the world story then this is the one for you. It’s not the strongest title out there but I’d say it was good overall.

Overall 6/10

Wuthering Heights Review

Posted on April 12, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for a really crazy romance. This is one of those titles that is just so out there that you can scarcely believe it. There aren’t really any characters to root for and so the romance is doomed from the start. A tragic romance is actually something that can work well in theory but this was definitely not the way to go about it. Based on how it all went down, I can’t really say that any of the remakes would sound all that promising either.

The film starts off with a guy getting stranded in a desolate area and so he stops by the nearest castle for shelter. He’s treated terribly by the master of the house, Heathcliff but this guy puts up with it because there is nowhere to go. He hears a girl crying out from beyond the fog which causes Heathcliff to run outside and the maid lets the guy know that it is the ghost of his dead lover. This guy has nothing better to do so it asks to hear the whole story.

The trope of the whole film being a flashback from the present is still a super annoying one imo but that’s how it has to be this time. So in the flashback we see how Heathcliff was adopted by a rich man but he died shortly thereafter and so the son Hindley was super resentful towards Heathcliff. He made Heathcliff essentially a slave of the family and ruled with an iron hand. Heathcliff fell in love with Hindley’s sister Catchy and so they would hang out in secret. Unfortunately this was not enough for Cathy. Cathy wanted to be rich and so she would cheat on Heathcliff with a rich man named Edgar.

She plays around with both of them for a while before finally marrying Edgar. In revenge, Heathcliff decided to get insanely rich and then married Cathy’s sister Isabella. He didn’t love her but sought to use Isabella as a bargaining chip against Cathy. This essentially works as Cathy wants Heathcliff again and this whole romantic rollercoaster goes all around with everyone allowing themselves to be humiliated and degraded in this way. Ultimately after a while we get back to the point in the present which tries its best to have some kind of a happy ending but you’ll just be shaking your head.

Now where to start on this one? The reason the romance doesn’t work of curse is because none of the relationships are actually true. Cathy lives up to her villainous potential for wanting Heathcliff for his body and Edgar for his money. She’s the kind of girl that people warn you about and you assume just doesn’t exist because that’s such an exaggerated person. Unfortunately Cathy never does anything to improve as a person and is content to be cheating even on her death bed. A truly terrible character all the way.

It does take two to tango though and that’s why I can’t let Heathcliff or Edgar off the hook here. Edgar really needed to have some self respect here. Cathy made it clear from the start that she also liked Heathcliff and even though she eventually married Edgar, that’s not a very good way to start off a relationship. Edgar needed to take a hard stance and at least move them away but to me he almost seemed a little intimidated by Heathcliff. This guy just let Heathcliff walk all over him the whole time.

As for Heathcliff, well it’s not like he was a morally upstanding character from the start. He was bullied and abused quite a lot growing up which ultimately led him to want to lash out and take complete revenge. Instead of being the better man he was the kind of guy who would go an eye for an eye. It can sure be tempting to go down that route of course but man did it make him absolutely unlikable. At least if he kept his age to Hindley and Cathy that would be one thing, but he was shown to have no morals when he went for Isabella instead as the ultimate form of revenge.

Yeah there was definitely no saving this guy. The characters sure make it easy though. This is going to sound like victim blaming but hey all these characters are adults and should know better. Hindley allows himself to get addicted to alcohol which makes it really easy for Heathcliff to forever torment the guy. It’s all just so easy when it really shouldn’t be. Hindley was in the power position just a few years back and then after the time skip he was all washed up.

Meanwhile Isabella knew that she was the runner up prize and still went with Heathcliff. He barely even pretended to love her. It was the most half hearted performance he could have given and yet she still went with him. Cmon now that’s just crazy. From there it only gets worse for Isabella but this was not a surprise attack by any means. It was all plain as day and she just allowed herself to be used, perhaps as a way to try and one up Cathy but it didn’t work.

The cast of characters isn’t even that large but it feels really expanded because of how long each character is on screen. They just drag out each of the minutes over and over as you can’t help but shake your head. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about the writing and the pacing is only okay. The issues really begin to snowball into each other after a while because as a romance film the characters are one of the most important parts. When you don’t have any likable characters, ultimately that means you have virtually nothing to work with here. Certainly not a big soundtrack or exciting action scenes to take the pressure off.

Overall, I would definitely say to give this film a skip. I dare say that Twilight makes for a more believable romance and that is not going to crack anyone’s top 10 romances. The only consolation I can give this film is that the title’s a little funny. The spelling just makes me think of someone saying “Wut?” even though that’s not the intent. I just don’t see how anyone would really find this to be romantic. Obviously a taboo romance like Romeo and Juliet has its share of appeal but at least they really loved each other with no caveats. In this film it feels like everything has an asterisk. Does Heathcliff really love the heroine or does he just want to essentially own her and claim his revenge? Does Cathy love him truly or is she just punishing herself by getting a guy that she feels she deserves? It’s all twisted and certainly not in an entertaining way.

