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HAMILTON ON DISNEY+

BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR HAMILTON ON DISNEY+

Hi everyone! I’m back with a very exciting post that I thought I would not be writing for a very long time. My review of the filmed Hamilton Production on Broadway with the OBC!! After the unexpected announcement that the Hamilton film would find it’s home on Disney+ instead of being released in theaters in 2021, I was ecstatic. I could not believe it! I have been listening to the album with the OBC for years now. I never get tired of it, it always puts a smile on my face and the occasional comfort whenever I need it. I have watched Hamilton four times now and I just love it so much. So let’s go...

Overall reaction

Even after watching four times now, my reaction is still the same. I truly believe that it is a brilliant masterpiece. That is high praise for sure, but Hamilton deserves it. I will never forget experiencing it for the first time on July 3rd. I was blown away and could not take my eyes off the screen. It was exhilarating to finally see this, after listening to it for years. It is the little details that you do not get to experience when listening to the album that I loved the most. So overall, I was blown away by it and exceeded all of my expectations.

Film 

I have never seen a filmed stage musical, so I do not have a reference. However, I thought this was beautifully filmed. It showed the whole stage when it was needed and zoomed in on the actors when necessary. It was an intimate experience. You get the best seat in the house, so to speak.

Cast

I already knew the cast was phenomenal due to listening to the cast album. Seeing them perform all the songs was even better than I expected! Here is an itemized list (hehe) of all the cast members, because they all deserve a chance to shine! Special shout-out to all the ensemble members, without them the show would just not be complete!

Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton Favorite performance: Hurricane (so beautifully staged!!)

The man, the myth, the legend! I am a huge fan of Lin and his work (even beyond Hamilton)! I thought his Hamilton was great and very funny at times. The emotion in his performance was really good! Lin wrote this whole thing!! It all came from his mind, which is incredible in and of itself. 

Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton Favorite performance: Burn (iconic)

Phillipa is so talented. She has an amazing voice and pair that with her amazing performance and it is practically perfect. Her acting and singing during the final song, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, was so emotional. It had me crying all the three times I have seen it. 

Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr Favorite performance: Wait For It (this is one of the songs that made me a Hamilton fan)

Leslie Odom Jr. is one of the most talented people ever. He is so amazing on that stage. Everybody always said that The Room Where It Happens is a true masterpiece and I always liked the song, but it was not my favorite. Seeing Leslie and the Ensemble cast perform it, WOW! Incredible. Leslie is the perfect Burr and had me crying and laughing many times.

Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler Favorite performance: Satisfied (what else?!)

I always found Renée’s voice so damn powerful in Satisfied, which made me love the song more. Seeing Satisfied performed was magical and I will never get over how amazing that song is and how perfect Renée performs it. She is a true powerhouse whenever she shows up and confirmed that Angelica is one of my favorites in the show.

Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson Favorite performance: What’d I Miss (this was hard)

Daveed Diggs. Daveed Diggs. Daveed Diggs. Oh my gosh, he was even more perfect than I thought. Daveed is one of the cast members everyone always raved about and now I know why! If I had to describe his performance, I would say it is electric. He just immediately captures your attention. For both Lafayette and Jefferson!  

Christopher Jackson as George Washington Favorite performance: One Last Time (this was so powerful)

The first time Chris emerges on the stage as Washington, you are just immediately drawn to him (at least I was haha). He just has a very powerful presence. Especially in Right Hand Man, his entrance is EVERYTHING! History Has Its Eyes On You has always been one of my favorites on the soundtrack and it was even better seeing it. However, his moment is One Last Time. It is truly a defining moment of the entire show.

Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison Favorite performance: Yorktown (his part is so good)

Oak has some fantastic moments in the show! His Hercules Mulligan is so great and full of energy. As I said, his part in Yorktown gets me so hyped! I loved James Madison’s parts with Jefferson, they had awesome energy together. Another fave Madison line is in The Election of 1800. The first line is Jefferson saying if they can get back to Politics since a lot of drama and sad stuff happened in the past few songs and Madison is like uhh, please with a soft voice because he has been crying. So funny and relatable!

Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton Favorite Performance: Blow Us All Away (funny in the beginning and ends so sadly)

I enjoyed Anthony Ramos’ performance quite a bit! He was great in conveying emotions as both Laurens and Phillip, with both roles having quite emotional endings. I was shocked to find out there was a part just before Non-Stop that showed Hamilton learning about Laurens’ death, that was so sad and Anthony Ramos did it so beautifully. I was very impressed by him and I cannot wait to see him in In The Heights!

Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds Favorite performance: Say No To This (her vocals are so great here)

Peggy and Maria might not be the biggest roles in the show but Jasmine slays in both of them! Especially as Maria, her vocals in Say No To This are even better than on the cast album. She was amazing!

Jonathan Groff as King George III Favorite performance: I Know Him (Jonathan’s performance makes this song work so well)

Jonathan was funny on the album but when you see the performance with it, it just completes it! He was phenomenal, and I loved that he showed up during some other songs as well, for example in The Reynolds Pamphlet, absolutely hilarious! I also enjoyed his little announcement at the beginning, where he said Enjoy MY show, that was a neat thing to include here!

Favorite Musical Numbers

Okay, so these are all my favorite performance, taking into consideration the song itself, staging, choreography, and production. I love how seeing the show made me love songs that were not my favorites before! So here they are in a non-particular order:

My Shot 

So powerful, I think I almost jumped off the couch at the end because I was so hyped!

The Schuyler Sister

Even better than I thought it would be! From the use of the rotating stage, the performances, and choreography.

Farmer Refuted

This was the one song I always skipped on the album, however, seeing it here makes me lol every time! It’s great.

You’ll Be Back, What Comes Next?, and I Know Him

Give me all the King George content, soooo funny, I just love these moments in the show!

