SIX REVIEWS
3
Bojack Horseman
3
P.S. I Still Love You BY MEGAN BORMANN After Jenny Han’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” was adapted by Netflix, the world was captivated by Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky’s romance. Now Lara Jean and Peter are back, and there’s more drama. Lara Jean soon learns how to cope with dating someone who was previously involved with her frenemy, Genevieve. Jordan Fisher debuts as John Ambrose McClaren, one of the other recipients of Lara Jean’s five love letters. Fisher’s character is important because he helps Lara Jean discover the difference between love that is safe and comfortable and love that is risky and heartbreaking. The love triangle between Lara Jean, John Ambrose, and Peter is the most accurate portrayal of high schoolers suffering from romantic tension. In this version, the two boys have limited interactions with each other, and the story focuses on Lara Jean, who is trying to figure out her emotions towards the two of them. The story also focuses on the destruction of female friendships that can come with competing for a boy’s attention. Lara Jean and Genieve learn how to reconcile their differences. In this new chapter, we learn more details about Peter and Lara Jean’s relationship, focus on the toxicity of jealousy within a relationship, and we get to continuously switch who we are rooting for Lara Jean to end up with. Team Peter or Team John?
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Sonic the Hedgehog BY KINGA MOZES The theater was packed, considering it was Valentine’s Day and that the movie playing was none other than “Sonic the Hedgehog.” Although the animators recreated Sonic after some heated backlash on Twitter, the bluedog-mixed-with-Grinch end result was... disturbing. Voiced by Ben Schwartz, a.k.a. Jean-Ralphio from “Parks and Recreation,” it was impossible to tell Sonic’s age. According to the video game, he is supposed to be fifteen, which makes sense, since Schwartz is forty. The movie was a never-ending chase scene to escape Dr. Robotnick, played by Jim Carrey. Carrey is a masterful comedian, but you could tell through his eyeliner that he was not having it. His performance fell flat and wasn’t enough to make up for the multiple scenes of Sonic flossing. Despite my lack of amusement, the audience seemed mesmerized. At one point, someone behind me was wheezing, and it felt like the laughter was auto-generated. I overlooked the existence of a Sonic fandom; it felt like I was being left out of a 101-minute-long inside joke. The movie’s saving grace was the sexual tension between Sonic and Tom, which shined brightest when they were throwing darts and square dancing together. Tom was played by James Marsden, the guy who got curved by Rachel in “The Notebook.” I guess it worked out since he and Sonic seemed happy together. Thankfully, Lil Yachty and Ty Dolla $ign made a song just for this movie that played during the credits, and there will definitely be a sequel.
Season 6 BY KYLIE HEIDER There are few shows more pleasantly surprising than the adult animated comedy “Bojack Horseman.” Its six-season arc came to an end as the final episodes streamed on Netflix in late January, and with it concluded the stories of Bojack, Diane, Todd, Princess Caroline, and Mr. Peanut Butter. In those six seasons, “Bojack Horseman” has evolved from a silly comedy about show business, animals, and people into one of the most compassionate and emotional portrayals of humanity in recent television. Perhaps the show feels so refreshing because it doesn’t run from the failings, lies, broken promises, and immorality of its characters. In fact, the morality game is at the heart of the show, the inhabitants of “Hollywoo” constantly trapped between their own vices and virtues. In this final season, Bojack is fresh out of rehab and off to a new job as an acting teacher at Wesleyan University, wondering how he will move on from the wrongdoings of his past. The season brings forth everything built up from the previous seasons, as Bojack tries to reconcile his mistakes and create his future. From a technical perspective, the showrunners have demonstrated a mastery of the development of character and the relationships between characters. Despite the tremendous lows that Bojack has seen, a show about loneliness, addiction, and depression manages to offer the catharsis of optimism. Frankly, I cannot recommend “Bojack Horseman” enough. There will be something in the show you will connect to, some epiphany to be gleaned. So if you haven’t started it, start it. And if you haven’t finished it, finish it.
MAR 2 - 23