Overall 2/10

My Man Godfrey Review

Posted on April 11, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for another fun movie. This one definitely goes all out with the comedy and introduces a ton of crazy characters. It ends up being a really fun adventure and doesn’t overstay its welcome. That is usually the most dangerous pitfall for any comedy film but this one sidestepped it like a champ.

The movie starts with a bunch of rich folks doing a scavenger hunt. One of the items is to find a homeless person so Cornelia goes to a dump and finds one. She offers him $5 but he doesn’t like her approach and says no. Cornelia’s little sister Irene is really impressed and the homeless man, Godfrey decides to help her win. After winning the competition, Irene hires Godfrey as her family’s butler. Unfortunately her whole family is quite eccentric to say the least and so he is going to be in for a really difficult time. In particular, Cornelia wants revenge on Godfrey for causing her to lose the competition and to fall in the dirt. He will have to watch his back.

It’s already difficult enough to get a new job as well as to be working or a rich family, but one where a certain member wants to see you fired immediately? Yeah that’s going to be an incredibly difficult task. Fortunately Godfrey is very quick witted and right from the start he is able to hold his own in terms of banter. He also doesn’t let the other characters walk all over him.

Godfrey also takes a lot of pride in being a good butler and so he doesn’t allow Cornelia’s digs to get to him. I would say that a large part of what makes the film enjoyable is what a good main character Godfrey is. The whole thing would definitely not work without him, it just would not be the same. He gets to take on all of the characters and usually comes out on top. He manages to resist all of Irene’s advances which is good because a butler shouldn’t be mixing business and pleasure.

I really appreciated his subtlety and that was a credit to him throughout. By the end of the film you could argue that things were essentially out of his control, not to mention that he wasn’t in the same position so it wasn’t as much of a problem. Up til that point though, Godfrey did well in staying one step ahead. He was also able to foil one of Cornelia’s plans really well which may have really been the turning point in his journey. If he had not been able to stop her, well it would have been quite rough for him.

As for Cornelia, well she is the big villain here. She does well in constantly insulting Irene and generally making a nuisance of herself. It’s impressive just how dedicated she is. That being said, she does seem to actually fall for Godfrey later on which really weakens her as a villain. You aren’t allowed to just weaken like that. I would have preferred that she continued to double down to the end. Perhaps she would respect Godfrey as a worthy foe but not want to be his friend or anything like that. To me that was just going a tad bit too far.

Irene initially seems like she’s actually rather normal but as the film goes on you see that she is just as crazy as the rest. She gets incredibly possessive of Godfrey and basically wants him to marry her. She seems to not really be familiar with what the role of a master/protege is. Godfrey tries to put some distance between them but it’s difficult and Irene has to consistently put on a whole production to get his attention.

Those scenes tend to be pretty fun though like when Cornelia points out how fake this all is. Irene trades threats with her a lot but you get the feeling that this is a normal occurrence and nothing ever actually happens. That’s just how this family operates. Their mother is also rather eccentric as she takes care of Carlo as a protégé. The guy’s basically a free loader who is always eating and is allergic to the word “money”. He throws a fit every time and tends to panic a lot. Irene’s father doesn’t appreciate this and never wastes any time in insulting this guy. By the end of the film he even takes a decisive step to get rid of Carlo.

The father ends up being the only really normal person in the family. He essentially works as a piggy bank to the rest of the family until they eventually bleed him dry which forces him to revisit the dynamic. The film ultimately gives all of the characters a pretty happy ending though. This is an uplifting title after all and is certainly not meant to be a downer or anything like that.

It even goes so far as to allow Godfrey to essentially end the homeless problem in his neighborhood. Now that was a pretty impressive accomplishment and certainly not one that just anybody could have done. So how much you enjoy the film will likely depend on how funny you think it is. Fortunately for me I thought that just about all of the jokes landed. The movie was consistently funny from start to finish with a lot of fun characters.

Overall, The only character who gets a bit of a sad ending here is the guy who was used by Irene in a fake engagement to get Godfrey jealous. He probably should have known better but yeah that was still a rough situation for him. The others were all having a good time though and I definitely recommend this film if you’re looking for something light to watch. I dare say that the fast paced banter and marathon’s worth of insults are even ahead of their time here. The characters are speaking a mile a minute and the dialogue stays consistently good throughout.