Helpless and Satisfied

Satisfied is still my favorite of the two, however it was breathtaking seeing how well the two are connected. Especially Satisfied, first the toast, then rewinding to see Helpless from Angelica’s perspective, and lastly coming back to the toast. I just thought it was stunning to see! The staging here is phenomenal.

Wait For It

The song that made me love Hamilton. Seeing Leslie performing it, made me love it, even more. He is so talented and amazing here. I had goosebumps. Even though the staging and production for this number are simple, it just makes it even better because you can just focus on Burr!

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

Every time I watch it and Yorktown ends, I always shake my head in awe. It such a powerful moment in the show and it just makes me very hyped (especially Mulligan’s part). SO good.

Non-Stop

I know I keep talking about how great the staging is, but I feel like the staging from Satisfied, Non-Stop, and another one is the best ones in the show. The ending of Non-Stop on the stage with all the characters standing above Hamilton, stairs being moved from one side to the other all so seamlessly... *chef’s kiss*

Cabinet Battle #1 and #2

The energy between Hamilton and Jefferson here is so good, and I love they look into the audience and make them a part of it. Lin and Daveed just nail these songs!

The Room Where It Happens

Two things: LESLIE and THE CHOREOGRAPHY. That is all.

Washington On Your Side

I just really started loving this song after seeing the show. I also loved the beginning of the song where Burr joins Jefferson on stage, starts singing and Jefferson is just standing there confused thinking: “Where did you come from all of a sudden?” This is Chris’ moment in the show, he just conveys so much emotion in every line. 

One Last Time

This is Chris’ moment in the show, he just conveys so much emotion in every line. 

Hurricane

I just love this song and the use of the rotating stage here is excellent, same goes for the lighting.

The World Was Wide Enough

Seeing this for the first time was so emotional, the part where only Lin is singing and you onlyhear his voice... Pfff, amazing! Also how Leslie ends the song, WOW! 

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

The way I sobbed during this... I just thought it was a beautiful ending for the show itself.

Okay, that was a long one! But I love talking about Hamilton and if you read the whole post, I guess you like reading about it! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! What were your favorite moments from the show?

Have a festive day and stay safe! 

XO 

Yenai

[servinglemonade]

The Mandalorian Season 2 Review

BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 1 AND 2

Hi everyone, it has been a while since The Mandalorian finished up its second season, and to be honest, I kind of miss waking up at 9 AM on Friday to watch this show. Now, I loved season 1 and have watched it multiple times already. I was so excited for season 2 and to see more of Mando/Din and The Child and where their story would go. I never would have thought season 2 would go the way that it did. It was incredible and even better than I thought it would be. This Is The Way. Keep on reading to find out my opinions for every episode this season!

And again, beware... SPOILERS AHEAD

Chapter 9: The Marshal (dir. Jon Favreau)

I enjoyed the first episode back in the world of The Mandalorian. The first thing I noticed about this episode was the run time. Its a 54 minute episode, the longest we have gotten so far. I liked that it was so long, since we had been waiting on the second season for about a year and the episode overall was enjoyable. Being back on Tatooine was great since it is one of my favorite planets in the Star Wars universe. I liked seeing more of the Tusken Raiders and loved that battle scene with the krayt dragon. One thing I loved from that was the change in aspect ratio! When the krayt dragon opened its mouth, the ratio changed to IMAX/full screen. That was amazing and such a good choice for it. It just made it more cinematic. And of course, who can forget that Boba Fett tease at the very end of the episode! Fun fact, I never really liked/enjoyed Boba Fett. In the Original Trilogy, he does not do much, he is just kind of there and then ‘dies’. So I never really got the hype. But, oh, I am going to talk about Boba Fett later. In conclusion, chapter 9 was a nice episode. 

Favorite moments: Mando taking out the krayt dragon like a BOSS, Mando talking with the Tusken Raiders in their language, The Child in his little pouch on Mando’s speeder bike with his ears flapping in the wind.

Overall: 7.5/10

Chapter 10: The Passenger (dir. Peyton Reed)

This episode was more of a side quest but hey, if it is nice, I do not mind. This is a fun episode but those spiders at the end... They just reminded me of those spiders in Rebels season 2/3 and I HATED those things. However, the action scene was very thrilling. I loved the beginning of the episode, where some guys try to take The Child from Din and he tricks them. The Child running into his arms again and Din messing with the guy that took his jetpack was great. The episode mostly takes place on this ice/snow planet, which I always enjoy in anything Star Wars! This episode also introduced us to Frog Lady, who was a nice addition to the gang.

Favorite moments: Din fixing the Razor Crest and then telling The Child he should help him and the final action scene. 

Overall: 7.5/10

Chapter 11: The Heiress (dir. Bryce Dallas Howard)

This episode felt like a Clone Wars or Rebels episode and I LOVED IT!!! This was so good. I was quite surprised to see Bo-Katan show up here, she was great and I enjoyed seeing her in live-action. The action scenes, on the boat and on that imperial ship, were especially incredible and really well done, so props to Bryce! There was also an important storyline here regarding Mando and his Creed vs. other Mandalorians. Since we know Bo-Katan and other Mandalorians keep removing their helmet and Din never does, I wondered why. This finally gets adressed here and I loved seeing it unfold and how this storyline kept unfolding as the season went on. And of course, at the end of the episode, we got THE ASHOKA TANO NAME DROP! Confirming that we would be seeing her this season. I am a huge Ahsoka fan and she has become one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so I was excited to say the least.

