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Reviews
The Care Bears Movie (1985)
Perfect for Very Young Viewers and Xillenials Alike
Firstly, I completely understand why some find The Care Bears Movie cringe-worthy. It's slow-paced, simplistic, and as wholesome as an after school special (perhaps even more so). It isn't particularly funny or wacky, either, like most kids movies from this era. If you're looking for the unhinged whimsy and intrigue of Labyrinth or The Neverending Story or even Fern Gully, you won't find it here.
But what it lacks in humor and wit, I feel it makes up for in sweetness and an earnest attempt at creating colorful characters kids will love. Sure, the show and movies were made to sell toys, but so was My Little Pony and Transformers (among many others) and if even one child saw this film and learned a little something about expressing their feelings or making friends, isn't that what matters most?
Maybe I'm just biased here, having grown up on the film, but it seems to me a great choice as a first film for babies or very young viewers. It's not overstimulating and it teaches important lessons about friendship and compassion in clear and easy terms. And if you were raised on it like I was, it's fun to revisit from time to time for a nostalgia fix. There's some fun voice acting from some great names and a few classic animation tropes. It's especially nice to fall asleep to.
The only thing I would personally change would be the music. The songs feel verrrry lazily written. If they'd sprung for a better songwriter, I'd give it a 10. 🤷♀️
Obsession: Dark Desires (2013)
Great Concept, Poorly Executed
Generally speaking, the reenacters should be the ones who are, y'know, acting, but here, some of the actual victims relaying their stories also feel scripted, like they're being coached on what to say the entire time for dramatic effect. During a few episodes, the dramatic timing reached a point where I found myself researching, to triple-check that the cases were real.
That's not a slight on the victims, of course, and there were a couple of stories from the first season that ripped my guts out. But, most of the time, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was putting words in their mouths, which outright contradicts the show's mission statement.
Add to that the (albeut predictably) unrealistic reenactments and a palpable lack of even anecdotal forensics... It's simply hard to feel the truth in Discovery's latest awkward attempt at true crime.