Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Spellbound.
Story
The story felt very retro and a little like a made for TV special that is trying to explain emotions and divorce to younger kids. It was okay but missed a lot of opportunities to be more nuanced. It was also really slow to start with.
Score: 0
Characters
The parents as monsters were fun and the main character was your usual sassy but bland hero. The Oracles were fantastic and more interesting than the rest of the movie. I also really loved Bolinar although that felt forced to be comedy relief.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
Glib and shallow, the dialogue was pretty unmemorable.
Score: 0
Visuals and Music
This was a beautiful movie. The art was great and the use of shadows was excellent.
The music was good and I wish there was more.
Score: 1
Fun
I was bored waiting for the inevitable quest but the kids loved it.
Score: 0.5
Overall
An interesting idea that turns out to be pretty predictable and with little for the older audience members. Fun side characters, lovely animation, and good music just aren’t enought to save this one.
I’m sure I’m missing the obvious, but I have no idea what this cosplay is. However, I had to have a picture of it because it was absolutely stunning. Cottage-cozy core is my favourite.
Combine the “Sherlock Holmes” series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “Disappearing Nightly” by Laura Resnick, the “Nancy Drew” series by Carolyn Keene, and an amethyst necklace to get the “Baker City Mystery” series by @Éric Desmarais #CanLit#canadianauthor#indiepublishing
Combine “The Lost Hero” by Rick Riordan, “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, and coffee beans to get “Coffee Shop Between the ‘Verses” by @Éric Desmarais #CanLit#canadianauthor#indiepublishing
If you’re as excited about Winging It as I am then you probably wish you could read it right now. (I’ve read it and I want to read it again.)
Go Pre-Order it… Seriously!
Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available now! Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
While you wait, however, you can now buy the second printing of Everdome and learn about the world that will feature in part of the book.
Will YOU be Everdome’s next hero?
S.M. Ardwur’s epic ten novel series and the world’s biggest MMORPG is a world fractured by a magical disaster and saved from destruction by a brave king and mad wizard. It is now formed of twelve floating continents with magical domes protecting them.
For thirteen lucky contestants, when a man dressed as a knight offers them the opportunity to visit their favourite fantasy world as an immersive reality show, there’s only one answer they can give: YES!
The level of impressiveness is beyond anything they can believe and some of them start to wonder why. Abigail, James, Krista, Nicole, Richard, and Megan have to learn how to play the game and win; the fate of Everdome depends on it.
A little Bond, a little Star Trek, some Fifth Element, a dash of Firefly, and absolutely no cohesion. This felt like a 2-part pilot episode that was turned into a movie. As hard as they tried to not be Star Trek, it was only the Star Trek elements that were interesting.
Score: 0
Characters
The characters were interesting and I’d love to watch them grow into more than pithy stereotypes.
The acting was way better than the script demanded and honestly each actor could have hammed it up but managed to play it straight and I’m impressed.
Score: 1
Dialogue
The dialogue spoken by lesser actors would have been laughable, but most of the time it worked. I particularly liked the “chaos gremlin” jokes.
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The visuals were very clean and the special effects were great. The fight scenes were chaotic and used way too much shaky-cam.
Overall the music was good and I like the use of modern music in Star Trek when it’s used well. There’s one song that sings about a phone and it really knocked me out of the story.
Score: 0.5
Fun
It was predictable but I liked the characters so I did enjoy it.
I do have a continuity issue with it, however. Georgiou was sent from the 32nd century back in time. According to the star date at the beginning this happens in 2324. However, Georgiou originally came from season 1 of Discovery and that was in 2256. There’s sixty some years between them but San doesn’t seem to have aged 68 years. So how did he come to the future and how did he know she was going to be there? It really bugged me.
Score: 0.5
Overall
An interesting start to a series, but as a movie it lacks depth and originality. The only thing that saves it is the quality of the actors.
Sam is 100% my favourite character in Lord of the Rings. I loved how many cosplays I saw of him at OCC2024, but this was my favourite, because it was so perfect. Frodo was also extremely well done, and together they blew my mind.
Chapter 2: My team starts to investigate, has pie, and gains a new member
Wednesday the 11th of October, 2006 – Shields Crossing, Ontario
“More vampires?” I asked.
“Impossible,” squeaked Robin as she twirled her black curls. “We’re right in a thick part of the Aether. I can feel it. Nothing is coming through here without a Fay or Wizard involved.”
We were alone in the small town’s coroner’s office, if you didn’t count the corpse. It was a strange case. An old friend had sent me reports of three deaths in the past few months.
