A bit of random is just that... a few random thoughts that have been hanging out in my head. It could be a rant, opinion, or something I think is really cool.

As someone who listens to an insane amount of music, it is probably a surprise to absolutely no one that I use Spotify...A LOT. I am too cheap to spend out the money for premium...so I hear ads. I don't mind it except for when it freezes up and then I have to restart the app (especially on my laptop...takes forever). I usually tune out most advertisements that they play. I really like it when they promote new artists or recommended...but the point of telling anyone any of this is that there is a series of ads that I absolutely can not stand and make me want to scream: The State Farm song covers.

I HATE THAT THESE EXIST. There are far more important issues going on in the world, I know...but I REALLY need someone to delete all of them from the universe. I do not appreciate them ruining good songs.

Image Credit: Animationmagazine.net

 

The Willoughbys, adapted from the book by Lois Lowery, is an animated comedy released on Netflix earlier this year. I have attempted to write this review several times. I just can't seem to decide how I feel about it. The film is very much one of those that you will either really like or really hate...or just be left confused. While watching, several flaws stick out to me, however when given time to settle (and lets be honest, forget certain things) it doesn't seem as bad. I usually avoid reading reviews done by others until I have finished mine to prevent my opinion from being tainted, but due to how conflicted I felt (and because they kept appearing in my sns feeds), I decided to take a peek at what others thought. It didn't help. I have watched The Willoughbys twice now. I try to watch each film I review at least three times. I don't want to watch it again though. That probably says everything you need to know about it. 

So, what do I like about it that is keeping me from saying it is awful? Two things: the animation and Ricky Gervais. I loved the animation. There was a thread texture to everything, that ties in with the story and looks very unique. The film is very bright and the use of colors was fantastic. Ricky Gervais as the cat/narrator was a perfect fit. His delivery combined with the animation of the cat was my favorite thing about this film. It did not surprise me to see mostly gifs featuring the cat when I was looking for images to use in this post.

Now, what's so bad about The Willoughbys? The story is adapted from a book that I have not read. I do not know how true to it the film is. So please keep that in mind as I talk about the story. Granted...I am unsure if it was the story or the pacing that caused more problems. We start off the film with a backstory to how the parents got together and how they deal with their kids and how the siblings get along. Then we start with the main story that goes back and forth between being very slow and super fast and takes time to have scattered moments that seem pointless. Was there not enough story to make an hour and a half film with or did they just cut too much from the book?

I'm sure no one is surprised the cat was my favorite...right?

The main problem I had with the pacing was that it was super slow during things that were not vital to the story. Then, of course, the important stuff was rushed through. Each character has super unique personalities, but none are given an opportunity to truly shine or grow (at least not at a realistic pace). This led me to feel apathetic to them for the most part. The parents are absolutely awful but not in the typical awful parents in a children's film way. This is probably where my perspective being older than the intended audience ruins things.

Don't get me wrong. I love films that do feature awful parents/families. Matilda and James and The Giant Peach are two of my favorite childhood films. However, the justice served in those films was much more satisfying. The Willoughbys is just sad (more realistic..but still).

As I already mentioned, I have watched this movie twice and have no plans of intentionally sitting down to watch it again. Will I play it in the background sometime? Possibly.

Rating: ✬✬✬✬✬✩✩✩✩✩

Okay, so obviously things are VERY different. For the first time in several years, there is a new layout and there's a new blog name...allow me to explain. Anyone who has followed this blog knows all about my mental health and writing blocks that lead to extended hiatuses. I love writing, but have zero confidence in myself. I started blogging to help with this and my issues with expressing my opinions (I suck at it). Over the years I have tried so many things and changed the types of things I write about. I put unneeded stress on myself trying to stick to a certain niche, schedule, or style...and trying to be perfect...ugh. This has led to my love of blogging being drained and twisted into a chore. So....I took a much-needed break. Several times over the past few months I have prepared to come back...but I repeatedly fell back into old habits and ideas would die out before even being given a chance. Before Skuggi Drago, I had another, mostly personal blog. There, I posted whatever I felt like posting...reviews, opinions, emo poetry, etc...I did not worry so much about the format or having everything look super professional or perfect. I didn't stress out over the statistics and how successful each post was (or wasn't). I want to go back to that mentality. I want to go back to enjoying blogging and sharing my thoughts and opinions about things. 

Infinite Loop GIF By Doze Studio

This left me at a crossroads. What do I do with Skuggi Drago? Do I just continue to post here or should I start 100% fresh? In the past, when moving to a new blog, I have always regretted how much work from my previous one would be lost. I would spend hours sorting through posts....trying to decide what to move to my new home. I don't want to do that again...so...I'm staying here. However, the name "Skuggi Drago" just did not feel right anymore. It always felt a little weird (I suck at coming up with names for things) and never seemed to completely fit. It also felt like a chapter was closing...so it seemed fitting to find a new name: Wondermajica

Yes...once again I mish-mashed things together. The people who know me well know exactly what this name means and how much better it represents me. Now the only problem left to face was all the broken links that I would have to update. I don't wanna deal with that. So...the blogger address stays the same, but the name and domain get the new name. This means that all old skuggidrago.blogspot links will still work and redirect properly.

Wondermajica is intended to be a bit more personal. No schedule, no set series. Just complete and utter controlled chaos😆. As I adjust to a new layout, there are bound to be hiccups and I still need to update ALL of the pages. However, this fresh start feels right and I look forward to sharing more of myself and the things I wanted to talk about...but didn't.