Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
TV Review: The Quilters
July 27, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Title: The Quilters
Director: Jenifer McShane
Producer: Jenifer McShane
Starring: Joe Satterfield
Publisher: Netflix
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars (10 on IMDB)
Reviewed by AstilbeIn this award-winning short documentary, men in a Missouri maximum-security prison design and sew beautiful, personalized quilts for foster children.
Rehabilitation begins with empathy.
I adored the sensitive and kind framing of this documentary, especially given the fact that many of the men who sew these quilts have been incarcerated for decades or even for the rest of their lies for what were in a few cases hinted to be terrible crimes. It’s not always easy for filmmakers or audiences to see the humanity in people with these kinds of violent pasts, so I appreciated the fact that as little time as possible was spent exploring what, exactly, they did to end up in a level 5 facility. Those details, while obviously important in other contexts, were not relevant to work these inmates were doing for children living in foster care or with disabilities like autism.
As someone who knows little about sewing, I was fascinated by the many detailed steps it requires in order to sew a quilt, weighted vest, or weighted blanket. For example, I didn’t know that cloth needs to be ironed and stretched out before being sewn together or what happens if those steps aren’t done properly. The inmates were trained carefully on their craft, and the items they produced were incredible. It was especially interesting to see how every inch of an item was inspected methodically before being shipped out to the children who were waiting for their gifts.
Regret and forgiveness were two of the deeper themes of this documentary that played out quietly in the background. A few of the men featured will probably never leave the maximum-security prison in Missouri where they have already lived for decades, so hearing their thoughts on the many years they’ve had to consider their life choices was especially poignant. I don’t want to share too many spoilers about what they’ve learned along the way, but I will say that they have had a lot of time to work through their feelings and I liked the way they expressed them.
The Quilters was a beautiful and heartwarming look at how dramatically people can change for the better when given the chance.
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 22, 2026
July 22, 2026 By 2 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Books I Wish I’d Discovered Sooner
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 15, 2026
July 15, 2026 By 2 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Would You Go Skydiving? Why or Why Not?
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 8, 2026
July 8, 2026 By 2 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Stores or Other Physical Places I Wish Still Existed
Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Include the Word “Beach”
July 7, 2026 By 37 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
There’s nothing like going to the beach on a warm, sunny day! Here are ten books that remind me of those peaceful hours.
1. Beach Read by Emily Henry
2. On the Beach by Nevil Shute
3. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
4. The Beach House by Virginia Coffman
5. Life and Music of Amy Beach the First Woman Composer of America by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach
6. Muscle Beach by Ira Wallach
7. Beaches II: I’ll Be There by Iris Rainer Dart
8. The Beachcombers by Helen Crosswell
9. A Cat on a Beach Blanket (Alice Nestleton Mystery, Book 14) by Lydia Adams-on
10. The Book of the Chesil Beach by John P. Kemp
Movie Review: Dragon Striker
July 6, 2026 By Leave a Comment
Dragon Striker
Writer: Paul McKeown
Directed by: Charles Lefebvre
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Rebecca LaChance, Waylon Jacobs, Evanna Lynch
Distributed by: Disney
Genre: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.)
Rating: 3 Stars (6 stars on IMDB)
Reviewed by DicentraFollows Key, a twelve-year-old farm boy who discovers he may be the legendary “Dragon Striker” and joins a team of underdogs to take on the school champions, while fighting to prevent an ancient evil from resurfacing.
Disney’s Dragon Striker was such a fun release, coinciding with the start of the World Cup in North America this year and combining fantasy and sports into one cartoon. The show did a great job highlighting the sport of Gorotama and the powers of the different players, but suffered from plot holes and the length of the show not allowing enough time to go in depth.
Gorotama is such a cool sport, very reminiscent of a more fantastical version of Shaolin Soccer. I loved the different powers that the players had, and I think the writers did an excellent job providing unique ways for some of them to ‘level up’ over the course of the show. It was also cool to see how some of the powers, or Tamas, were able to make use of the arenas to their advantage (i.e. twins with magnetic tamas being able to run on the ceiling). It was unclear how Key’s powers were so unique when it seemed like Ragno had very similar ones, but that leads more into some of the plot holes issues the show faced.
Dragon Striker was composed of multiple episodes that were about 20 minutes in length, but there was defniitely potential for them to go much longer. For example, Kal Asterock is supposed to be an academy of sorts but we never really see any of the students in classes (it is unclear if all they do is learn to control their Tamas for the sake of playing Gorotama). It is also a little weird that for a school that big, there seems to be only four professors (or Goyen) that ever make an appearance. I was kind of hoping that with the start of the team of Underdogs (the Knights), there would be some kooky professor coming out of nowhere to be their coach but it never happened. There’s also a scene towards the end of the show where one of the players on another team gets attacked, but they never really go deeper into what attacked him (it’s limited to three out of four of the Goyen complaining that Key coming to the school is bad news, as though he’s somehow related to the issue). I recognize though that I’m likely older than the target audience for this show, and expecting more complex shows as a result might be related to most of my complaints.