Overall 7/10

Will Penny Review

Posted on April 5, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for a wild west film and you know how those can always be very hit or miss. Unfortunately this is one of the misses. It doesn’t really hit on any of the strong notes that you need to reach to surpass the genre. The characters tend to make some bad decisions and while it’s hard to play a perfect round back in the wild west where there was no law and order, it did feel like some of these issues were very avoidable.

The movie starts by introducing us to Will who is a classic work hand. He goes from job to job and is good at what he does but there is a lot of competition and not a lot of jobs left. He had a chance to go on a trip with the crew but selflessly gives up his spot to another guy who wanted to visit his father. Will travels with Blue and Dutchy and they end up in a firefight with another group over an animal. Will’s team shoots down one of the attackers but the rest swear revenge. On Will’s side, one of his teammates is injured so he looks for help. In the meantime he also gets a job to protect a part of someone’s large territory but now a lady named Catherine and her son Horace are living there. Will feels bad about throwing them out but eventually the guy who owns this property is going to find out and then things will go very badly. How can Will get out of this situation.

First off, I have to say that Catherine doesn’t play this situation very smart at all. She is exceptionally lucky that Will is such a nice guy because many others would have just shot her on sight at minimum. The penalty for letting a stranger live on these premises could easily be death and people aren’t generally going to take that chance. Will even tries to give her a few days to leave but Catherine is insistent on not going anywhere. It just seems like a terrible strategy to go with when you’re not a fighter and there is no man on the premises.

Catherine’s first instinct is even to say that she’s all alone. Why would you give out that kind of information? Her son Horace means well too but he’s just a young kid and is not going to be doing much here. Catherine was ultimately ditched by her tour guide and her husband seems to have no intention of returning so just surviving will be difficult. It’s the wild west so even going into town isn’t a great option but you feel like she needs to do something and get away from the area. Taking your chances in town may be for the best.

Meanwhile Will does his best with looking after her but he is breaking all of the rules of a job that he just got. His sympathy may be a little too high here. It was also annoying to see him getting jumped so quickly. When you’re outnumbered, you need to fire as soon as possible. He gets a few of the villains at gunpoint but then hesitates and gets knocked out. There is no room for compassion here. It may be a hard thing to hear but, in a life or death situation it is you against the other guy. Whoever hesitates is absolutely not going to survive.

Will’s character is portrayed to be a really nice one throughout but this is the double edged blade of it. As for the romance in the film, he knows that Catherine is a married woman from the start so he is very wary about getting involved. That’s the right attitude. Her husband may not appear to be a good guy but until that is officially dissolved then there is nothing you can do. He can be a good friend to her but if she is trying to start a romance then he has to get out of there. Nothing good comes from living next to temptation.

It takes him a long while to get his mind wrapped around that but ultimately, he does and that helps the ending even if it’s portrayed in more of a somber way. Nobody here really gets a super happy ending because they’re all going to be struggling a lot. At least they are alive though which could have easily gone the other way. The film feels like two different movies though when it’s about Will and Catherine vs when he’s hanging out with his friends.

Blue and Dutchy are gone for so long that you almost forget they are in this film until they show up in the climax. It was good to see them, but man did they take their time. There was certainly no sense of urgency among them that’s for sure. They did come in clutch though because Will was not going to be able to fight off everyone in the climax otherwise. His new coworkers showed up after everything was all settled. I thought the film was about to give us one more fight but they were reasonable.

I suppose part of why the film fails here is because of how troubled the romance is. A lot of time is spent on Will and Catherine getting closer but you really can’t root for this at all because of her married status. For a while there you assume that maybe she was lying since she didn’t trust him. Would have been a smart deception to be honest but that’s not how it played out. So the scenes aren’t as charming as they would have been otherwise.

Then the villains tend to be annoying and get a whole lot of screentime. Naturally they want to marry Catherine as well, just without any say in the matter. They intend to work Will as a slave for a while before they eventually murder him and there’s not much he can do about it while at gunpoint. At least that’s how it played out but after a point I think you do just need to lunge for the gun. If you die then you die, but often times you’re going to be waiting for an opening that never arrives. You just have to hope that the sudden movement is enough to catch them off balance.

It’s also a western so the animals aren’t fully safe either. Nothing too explicit in this film to be sure but just a background element that’s never all that great. The first animal that died is even a part of the plot with how the first fight started. This is a very grounded western film. The kind that may be true to life but doesn’t translate into great television. Give me a more inspiring Western anyway. At best this one just serves as another reminder of why you would not have wanted to live in this era.

