{"id":1485,"date":"2026-09-16T22:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/?p=1485"},"modified":"2026-09-16T22:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:07:10","slug":"fim-de-sessao-practical-magic-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/fim-de-sessao-practical-magic-2\/","title":{"rendered":"After the screening: Practical Magic 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

It hasn\u2019t been long since I started going to the movies again. Since moving to Canada, I\u2019ve only been to the cinema four times: Ready or Not 2, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The End of Oak Street, and Practical Magic 2<\/strong>. Except for the third film, I find it funny that all the others have been sequels and, honestly, I don\u2019t regret going to see any of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical Magic<\/em> is one of my favorite movies of all time. I\u2019ve watched it more times than I could ever count, and when I saw the trailer for the second one at the cinema\u2026 that was all it took for me to start counting down the days until its release. Back when I still wrote fanfiction, I always, always, always wanted to write something inspired by this movie, but I could never come up with a story that felt good enough to do justice to what it means to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to admit, I was surprised by how many people wouldn\u2019t want to live in the Owens sisters\u2019 house. How is Practical Magic considered such a bad<\/em> movie? The actresses are beautiful and talented, the story is fun and interesting, and the cinematography is so cozy! I swear, when the reviews and ratings for the first movie started resurfacing after the second one came out, the shock burst a bubble I didn\u2019t even know I was living in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, I get it. You can\u2019t please everyone and blah, blah, blah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you, who probably watched the movie when you were a little girl too, never tried to light a candle by blowing on it? Never imagined the perfect man or woman and wished you could write a spell under a full moon to make that person come to you? Maybe even dreamed of living in the little town where the movie takes place? Because I<\/strong> certainly did!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I recently rewatched the original, though, I realized that beyond all the magic of the movie - which can so easily enchant any child - what really stands out is the relationship<\/strong> between the Owens. Love and friendship, if those two things can even be separated in the way they\u2019re portrayed here, are present across all three generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duos<\/strong> of Bridget and Frances, Sally and Gillian, and Kylie and Antonia may differ both physically and in personality, but I can\u2019t imagine anything ever coming between them and destroying the sisterhood and connection that all three pairs share. They can disagree, grow apart, and be completely different from one another, but there\u2019s this invisible force between them that never lets them drift too far apart. I remember this scene close to the ending being my favorite part, when that love<\/strong> between them is made so beautifully clear.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n

\"Don't die on me, Gillian Owens, please. 'Cause we're supposed to die together, remember?\" Sally Owens<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And, really, it was almost impossible to imagine one without the other. Maybe that\u2019s why, when Warner Bros. decided to bring them all back, my desire to be a witch<\/em> was reignited<\/strong>, along with my urge to learn more spells. But what I missed most of all was seeing such a beautiful bond between two women, sisters and best friends who are each other\u2019s first priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Practical Magic 2<\/strong>, that was exactly what I wanted to see: my little witches being sisters and doing magic together. And I can happily say, with a huge sigh of relief, that the movie did not disappoint me in that regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandra and Nicole are still unquestionably talented actresses and, to me, it doesn\u2019t even feel like they left these roles for so long. The same can be said of Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, who remain just as incredible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the new additions? Well\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/
One of the most unforgettable scenes in the original movie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Of the things that were lost between the two movies, I\u2019d say that connection between the sisters across all three<\/strong> generations was one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t find Kylie and Antonia to be as connected as they could have been, or as they were when they were kids<\/strong>. Of course, they\u2019re adults now. Antonia works at a hospital; Kylie has her life with her boyfriend, but I felt like something was missing<\/strong> there. Something that showed that the sisterhood and loyalty that run in their family\u2019s blood would continue for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the film\u2019s climax makes this loss painfully clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I even commented to my friend during the screening about how much Sally\u2019s youngest daughter was left out, especially when she could have been given so much more to do. And I don\u2019t blame Joey King or Maisie Williams for that. Joey actually surprised me. Maisie? I thought she was\u2026 meh. But is that her fault, or the script\u2019s? For now, I\u2019m blaming the writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did she have to stay behind with her sister\u2019s injured boyfriend? She missed<\/strong> the biggest opportunity of her life to do something extraordinary with her powers. To watch her mother and aunt use theirs. It would have been so much more interesting to see Sally and Gillian teach her<\/strong> how to sense<\/em> her sister, especially since Sally herself could no longer do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to see mother, aunts, and daughters doing magic together<\/em>. I wanted that connection I saw in the first movie to be there too, only now between women who had grown up, changed, and still<\/strong> chose each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Still, the sequel didn\u2019t disappoint me overall. The references to the first movie gave my heart<\/strong> that lovely little flutter. Gillian has matured so much without losing her essence. Most of the jokes were actually funny. I even cried toward the end when we got that beautiful<\/strong> sacrifice to break the curse\u2026 some decisions were really well made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, technically speaking, there were a few aspects of the movie that didn\u2019t quite work for me. I found the soundtrack all over the place, with no real sense of cohesion. The lens used in some scenes left the images looking distorted. Some scenes could have been significantly shorter. And the biggest complaint I\u2019ve seen so far: Where\u2019s the contrast? Where are the shadows? Where are the colors? The lack of all that took away some of the coziness of the movie. But what really annoyed me the most<\/em> was the way they handled the cuts referencing the Book of the Raven or the past. I found them tacky, ugly, and honestly, even unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the story itself, it was a little more of the same. Men being at the center of everything. Some annoying guy wanting something he had no right to have. I bet they could have found other ways for him to become a witch, or simply given him a different desire altogether. But I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s how it happened in the book, and if it is, well\u2026 What can you do, right?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the end, if you loved the first movie, I find it hard to imagine you not loving the second. Despite a few things (nothing is ever perfect), it takes you right back to that same place your younger self visited when you first watched Gillian and Sally. Especially when you hear the first notes of Amas Veritas<\/em> again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical Magic<\/strong> is a classic afternoon movie for me, and it\u2019s exactly the kind of familiar, fun, and lighthearted movie I love watching (and writing). Being back in that iconic kitchen, in the garden, and in the Owens sisters\u2019 greenhouse was such a joy. I don\u2019t regret seeing it on opening night one bit. I laughed, I cried, and I raised a toast to that little girl who once wanted to write that spell herself, or stir a cup of coffee with her own magical powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you haven\u2019t seen it yet and want something to take your mind off things, have a few laughs, or simply spend two hours with a whole bunch of gorgeous women on your screen, what are you waiting for? We have a roof to climb and a crowd waiting to watch us jump off it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It hasn\u2019t been long since I started going to the movies again. Since moving to Canada, I\u2019ve only been to the cinema four times: Ready or Not 2, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The End of Oak Street, and Practical Magic 2.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","advanced_seo_description":"Resenha de Practical Magic 2, falando sobre o retorno de Sally e Gillia, a rela\u00e7\u00e3o entre as irm\u00e3s Owens e tudo que funcionou \u2014 ou n\u00e3o \u2014 na continua\u00e7\u00e3o.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Fim da sess\u00e3o: Practical Magic 2","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[76],"tags":[82,80,79,77,81,78],"class_list":["post-1485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fim-de-sessao","tag-da-magia-a-seducao","tag-movie-review","tag-nicole-kidman","tag-practical-magic-2","tag-resenha","tag-sandra-bullock"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Fim-de-sessao-PM2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1485"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1538,"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485\/revisions\/1538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.luanna-lima.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}