Favorite moments: Mando crash landing the Razor Crest in the water, Frog Lady reuniting with her husband, Bo-Katan, and Mando telling The Child to stop playing with his food

Overall: 8.5/10

Chapter 12: The Siege (dir. Carl Weathers)

But before we see Ahsoka, a little detour. However, a short, sweet, and fun detour, directed by none other than Greef Karga himself! Yes, this episode saw the return of season one’s Greef Karga, Cara Dune, and the Mythrol (the blue guy from season 1). Nonetheless, the star of the episode was The Child with his blue cookies haha. The beginning of the episode was so funny with Din trying to tell The Child were to put the wires in and then them eating together. Din even showed a little bit of his face, with The Child trying to take a peek, so adorable. Additionally, I really liked being back on Nevarro and seeing how Greef Karga and Cara cleaned up the town. Once again, the action here was fantastic and Carl Weathers did a great job. The final action scene was amazing and showed how great of a pilot Din is. In this episode, I also really felt the bond between Din and The Child and how much it has grown over time! OMG, almost forgot... We learn more about Moff Gideon wanted with The Child, he used his blood and the midi-chlorians to create what looked like clones?! Crazy, AND they put a tracker on the Razor Crest, which got me very anxious about the next episode.

Favorite moments: The Child and the wires (aka me in Among Us), The Child in school and stealing blue space macarons, and the trio from season 1 back together and kicking ass

Overall: 8.5/10

Chapter 13: The Jedi (dir. Dave Filoni)

This was magical. Purely magical. Dave Filoni... Oh my goodness, what a legend. He understands Star Wars in a way no else but George Lucas does. From the action, to the samurai and western infleunces, to the emotion, everything was perfect. So, in this episode Din finally finds Ahsoka Tano, one of the few Jedi that are left. The episode wastes no time to introduce Ahsoka. Her entrance in the forest was amazing, the way she uses the force and her lightsabers, just ugh, amazing. Now, I really like Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka but it took some getting used to since Ahsoka originally is an animated character. However, she looked great here. I loved the scene where Ahsoka was communicating with The Child through the force and we learn his backstory!! His name is Grogu and was trained at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant by many masters and was hidden during Order 66. The way we learned all of this was so natural and I really did not see it coming. It was great. I really like the name Grogu, it fits him haha. The little training session with Grogu was fantastic and showed how much Din cares about Grogu. Ahsoka tells Din she cannot train Grogu because of his attachements and how that can lead him to the dark side. She even references Anakin!!!!!! Omg, the feels. Mando and Ahsoka team up to fight the Magistrate of the town and this fight was fantastic. Manda and Ahsoka are both so cool and have some great moments. Then, when we thought this episode could not get any better, Ahsoka teases what is to come as she name drops GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN!! Now, if you have not watched Rebels, this might mean nothing to you. But I gasped so loud when she said it, good stuff is coming for the Ahsoka show!!!! When Mando had to say goodbye to Grogu, I thought no... They are not going to do it, are they?! But Ahsoka sticks to her gut and says she cannot train Grogu. Instead, she sends them to the remants of an ancient Jedi temple where Grogu can choose his path. And so Mando, Grogu, and Ahsoka part ways. I just loved this episode. Also a special shout-out to Ludwig Göransson’s score. He has been fantastic for season 1 and 2, but the score at the very end of this episode, just captured the magic and beauty of this one. He is so talented! 

Favorite moments: all of Ahsoka’s action scenes, Ahsoka vs. Mando, Din learning Grogu’s name and he keeps saying it, the Trawn name drop, Ahsoka referencing Anakin, and Din and Ahsoka traing Grogu

Overall: 9.5/10

Chapter 14: The Tragedy (dir. Robert Rodriguez)

This was a short but action packed episode, oh my goodness. It just kept going at some point, which was very thrilling to watch. This episode saw the return of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, which was surprising. Now, like I said, I have never been a fan of Boba Fett. However, we was a badass in this episode with some very cool moments! I also loved that in the bts of season 2 Temuera Morrison talked about how he brought in some of his Maori traditions into Boba’s fighting style, which was very awesome to see. Okay, back to the rest of the episode. So, it starts out with Mando messing with Grogu and his name a little bit on the Razor Crest. He actually laughed, which is something we had not seen yet. He then trained with him for a bit and told him how proud he was of him and how he is special... Sooo soft! So then, they get to the seeing stone and of course Mando is an actual rookie and has no clue what any of this Jedi stuff (as he calls it) means, which is understandable of course. But I just thought it was very funny to watch. Boba and Fennec show up, a lot of Stromtroopers show up, and they have to fight their way out of that nasty situation. It was really cool!! All of them had awesome moments.  Then, when everything has calmed down a bit, Moff Gideon’s dark troopers show up and take Grogu from Mando. I just- I can’t... Another thing that happens is the Razor Crest getting blown up! Holy shit, I was shocked. So Mando is left with no ship, no Grogu, and has to get him back. So, Boba and Fennec promise to help him. Very action packed, and tragic episode.

Favorite moments: Din knowing nothing about the Jedi, the whole bit in the Razor Crest with Din and Grogu being cute, Fennec being a badass, Boba being a badass, Grogu beating those Stormtroopers in his cell, and Moff Gideon being as vilanous as ever (gotta love Giancarlo Esposito)

Overall: 8.7/10

Chapter 15: The Believer (dir. Rick Famuyiwa)

I LOVED this episode. Rick Famuyiwa did it again!! Okay, so Mando, Boba, Fennec, Cara, and Mayfeld (from season 1) go to this Empirial base to get the coordinates of Moff Gideon’s cruiser so they can get Grogu back to his dad (yes, I said it, because it’s true!). So they want Mayfeld to come because he knows stuff about the Empire and I did not really like him in season 1. However, I thought he was really nice here. He even had some funny lines. I loved the action scene on the transport with Mando fighting those pirates they encountered. It was really weird though, not seeing him in his Beskar armor. So they inflitrate the base and Mayfeld’s old superior is sitting where they have to get the coordinates, so he cannot go in, Mando wants to go but here is the twist... It is a facial scan (insert suspenseful sound). So, he goes in, tries it with his helmet on, and that obviously does not work. So he removes his helmet. This was so powerful, he was willing to let other people see his face to save Grogu. It just shows how much he cares, and I loved to see it. The whole scene without his helmet was so suspenseful. I was stressed while watching it. Pedro Pascal is such a good actor, he was selling it! Mayfeld was so cool about it though. He had been messing with Mando having his helmet on the entire time and when he eventually took it off, he was really respectful about it. Another thing I thought was fantasic this episode was Mando treathening Moff Gideon with a little message. He basically used the same message Gideon told him last season when he was looking for Grogu, but now Mando used it on him. He even said that Grogu means more to him and Gideon will ever know. Oh my gosh!!! In conclusion, after this episode, I could not wait for the finale. 