Overall, Will Penny is the kind of title that will end up being very memorable. The name itself is certainly unique and definitely works well. The film though, it’s your average western at best and I would actually say it’s below most of them. There isn’t a lot of ongoing action in the film. It goes for more of an emotional focus instead, except it does so with a poor situation. There aren’t many reasons to watch this one and it’s a bit grim for my liking. I’d say to skip it and roll the dice on a different western title.

Overall 3/10

Much Ado about Nothing Review

Posted on March 29, 2026 by dreager1

I’ve often considered Shakespeare to be the most overrated writer of all time and I’m afraid that this film did not change my mind on that. The writing style just doesn’t really work as the old time English get tiring rather quickly. All the witty banter is a little too forced with none of the conversations actually sounding natural. The movie can make for some ironic amusement but that’s about all that you’re getting out of this adventure which quickly overstays its welcome.

The film starts with Pedro, Benedick, Claudio, and John riding into a small town. They have arrived after glorious conquest and look forward to being treated like royalty. After all….that is precisely what they are. Claudio falls for a girl named Hero and they quickly get ready to be married. Benedick is mad about this because he thought that Claudio would be an eternal bachelor like himself. So the guys get together to set up Benedick with Beatrice who always mocks him. The two of them have been verbally sparring for a long while but perhaps this can turn into romance. What they don’t realize is that John aims to end these romances. He wants to cause a lot of chaos and is ruthless in his approach. Will he be able to so easily tear these alliances apart?

Of course the whole film’s premise is based on the fact that he can which shows just how weak these romances are. Lets start with Claudio and Hero here. Basically John shows “Hero” cheating on Claudio with someone else. Unfortunately Claudio could not tell that this wasn’t the real Hero. I think that’s pretty rough in itself since you should clearly know what your girlfriend looks like. If it was so dark that you could not see clearly at all, then you either rush to the door and ask for Hero or ask her the next day. Being completely tricked is certainly the worst out of all the options here.

Claudio naturally throws a big fuss about it but what’s worse is that he doesn’t give Hero a chance to talk at all. He just storms away and destroys her reputation which seemingly causes her to die. Then as an apology he prepares to marry a relative of hers. That’s already a rebound but it’s also a terrible apology in general. There was no saving Claudio at this point and honestly the whole thing isn’t a great look for Hero either. At that point if this is how Claudio is going to act, she should have just moved on. Not just giving up or being passive and seeing how the situation was going.

Beatrice had more of a real reaction as she wanted to murder Claudio and convinced Benedick to do it on her behalf. I appreciate that from a family standpoint but of course on a romance one it did end up hurting the ship. It showed after all that she was only with Benedick by this point so that she could manipulate him and the love itself felt very weak at best. I much preferred when they were just bantering with each other. To so easily be manipulated into liking each other by the supporting cast makes them all look like deeply unserious characters. It’s as if they were so pleased at the other being secretly in love that they were willing to overlook everything else.

John gets more credit here because as a villain he was actually fairly effective. It didn’t take long for him to infiltrate the ranks and really split everyone up. Ultimately once the heroes turned on him the guy didn’t put up much of a fight but he still kept them all on the back foot. Pedro was a decent commander but also someone who was easily fooled and got very emotional. In general I guess you could say all of the characters were driven too strongly by their emotions.

Like I mentioned before, the way they all talk gets old really quickly too. I get how it feels really dramatic and all but the old English takes forever to get through. You’re basically begging the characters to get to the point of their speech instead of taking forever. You also have the subplot with the guards who have no idea what is going on and their scenes really tend to drag. It goes from potentially being funny to you just rolling your eyes by the end because you know that it’s just not going to end.

The film could have really done well to be about 30 minutes shorter but that still wouldn’t have saved it. The movie doesn’t help itself with a super rough opening either as all the women in the village get ready to meet the men and look desperate in the moment. The fanservice was bad enough but do they really have to go so all out for these guys? Desperation is not really going to be a super attractive trait here and it’s another one of those old time dynamics that just doesn’t work. If you’re desperate for any guy to pick you, then there’s nothing really romantic about that. By the end of the film you are supposed to feel happy for the two couples and yet you can’t help but feel like they won’t really have a happy ever after.

Overall, This film absolutely needed some big time action. It needed the characters to get some real fight scenes and for the individual characters to also not be so weak. You’ll see various characters pinned to the wall and threatened while they can barely react in retaliation. None of them really have a whole lot of honor left by the end as they get thrown into every conflict. They also aren’t interesting enough to hold their own stories. I dare say this kind of film would only work as a parody because it feels like one for a while until you realize just how seriously the characters are taking themselves. A romance film without any understanding of what a true romance is will always be doomed to fail.

