Why Should You Enjoy Scooby-Doo In Spite of Public Opinion

Of course nobody liked it, I am yet to find someone who will enjoy a movie made of a childhood favorite, but here is the thing... I hated the cartoon and I looooved the movies! You can sue me if you want, but I'll tell you in a minute why you should love them too!

Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed

Funnily enough the first movie starts with our team deciding that they have had it with the way everybody is forced into a stereotypical role. They part ways and are brought together after some time by someone who seeks revenge. But when they are together again everybody is finally the opposite of the annoying characters they used to be! The lesson here was to learn that they worked better when they are together, but each made an effort to become a better person than they used to be. If that is not a good moral lesson I dunno what is! In the second movie on the other hand you have the ultimate lesson: the real monsters are people. This is something that the cartoon strongly focused on and I'm not gonna lie, I laughed hysterically at multiple jokes in the second movie. I could go into detail regarding the plot, but I don't see the point of it, because that is not what makes these movies good for me.

Here is my question. Besides the movie deciding to say straight out what you already thought: Shaggy is a stoner, and Scrappy Doo is an annoying little shit, Fred and Velma have a thing for each other, what exactly is your problem? I mean honestly I enjoyed the fact that they managed to surprise me 100% with a twist in the end (in both movies!). And that is what every single episode of the cartoon used to do. I did not mind the changes because I loved that Daphne kicked ass, she is not just a pretty girl. I loved that Fred was no longer the exceptionally fantastic guy that everybody falls for, he is simple, just like his friends. I also adored the fact that Velma is not smart because she wears glasses, but because she actually learns. If you want to tell me that the cartoon was not based on stereotypical notions than you are f*cking lying to yourself! Nostalgia goggles much? I have another question: You have seen all the other adaptation, starting from The Flintstones to comics like Marmaduke, not to mention the abomination that was Jem and The Holograms, which all ultimately took something and decided to teach us NOTHING. Now... if you compare it with that, is Scooby-Doo that bad? Be honest. You can argue with me that the acting wasn't to your liking, or that you thought the twist was dumb but... I mean come on. Open youtube, watch an episode of the old cartoon and tell me what is different.

Here is the thing, I accept it if somebody did not like a movie per se, as in there are hundreds of reasons why you might not enjoy something. My problem is that these movies were aware of where they came from and they wanted to make a satire. It worked! The cartoon was stupid and the movie is aware of it. Second, you can't have anymore female characters whose sole purpose is to stand by the two sides of the best looking male character... you just can't. And if you don't understand that story-wise they needed to have, what's the word, a PERSONALITY, then I don't know what to tell you.

Third, you will never have a version of this story where Shaggy is a likable character, because he is the stereotypical 'anti-guy'. No wonder Fred is portrayed as invincible. You might relate to Shaggy if you too were not the quarterback at your high school's football team, but besides that can you defend in any way a man who finds comfort in the arms of a giant dog? (Yes, I said it!). And yet I did not hate him in the movie. He is by far the most adorable character in the first one, as he is happy to have his friends and family back. He has the purest soul of all of them and that makes him a far more advanced character than the cartoon ever was. I especially liked the idea that he knows his place. Yes, he is a person who scares easily, but he knows his place within the group: he is not the hero, just the sidekick. And Velma in the end asks for his help and he becomes a key element in solving the problem. If you preferred him as a passive member of an active team, screaming with terrible one-liners, again, the problem is with you, not the movie.

Okay, so far I have insulted everyone and their favorite cartoon in multiple lines, and I need to say, sorry if I hurt your feelings. But... but I dare you to tell me that you did not laugh at least once. I dare you to tell me that you did not listen to the soundtrack of these movies afterwards. I dare you to tell me that you did not fall in love with Sarah Michelle Gellar and/or Linda Cardellini (I know I did!). Tell me that you did not hate Scrappy-Doo when you were a kid. Tell me you didn't like that the villain was female in the second movie. Tell me they did not surprise you and you did not feel like kicking ass after your favorite characters did. Tell me you wouldn't want to dance with Scooby-Doo!

I am not saying that these are the best movies ever made, but the hate they get is beyond my understanding. I have seen far worse movies with no moral lesson, no story arc, no real idea behind it. I honestly feel that somebody who loved the original decided to elevate it and in my humble opinion they did a good job!

"Goodbye suckers! ... [while falling] Help me suckers!"

Watch them again? Please do. Do it for guilty pleasure, do it because your thoughts have been so obscured by the fact that everyone around you told you to hate these movies. Re-watch it also because you watched it waiting for your childhood to be re-lived, but this is a satire. Watch it as such and don't let your memories overwrite the experience.

Until the next item on my list!

_ _ _ _ _

Fred - Freddie Prinze Jr.

Daphne - Sarah Michelle Gellar

Shaggy - Matthew Lillard

Velma - Linda Cardellini

Scooby-Doo (voice) - Neil Fanning

What's Next On My List? Grosse Pointe Blank

Focusing super hard not to be destroyed mentally by all the bad news and sexual harassment accusations coming from Hollywood nowadays, I decided to review an old favorite of mine. Hope you will enjoy the entry!

Grosse Pointe Blank

Martin is an assassin for hire, he is quite talented and does OK in his job, but he is given an impossible decision: go home for his high school reunion or not? The little town he left behind, and the love of his life Debi, are still there, unaffected by time or anything out in the world, while he has changed quite a lot. While at home he realizes that he does not want to be in the business anymore, but quitting is not as easy as it sounds...

Now, this is of course dark humor, but I think it is one of the best examples. Martin is troubled much more by the ghost of his former self than he is by killing. His biggest regret is leaving the love of his life behind and when life gives him a second chance with her, he makes sure to take it. The two best characters in the movie are his assistant Marcella (played by his sister Joan Cusack, and let me add here that I simply adore that they are always in each others' films!) and his psychiatrist Dr. Oatman. The former always helps him keep his humanity, not to get dragged down into the dark world that surrounds them. So much so that she is the one who pushes him to go home for the reunion. The latter on the other hand has to listen to his terrible stories and the work he does and he tries to help him but he always falls short. However, you gotta admire the doctor's tenacity in trying to help someone who is somewhat beyond redemption...

Well, I also need to mention that whilst this movie tries to be a romantic comedy, it has some awesome action scenes. In it the main character has to kill someone sent after him and he does that during the reunion, in the end having to fight off his former boss in his ex-girlfriend's house. A lot of blood is involved in this process and he ends up telling the girl about his insecurities and why he left her, as they are trying to run for their lives. The set up of the movie is quite unique, in my opinion, as instead of a boring romantic comedy it added a very unusual setting for it and it simply works. You care about them, you laugh at them, you understand the struggle and it completely puts a high school reunion into a different perspective!

Watch it? Most definitely. In my humble opinion this is John Cusack at his best! I adore this movie and try to rewatch it as often as I can. It has a marvelous cast with very good jokes and entertaining action scenes.

Until the next item on my list!

_ _ _ _

Martin Q. Blank - John Cusack

Debi Newberry - Minnie Driver

Dr. Oatman - Alan Arkin

Grocer - Dan Aykroyd

Marcella - Joan Cusack

Paul Spericki - Jeremy Piven

Mr. Bart Newberry - Mitchell Ryan

What's Next On My List? The Handmaid's Tale

Oh, I have been putting of this review for a while now for various reasons. First, I would deem my relationship with Margaret Atwood 'complicated', despite the fact that I have grown to love her as a person. As far as her works are concerned, I am still not sure if I like them due to the stockholm syndrome that I am sure I have developed over the years, or because simply I do. By this I mean that she has written a lot of things that I enjoyed right off the bat, and some that I needed warming up to. But she is very much present in my life still, I have recently read a thesis that was written on The Blind Assassin, my best friend is currently writing to me under the nickname of MaddAddam on facebook, and we had to re-read The Handmaid's Tale for my sci-fi class. I have spent all summer reading short stories from her, many of which I have already written about in my blog post "Margaret Atwood and I". The main reason I have been putting of this review is that I have a few commentaries about the show that are not really positive... altogether I wish I hadn't read the book before seeing it.

The Handmaid's Tale [season 1]

The story of one of the handmaids of Gilead, who was known by the name of Offred, belonging to a couple without children, where she ensued a relationship with one of the drivers of her Commander. The story moves back and forth between Offred, formerly June's past and present. How she lost her husband and daughter and how the people of her country slowly allowed for a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship to rise.

First, the good. This is an incredibly high quality TV series and I am happy that it got made because these are things that we HAVE to talk about today. Just look at how women are treated right NOW in the United States! This isn't a far away future, this is a problem that has to be addressed immediately. And if this show wasn't of such high quality, ignorance would still be the preferred option. But because of it you have handmaids now all over the world protesting for their rights as simple human beings and I gotta admit, when comparing history and looking at the impact popular culture has... it is simply astonishing. The novel itself is wonderful, and people are reading it again, which I could not be happier about. The fact that people are acting as if they JUST discovered that Margaret Atwood can write is somewhat hilarious, but besides the point when it comes to my review.

Now the bad... oh boy. Yes, this show deserved every award it got, from script to acting, to the music and the pacing, directing, cinematography, writing... really, everything. I was, however, still left disappointed by one thing, but a thing that to me was crucial. The Commander and his wife were too young... The book emphasizes something simple about their relationship: they have drifted apart. The Commander himself is a complete loser, no more than a pawn already, he is easily deceived by Offred and the one you do fear is his wife. Now, I was indeed scared of the wife, but by god, there was absolutely no reason for the Commander to be so attracted to Offred in the series! They even added in a sex scene with the wife, proving that one, he is the problem in the bedroom... two, that they are very much easily rekindled into their old ways. The book lets you in on the life of an old couple basically giving up, zero intimacy and a bored husband with a wife still seeking society's approval. Here... the fact that they made them more evil only took away from the hatred I felt for the dictatorship. I was disgusted by him, and I hated her, and in the long run I forgot that they are all just pieces in something much worse. And because of that reason I was quite thrown off.

Overall, is that a huge problem? Not for the simple viewer (by that I mean those who did not read the book), as I have asked around. It is for me because there is a special scene in the book where this defeated old man admits that they only wanted to make the world a better place. And in that moment, for a second there Atwood makes you think and you cannot help but stop hating the enemy. This is something a parent would say, "I was only trying to do the right thing", and yes, they do, but mistakes are made. We sometimes might not see the outcome of our actions. Not to mention that for Offred to pretend was much easier with a sillier inattentive older man, than in the show and some scenes because of it fell short for me. Does that make it bad? No. It is a great adaptation. They decided to answer a few questions the book left open, and I didn't mind. I liked the casting, the way you can tell they opened the book when writing the script, and made use of a great source material. I have absolutely no idea what the second season will be about, but it not being based on the book anymore, I am sure I will be more open to it. I am also curious and waiting to return to this terrible world, just to see the women in it win!

Watch it? Definitely. This is simply a good series. I personally wish I hadn't read the book first, and I rarely do that. I always watch the adaptations first and then read the books, that way imagining the actors already, and I checked the cast first here too, but... no. I'm sorry. That is my mistake ultimately. But as far as adaptations are concerned, this is among the best five out there so trust me, I am not trying to be critical! But you check it out too and let me know what you think!

Until the next item on my list!

PS: Of course read the book too! What are you waiting for?!

_ _ _ _ _ _

June Osborne/Offred - Elisabeth Moss

Serena Joy Waterford - Yvonne Strahovski

Fred Waterford - Joseph Fiennes

Nick Blaine - Max Minghella

Rita - Amanda Brugel

Janine - Madeline Brewer

Luke Bankole - O-T Fagbenle

Aunt Lydia - Ann Dowd

Moira - Samira Wiley

Ofglen - Alexis Bledel

FRESH FROM THE THEATER: Thor - Ragnarok

My best friend and I went to see what is quite possibly one of the best movies ever made by Marvel. And I have been sitting on this review for hours thinking about it and to see if I was blinded by the wonder of cinema or if truly, as I felt while watching it, this was an extraordinary and unique piece of perfection. I will tell you why in a  minute, but I'm going with the second. [WARNING! Spoilers ahead!]

Thor: Ragnarok

After refusing to take the throne, Thor travels the world on a journey of self-discovery. He, however, encounters someone who warns him of the dangers that are before the doors of Asgard, so he returns home only to find chaos in the absence of his father. He and Loki get together to prevent the destruction of their home, but for that to work they need to have a small team, and even that is not enough to stop Hela, the Goddess of death.

Well, the trailer lied to you, let's start there. And boy... am I glad it did! I am so tired of 2 minute trailers that go and ruin whole movies. I have been watching less and less as the years pass because I don't want it to ruin anything for me. I could not contain myself when it came to this movie, but I am 100% fine with being deceived for the purpose of leaving a better viewing experience.

I want to talk about everyone, but instead of going by cast order, I'm going to start with our villain, Hela. She is my favorite Marvel villain. Now, I think you'll agree that these movies are not so much about the villains anymore. Think of Civil War (which I am yet to review, thank you me for reminding me), there was someone pulling the strings but is that what you remember from that movie or the fight between Iron Man and Captain America? I thought so. That means that people obsessing over Iron Man 3 not having a good villain need to learn that their purpose is not to be either good or bad, but to elevate your main character and it very much did in that movie, just as much as it did here. Hela comes in and points out something I have been saying for quite sometime: Odin is a shitty dad. Seriously, 90% of Thor's problems are caused by this guying lying left and right! Thor's love for his father is although admirable, it is also childish because he cannot see his many faults. He somewhat does in this movie, thankfully, but it took for Hela to return for that to happen. She was the funniest and at the same time scariest villain in my opinion. The latter because I was asking myself, how are you going to defeat her? And that doesn't happen often, does it? You know that the good guys always win, but I was honestly scared for them more than once. To this they added a comedic side to her and I was just gasping for air from laughter. She was beautiful and charming and simply aesthetically so pleasing that she put a lot of other villains to shame. I can just imagine the two Australians enjoying filming every single day!

Speaking of villains, you have the return of the ever so charming Loki, who mostly played himself. Do I mind? Know, because the movie was aware of it through and through, so much that it even commented on it. I did not understand where his awesome green clothes went, but that was the least of my worries. When it comes to Loki the story almost always repeats itself, what changes is Thor's approach to it. The writers love to play with this love-and-hate relationship that the fans have with him. What I need is to not feel his inclusion forced, I don't want fan service, if you have no story for him, DON'T include him. But it was well written and well thought out, so I was very happy. I am curious to see what is going to happen in the next movies!

Although there is a lot that can be said about the side characters, I don't want to go into that particularly. You see, I have just no clue where we are going with Bruce Banner, and that bothers me a great deal because he is my favorite character of all time. I can easily blame the studios for not giving him a solo movie, because this way there is a lot that is left unsaid and for me it is becoming a problem. His inclusion here, despite all that, was simply great and needed. I missed him a lot.
Let me know move onto the hero of this movie, Thor, who I believe has come a great deal since we last saw him. There is always a fear that some of these movies will try and repeat the gimmick of one of their stories and you have to be careful. Thankfully this was not the case. So much so that perhaps this third movie was the best one so far, and I don't think you can say that about any franchise. Thor's optimism makes you grab a hammer and go and fix the world yourself. Turning over to the moral message of the story, I love that whilst the Avengers on Earth are arguing about what is wrong and what is right, you have this one guy who knows exactly what is right and he goes for it. He says that he runs towards his problems, because that is what heroes do, and my god, did I want to high-five him in that moment! You see? This is why he wasn't part of Civil War, he would've solved that shit in less than 5 minutes!
And really... Any movie that has Jeff Goldblum in it is a win for me!

Watch it? Forget everything you thought you knew. You will get Sherlock jokes, finally quality Thor and Loki interactions, with the best villain available in the whole Marvel universe (yes, I said it!), side characters who, I am not kidding, have more of a character development in one movie than any hero did in the whole entire DC universe! [That's right, f*ck you DC!]. GO SEE IT!!!

Until the next item on my list!

_ _ _ _ _ _

Thor - Chris Hemsworth

Loki - Tom Hiddleston

Hela - Cate Blanchett

Heimdall - Idris Elba

Grandmaster - Jeff Goldblum

Valkyrie - Tessa Thompson

Skurge - Karl Urban

Bruce Banner / Hulk - Mark Ruffalo