Favorite moments: Din removing his helmet, Din realizing his blaster was jammed so he just yeeted it to the pirate instead, Mayfeld and Din talking to the Empirial guy in the cantine, Mayfeld calling Din ‘Brown Eyes’, and Din’s message to Gideon.

Overall: 9/10

Chapter 16: The Rescue (dir. Peyton Reed)

Where to begin?! Oh my goodness, SO MUCH happened during this episode. Mando adds Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves to his crew to get Grogu back. They agree, since this is Bo-Katan’s chance to take back the darksaber from him. So Boba Fett distracts Gideon’s people for the rest of the crew to sneak on board. So we had Cara, Fennec, Bo-Katan, and Koska just kicking these stromtrooper’s asses and it was stunning to see. Mando goes to look for Grogu but encounters the dark troopers and they were ruthless. I honestly thought he was going to get hurt or something. Thank goodness he had that Beskar speer, so he yeeted them out of the ship and made his way to Grogu. Only to find Gideon standing there with the darksaber. He is like just take him, I got his blood. Of course, it is a trap and he attacks Mando. We get an epic fight between Gideon with the darksaber and Mando with his speer. It was so cool and Mando wins! He then walks back to the crew with Gideon in handcuffs, wielding the darksaber, and Grogu in his hand. Bo-Katan sees it and looks shocked since she now cant get it from him since it needs to won in battle as Gideon reminds everyone (he was obviously enjoying this), which I completely forgot. Then just says I yield, take it. She cannot just accept, which makes Din the rightful ruler of Mandalore (CRAZY!!!). This was left with no answers, so I am hoping that this will be explored during season 3!!. The dark troopers get back to the ship and they need a miracle now. Out of nowhere, one single X-Wing shows up. I knew it was a Jedi, but who? Of course, Luke crossed my mind, but I was like, NO WAY. So I thought, it could be Ezra from Rebels (he also has a green lightsaber). However, there was no way someone that powerful was Ezra, it had to be Luke. I will never forget it, my heart was beating so fast, I was crying, and the suspense was just, oh my. The hallway scene was fantastic. Then the jedi reveals his face, and it is Mark Hamill back as Luke Skywalker in all his glory. The CGI was impressive, although when he started talking, it looked a little off. Anyway, now Din has to say goodbye to Grogu and he lets him see his face. This was such a beautiful moment, it made me cry even more. This show is incredible, however this just proves that when you strip away all the cool stuff and guest appearances, this show is about Din and Grogu’s relationship, which in the end, is my favorite thing about the show. It was so emotional. Grogu then leaves with Luke and R2 (!!!), and that concludes season 2! This finale was just incredible, and what made it even more emotional was Pedro’s perfromance. He is fantastic! Again, the score this season was so good but in the finale, Ludwig outdit himself! So beautiful and emotional. 

Favorite moments: the whole thing, not even going to try to pick just a few

Overall: 10/10

So that is season 2 of The Mandalorian!! I have to say, after the shit year 2020 was, Mando Fridays made it a little better. I cannot wait to see it continue. I think it will be after The Book of Boba Fett with Boba and Fennec (looking forward to that!). This ended up way longer than I intended, oh well. I hope you enjoyed reliving Mando season 2 with me! Now I kind of want to watch it again...

This Is The Way.

XO

Yenai

[servinglemonade]

My first reaction to Disney +

Hello... It’s been a while since I have posted here. I had exams, then summer vacation and then I finally started college! So now that I’ve settled in I thought it would be fun to give you my thoughts on Disney+! Yes, you read that right! Disney+ is here... in the Netherlands. Exclusively. Disney is having a free trial here which started on September 12th and goes on until launch day on November 12th!

So let’s dive into Disney+ 

Interface & Features

The interface is pretty standard. It looks like Netflix, but obviously with a nice Disney touch! The home page looks really great in my opinion. On top, there is a header that showcases one movie per category (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic). You can browse per category as well. When you hover over the brand you get a little animation. Disney has a castle with fireworks, Pixar has the clouds, Marvel has their intro, Star Wars has stars and National Geographic a scenic mountain view. On the search page, you also have several collections like the Princess Collection (all princess movies and series) or Disneynature (all Disneynature movies). Hopefully, they’ll add some more soon. It’s a handy feature in my opinion. You can also create a watchlist. 

I find the movie-watching experience great as well. It’s simple and sleek. You can choose from multiple languages for both audio and subtitles. It’s also really nice to have all the movies in HD. Some of them are even in 4K/HDR! These are mostly Marvel, Star Wars, Disney Live-Action movies and 2 animations (Ralph Breaks The Internet and Aladdin!). 

There is an awesome feature that I stumbled upon while I was doing my research for this post. You can change the way the subtitles, from the color to the font. Even the opacity of the background and the font size! I did see some people complaining about subtitles. I didn’t mind them, however, the fact that Disney is truly listening to the users and trying to fix all these issues is great! Two thumbs up for ya Disney! The last thing I want to touch on here is the extras for the movies. These extras mostly include deleted scenes and trailers. However, some of them have some really cool behind the scenes stuff. The making of Beauty and The Beast, Staging The Ball from the Cinderella Live-action and the making of Sleeping Beauty just to name a few! Really great that all of those are on Disney+ as well.

Profiles

Just a quick little thing I wanted to touch on before I go to the content. You can choose from a significant number of Disney characters for your profile picture. Ranging from Disney Classics to Marvel & Star Wars to villains and princesses and even Disney Channel!

There are so many to choose from! It’s overwhelming. Here are just a few

Now it’s time for the most fun part: the content. All of the originals are not on the service yet, those will come out when Disney+ officially launches on November 12th.