“You’re probably right. I don’t remember any vampires that drained someone of all fluids,” I conceded.
Smiling, Robin bounced as she said, “There was an X-Files episode… or was it Buffy?”
“I’m sure there was, but unless the killer was cute, we have nothing to worry about,” I said confidently.
“Oh, um, well, the Buffy one was a hot teen Inca mummy.”
I sighed. “Let’s figure out where the bodies were found before we start interrogating the local teens. Actually, let’s leave the teens out of it completely.” I shuddered. My teen years were spent studying or hanging out with my small group of friends. The rest of the time, the other teens hadn’t seemed to appreciate my nerdyness. I did have a teaching degree, but I was hoping to teach middle grade, where they still had a sense of wonder.
“Are there any puncture wounds?” she asked.
I shrugged. “The coroner’s report is right there and so is the body, you’re the one with a medical background,” I said it as calmly and as matter of fact as I could.
“Yeah, I flunked out of medical school when I got my sword.” She’d been on a date with her fiancé and he’d pushed her in the way of a giant carnivorous plant. Thankfully, the fountain next to her produced her sword.
“Hey, I can go get Grant if you’d prefer not to do this,” I said, goading her. If I was going to get someone else, I’d have to bribe the coroner.
Angrily, she replied, “He knows nothing about anatomy that he didn’t learn from comic books. We both know how realistic those are.” She didn’t let me reply. She just dove into the files and then examined the body.
After almost an hour, she said, “He was found on Faught beach in the northern part of town. I’m guessing he floated over from the other side. People would notice a dead body on the south side of the lake. He has two healed bite marks in his back. The coroner said the desiccation and water damage made it impossible to tell how old the wounds were.”
There was soft clapping that came from the doorway and I jumped a bit. Robin gave a squeaky scream. The woman at the doorway was tall and muscled, and she had her unruly red hair tied in a high ponytail. She smiled and said, “Hey Al, great-uncle sent me to liaise with you and your team.”
I walked over and gave her a big hug. Seeing Robin’s confusion, I said, “Gatekeeper Robin Beckett, this is detective Sylvie Therien, my cousin.” I turned to Sylvie and asked, “Isn’t this a little out of your jurisdiction?”
“Nope,” she pulled out an RCMP badge and said, “Inspector Sylvie Therien with Yggdrasil Command.”
“Since when has the RCMP been involved with Yggdrasil Command?” I was confused. As far as I knew it was a military organization.
“Four months ago when the higher ups thought they needed more breadth of help. They even have civilian agents now.” She seemed pleased.
Robin gave Sylvie hero-worship puppy-dog eyes as she asked, “Does this case have to do with aliens?”
Sylvie gave the younger girl a crooked smile and asked, “Why would you think that?”
“An inspector with the RCMP shows up at a weird case and talks about being part of a mysterious organization. It’s just like Stargate or the X-Files.”
Nodding sagely but obviously trying not to laugh, Sylvie said, “I can’t comment on aliens but I’m here to help you investigate.”
“Let’s get out of the morgue and go talk to my contact,” I said. “Who wants pie? I’m buying.”
We left and walked down the small town’s main street. The only way to describe the town was picturesque. It was like something from a kid’s Halloween movie, pumpkins and decorations everywhere, lots of trees threatening to change colours, and big banners announcing the next festival.
Shields Crossing was a town that embraced tourism in the way a dog in heat embraced everything; desperately and without any sense of shame. That meant festivals, activities, and lots of artisanal or quaint shops. My personal favourite was Pie’s Shop, a place that made the best pies in the world.
The rest of the team was already in the store when we got there. There were four little tables and we were taking up two of them.
“Oh, Albert dear, could you give me a hand back here?” asked Piper, or Pie as they called her. She looked like she was in her eighties, moved like she was in her thirties, and talked like she’d been around forever. She was the picture of a perfect grannie. I was fairly certain she was a magic user.
I went to the back and she gestured at two large bags of flour that were blocking the back exit. I picked them both up, wanting to show off, and put them in the small pantry.
She smiled.
In the front, there was a small window between the shop and its neighbour, a small coffee place. I went to the window and ordered everyone a coffee.
When we were all sitting, Pie brought us all slices of pie. No one had ordered, but she still knew everyone’s favourite. Like I said, I think she’s a magic user.
Robin had just gotten the rest of the group up to speed when Grant gestured a little too wildly, knocking Sylvie’s coffee over.
From the puddle of coffee came a French-style epée. Sylvie looked at me confused, and I just sighed. “Welcome to the team, cuz.”
Her only reply was to swear and say, “My fiancé is going to kill me.”
