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williskittye
Reviews
Yu Long (2021)
An epic Chinese fantasy
The director did a good job emphasizing how emotionless the Dragon King and Ice Star are. Neither have experienced mortal emotions, and both are falling in love with females. Dylan Wang and Yang Dong act this perfectly.
The scenery and costumes are beautiful, and the dragon is long, typical Chinese type, that looks like Dylan. The sound is disconnected, like old movies sound, but doesn't mar the experience. One thing I like about these actors is they have natural looks, NOT the huge eyelashes, basketball boobs, and big fish lips.
I've seen criticism of the actors for underacting and overacting. Those are both typical of fantasies. The characters matched the original story. Many people either don't read the book, or don't realize that actors are directed--they emote the way the directors tell them. They also do multiple takes of each scene. An actor may be asked to raise an eyebrow or move differently, or the script changes. Then the desired takes are pieced together to make the show. Please people, look at some outtakes and reshoots before watching a main story so you understand that this is not real.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005)
The ultimate story-filled hero's journey for kids (and adults)
The imagination in the storytelling is wonderful. My addition will be that the adults that write comments on some of the episodes, such as "The Great Divide", seem to miss the world-building and character development in those stories. In every "hero's journey", there are unusual characters to meet and situations to learn from. There are 3 divides in that show, and there were messages in two of them. How monotonous it would have been to race through the seasons with just fighting and fleeing from Zuko. Like the stories in the Odessey or Hercules labors, each place and people had a unique flavor.
The New Legends of Monkey (2018)
A fun, fanciful series that the family can watch. Much needed.
I hope there is a season 3. We have enjoyed the first two seasons very much. Good old fashioned heroes vs bosses. Monkey's fighting and expressions are fun to watch, and the humorous relationships between Monkey, Sandy, and Pigsy brings a laugh. Took a bit of explaining to the kids that he is actually part monkey In the book, and Monkey picked on Pigsy, so that's why he does that.