Disney

What isn’t on this page?! The amount of content is so incredible. And not even everything is on it yet! Here you can find your classic Disney animations from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Ralph Breaks The Internet. All in glorious HD or even 4K sometimes. They also have some true Mickey Mouse classics like Steamboat Willie. All the Live-action movies are included here as well. From the more recent remakes (even Dumbo is on here already! If you haven’t seen it yet, please do) to absolute classics like The Princess Diaries, Mary Poppins and all the Pirates of The Caribbean movies. If you grew up with Disney Channel, all your favorite movies and shows can be found on Disney+ now! Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Camp Rock, The Cheetah Girls, That’s so Raven, Halloweentown, Descendants and so many more (all the seasons and sequels for everything). For the little ones, there’s some Disney Junior content, like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Pixar

All the Pixar animated classics are here. From Toy Story to The Incredibles 2. Hopefully Toy Story will be streaming soon too. If you love the Pixar shorts, you’ll be happy to hear that these are all on Disney+! Like Piper, Bao, Knick Knack, For The Birds and more. There are even shorts with characters from some of your favorite Pixar movies like Monsters Inc, Ratatouille, Cars and Toy Story.

Marvel

I just want to thank Disney and Marvel for basically having all the MCU movies here on Disney+! From Iron Man to Captain Marvel. Most of them in 4K as well. And a surprise… Avengers Endgame will hit the service tomorrow!! I’m already preparing to cry my eyes out again. The only movies that are not on the service yet are The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man Homecoming. I really hope Spidey will be on Disney+ as well. I need Far From Home in 4K. Besides MCU related content, you can also watch multiple Marvel animation shows. Like a lot of Spider-Man shows, Rocket and Groot, X-Men, Fantastic Four and many more. Some of the newer live-action Marvel shows are also on the service, like Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD.

Star Wars

Now for Star Wars. I started watching the movies back in the summer. Disney+ was not being tested yet. So I was excited that all of the entire Star Wars saga can be found here! From Episode I The Phantom Menace all the way to Episode VIII The Last Jedi. It’s been really great to have 1 place to watch these movies.  You can find the spin-off movies Rogue One and Solo here too! You can also watch some animated shows like Star Wars The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels and lots of Lego Star Wars shorts.

National Geographic

To be honest, I haven’t anything from Nat Geo yet. However, they do have a very exciting original coming tomorrow! However, they have Brain Games! I used to love that show, so I’ll definitely watch that. They have some amazing documentaries. Drain The Ocean, Titanic 20 years later and Free Solo just to name a few.

Disney+ originals at launch

Here is a list + some thoughts:

Star Wars: The Mandalorian (series) (trailers looked very good, so I’m excited for this) Lady and The Tramp (movie) (again trailers looked amazing, great cast as well! Really excited for this!) High School Musical The Musical The Series (series) (yes, that is the actual title, not sure about this one as a massive HSM fan, however, I will check it out) Encore! (series) (not really interested in this one, might watch it one day) The World According to Jeff Goldblum (series) (this is the nat geo original I was telling you about. Such a great idea, who doesn’t love Jeff?! Will watch this 100%) Noelle (movie) (a Christmas movie?! Yes please, I’m in full Christmas mode already so bring it on) Marvel Hero Project (series) (might watch at some point after I have watched all the other things I want to see first) The Imagineering Story (series) (as a huge Disney Parks fan, I might be most excited about this, so that will be the first thing I will watch tomorrow) Pixar In Real Life (series) (I didn’t even know about this until a week ago, looks like a lot of fun, so I will watch this for sure)

The Disney+ app

The app has been pretty solid. It basically works the same as the web version, it’s just on your phone or tablet. The app also has a download feature. Which means you can download anything on the service and watch it offline. How handy is that!  If you have a chrome cast, the app is a must. You can cast all of the movies and shows on your TV, which is great because you won’t have to look on your small screen.

Some issues

This was obviously a test version of the final product so it wasn’t perfect from the get-go. The app struggled in the beginning with the continue watching feature. When you were watching a show, it didn’t let you watch the next episode from your continue watching. However, this has been fixed and now works like you would expect.  The other big issue was the chrome cast compatibility. When I had just subscribed for the trial it would start normal, however, after a while, it would freeze and the image would get all distorted. So that was pretty annoying. Lots of people were having this issue and by magic, it was fixed a couple weeks later and now works as expected!

Is it worth it?

Now if you either love Disney, Pixar, Marvel or Star Wars or you love everything, yes it is worth it. Even if you just love Marvel and/or Star Wars, I feel like it’s worth it. You have The Mandalorian coming at launch and so many more in the years to come. Like Falcon and The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, an Obi-Wan show, and so much more. So maybe if you’re waiting for that, you can get it when those shows will be on Disney+. Plus for the price, it’s a pretty sweet deal. Just €6.99 per month or €69.99 per year (which if you calculate it, can save you €13.89 per year). I love everything so for me it can’t get any better than this. Lots of the movies I watched on Netflix were mostly Disney or Marvel movies, so for me, this service is perfect.

Wow, this was a long one. If you have read it all the way through, thank you so much! I hope it was informative.

So how excited are you for Disney+? Will you be getting it at launch or will you wait? Plus if you are getting it, what will you watch first?

Have a magical day!

XO 

Yenai

[servinglemonade]

Best of 2018: Music Edition

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! In this post, I’ll be talking about all my favorite music that has come out in 2018. I really wanted to post this before 2019 started but with all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I just did not have time. So here we are!

Spotify Wrapped

According to Spotify, It turns out my most listened artist of 2018 was the Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton. I’m still loving Hamilton! There are always Hamilton songs in my playlists so this came as no surprise. My most listened song of the year was, however, a surprise. I was sure it was going to be All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar & SZA as I have probably listened to that song every other day if not every day. While All The Stars is in the top 3, the winner was Bonita by CNCO! When I saw that I remembered the month where I literally had that song on repeat for days on end. That’s probably what gave it the number one spot.