Overall, this was an entertaining cartoon and I’m glad I took the time to watch it. The show has a lot of potential, especially if they go into more of the history of the school and what happened with Key’s mom (we really only get told that she was a former Dragon Striker, and bits and pieces of what happened when she died). I really hope Disney gives this show another season, as there’s so much more to explore (and many more games of Gorotama to be played).
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for July 1, 2026
July 1, 2026 By 2 Comments
Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.
Websites I Wish Still Existed
Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026
June 30, 2026 By 46 Comments
Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Autumn seems so far away at the moment! As last week was all about summer reads, let’s see which books are coming out from September to November that I might be interested in.
1. Taipei Story by R.F. Kuang
Release Date: September 8
Why I Want to Read It: I haven’t seen many recent books written for adults that discuss the grief of losing a grandparent, so this piqued my interest.
2. Queenie Is Working on It: A Novel by Candice Carty-Williams
Release Date: September 8
Why I Want to Read It: I like to read the books that tv series are based on before I watch the small screen version.
3. Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Release Date: September 15
Why I Want to Read It: Ms. Mandel has been on my must-read list of authors since she released Station Eleven. May this book be just as good as that one!
4. Mazywood by Tananarive Due
Release Date: September 22
Why I Want to Read It: Ms. Due is another author on my must-read list. Even if she published her grocery shopping list, I would probably still want to read it. Ha!
5. Fangs With Benefits by Kath Richard
Release Date: September 24
Why I Want to Read It: Honestly, the pun-filled title grabbed my attention.
(This book cover was too large to load. Click below on the title to see it).
6. Baldur’s Gate 3 by T. Kingfisher
Release Date: September 29
Why I Want to Read It: As promised last week, Ms. Kingfisher is once again making an appearance on today’s Top Ten Tuesday list.
7. A Married Little Christmas by Abby Jimenez
Release Date: October 20
Why I Want to Read It: I know some Top Ten Tuesday bloggers and some reviewers for Long and Short Reviews love Christmas. This looks like a festive read, so I’m hoping it will interest at least a few of you. I’m sure curious about it.
8. Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun
Release Date: October 27
Why I Want to Read It: This sounds like something conjured up in a fever dream, and I mean that in the best possible way. I love books that play around with logic just enough to feel dreamlike.
Version 1.0.0
9. Almost Animal: A Memoir of Motherhood, Wildness, and the American West by Amy Irvine
Release Date:November 10
Why I Want to Read It: Postpartum depression isn’t something I know much about, but I’m hoping this memoir will help to educate me about it.
10. Tiger’s Mouth: A Novel (Thousand Voices) by Lucy Tan
Release Date: November 17
Why I Want to Read It: Frenemies is the slang term that came to mind as I read this blurb. Here’s hoping the characters are able to sort out their differences.
TV Review: One Piece: Into the Grand Line (Season 2)
June 29, 2026 By Leave a Comment
ONE PIECE: Into the Grand Line (Season 2)
Showrunners/Developed By: Matt Owens and Steven Maeda
Starring: Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Romero, Taz Skylar, Charithra Chandran, Mikaela Hoover
Publisher: Netflix
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Rating: 5 Stars (Ten stars on IMDB)
Reviewed by DicentraWith his straw hat and ragtag crew, young pirate Monkey D. Luffy goes on an epic voyage for treasure.
Netflix’s ONE PIECE: Into the Grand Line is a jolly good time and entertaining for both those familiar with the original manga/anime and those new to the world. A series based on the manga by Eiichuro Oda and led by Iñaki Godoy, playing the fearless leader of the Straw Hat Pirates Monkey D. Luffy, there is lots of adventure and new places to explore as they work towards finding the One Piece.
The Straw Hats are the centerpiece of the story, but in Season 2 they both gain new crewmates and new adversaries. With the new crewmates, there is Miss Wednesday (played by Charithra Chandran from Bridgerton) as well as the most adorable medical professional I’ve ever seen – Tony Tony Chopper (voice and facial motion capture by Mikaela Hoover). The adversaries come in pairs, in the form of the many Baroque Works agents trying to kill them. I snorted out loud when Roranoa Zoro (played by Mackenyu) made a comment about them plundering other pirate’s treasure to pay for their costume budget, as it’s a very fair and valid point with how elaborate almost all of them are dressed. The amount of wax required to style Mr. 3’s hair (played by David Dastmalchian) is exorbitant. While journeying through the Grand Line, they also take on the voracious and exiled former King Wapol (played by Rob Colletti) who has come back to reclaim his kingdom. There are so many other cool side characters that I can’t name them all (especially without spoilers), but I thought the team at Netflix did a great job bringing the CGI parts to life as well as making very realistic and immersive sets. In going down a YouTube rabbit hole, I found out that they made a full size Going Merry to film on, and I think that’s totally awesome.
Overall, this was an excellent season and I think that it has real potential to be one of Netflix’s lead titles since Stranger Things had its series finale last year. It’s super exciting that Season 3 is already in production, and I’m eager to see how the Straw Hats fare against Joe Manganiello’s Mr 0 and the rest of Baroque Works.
