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 Dicentra

Follows 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).

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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 Dicentra

With 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.

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Movie Review: The Electric State

February 23, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Electric State
Directed by: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Simon Stålenhag
Starring: Chris Pratt, Millie Bobby Brown, Woody Harrelson
Distributed by: Netflix
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 Stars (8 Stars on IMDB)
Reviewed by Dicentra

An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.

I’ve always been a fan of Millie Bobby Brown’s work since she initially rose to fame as Eleven from Stranger Things, so getting to see her in another Netflix production where she teamed up with Chris Pratt and Woody Harrelson (among others) was a no brainer. Based on Simon Stalenag’s The Electric State book, Michelle (Brown) is an orphaned teen who refuses to buy into the mass technology usage that has swept across the world following a war between the robots and the humans. With robots being exiled into an ‘Exclusion Zone’ after losing the war, Michelle’s life is thrown into a chaos after a robot from her brother’s favorite cartoon shows up on her doorstep (claiming to know where her brother is). A cross country trek ensues, where they must fight off those from the mega corporation pursuing them as well as those tasked with the eradication of robots in human territory.

The cast of this movie is certainly stacked. Along with Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and Woody Harrelson, there are some other major players like Giancarlo Esposito, Stanley Tucci, Ke Huy Quan and Anthony Mackie. It took me a second to recognize some of them as they are playing robots, and their voices were a little digitized at times but their mannerisms are definitely there (even in a metallic body). Admittedly, there were some moments where Chris Pratt’s character felt less like the rugged smuggler he was supposed to be and more like Starlord from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (see the music included in the movie), but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the film.

While the plot of the movie isn’t that original (it reads like a much more dystopian version of Ready Player One), the emotion is. Chris Pratt’s comedic timing showed through in the movie, and helped lighten some of the more tense moments. And the way that Michelle and the Cosmo robot were able to connect with very few words was particularly impactful. I started crying during the last scene between Michelle and her brother Christopher (Woody Norman), with Ke Huy Quan’s character PC looking on.

Overall, this was a great movie and I was very entertained. I’m not sure why critics viewed it so negatively. It’s available through Netflix, and I recommend it to sci-fi movie fans who also enjoyed movies like Ready Player One.

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Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert

February 2, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Dicentra

For one awkward sleep paralysis demon, scaring humans should be simple—except Gemma’s first solo haunting goes hilariously wrong in this tantalizing dream of a short story by New York Times bestselling author Katee Robert.

When Gemma’s supposed to terrify her appointed victim, she ends up captivated instead. Caleb, a romantic who believes in all things supernatural, finds her adorably pink-skinned, horned form more alluring than alarming. But as their steamy night unfolds and unexpected feelings bloom, Gemma must choose between her demonic duties and the human who makes her feel anything but monstrous.

Katee Robert is one of my recent favorite authors, so it was exciting that she released another novella for the Scared Sexy collection from Amazon Original Stories. All of the Amazon Original stories are currently available on Kindle Unlimited as ebooks and audiobooks, centered around a theme, and designed to be able to be read in one sitting. It’s hard to explain, but the best way to describe Beautiful Nightmare would be a VERY grown up Monsters Inc. It’s also very similar to Richelle Mead’s Georgina Kincaid series (though those were released over a decade ago).

Sleep paralysis demon Gemma is at the end of her training, and it’s now time to cut the training wheels and go feed from humans on her own. Unfortunately for her, she’s not the best at harvesting fear. Thankfully, there are other emotions available for feeding on (if you know Katee Robert’s books at all it’s not hard to guess the alternate emotion). I really liked the ending, as it was a nice spin and I wasn’t expecting a twist like that in such a short book. The author also included conversations about consent, which I felt were important but also ate a lot of word count for such a short story.

Overall, this was a fairly entertaining read and I’m glad I picked it up. Andi Eloise did a good job bringing the story to life with their performance in the audiobook, but it didn’t keep me fully engaged. Think of this book as good for when you’re in a bind for something to read (i.e. doctors office, DMV waiting room, etc.) but not something you would necessarily have to go out of your way to pick up.