Best Albums

Black Panther The Album Music From And Inspired By - Various Artists

My favorite and probably most listened to album of 2018! Never has a movie soundtrack that wasn’t from a musical captivated me like the Black Panther soundtrack! Making songs inspired by all the events in the movie with elements from that amazing score has been so creative and well done! I can only take my hat off for that. It isn’t nominated for 8 Grammy’s (including Album of the year) for nothing!

Favorites: All The Stars, X, Opps, Paramedic! & King’s Dead

EVERYTHING IS LOVE - THE CARTERS

We finally have a Bey X Jay album and wow, it’s everything! I didn’t really know what to expect going into it. However APESHIT was not it! An instant classic, what a banger and how fun to perform with a crowd, sadly I have not experienced it. YET ;). One thing I love about the album is that it's a nicely balanced mix of those songs you can really dance to like APESHIT & 713 and songs that you can just vibe to like HEARD ABOUT US & LOVEHAPPY.

Favorites: APESHIT, NICE, 713, FRIENDS & HEARD ABOUT US 

Suncity - Khalid

Khalid aka one of the best new artists! I have been listening to some songs of his (OTW, Location, Young, Dumb & Broke). When both my sister and my mom recommended this particular album, I decided to give it a listen. Am I glad I did just that. I really enjoy albums like this, just very chill and vibey. I can listen to this all day!

Favorites: Saturday Nights, Better & Suncity

Hamildrops - Various Artists

Alright, not really an album, but I thought I would include it here anyway. Cause what’s a music blog post without any mention of Hamilton?! So in 2018, us Hamilton fans have been treated with 12 new songs (one every month) inspired by the musical! First of all, awesome idea! I don’t listen to all of them all the time, but there are some true gems like Found/Tonight & First Burn! And some really unexpected ones like the Hamilton Polka by Weird Al and even a cameo from BARACK OBAMA! 

Favorites: Wrote My Way Out (Remix), Found/Tonight, First Burn, Rise Up Wise Up Eyes Up, A Forgotten Spot (Olvidado), Cheering For Me Now & One Last Time - 44 remix

Best Songs

God is a woman - Ariana Grande

I mean, what to say about this other than amazing. One of my favorites songs of the year and Sweetener. As I’m typing I really don’t what to say. Let’s just keep it simple: A. POWERFUL. ANTHEM. That’s it. (watch the video too, it’s stunning!)

Made For Now - Janet Jackson & Daddy Yankee

JANET JACKSON GIVING US TRUE POP MUSIC IN 2018! OMG. Okay now that that’s out of the way. Janet Jackson is such a damn queen. I can’t believe this song wasn’t appreciated by the general audience. The pop genre these days is so much more of the same, this is so fresh. It has a great message, a great beat with a few African influences and DADDY YANKEE! The video is a masterpiece! So beautifully shot, great fashion, awesome choreography (as you would expect from a Janet music video) and it shows New York in a great way. Another thing, the video is available in 4K quality. It’s so cinematic, please watch it on your TV! If this isn’t nominated for several VMA’s............. Give this song some love! 

Nothing Breaks Like A Heart - Mark Ronson (feat. Miley Cyrus)

Miley is back! I have loved Miley since her Hannah Montana days, it has never stopped and to see her killing it now is just amazing! Nothing Breaks Like A Heart is an amazing song. But it’s the video that makes the song even better. Showing the injustice in America, while some rather focus on celebrity news is so true and it’s great to address it this way!

Honorable mentions (from this year & some oldies)

This Is America - Childish Gambino 

Bloom (Album) - Troye Sivan

The Kids Are Alright (Album) - Chloe X Halle

F.A.M.E (Album) - Maluma

Greatest Hits - Queen

CNCO - CNCO

The Rubberband Man - The Spinners

Ashes - Céline Dion

Queen (Album) - Nicki Minaj

Never Alone - Tori Kelly (feat. Kirk Franklin)

SweetSexySavage (Album) - Kehlani

Camila (Album) - Camila Cabello

Solo (EP) - Anitta

Fooled Around And Fell In Love - Elvin Bishop

Sweetener (Album) - Ariana Grande

Nice For What - Drake

thank u, next - Ariana Grande 

Ao Vivo e Cores - Matheus & Kauan with Anitta

Lost In Japan - Shawn Mendes

One Sweet Day - Mariah Carey (feat. Boyz II Men)

Taki Taki - DJ Snake (with Selena Gomez, Cardi B & Ozuna)

Sin Pijama - Becky G & Natti Natasha

This was all my favorite music from 2018! I hope you enjoyed it and maybe found some new jams! I can’t wait what’s in store for 2019.

Have an amazing day and stay flawless!

XO

Yenai

[servinglemonade]

Marvel Trailer Madness: Spider-Man: Far From Home

Hi everyone, I know this is super late. I was contemplating not to do this post, cause it’s been a while since this came out. However, I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS TRAILER. So let’s see what Far From Home has to offer!

BEWARE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AVENGERS ENDGAME!

So first up is a spoiler warning for Endgame by none other than the king of spoilers, Mister Tom Holland himself. Hilarious. But seriously if you HAVE NOT SEEN ENDGAME YET (first of all what are you doing? Go and see it!) THEN STOP READING THIS! WE ARE GOING INTO MASSIVE SPOILER TERRITORY! If you have seen it, well then keep reading!

