arawakt Reviews

Princess Power (2023– )

Finally a good one

[18 May 2024]

This show is great. Sure, it might not have the "usual" character design you see from Disney or Dreamworks etc. But I actually think that's a good thing. First of all, why would we need more of the same? I like that the princesses are also pretty badass. They like sports, science, smart things and still have the princess thing going on. They love to wear dress pants, which is SO healthy for girls as an influence. You can be fabulous with pants! It's way more practical than dresses. And they do wear dresses for fancy events, so you won't miss the fancy aspect of it. They teach about friendship, caring about people, animals and their world. And they're pretty original. Give it a chance. Much better than a lot of shows out there directed to girls which only teach them to be popular, dress to impress and care about looks. This one is way more than that. Very healthy and clean. Great diversity too.

Mermaze Mermaidz (2022)

Another damaging show for girls

[13 May 2024]

Why do they keep making terrible shows directed at girls? This show features what seems to be young women mermaids who are all about fashion and looks. First of all, there's nothing wrong with liking clothes and make up etc. But why is this mixed with provocative and "sexy" looks when the audience is supposed to be little girls? There can be fashion and make up without the sexuality that comes with it. Whenever a male character is shown, they're fully dressed. You can have "style" and not have to be half naked. You can like style without being ALL you care about. Why not make a show about females (or kids in general) who can actually do something more than try to look pretty and crave online attention? We already have so much of this in real life, and it's incredibly damaging. These mermaids do everything they do to get online attention and be liked by strangers. And who's supposed to be audience? Little girls? Inappropriate. Tweeny girls? Still inappropriate. High schoolers? Probably won't buy your dolls a that age, and guess what... still inappropriate. Boys? Still inappropriate. Not because of gender but because of the same reason it's inappropriate for girls. Shallow desperate attention seeking needs isn't healthy for anyone. And hey, why not have boys too? Some boys like fashion and makeup. And when there's a boy or guy on any of these shows, he's fully dressed, so why not do the same with girls? Also, all of these girls have impossibly "perfect" bodies (according to silicone valley standards) that are seriously shallow. All their facial features are also very one-note. No diversity whatsoever. This is just telling kids that this is what someone should look like to be "liked" and it's an impossible task in real life. No wonder there's so much teenage depression nowadays.

Mayfair Witches (2023– )

Anne Rice would cry

[30 April 2024]

First, Interview with the Vampire... terrible. NOW this. This is even worse. Basically... imagine taking some "inspiration" of anything Anne Rice and turning into a mediocre fan script mixed with nudity to actually get attention. Such travesty. I swear we need some sort of creativity quality control before putting these dreadful series out there. Especially if it's based on something that was already established and successful. I wasn't even a big fan of the original books (I preferred the Vampire Chronicles) because of all the odd incest theme throughout the story. However, it was part of the whole storyline. Anne Rice had amazing creativity and was great creating an actual story. This... ugh...this has no substance and it simply sucks. Shameful.

Wonka (2023)

Lovely surprise!

[17 April 2024]

I wasn't expecting much from this movie but when I watched the trailer, I was intrigued. I also saw the amazing cast and figured, why not? But I am so glad I gave it a chance! This movie is charming, endearing, and has just the right amount of silly, emotional bits, and singing. I absolutely loved the acting and the story. There were little cute things tying it to the original, so that was great. Overall, I am a fan and I appreciate the way the writers, director and cast managed to honor this classic story. I also appreciate the fact that the animals in the movie are CG and not real. I hate to think of the amount of pressure some movies used to put on real animals to perform in films. So this was another reason to like it. I usually cringe at certain CG animation, being an animator myself. But the animation is great, no complaints there either. Overall, great film. Very glad I watched it!

Stan Lee's Superhero Kindergarten (2021– )

A bit inappropriate at times

[10 April 2024]

I feel like this show was targeting the parents more than the kids. There's a lot of grown up talk and puns, as well as sarcasm that a kiddo won't understand. It's okay to have some inside jokes for the parents, but it's so much that it gets old quick. It feels like the writers don't have kids so they don't know what to write. It would be much better if the kids were teenagers and it was a teenager show. They also had a chance to make the heroes be 3 girls and 3 boys, instead of 4 boys and only 2 girls. The villains are even at least, but it was a chance wasted there. And with so many kids, a bit more diversity would've been great too.