Overall 3/10

One Hundred and One Dalmatians Review

Posted on March 28, 2026 by dreager1

This is one of those films where its reputation definitely precedes it. I dare say that the film even increased the popularity of the dog breed itself. It’s a movie that holds up pretty well with fun characters and solid pacing. It has quite a bit of action as well and a good amount of stakes. As long as you find dogs to be charming then you should have a good time with this one.

The movie starts with a dog named Pongo trying to find a wife for his owner Roger. Roger is always busy with his music and so the guy hasn’t made any kind of a real effort in order to find someone. Pongo doesn’t want this guy to end up being lonely so he takes Roger to the park and gets him married to a lady named Anita. Roger marries Perdita as well and they have a lot of cubs, but unfortunately the villain Cruella shows up and demands the puppies. Roger is able to block her but she has two hooligans break in to steal them anyway. The cops are unable to find any leads and so Pongo figures that it is all up to him and Perdita. Will they be able to catch the criminals or is this really game over?

As always with these classic Disney films, they do a great job with the color and vibrant tone of the world. There is always something going on here. The characters are very expressive and so the animation looks far better than something you would expect from the 60s. Although at this point I say that for a lot of old films so perhaps I just need to start thinking of the 60s as a great time for pure animation. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side but you won’t see me complaining about the fact that they decided not to go the musical route with this one.

Pongo makes for a good lead because of his sheer confidence. It’s rare to see the main character being the one to play matchmaker. Pongo wasn’t embarrassed or overly shy; he was just out there getting results. That is exactly what you want to see from a character like this. He was also quick to fight when he had to defend the little pups from the enemies. All in all a very strong performance and he absolutely ends up being one of the more memorable leads.

Perdita also did well. She was right there with Pongo fighting off all of the enemies. While Pongo was the one with the plans, she was always there as good support. So she gets full credit all the way. The owners are a little less impressive, but hey that’s why they aren’t the main characters. Roger did well in standing up to Cruella even if he was super nervous the whole time. In his own house he really ought to be able to muster up a bit more courage than that. Perhaps I’m being a little greedy here.

Anita had less of a role but unfortunately it wasn’t a very strong one for her since she wasn’t taking Cruella’s threats very seriously. Cruella isn’t exactly a subtle character after all so you just have to follow your gut there. What Anita could have used was one really standout scene where she confronts Cruella and shows how aggressive she can be.

The romance may have been on the weak side but as it’s mostly off screen we can try to say that a lot of it was just not seen by the audience. I don’t have any big quarrels with it at any rate since it’s not a big focus on the film. Cruella appears far less than I would have expected though considering how popular she is as a villain. The design is certainly memorable and it can be nice to just have an overt antagonist like this. She has no dreams of helping the planet or some kind of random sob story. No, she just wants more fur coats and is willing to murder everyone in order to get it. That’s just her style.

Her two henchmen get a big role but they’re your general bruisers. They aren’t too smart and are just good at throwing things and picking fights. Technically that’s more or less all that you need for henchmen though so in a way I’d say they do their job well. They had accumulated quite a lot of Dalmatians as well although apparently the rest of the owners had just sold them so I guess that’s less impressive. Either way, it’s good that the main dogs could fight or this would have gotten real ugly real fast.

The puppies didn’t tend to be the smartest guys around but they’re young so I’ll cut them a bit of slack. It was also fun to see them all watching the cartoon early on in the movie. It was a rare chance for the characters to all catch their breath and we got to see some happy scenes as a family. Generally, in a film like this the plot is moving at all times so there isn’t much downtime. I appreciated having this scene before things got crazy. The movie also did a good job of showing how powerful community can be with every dog pitching in to help out and do their best.

Now while the soundtrack may have mostly been forgettable, I did enjoy the Cruella song near the beginning. It was a very catchy song and using all of the lyrics just to bash her was pretty fun. You get the feeling that Roger wouldn’t be brave enough to say it to her face but the thought is what counts here.

Overall, One Hundred and One Dalmatians is definitely a fun film. It’s the kind of title that has a lot of replay value and really goes by quickly. The characters are all handled well and the film’s animation is super clear. The movie never drags on nor does it have any real weak points. I could easily recommend this to anybody and it ends up being a really timeless film. It’ll be tough for the other Dalmatian films to try and top this one so we’ll see how that goes. In the meantime don’t let the 1960s date scare you, the film certainly doesn’t feel old and the writing is on point from start to finish.

Overall 7/10

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Review

Posted on March 1, 2026 by dreager1

I’m always up for a good romance title. When handled well you get to really enjoy seeing the characters get closer along with the solid pacing throughout. That being said, executing the story on a high level is always going to be the toughest part. I am glad to say that this anime was able to pull it off though. It is a well rounded show with a good cast and I didn’t really have any issues with it.