Still here? Awesome! So the trailer starts out with a very sad Peter Parker up on a roof looking at a mural of Iron Man. Telling us that everywhere he goes he sees his face. Oh my gosh, Marvel, it’s too soon. After that, we see Happy who says he misses Tony too. Who doesn’t miss him? I still cry about it. You have a shot of Peter crying, the poor kid. Happy goes to say that Tony wouldn’t have done what he did if he didn’t know he was going to be here after he was gone. Next up is an awesome shot of Spidey taking down some bad guys in a restaurant. He is wearing his Iron suit and it looks amazing! I love the spider legs on the suit, it really adds something special to it. We then have Peter telling the cops he can’t be the next Iron Man, cause he’s busy doing their jobs. THE SASS. He also tells them that he’s going on vacation! We see Happy with Peter again. Nick Fury is calling him and Peter nor Happy doesn’t want to talk to him. Why wouldn’t you? Nick Fury is the best. Anyway, Peter solves the argument by just sending Fury to voicemail. Like Happy said: you don't ghost Nick Fury. We have some shots of the Europe trip, which looks fun! (if you don’t count those fire, water, and earth monsters). I want to go on that trip. After that, we have a scene from the other trailer, just slightly different. After Fury shoots Ned, he now says: “You’re a very difficult person to contact, Spider-Man.” You see Peter, this is what happens when you ghost Nick Fury. In the first trailer, we saw that Fury takes Peter to some sort of cave? Well, now we can see that it’s an underground office or headquarters. Maybe he’s trying to get SHIELD up and running again. Who knows. Anyhow, Peter meets Mysterio for what seems like the first time. Fury introduces him as Quentin Beck. He says that his world could use someone like Spider-Man. Fury then says that Mysterio is from another earth. The snap (I have no idea which one of the three that happened he's talking about) tore a hole in their dimension. Which means, a multi-verse, probably. That’s what Peter says that means, so I’m going with that! Which immediately makes me think about Spider-Verse! Which also had multiple universes! Imagine MILES MORALES IN THE MCU!!! Back to the trailer, we can see that Maria Hill is also there! Fury tells Peter he has a job to do and he needs to come with them. Peter is a little skeptical about coming with them, so he asks if Thor or Captain Marvel can’t help instead. Fury says Thor is off world and Maria says Carol is unavailable. Peter says he’s just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Fury claps back by saying: “Bitch please, you’ve been to space!” HILARIOUS! AMAZING! And very true. We then see Mysterio and Peter having some drinks in a bar. He tells him he just wants to go back on his trip, with a girl he really likes and he wants to tell her how he feels. So cute! So we see Peter walking with MJ and as Peter is about to say that he likes her, MJ interrupts him by saying: You’re Spider-Man. I was like oh my gosh, she knows. She says it’s pretty obvious. Peter panics, of course. Next up is Mysterio giving Peter some advice about saving the world and sacrifice. We see some shots from the battle on the Tower Bridge in London. There is one particular shot that raises a lot of questions. You see Peter wearing some glasses. These are Tony’s glasses!!! He wore those in Infinity War during that battle in New York! I really wonder what Peter saw... The last scene of the trailer is a very funny scene between Happy and Peter’s friends! Happy being chaotic as always. I love him so much!

Here are my favorite shots:

So that was the trailer of Far From Home! What did you think? Are you even more excited for it now? Because I am. Already got my tickets as well for opening night! Thanks for reading :)

Stay Flawless and have a marvelous day!

XO

Yenai

[servinglemonade]

Monthly Favorites: October 2017

Hello everyone. October is over, which means it’s finally acceptable to listen to Christmas music in public and I couldn’t be more excited for the holiday season! But let’s pretend it’s still Fall (it technically still is, but those are minor details) and talk about my October faves.

Music

Mess - Jordan Fisher I discovered Jordan through his cover of You’re Welcome featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda for Moana. I started following him on IG because he looked cute too. I saw that he had a new song, I listened to it and I loved it! It’s a chilled out song and perfect for a rainy day. The video for Mess is very good and creative as well. Jordan definitely has some moves. Gorgeous & Call It What You Want - Taylor Swift I’m definitely a fan of Taylor her music. After not liking the first 2 singles of reputation (Ready For It has grown on me and I love it now!), these 2 definitely caught my eye. They are both very well written and I love them. These two are for sure 2 of my favorites on Reputation, but more on the album in next month’s post.

Wolves - Selena Gomez X Marshmello I was so excited about this and it did not disappoint one bit. The beat is very good, which is always a plus in my eyes. The chorus is one of my favorite parts of the song! Highly recommend adding this one to your playlist.

Havana - Camila Cabello (feat. Young Thug) I never really listened to Camila’s music nor Fifth Harmony’s for that matter, but when I saw everyone giving Havana a lot of praise, I checked it out. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I’m in love with the song now. The Latin vibes are obviously present and it’s amazing! Camila also nails the song whenever she performs it live! The video for Havana is perfect as well! 

Corazón - Maluma X Nego do Borel If you know me, you know I love Maluma, so of course, I have to say something about his new song. He made a video to give his fans a preview of the song and, the fact that he looked incredibly handsome in it is beside the point, the song sounded really good. The song is actually by Nego do Borel, he sings it in Portuguese featuring Anitta and Wesley Safadão, but Maluma has made the Spanish version of the song. The song came out, and surprise, I loved it. It’s very fun to dance on and I can’t wait for the video to come out!

MOOD - MiC LOWRY Oh MiC LOWRY. Probably my favorite group at the moment, I saw them live on Justin’s Purpose Tour and they were unbelievably good. Since then, I have been listening to their music and they are amazing. Their voices are incredible and their music very R&B which I love. Their newest EP, Mood, is just that. R&B and amazing vocals. Give it a try, they are one to watch!

You can follow my Fall playlist on Spotify to see what songs I’m loving this Fall!

TV

Don’t worry, this will be spoiler free! Even though everyone has probably finished it already ;)

Is there anything else to talk about this month but Stranger Things season 2? I do not think so. After absolutely loving season 1, season 2 had some high expectations and did they deliver? YES, yes they did. It was amazing. It had everything I loved about season 1 and more! You had some great character development for a lot of characters. Like Steve Harrington. Let’s just say I thought he was an absolute jerk, but he has changed for the better and he is probably one of my favorites characters now. The kids were awesome and funny as always, I also loved that we saw more of Will this season.  The new characters were great as well and had a nice touch to the story!