Manifest (2018–2023)

Lazy writing

[4 April 2024]

There was a good idea somewhere in the writing, but the writers didn't know what to do with it. The last episode was completely rushed and weird. Everyone is CG'd and it just shows the lack of planning. It should've been filmed at the same time the first episode was filmed to keep consistency. It's obvious the writers had no clue on what to do with the ending, so they piled up a bunch of fans ideas from social media and tried to please everyone.

It started out fine. It got sort of soap operish as you go, but I figured I could tolerate it since the story was a bit interesting. I love Josh Dallas, he's a good actor. But the writing just gets worse and worse. Very unrealistic in terms of relationships. A bit over dramatic and depressing in all the wrong ways. Some of the main characters are unnecessarily unlikable and irritating (Olive for example) and just made the story worse.

Rainbow High (2020– )

Damaging and zero creativity.

[4 April 2024]

Look, I would love to find a good show for kids that empower little girls, and if boys like it too, then great. But this show is really not good for many reasons. The actual content is incredibly useless. ALL ABOUT LOOKS AND SOCIAL MEDIA ATTENTION. We already have so much "influencer" content and competition out there! What terrifies me is that this is directed to young kiddos. It's teaching them to compete for glam and attention. To crave popularity and become dependable of "likes" and approval from strangers. It's such an unhealthy message. I feel like I dropped a few IQ points watching this. There was a girl who had a terrible day because her outfit wasn't right, and she actually said "this is a total disaster" - seriously? Is this what kids show want to teach girls? That everything depends on their looks? Her friends "help" her feel better, but not by saying that she's more important than her outfit, but by telling her she will find the right outfit. This is outrageous.

The character design is nonexistent. Someone "designed" one character and obviously duplicated the model a bunch of times. Even older people look the same as younger ones. Just complete laziness and lack of design skills. The girls are dressed with tight clothes and wear more make up than a clown. There's a boy dating two girls at once in the show too. Such a terrible cliche. The boys are also pretty much one character copy-pasted into multiple versions of the same terrible design.

So many other shows out there! If you want a rainbow sparkly show that actually teaches something, 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' is great. If you like action, 'Action Pack' is great and also teaches some valuable lessons. Both are on Netflix kids too.

I love rainbows and sparkly things, as well as action packed shows for kids too. As long as the show can actually teach something, it can be a crazy hot pink or rainbow fest or a monochromatic bland scenario. Just give us some actual growth in some way instead of more mental numbness.

Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie (2023)

The franchise is so good. Not this film though

[21 December 2023]

Omg the voice. Wrong choice! Marinette / Ladybug sounds like she's around 30. She's supposed to be mid teens! The voice is beautiful, just completely wrong for this character. The film is underwhelming and lacks the fun, cheeky characteristics of the show. You can have a musical, that's okay. But it's borderline depressing. Both Ladybug and Catnoir are fun and bubbly, even when fighting and under stress. Here, they're always too intense and pessimistic. It's a shame. Such a great show and the other movies have been just as good. What happened with this one?? It's not the first Ladybug "movie" so if the feature length is the excuse, then there's no excuse. The character design is also different. Ladybug's hair is supposed to be dark blue, not sky blue. Everyone looked a bit different, which is somehow forgivable, had it not been such a downer. And again... the voices. Just no.

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Fake 3D tackiness at its best

[7 November 2023]

Omg I had forgotten how tacky and terrible movies were when they were trying to shoot everything to look "cool" as a 3D movie. So many shots are so unnecessary but obviously done to use the 3D feature. Unless a movie was shot in 3D (like Avatar) where things just look natural and you get immersed in it, it doesn't work. Instead, this has some random, obvious shots to get the point across, which was incredibly bad and fake. The story is ridiculous and the acting... oh God, the acting... so bad. It makes my insides cringe with embarrassment. I don't get why these are still being made. They just ruin the franchise, which started great.

Final Destination 3 (2006)

Nothing like the original

[7 November 2023]

Wow this was bad. It was an excuse to show gory content for the sake of gory pleasure. It also has some unnecessary and ridiculous way to sexually exploit women as always. Yet another movie where they show female nudity and mix it with pain, torture and gore. Which never happens when men get killed. But that's so common lately, it didn't surprise me at all. I was just not expecting it so obvious and crudely in this movie series. The lack of originality and thoughtful writing is comical. At least the first two had some critical thinking about them. This one was predictable and the main characters were way too exaggerated and over acted. Once again, sequels just being written for the sake of making a movie and not to tell an actual good story.