The story follows a guy named Rintaro who works at his parents bakery. He has had a tough time growing up as everyone was afraid of him. That made it extremely difficult to make any friends. Now he finally has some friends but still doesn’t really know how to open up to them. These things just don’t come naturally to him but one day he meets a girl named Waguri from a rival school and begins to like her. Rintaro now has a reason to break out of his shell and learn more about how to interact with people. Is Waguri the one who will brighten his life forever?

You might wonder why the rival school thing matters but its actually a pretty big plot point in this one. His school is seen as a place for violent delinquents while hers is for upper class women. Both schools are taught to resent the other one right away and so the students have learned this attitude as well. As the series goes on, the students realize that there isn’t a point to this rivalry and that the students from each school are actually good.

This series is also shamelessly optimistic at all times and that makes for a refreshing watch. Put it this way, if there is a dramatic scenario you can always expect the best possible outcome to happen in this show. It’s pretty nice as a change of pace since that’s not always the case. This is what you can really refer to as a comfort watch. Everything just works out and all of the main characters are very wholesome. They get to go to the beach, study together, etc. It’s the kind of life that many will find nostalgic from their childhood days or will be the kind of life that others have only imagined. That’s not to say there’s never any danger as we do get the occasional creep who has to be knocked out. Those instances are few and far between though.

This is a plot based show as Rintaro and Waguri get closer throughout the 13 episodes but it has a slice of life feel to it. Each episode will just continue their day to day adventures so there isn’t much more to say on the story side of things. Lets talk about Rintaro. He’s your classic nice guy who has a hard time sharing his own burdens. He’s always there to help his friends but they get upset that he doesn’t let them do the same. I can definitely sympathize with that problem because the whole point of helping your friends is to reduce their worries. It starts to defeat the purpose if you are adding onto them right after that. It may not be equal, but it does make sense.

Rintaro learns how to speak his mind as the series goes on like actually initiating a call with Waguri and asking his father how to bake a cake. Rintaro makes significant strides as the series goes on and it’s something that you always like to see. I’d say the final step would be to see him be ready to fight to protect his friends. Instead of always waiting for his friends to do it, there’s a time when you have to be proactive about that too. Still, I have no real problems with him on the whole. Rintaro is a good main character who really gets the job done as needed.

Then we have Waguri as the main heroine who is also a bit on the shy side but definitely has more bravery than Rintaro initially. She stands tall to defend him even when she is physically attacked and she was the one who kept on going to his parents’ bakery in order to meet him. She is the one who made sure that the pieces were all together and that’s not an easy thing to do. She still gets embarrassed which is normal when entering a relationship but is always able to come out on top.

I definitely like the fact that Waguri knows how to eat a good amount. She doesn’t try to hold back when in front of the others or anything like that. She just goes all out. It’s not that she is totally oblivious to things or doesn’t have her own insecurities but she pushes past them and always has on a brave face. So she gets a lot of credit there and without her making the first move in so many situations, the story would definitely not have progressed. This season is mainly about Rintaro’s friends so we won’t see most of Waguri’s until the next season. That said, her best friend does get to have a role.

Subaru has always done her best to protect Waguri. She serves as a shield to protect her from all things. It’s an especially tough thing to do because Subaru doesn’t feel comfortable around guys. So she steps out of her comfort zone in order to protect her friend. Subaru definitely ends up being one of the better characters as a result. Her character arc is also a bit similar to Rintaro’s in that she has a hard time speaking her mind. She tends to just follow the group and tries not to be a nuisance. Of course they’d prefer if she did speak and these issues mainly come from her own head. It’s another instance where it would be better for her to just speak up but it’s tough to overcome those mental hurdles.

Fragrant Flower does a great job of exploring these realistic scenarios. Some people just tend to get way too introspective and overthink everything. Then you have other characters who appear to just go through life without thinking much when that isn’t even the case. Often times from Rintaro’s perspective, it looks like Waguri is not nervous and just having a blast but when we cut to her POV, she is just as nervous as he is. They have different ways of showing their feelings is all.

Saku is one of Rintaro’s main friends who is around and is always ready to defend the main lead. Saku is a bit quiet himself but always finds his courage when it comes time to go up against any bullies. He’s another great character but of course just about every character in this series is great. So that should come as no surprise. He may be the most perceptive of the characters as he is quick to try and make Subaru feel like part of the group when she is lagging behind the others. He may not always have a ton of tact but he means well.

Then we have Shohei who is the most outgoing member of the group. He is constantly having a good time and is ready for endless parties. At first he may seem to just be oblivious to everything but really he is just good at looking at the positive side of things. It’s hard to actually get him down but when he makes a mistake, Shohei owns up to it. He’s the kind of friend that you definitely want to have by your side. You always want to have someone like that on your side to brighten up the room and cut through the awkward parts.