I legit can’t wait for season 3! 

That was it for this month’s favorites! I hope you enjoyed it! See you next time.

Stay Flawless!

XO

Yenai

[servinglemonade]

Monthly Favorites: August 2017

School has started which means homework, deadlines, and studying. I have truly missed blogging. So I’m happy to bring you the very late August favorites! Read about my newly discovered music and exploring some new places! 

Music

Tell Me You Love Me - Demi Lovato After Sorry Not Sorry I was hoping for a more soul-like song from Demi. And guess what happened? Tell Me You Love Me happened! This song reminded me why I love her so much. It’s that raw talent. The chorus is incredible like I can imagine her performing this with a huge choir. And Demi her voice?! Damn girl, is all I can say. I am so excited for the album to come out!

Friends - Justin Bieber (feat. Bloodpop) It wouldn’t be a music favorites without my bae J. The first time I heard this song, I thought it was good. I loved his voice in it and the lyrics were very cute. Now I really love it, it’s such a catchy bop. The beat reminds me of Sorry, that is no surprise because it’s from the same producer, Bloodpop. So Justin made a hit, once again, that’s my boy.

Skrt on me - Calvin Harris (feat. Nicki Minaj) If one album screams summer vibes, it’s Calvin Harris’ Funky Wav Bounces Vol. 1. This is one of my favorites from the album and it may or may not have anything to do with Nicki’s feature. But seriously, this is such a tune. It just gives you those immediate summer vibes. I really like the beat from it, it gives me some Carribean island vibes.

Dangerous Woman (album) - Ariana Grande Sometimes it takes a while to fully appreciate an album, that happened to me with this one. When DW came out, I wasn’t completely sold. There were a few stand out songs, but I wasn’t a fan of the album as a whole. I consider myself a big Ariana fan, so a few months later I gave the album another try. After that, I didn’t even know how I didn’t love it the first time I heard the album. My newly discovered love for Dangerous Woman has opened my eyes. I’m seeing the songs in a new light and I can’t get enough. It’s a diverse, fun bunch of songs. My favorites include: Be Alright, Into You, Greedy, Thinking Bout You, Sometimes, Touch It & Knew Better/Forever Boy. 

Places

Hoge Veluwe National Park If you know a little bit about Holland, you might be aware of the fact that is very flat. Well go a little east and you’ll think you’re in a totally different country. That was my experience when I visited the Hoge Veluwe National Park this month with my family. It was breathtaking. We explored the area with bikes and it was so relaxing! We drove our bikes through beautiful woods. Another part reminded me of France or Italy. You were surrounded by hills with purple flowers as far as the eyes can see! My favorite part? The area with all the sand. It looked like I was magically transported to the world of The Lion King. It also reminded me of the Sua Cara video from Major Lazer feat. Anitta & Pablo Vittar. So obviously me and my little sister didn’t miss the opportunity for a full-on photoshoot! It was very fun. If you ever come to Holland, I highly suggest a visit to the Park!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Until the next one!

Stay Flawless!

XO 

Yenai

[servinglemonade]

Monthly Favorites: September 2017

How is September over?! This month has flown by. But this means that it’s finally FALL! Call me basic, but I love it. Maybe because I’m an October baby? Who knows, I love the leaves changing colors, the fashion, the tea (even more tea than usual) and HALLOWEEN. Although Halloween isn’t really celebrated here in Holland, I love the idea of it and adore a good Halloween movie!

But before we talk about all things Fall, let’s talk about my favorite things from September!

Music

Dusk Till Dawn - ZAYN (feat. Sia) Now I’m not the biggest Zayn fan. Although I love Cruel and Still Got Time! But a new one has been added and it is this one! I’m in love with this song. It’s a pretty chilled out one. Zayn his vocals are amazing, Sia adds a nice touch to the song and don’t even get me started on the chorus! Usually, the chorus is one of my least favorites parts in a song, but this chorus really stood out. I don’t really know how to describe it, I just instantly loved it. This is such a perfect song for autumn! Tell Me You Love Me (Album) - Demi Lovato My favorite is back with a brand new album. After listening to it twice, I have to say it. This might be her best album yet. It just has everything I love about Demi. You have absolute jams and really emotional songs. You can really hear how much she has grown and I’m so proud! I really hope she is FINALLY doing a full European tour, we have been waiting. My favorites right now are: Tell Me You Love Me, Sexy Dirty Love, Daddy Issues, Only Forever, Lonely and Hitchhiker. One Last Time - Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) If you know me, you know how much I love Hamilton. But that doesn’t mean I can’t excited over new gems that I haven’t paid much attention to in the past. One Last Time is one of those gems. I watched the performance of this song at the White House and I had tears in my eyes. It was just beautiful. Chris Jackson is so talented, his voice is just... I don’t even have words. This song is definitely in my top 10 Hamilton songs!

Knew Better Part 2 - Ariana Grande I talked about Dangerous Woman in last month’s post and how much I loved Knew Better/Forever Boy. You can probably guess how happy I was when I find out about Knew Better Part 2! This song is so fun! It isn’t what you would usually hear from Ari, but I love it! It’s short but so catchy! You can find the song here.

Concerts

MALUMA The highlight of the month was Maluma’s concert in Amsterdam. I was so excited to go and it exceeded all my expectations! We had such a good view of the stage and we were relatively close. It was just so much fun and Maluma is absolutely amazing on stage! He gave an incredible performance with all the hits! Basically all my favorite songs from him, so I was pretty happy. Not only is Maluma amazing, but he is also very, very hot. Like, he is beautiful. I had to fan myself a couple of times, haha. You could tell that he was having such a good time during the concert and I think he really enjoyed the crowd in Amsterdam, especially the side me, my sister and cousins were standing ;) GRACIAS MALUMA! Te amo mucho.

Thank you for reading my September favorites post! I hope you enjoyed it.

Stay Flawless!

XO

Yenai