Friends (1994–2004)

Overrated, offensive and infuriatingly influencing at the time

[7 September 2023]

I don't understand the high reviews. The cast has some talent here and there, but the show is incredibly overrated. It's sad how it actually reflects so many terrible things from the culture and times. The worst actor is Lisa Kudrow, omg, the woman can't act! Just saw her in Grace and Frankie, (another atrocity by the same shameful creators) and she was still awful. This show created so much hype and influenced so many people at the time. I had to go to college surrounded by a bunch of idiotic men trying to be like Joey, or women judging each other and hating themselves for being a normal size because the "fat" Monica was "so fat" whereas her fat suit actually looks like a normal size woman. It reflects how society in USA was (and sadly still can be) all about white, privileged people who get what they want. Unrealistic writing, nobody would be as successful as the characters ended up being, considering their unstable jobs and lack of education. The amount of offensive content is off the charts. Racism, sexism, fat shaming, ageism, transphobia, making fun of neurodiversity, toxic masculinity, promoting and normalizing "being hot" over being smart, or even being yourself. The only highlights are the star guests here and there, but it actually made the regular cast look even worst at times, since the special guests were more experienced and talented most of the time. It's a shame it's such a beloved show, the content is so damaging to society.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Masterpiece

[16 June 2023]

Anyone who's criticizing this film based on the story and complaining about it being too "National Geographic" do not understand the whole point of it. The first one was meant to bring some awareness about nature and love for our planet. This one is a sequel. Of course it'll be about the same topic. What did you expect?

Some people also criticized that the Na'Vi spoke in English. Yes. That's what happened in the story. Colonizers came years prior the first movie's timeline, and taught them English. The (good) humans did it to comunicate and bond, and the Na'Vi learned it to defend themselves. I hate to break it to you, but a LOT of countries know more than one language, and it's a great thing. It only empowers you.

I don't need to say that the visuals of this film are flawless, breathtaking and plain mesmerizing. The animation and CG are perfect. Don't let the haters turn you down, this film is great.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

JJ ruins everything

[5 June 2023]

It's clear JJ went online and grabbed a bunch of fan ideas and took whatever he thought would please a specific audience. Maybe to be spiteful against Rian's work?

It's obvious that JJ also only approves certain diversity and he only used one specific cliche thing to say "yay, Im diverse, see?" but fails completely.

The story is yet again, a messy pile of fan-based theories cooked up with some cameo sauce to make people happy.

Just like Episode 7, this was a mess and was in no way original. Episode 7 was just Episode 4 recycled into a mess after all. (Sandy hot planet, Tavern filled with tough guys and bounty hunters, cute droid carrying a message, etc) Shameful way to end the series.

Cobra Kai (2018–2025)

Good but

[5 June 2023]

The writers should really stop sexualizing teenagers, considering the main target audience for this show is likely a bunch of 40-50 year olds. It started great... what happened? Is it Netflix's fault?

The actual story line can be a wonderful walk into memory lane and bring back the cool things from the 80s, and the music is great! The cameos and Karate Kid nostalgia are brilliant moves. But there are some little things dragging the show a bit. For example: Larusso's daughter is the classic spoiled brat little princess who needs to have things her way, and somehow, she is someone we are supposed to like? No thanks.

Really hope this last season is not pushed too much and has some believable conclusion. I also hope they include Hilary Swank into the series.

Barbie Dreamtopia (2017–2018)

Some diversity please.

[18 May 2023]

Everyone except the price, is a blonde blue eyed skinny character. Even animals are white washed with blue eyes etc. So many chances to be inclusive. Girls of all kinds love Barbie and the toys are supposedly trying to be inclusive. What's up with this series? I was told there were "diverse" characters...?? Where? Watched four episodes. FOUR. Nope. Saw a YouTube short piece of video with some different colored princesses who were all basically white people with colored hair. All thin and had the same tiny nosed, straight hair, Caucasian featured face but with colored hair. And that was just a YouTube video.

There's nothing wrong with being blonde and blue eyed (and extra skinny??). But kids need to be exposed to diversity. There could've been episodes where there's a different Barbie or Chelsea who are of other races and face/body features, and who are the main character of the episode, not just an occasional side story unimportant character (if ever) Kids with different face features, body types, even bald girls. Are you aware of all the sick kiddos who don't have hair due to chemo? Or burnt victims? How about some wheelchairs? Or kiddos missing limbs. All these can be included and would be a great way to normalize these children. Not all kids are thin blonde blue eyed kids with "perfect" (or what society and Hollywood dictates as such) bodies.

Dead Ringers (2023)

Hard to watch, but very good

[24 April 2023]

This show had me hooked from the first episode. If you can stomach the multiple themes of miscarriage, birth, suicide, drugs, alcoholism and murder; then it's a brilliant story. But it's certainly not easy to watch. What I liked the most was the way it accurately portrays modern capitalism and the lack of humanity that billionaires have towards women's health and healthcare.

It also touches on the very sad but real subject of motherhood, wether is chosen or not. It also shows a very real picture of pre/postpartum depression, miscarriage, death at childbirth and family trauma from all these subjects.

The cast is perfect and each character is played flawlessly. As others said before me, Rachel Weisz certainly deserves an award for her amazing performance.

Maybe I Do (2023)

Another story with a man who won't commit. Plus extra terribleness.

[18 April 2023]

Seriously? Another man who doesn't want to commit. Great. Because we never see that in every movie or tv show everywhere. And let's add terrible cheating couples who are together ... why? Another film normalizing cheating and lying. Great, because again, we don't see that enough in real life? Yet another film with a desperate woman who settles for a man who didn't want to commit, but let's make it funny... wait no "hilarious" throwing in a great cast of older actors who clearly aren't getting enough jobs now so they had to accept these ridiculous roles.

If you're ready to commit but are with someone who isn't ready to commit, they're not ready. Find someone else or put it off yourself if you love them more than yourself. Women: don't settle for crap like this movie is trying to make you do.

Older couples: what keeps you together? Kids? No. Money? No? Then just leeeeaaave. Gosh. This is just a terrible, terrible story.

Save yourself the time. The dialog is terrible too.

The Love Witch (2016)

What a (bad) joke. Home movie much?

[11 April 2023]

This "film" is such a waste of time and money. It's quite hysterical (and insulting) that some people will compare this junk to 40s-60s movies. This is closer to a bad student film that a hormonal teenager would film to get off to or as an excuse to see nudity. I seriously wonder what's wrong with the film industry. How does this have a 90% at rotten tomatoes? It's so bad. It's not even "funny bad." I mean, I don't like The Room either and I consider it another waste of time/life/money etc but people like it. So I suppose there is an audience and target market for this kind of junk? But if you're someone who actually appreciates good story telling, screenwriting and filmmaking, (even worse if you have studied and work on actual films) this isn't for you. Save yourself and run away from this garbage.

The Chosen (2017– )

Epic. Professional. Human. Just perfect.

[1 April 2023]

This is how you can tell a story about Christianity without being preachy, pretentious and judgmental. This show has one of the most amazing cinematographies I've seen. The amount of work put into the story and the actual camera work is flawless. There's an episode with a 15 minute shot. And it's at the perfect time of the day when it goes from day to night. It was amazing.

This show does a wonderful job pulling you into the story wether you're a Christian or not. The acting is superb. The music is awesome. And the setting/costume and makeup work is beyond what you'd expect from crowdfunded project. These guys know what they're doing. Give it a watch.

The Wonder (I) (2022)

A bit overrated, but alright

[29 March 2023]

As others said, this film has an unnecessary beginning and ending "play" scene that was completely useless and comes off as pretentious. The narrative is okay, if a bit slow. The (shown) sexual content was unnecessary and had no place in the story - it felt a bit forced and creepy to be honest.

The acting was great. It draws you into the (sort of slow paced) story enough to keep you interested. The music and choice of color palette of the film was amazing and adds so much to the (again, almost boring) story. The story itself was both utterly disturbing and also very realistic about what human beings are capable of doing. I don't know if I liked it or hated it, but it was well done. Just, a bit overrated. Be prepared to be disturbed, intrigued and/or bored a bit. Maybe ignore the "play" scenes so you can actually enjoy the film.

The Consultant (2023)

Terrible writing

[16 March 2023]

This is one of those titles that are only watched because of the one talented actor who everyone knows. In this case, Christopher Waltz, of course. The other actors aren't bad, but the writing makes their characters and acting fall flat and become incredibly unbelievable. The things that happen in this show would never make sense in real life, and I mean this in a bad way. Common sense things that anyone would do in the moment, when scared, threatened or plain untrusting, are NOT done in this show. The characters play along with what is happening in a way that nobody else would. It just makes no sense. The writers tried to play with your head and make you nervous, and that happens sometimes, but again, not in a good way. The "edgy" and/or crazy or disgusting things that happen are also random and don't make sense. I don't think there was any real plot. It feels like every episode is random things happening leading nowhere.