Yorita has the smallest role from the 3 main friends so far. In some ways he may be the most possessive friend as he goes absolutely nuts when people badmouth Rintaro. In another series you may expect him to be the friend who goes rogue but in this case I’d say it’s just to show how passionate he is. This is not a guy who will just turn the other cheek when it comes to his friend. He really treasures his friendship with Rintaro and is always glad to see it progress like when Rintaro finally starts to open up to him and the others.

Then we have Rintaro’s parents who are both really solid characters. His father doesn’t get too much to do until the end but we see that he quietly works very hard. He is passionate about the bakery and has always given Rintaro a very long leash. His family leadership style is all about trust and you can’t really go wrong there. Rintaro’s mother is also very supportive and was glad to see Rintaro making friends. She even dyed her hir so that he wouldn’t feel alone when Rintaro had made the decision to do so.

It’s easy to see how Rintaro became such an upstanding person with such great parents at his side. So like I said, the series is super wholesome. The characters all feel very real with their strengths and weaknesses while trying to do their best. Nobody is actively trying to hurt someone else and when there are misunderstandings, they talk them out. The series is a lot more mature than its average rival in that respect. Things don’t tend to get super dramatic and everything feels like a moment that you could experience in real life.

The only part of the show that feels completely out of tone with the rest is when Waguri is attacked at night by the bakery. The rest of the series is so safe that it feels weird to see actual villains like this running around with rather serious threats. It was good that they got taken down and were beaten up later on. The scene doesn’t ultimately change much so it’s not like you needed it there, but it was used as a way for Rintaro’s friends to know that he was still hiding things.

The animation for the show is pretty good. It’s nothing amazing, I would say basically average in all areas. Romance titles don’t need a whole lot of animation so that’s fine. Animation that is out of this world can help to enhance a title like with Kaguya sama but it’s not like this is really needed. So long as the animation isn’t bad then I don’t have any real problems here. The soundtrack is also a bit on the bland side. So the writing and characters have to carry the series on this journey because the technical elements aren’t going to do it.

The show has fast pacing throughout and so it never gets boring. That would be the only risk for a series like this and that never even comes close to happening. I would say a big part of that is just how likable the characters are. I also just tend to like wholesome adventures like this. Finally, the show’s romance is one that I can actually get behind. There are no rebounds here and the romance is a slow burn. The characters get to know each other first before officially dating. They don’t try to fake it as just being friends or anything like that. From the first meeting, it was generally with the mindset that they could become boyfriend/girlfriend if everything turned out well. Now I may get skeptical for some other romances that may pop up but this main one is really good.

Overall, The Fragrant Flower is a pretty good title. It has a lot of replay value and is just a fun show to watch. It executes on a good level across all areas. There isn’t really anything negative to say about the series and the premise is something that could be stretched across many seasons. When a show like this can even have a great beach episode without a hint of fanservice, then you know it is operating on a high level. The show doesn’t fall into any of the classic traps and is instead focused on delivering a strong story with quality writing. It doesn’t need any lazy hooks to get viewers in because the writer is confident on the product. I definitely hope this gets a season 2 soon and would recommend this to anyone looking for a upbeat show.

Overall 7/10

Our Souls at Night Review

Posted on February 19, 2026 by dreager1

There aren’t too many films about romance that blooms when the main characters are seniors so this was definitely different. It makes sense that folks can get lonely even when they are in the twilight years. Personally I would tend to advise against entering a relationship at that late stage but you just hope for the best. The film had some potential but it can’t resist adding in a bunch of drama which ultimately hurts things in the end.

The film starts by introducing us to Louis. He’s really old but has a solid routine every day. He hangs out with his friends and then heads home. Life goes on as normal and he doesn’t seem to have any complaints. Well, one day his neighbor Addie shows up and says they should start sleeping together so the nights won’t feel as long. It’s certainly the strangest offer Louis has gotten but she confirms this will be purely platonic. Luis decides to give this a shot but in the most shocking of plot twists, he begins to fall for her. How could this happen and what should he do about this?

Now obviously this was always going to be the end result. There are loads of lies that you can tell yourself but the biggest one is that you can hang out every night on the bed with someone and not catch feelings at some point. It’s why friends with benefits has always been a bunch of immoral nonsense but also why you don’t go to naked saunas or hot springs adventures with your friends. If you want to keep your friends and not succumb to impulses, you shouldn’t be entering spaces and situations that aren’t meant for them.

The instant Addie made the offer, it was clear to both parties deep in their mind that a romance would happen. The whole deal just wouldn’t make sense otherwise. From that point on, if they’re both on board then there’s technically nothing wrong with it. It would still feel like a rebound to me though and like I said before I just wouldn’t recommend a late stage romance. Why not?