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TV Show Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Season 2)

February 2, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Season 2)
Distributed by: Disney+
Writers: Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg
Starring: Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.)
Rating: 5 stars (10 stars on IMBDB)
Reviewed by Dicentra

Demigod Percy Jackson leads a quest across America to prevent a war among the Olympian gods.

I just finished the second season of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians tv show on Disney+, and this is the adaptation that my forever Percy Jackson fan heart has been waiting years for.

It is obvious how much the showrunners and writers put into this book, especially with the easter eggs they dropped for die hard fans. Clarisse’s (Dior Goodjohn) storyline this season was also particularly impactful compared to the books, as you actually got to see some of the scenes that were only hinted at, such as when Ares (Adam Copeland) gives her the ship that they head to the Sea of Monsters on. I connected more to her portrayal of Clarisse emotionally than I did to the Clarisse from the books. Daniel Diemer’s portrayal of Tyson this season was excellent, and I really loved his brotherly relationship with Percy (Walker Scobell). It was a really impactful choice from the production team to never show Tyson with two eyes, as in the words of producer Dan Shotz everyone in the audience is a demigod now.

While I’m sad that some monsters from the book didn’t make the cut (the Hydra in particular would have been a CGI budget black hole), all of the changes they made from the book made sense. I especially appreciated more appearances from Sally Jackson (Virgina Kull).The contents of the last episode are almost entirely different from the book, but I think it worked out well and I’m excited to see how they take the adjusted storyline into future seasons (with season 3 set to premiere before the end of 2026). The show will resonate the most with fans of the book, but I highly recommend it to viewers of all ages who enjoy adventure, friendship, and Greek mythology.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas by Directed by Emer Conroy, Megan K. Fox

January 5, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas by Directed by Emer Conroy, Megan K. Fox
Writers: Jenni Bayliss, Erin Rodman, Davah Avena, Zac Hug, Lynn Sternberger
Starring: Mae Whitman, Julian Morris, Toby Sandeman
Distributed by: Hallmark Studios
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars (8 Stars on IMDB)
Reviewed by Dicentra

Kate, a textile pattern designer, cares for her separated father Mac in Blexford, England. Laura introduces her to The 12 Dates of Christmas, a matchmaking program that rekindles her life and leads her to new adventures.

Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas, the new Hallmark mini series starring Mae Whitman, Julian Morris, and Toby Sandeman, was a chaotic yet fun movie for rom-com fans approaching the Christmas holidays. An entirely different format than Hallmark’s more stereotypical films, I enjoyed the novelty of the format as well as the relationships that are carried through multiple episodes.

Kate’s (Mae Whitman) a textile designer who hasn’t gone on a date in a while and spends her time taking care of her father. Wanting her friend to be less lonely and find some magic in the season, Laura (Lucy Eaton) signs Kate up for the “Twelve Dates of Christmas”. Lots of shenanigans ensue, from Christmas rage rooms, escape rooms, and even coordinating crazy hats. The organizer of the event, Drew (Eimear Morissey), was quite fun and did an excellent job in her role as “Christmas cupid”.

While some of the date partners were not particularly memorable (as one might expect from a show that is set to feature 12 dates), I appreciated how they helped move Kate towards her happily ever after. Said happily ever after is definitely predictable, but it makes it no less heartwarming. Don’t want to say too much about Richard (Tobey Sandeman) and Callum’s (Julian Morris) characters, as that very much spoils how things end up. While Kate’s relationships are the focus, it was also nice to see so many other characters in the mini series get their happily ever after too. The storyline between Kate’s dad Mac (Nathaniel Parker) and Evelyn (Jane Seymour) was quite funny, and to see Delilah (Mary McDonnell) running around and meddling towards the end of things was both entertaining and cringe-inducing (I felt for Mac during the book club scene). Make sure you catch the Independence Day actor reunion though!

Overall, this was a great mini-series and I’m so glad I took the time to watch it. Highly recommend this series to those who enjoy rom-coms with guaranteed happily ever afters and large ensemble casts of actors. As a note for book lovers, this is based on the novel of the same name by Jenny Bayliss.

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Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert

December 10, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Dicentra

Icarus may not have flown particularly close to the sun, but he has fallen…right into the rough hands of Olympus’s own Poseidon. Being held captive by the gentle giant wouldn’t be so bad if Olympus wasn’t on the eve of destruction…or if Poseidon stopped looking at him with those irresistibly stormy eyes.

Poseidon doesn’t have time to babysit his increasingly bratty prisoner, but he has no choice: Olympus is officially at war, and someone has to keep their best bargaining chip out of harm’s way. The thing is, the longer Poseidon is with Icarus, the more he starts to care for his sworn enemy…and the more he realizes that Icarus isn’t the villain he’s been made out to be. There’s a warmth to him, a vulnerability, that Poseidon finds difficult to ignore or deny.

Now with Circe and the Aeaens at the gate and Olympus a hair’s breadth away from falling, Poseidon will have to make a difficult choice: about himself, about his allegiances, and about the man who woke his heart from its long slumber only to threaten to break it for good…

Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert is the first M/M romance of her Dark Olympus series, and it has both a scorchingly hot romance and lots of action to set up the ending of the series.

Poseidon is one of the three legacy titles of Olympus but he has a very different energy than Hades or Zeus. First of all, this Poseidon was never meant to be Poseidon. He inherited the title when his cousins passed (along with all the responsibilities that come along with it). While he can be assertive and dominant when the situation calls for it, he really doesn’t want to be. Enter Icarus. As the child of Minos, Icarus has spent a lot of time learning to survive in cut-throat environments. With the threat of Circe’s invasion looming (and Icarus being a political prisoner of the Thirteen), they end up leaning on each other for support. And it leads to a lot of spicy scenes (which Katee Robert is known for), but also a surprising amount of emotional depth. Poseidon is a massive dude, but it was palpable to see how much relief he got from surrendering control to Icarus, even if only for the night. And for Icarus, Poseidon helped him see his worth beyond that of a tool for his father and that relationships (both romantic and otherwise) don’t have to be so transactional.

We’re creeping towards the final confrontation, and I am so ready for it. Both Zeus and Hera show their true stripes in this book, and it makes me that much more eager for their story to be told in the next book (even in the original myth their relationship was messy and there’s no doubt in my mind the author will turn that up to 11). I will say being at book 8 of a 10 book series can make things feel a bit draggy at times (especially when Hermes’ book has me even more excited/borderline bouncing out of my seat), but for those who are interested in romance and reimagined Greek mythology I think it’s worth the time investment.

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Movie Review: 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost

August 18, 2025 By Leave a Comment


3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost
Directed by: Kevin Fair
Writers: Gregg Rosen, Brian Sawyer, Joie Botkin
Starring: Julie Gonzalo, Chris McNally, Madaleine Arthur
Distributed by: Hallmark Studios
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal
Rating: 4 Stars (8 on IMDB)
Reviewed by Dicentra

The house that Anna, a new real estate agent, has listed has a spirit from the 1920s that won’t go. Even worse, the ghost is afraid she won’t be able to “pass over” unless she reconciles Anna with her ex.

“I’ve taught you the steps, sister. Now it’s up to you to dance them.”

While I’m already a lifelong fan of Hallmark movies, it’s always a treat when the writers come up with a storyline that I haven’t seen before. The romance is surprisingly not the main plot in 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost, which follows Anna Vasquez (Gonzalo), a newly minted realtor fresh off a painful breakup with her ex-fiance Elliot (McNally, who is actually Gonzalo’s partner in real life). When she is handed her first property to sell by her father, she runs into Ruby Barker (Arthur), a now ghost and former 1920s socialite who’s been haunting her family’s property since she died.

While the two women clash initially (see crazy occurrences during a house showing), after a tentative truce they realize they have more in common then not. Both are suffering from a case of lost first love, or the one that got away. As a wealthy socialite in the 1920s, Ruby had previously fallen in love with Charlie but was unable to be with him due to the difference in their station. Anna fell in love with Elliot in college, started a business with him, and struggled to find her passion after they broke up. The sisterhood that Ruby and Anna find in each other was very compelling, and I really loved the dynamic of having 3 lead characters in the movie. I commend McNally for what must have been some difficult scenes of ignoring Arthur’s ‘ghostly’ presence, especially as she strutted around in typical flapper wear (and even dropped a love note in his presence, in the name of playing cupid).

Overall, this was an excellent movie. Hallmark writers at their finest. I recommend it to those who love guaranteed happily ever after romance stories with a bit of historical flair.

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Movie Review: Kraven the Hunter

August 4, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Kraven the Hunter
screenplay by Writers: Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Director: J.C. Chandor
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger
Publisher: Sony Pictures Releasing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3 Stars (6 stars on IMDB)
Review by Dicentra

Kraven’s complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff, starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.

As a fan of the nineties Spiderman cartoons, I’ve always enjoyed Kraven the Hunter’s character. Knowing that he was getting his own live action movie (along with the remote possibility of a Sinister Six movie), I was very excited. However, the movie didn’t quite fully live up to the expectations I had going in.

While Kraven the Hunter appears on occasion as an adversary of Spider Man, I don’t ever recall the cartoons going into depth on how Sergei Kravinoff (Taylor-Johnson) became Kraven the Hunter. I really enjoyed getting to learn about his origins, how he got his powers and how he became the supervillain that we know. Prior to this movie, I didn’t realize that Kraven is actually related to another occasional member of Spiderman’s ‘rogue gallery’ but that does play a part in the story. Additionally, it was a little weird with Aaron Taylor-Johnson having previously played Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, especially with some of their similarities in overall appearance, but I was able to suspend disbelief enough to make it work and enjoy the movie. The performance of Aaron Taylor-Johnson was my favorite of the movie, followed closely by that of Alessandro Nivola.

I’m not sure if it was due to writing or some other aspect of the movie, but I feel like some of the other cast members had a lot of wasted potential in this movie. There could have been so much more done with Russel Crowe and Ariana DeBose’s characters, but it just didn’t happen. Calypso (DeBose) in particular is a very dynamic character from the comics, but they might have been limited by the constraints of a movie script length.

While I was overall entertained by the film, I fully understand why Sony and Marvel didn’t want to proceed more in this direction (and that of other solo movies like Morbius). I hope future live action movies can do a better job with bringing the source material to life, and honoring characters from so many viewer’s childhoods.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Royal-ish

June 9, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Royal-ish
Writers: Teri Wilson
Director: Roger M. Bobb
Starring: Nichole Sakura, William Moseley
Publisher: Hallmark
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars (8/10 stars on IMDB)
Review by Dicentra

Lacey is an amusement park princess who befriends 8-year-old Rose, a real-life princess, and is recruited by her handsome father to travel to their kingdom and be the new governess.

Hallmark movies are where happily ever after lovers go for a guaranteed happy ending (usually in the last five minutes), and that’s no different in one of their newest releases, Royal-ish. Theme park princess Lacey (Sakura) spends her days delivering magical tea parties to children in her role as Princess Sweet Pea. When she befriends 8-year-old Princess Rose (and her father and heir to the throne Prince Henry (Moseley) it sets off a romance that screams meet cute and swoon.

While the movie is very much stereotypical Hallmark in plot, it tackles some deeper issues. Lacey found work as a princess while she was working towards a graduate degree, and finds joy in bringing joy to others. She’s worried about aging out of her job (which hadn’t previously registered for me as an issue for theme park workers). The young princess Rose is struggling with the weight of responsibility after the death of her mother and a traumatic incident. And the romantic love interest (Prince Henry) struggles to balance his role as a father and the crown prince of a small kingdom. They did make some slight changes to the stereotypical ‘royal’ plot line for these movies that left me amused. And while the lines were undeniably cheesy, it remained entertaining and engaging.

Overall, this was another entertaining storyline. I didn’t realize this was supposed to be another ‘trilogy’ movie, as they didn’t connect it outright to the other movies (The Royal We and The Reluctant Royal) like they did in their other trilogies (The Wedding Veil Trilogy). I highly recommend this movie to those who like low pressure, guaranteed happily ever after stories. I don’t recommend this movie to those looking for innovative, high-stakes storylines that are harder to predict.

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