If you are SUPER bored and curious or you just love C. Waltz, then sure, give it a watch. But I'm telling you, it'll most likely a waste of your time. Two stars are only given because of Waltz's performance alone.

Chucky (I) (2021– )

I'm sorry but why?

[28 February 2023]

I have never been a huge fan of this franchise. The whole idea of a killing doll needs certain artistry and thoughtful writing to work well in the horror genre, otherwise it can go down as cheesy and tacky really fast. The original movie was both, but it was scary enough that it was somehow respectable (at least back then.) So I had hoped this show would bring it up to a better level, considering how scary doll movies can be nowadays (if done right.) But no. The story makes no sense and it is incredibly unrealistic. The acting is mediocre and feels like a homemade movie. I've seen YouTube videos with better acting. The original cast isn't used enough. The dialogue is either too cheesy or just pure puns. Sigh. It's a waste of money and resources, really.

The Hunger Games (2012)

Great story. Terrible camera work

[14 February 2023]

Warning: you'll get motion sick with this film. I love the screenwriting, the acting, the costumes, the special effects, the cast, and pretty much everything about it is well done. But OMG! Why are all the shots shaking?! I understand that the effect adds anxiety to the scenes and story. As someone who studied and worked in film and animation, I get it. But we don't need to do this with every shot. It also makes it cheap. It's easier to film and hide mistakes when the viewer can't see what's happening. The film didn't need this "effect" -it just gives you a headache.

As I mentioned, the story is wonderful. It is heart wrenching and nauseating, but it makes you think about how real this could be in the world we already live in.

Rutherford Falls (2021–2022)

Great at first but then it sort of fails a bit

[25 January 2023]

I absolutely loved the idea of this show. Loved seeing Native Americans in a "normal" setting without cowboys around trying to be the heroes. Loved having Jana as Reagan and her being a main character. And absolutely love Greyeyes' character Terry. He's my favorite. He's a classy and professional actor. I wasn't a fan of Ed Helms before, since all his characters were the same and supported terrible messages in movies and shows, but this character makes up for a lot of that. However, the writing in this show disappointed me after a while. I was excited to see a different take on a comedy and not have the cliche size 0 woman be a sexual object as a main character, or the offensive token black guy (and/or Mexican guy like in The Office where that's all Stanley and Oscar were known for.) I appreciate the fact that Jesse plays Bobbie as a non binary character and seldom described as one. Everything felt natural, modern and inclusive. But it has some of those Bobby Wilson takes on singling out a certain audience and shaming again. Not saying he's the culprit, but judging by his work on The Office, I can't help but assume his influence is there. The show seems to be about being tolerant of all people regardless of lifestyle, yet there are some mini attacks on certain minorities (I'm not talking about white people.) It just seems a bit hypocritical when that happens, which defeats the purpose.

The writing in season 2 is a bit predictable and falls back again into that terrible take on making a strong woman being a bossy, annoying, even sort of cruel, character. We don't need Reagan to be so mean to Terry (specially since she was supposed to be scared of him in season one?) We need strong females who are strong, yet capable of having a conversation without screaming or putting down the man they're talking to. Don't get me wrong, I'm a female and a big feminist. But this is exactly the kind of message that gives feminism the wrong image. Reagan is often screaming or talking down at Terry (or others) in season 2. She became mean and unlikable for no reason. I loved her character in season 1. She found her voice and became strong. But I'm season 2, that just went down to the other extreme and there's really no reason for it. And the cliffhangers leading to season 3 are annoying, predictable and cliche. Really hope they fix all this in season 3. It started out a 10. But it lost the charm already.

My Time at Portia (2018 Video Game)

Hidden gem!

[7 November 2022]

This game is seriously awesome. The port to switch is a bit odd (if you're not used to it) at first in terms of controls, but once you get used to them, the game is superb! The main story is great and the variety of characters and their stories are very creative. You can play as a female, male or non binary. You can date multiple characters and marry whoever you want. You can have or adopt up to two babies. You can adopt a dog and/or a cat. You can raise livestock and have a farm if you want. You can mine for ores and stones. Chop wood, fish and more. But the best is getting to build and develop Portia and expanding its horizons.

If you liked Stardew Valley, this is an open world version of something similar. The environment is just breath taking and the music is beautiful. Seriously, pick up this game today! The price is a no brainer too!