Well when you enter into any kind of relationship you have to take the good with the bad. The bad in this case is likely going to involve a lot of medical issues and deaths of friends due to how old they all are. You’re potentially getting super close to someone who is not going to be around for much longer. That happens even in a young relationship since by extension you now know double the people which means more chances of bad things happening. It’s not a great way to look at things but you have to when you have two people 70+ who are going to be getting together now.

Then we also learn that Louis wasn’t the best guy in his youth. He cheated on his wife and while they patched things up later on, his social reputation was destroyed. You can’t full recover from something like that, the trust is just gone. I felt this was a really unnecessary part of the film. One of those classic plots to show how everyone makes a ton of big mistakes. Why couldn’t Louis just be a good guy?

Meanwhile Addie doesn’t have any big moments of crisis in her past but in the present she is the one who ultimately chooses her other responsibilities over Louis. She started this whole arrangement and yet she’s the one to end it? That’s not a particularly good look. Her ungrateful son spends a lot of the film getting drunk and whining but it sounds to me like she did her best. I didn’t have a problem with any of the issues that guy had been raising up.

In general the kids are the most annoying characters though. Addie’s son Gene is trying to raise his son on his own after the wife left but it seems clear why she did. He gets drunk a lot, isn’t able to properly control himself, and can’t land a job. Perhaps Gene is trying hard but there is really no excuse for when he left his kid all by himself and started drinking. He’s always looking for a fight and is quick to blame others but doesn’t take ownership of his faults. Even by the end of the film we have no reason to think that he has changed at all.

Then we have Louis’ daughter Holly who gets far less screentime but also doesn’t do very well. She comes off as very aggressive during the lunch meeting about how she’s going on her adventure and blames Louis for not being there. Her therapist wanted her to make it very clear to Louis about this so that she could have closure and all. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. Naturally we know that the past events led up to this but it always feels petty to just launch an attack after a long period like this.

Once you’re an adult you have to be responsible for your decisions. Holding onto old grudges is not a good idea but even if you do, just keep it to yourself at that point. Don’t go and set up a meetup just to do more complaining. If Gene was so unhappy, then he shouldn’t be going to Addie for help. Holly could have just gone on her adventure without stopping by to rub Louis’ nose in it. Like I said, the characters are just unlikable.

I also can’t say that I liked any of Louis’ main friends. They’re basically around to be crude and start the rumor mill but that’s all that they are here to do. Louis takes offense at it because he’s the main character this time but from how they were talking, this is probably a regular thing. It doesn’t reflect well on Louis to be hanging out with these characters.

For a slow burn film like this, it helps a lot if the characters are all pleasant. I think that Hallmark could do a really good job with this premise for example. They should have also played up the romance to be more gradual. Instead of the two running to a hotel to try and act like teenagers again, have them do an actual courtship and build up to the end process. Get married first and make it official instead of all this hidden stuff.

As a more minor note, there is a lot of screentime for taking care of Gene’s kid while he is out playing the fool. Louis and Addie do a good job of taking care of him but getting a dog was a big mistake. For starters, both of them aren’t going to last very long so that raises questions on what will happen to the dog. Ultimately they end up giving him to Gene instead. Gene can’t even raise a kid tho, let alone a dog. So that’s the kind of decision that just seems to be very iffy at best.

Overall, Our Souls at Night shows exactly why you don’t want to be getting into any secret entanglements. Eventually everyone finds out and even if you double down, it’s just not going to last. I didn’t particularly enjoy the ending because it felt very avoidable but in a way it is realistic. The situationship worked for a while but now Addie doesn’t need any help to sleep since she’s not alone and so she chose the responsibilities over Louis. Ultimately the biggest moral of the story is, if anyone ever asks you to do something inherently intimate but claims that it will be platonic….listen to your common sense and reject the offer. I did enjoy the small town atmosphere at least, it seemed like a fun area to live in.

Overall 4/10

	Anonymous on Invisible Woman vs Molecule…
	jhg195 on Batman vs Zatanna
	dreager1 on The Man in the Moon Revie…
	Anonymous on Sonic Dream Team Review
	Anonymous on The Man in the Moon Revie…
	Anonymous on The Alain vs Leon fight should…

DReager1.com

The Ultimate Fighting/Review Site

Tag Archives: Romance

Annie Hall Review

Love Through a Prism Review

Queen’s Quality Review

Wuthering Heights Review

My Man Godfrey Review

Will Penny Review

Much Ado about Nothing Review

One Hundred and One Dalmatians Review

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Review

Our Souls at Night Review

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: