Reviews

One of the endless debates when it comes to the universe of Avatar is whether Aang or Korra is better. I can't even decide for myself, but one thing I can definitely say is that this sequel series is nothing short of extraordinary, just like it predecessor was. This show is basically the exact same Avatar world but much later in the future, and a bit more "modern." Think of it as America as it was in the 1920s, for the city where most of the show revolves around is basically described as "Brooklyn meets Shanghai." However, while "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was considered kid-friendly enough to get a TV-Y7 rating despite having some touchy content here and there, this show receiving the exact same rating is rather shocking considering this show is much darker and more violent! Bit it also closes a lot of "story gaps" the first show left, mainly revolving around the Avatar's origins. For example, in season 2, there's a two-part episode where we "go back in time" to see how the very first Avatar came to be and what really goes on during the Avatar State and why the 4 elements have to be learned in a certain order. We also learn about what Aang and Zuko and the rest of the gang accomplished after the first show ended (but there's also more details that are revealed in graphic novels). The show also has a huge variety of famous actors such as Janet Varney, J. K. Simmons, Lisa Edelstein, Mindy Sterling, Eva Marie Saint as a recurring guest star, Zelda Williams, James Remar, Steve Blum, April Stewart, and so much more, as well as returning actors from the first show Grey DeLisle-Griffin and Dante Basco. But just like how the predecessor show dealt with some serious real-world issues, this show is no exception, though the list is different and more mature: anarchism, PTSD, struggling to regain your self-confidence, self-doubt, teenage "love triangle" effects, political corruption, criminal underworlds, propaganda, police brutality, abuse of power, abusive parenting, dealing with an estranged family member, and letting go of past haunts. But there's also a lot of positive stuff too! The music is just as outstanding as the original was, for the original composer, Jeremy Zuckerman, returned to work on the show. Long story short, while this show is mostly opinionated for every Avatar fan, in my opinion it's DEFINITELY WORTH WATCHING!!! Just be prepared for far more darker and mature themes than the original.

I just now saw this film only a day away from my one-year anniversary of fully dedicating myself to Christianity (December 14, 2020) after I saw "The Passion of the Christ" for the first time ever. I've always been a lifelong believer but Mel Gibson's film pretty much "made me a believer." Let's just say this film would've done the exact same thing if I had seen this one first. This film may not be as graphically violent as The Passion given it's only rated PG-13 and not R, but it's no less emotionally intense for I still completely sobbed ,y eyes out at the end. (The Passion however I sobbed so hard it counts among my top 5 hardest times ever cause I hardly knew anything about Jesus's death until that point). This film covers numerous things from Jesus's birth in Bethlehem to his resurrection, but due to the film's time constraints, not everything is covered. The scene of his birth is like only 30 seconds long and we don't get to see Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem like in "The Nativity Story." But despite all that, this film was very well-done. The music is superb and very strong Middle Eastern sounds, which is to be expected considering Jerusalem is in modern day Israel. The costumes and set design are outstanding and look exactly like they would be back in Jesus's time. Despite the PG-13 rating, I definitely would not recommend this for younger audiences due to the severe violence and blood towards the ending when Jesus is arrested, tortured, condemned and crucified as it is extremely disturbing to watch.

I'm not a horror film person, but around Halloween when I was in the mood for a horror film (for some unknown reason) and decided to watch this, I actually really enjoyed it. This so-called "horror" film is actually anything but in my opinion. This film isn't "scary" scary like a serial killer chasing after you with a chainsaw that's going to give you nightmares for life; it's really more of a murder mystery thriller with quite a few jump-scare scenes (hence why it's categorized as a horror film) that's spread really far throughout the film. If you're prone to jump-scares, this film will most likely make you scream. For a film released in 2002, the visual effects are really stunning. But some of those visual effects are going to be pretty disturbing. There's a couple scenes with blood and gore that, like I said, are pretty disturbing, especially since they involve deaths, but they're shown very briefly. In fact, all the death scenes are rather brief, but are still really disturbing. Luckily, the majority of them happen either offscreen or out of "our viewing range." When we see two of the victims, their faces are all distorted in a horrifying way. One of them is shown so briefly (like half a second) it's one of those "blink and you'll miss it" scenarios. You'd have to pause the film in order to get a good look, which I do not recommend unless you want to get grossed out. The second victim is shown for a few seconds towards the end of the film, but it's not as disturbing as the first one is. All in all, this film will really keep you on the edge of your seat. The horror scenes are pretty minimal as it's only jump-scares and the material pretty much is only murder mysteries connected to paranormal activity. The mysteries though will really keep you hooked. A great film to watch around Halloween.

This film is best described as a Lion King version of "Romeo and Juliet." While it's not as good as the first film, it's still pretty enjoyable. I like that the original cast reprised their roles. James Earl Jones even returned as the ghost of Mufasa for the very last spoken line of dialogue. And the new characters are voiced by great actors Jason Marsden and Suzanne Pleshette (may she RIP). But this film is a bit dark considering that there's a rival lion pride that supported Scar and want to take Simba out, which eventually escalates into, more or less, a "civil war." But it's also about love on opposite sides and the main message is what Simba says at one point in the film: "Sometimes what's left behind can grow better than the generation before, if given the chance." The son of the rival pride's matriarch spent his entire life being groomed to be the ultimate tool of revenge, yet that wasn't who he was deep down inside and when tasked with getting close to Simba's daughter, the "act" actually became for real, proving that you're not ALWAYS like you're parents. Another powerful life message is that you should learn to put the past behind and learn to let go of your hate and get over your differences and move forward in order to become an effective leader. For those of you who are romantics, there is an extremely cute romantic song, "Love Will Find A Way," that is also the theme of this movie: despite whatever obstacles come your way, true love will always find a way to overcome them. All in all, not as good as the first one, but definitely worth watching.

It's been almost 20 years since this show very first premiered back in early 2005, becoming an instant and extremely popular success, and even to this day, it is STILL just as popular as it was and has not lost any bit of its charm that made it a smashing success. When the series finale aired in late summer 2008, it broke a record (at the time) for becoming the most watched program in an entire week and an entire day, with an audience of 5.8 million viewers, including me, in the United States alone! The animation is absolutely amazing. The "fighting styles" done in the series are actually based on 4 different real-life martial arts: Tai Chi, Hung Gar, Northern Shaolin, and Ba Gua. The show's creators had real martial arts masters, or Sifus, come in to consult the animation. The writing in the show is actual real Chinese calligraphy. The spirituality in the show to some extent is based on our real world spirituality as well. The cast includes an all-star cast such as Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Dante Basco, Mako (up until his death in 2007, then was replaced by Greg Baldwin), and even Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker himself as the show's absolute main villain. Some secondary villains are played by Jason Isaacs, Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob), and Grey DeLisle. Some lesser and/or supporting roles include the voices of Andre Sogliuzzo, George Takei, Tsai Chin, Kevin Michael Richardson, Rene Auberjonois, Tara Strong, and more. When the show starts, it starts mostly on a goofy low-violent note, but then gets more and more dark and epic, like most shows do. Be aware that things will get to the point that it may be too scary for younger audiences, especially in Season 3. Those particular episodes are Season 3 episodes 8 and 9 and they are considered to be the darkest episodes in the entire show. Despite the show taking place in a fictional world, this show does tackle A LOT of serious real-world issues that younger audiences will either find disturbing or probably have a hard time understanding, depending on how young they are or the particular issue itself. Most of the issues recur throughout the show repeatedly as they are usually used to represent the severity of the situation, while the others are presented in only one or two episodes. The numerous real-world issues the show tackles are (in no particular order) dangers of imperialism, near elimination of a culture, favoritism, absent parents, childhood trauma/abuse, prisoners of war, struggles of refugees, prejudice against strangers, government misinformation, sexism, propaganda, losing a loved one, abusing political power, discrimination based on physical abilities, animal abuse, insecurities/body image, elitism, sanctity of life/struggling to uphold your values, and morality. But all that aside, this is an ABSOLUTE MUST-SEE!

This is a really fun sci-fi teenage sitcom without the audience laugh track that not only teenagers will like, but anyone who really loves sci-fi will enjoy as well. Since the show is rated TV-G, the humor is clean, except for the occasional "fart joke" that only appears once or twice (if my memory serves me correctly). But while there is the science fiction side to this show, it also tackles the real world side as well since the main plot is really about a teenage experimental android struggling to fit in with the day-to-day social standings of high school. While she does do a fairly okay job, she does get better once she gets a best friend, but she still struggles to understand things we take for granted on a daily basis, such as figure of speech, slang terms, acronyms that have become common place, and much more. The show also deals with other real-world aspects that take place both inside and outside the high school, such as bullying, peer pressure, on-the-job stress, using intimidation to get what you want, framing others for something they didn't do, absent parents, blackmail, overprotectiveness, jealousy, romance, fear of the unknown holding you back from taking risks and/or pursuing your dreams, and more. But it is still a very enjoyable show and definitely worth watching.

Many people think that NOBODY was pulled out of the rubble when the Twin Towers collapsed. Actually, 20 people were pulled out and this film tells the miraculous true story about two of those survivors who were actually NYPD first responders and survived not just because of sheer luck, but also because of their determination to survive and get back to their families and because one of them knew the buildings' layout thanks to having been there at the original 1993 failed attack and they pretty much happened to be in the right place at the right time. This film gives you a complete different appreciation for all of the first responders who sacrificed everything on 9/11. Nicolas Cage, one of my all time favorite actors, did a phenomenal job, as did Michael Peña. But since the subject of this film is 9/11, this film is in of itself very disturbing. The filmmakers obviously used computer animation for the attack scenes instead of using actual footage that was filmed on 9/11, but it's still very disturbing. People are walking around covered in blood, sobbing hysterically as they did in the original footage shown in dozens of documentaries. One of the two survivors has a pregnant wife and she breaks down in the film in a way that may be too much for some. When one of the families is at the hospital waiting for word, a woman breaks down after lamenting how the last encounter she ever had with her only child was a nasty fight and when she saw one of the towers fall, she knew he was dead. There's lots of blood. One of the survivors of the towers collapsing tries to gets the guys out since he can move freely, but when the building rumbles and he is fatally injured by falling debris he decides to take his own life rather than die slowly. Later, a small fire sets off the remaining bullets in that gun and they ricochet off the debris in every direction and the two main characters very narrowly escape that situation alive since they're pinned down and can't move the slightest. Be prepared to use lots of tissues and possibly feel emotionally drained after watching this, but this film is very heartfelt and does show the power of the human spirit, for it shows numerous volunteers from across the entire nation willingly coming over to Ground Zero just to help the authorities dig through the rubble for any survivors, which is how the two main characters of this film were able to be found in the first place.

If you're a fan of historical dramas, this is the show for you. Many years ago, I saw this on Netflix and the promotional poster immediately drew me in so I decided to try it out and I was immediately hooked after the first episode. I'm a fan of historical dramas and documentaries and this is one of the best. Granted, as with all historical dramas, some things are historically inaccurate for the sake of entertainment, but based on vigilant research I've done, this show is actually closest to real life than all the others. The acting is phenomenal. The filing locations are done on site and are absolutely beautiful. Clearly no expense was spared when it came to choreography as well as set design. The costumes are historically accurate as well as eye-catching and outstandingly beautiful. The cast is well-selected and consists of great well-knowns such as Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Henry Cavill, Natalie Dormer, James Frain, Sarah Bolger, singer Joss Stone, Max Brown, and more. The music is also amazing and well-suited for which scene it accompanies, giving us the feeling we are supposed to feel in that scene. This show is rated mature for a reason; it dates back to the renaissance when torture methods and execution and infidelity were the norm so numerous episodes will contain these. Almost every single episode has at least one scene involving sex and/or nudity and every episode does have vulgar language, sometimes involving the f-word and the c-word. The execution methods are sometimes burning at the stake and can be disturbing for most viewers. Also during the third and fourth season King Henry suffers from a permanent leg injury that we see in numerous episodes involving blood and pus and fragmented bone pieces, which can also be very disturbing, especially because Henry is screaming in absolute pain at the top of his lungs. Since there's so many scenes that may or may not disturb viewers, I would definitely advise you to keep your remote nearby so you can mute your TV if it becomes too much. But these disturbing scenes are very brief (usually only a minute or two) and don't overpower the entire episode. On a whole, this is a very great show to watch if you're a fan of British history as well as historical dramas. Just make sure your kids are nowhere near the room while you're watching.

If you loved reading the book series, then you absolutely need to see this series! I was first introduced to the books when I saw the 2007 Golden Compass film in theaters and I loved it so much I decided to check out the books, but that film was an absolute disgrace to the books. This series, however, is not. It stays true to the books and even expands on it without creating any plot holes or leaving out any major information or creating any major confusion like most shows would. One thing I really liked was that around the second half of the first season, they started to introduce the beginning of the second novel that was told mainly through flashbacks. Another change that was awesome was that the timeline of the show is a bit more "modern." The book series was written in the late 1990s, so our world that one of the major characters, Will Parry, is from is described as a "typical '90s kid," whereas in this series, the timeline is in the current time BEFORE the pandemic so we see everything in our world as it is today, for example, Will has a cell phone and the cars are more modern. There's also another really big change from the novels that was originally in the 2007 film that this series decided to keep in, but despite making the change, they kept it as close to the book as they could get (exact same scenario happened, just to a different character) and they did it in a way that enhanced the drama and showed the real severity of the situation. Any other change they made that wasn't in the novels, they did in a way that did not lessen the show's value or create story plot holes. No surprise there really considering that one of the show's executive producers is Philip Pullman, the author of the book series. The visual effects are absolutely outstanding. The way the characters, daemons, different worlds, creatures, and even the alethiometer is presented the exact way it is described in the novels. If you've never read the books but absolutely love epic sci-fi fantasy-action adventure dramas that tackle the topics of conquering evil, believing in yourself, standing up and fighting back against oppression, and how one person can make all the difference, then this is the show for you!!

If you love Lemony Snicket's award-winning books, then you'll love this series just as much! I absolutely loved reading Lemony Snicket's books growing up and I could hardly ever put them down in so that I could often finish one book in a single day. During those stormy summer days when the TV had to be turned off due to the severe lightning, I would immediately pick up the books and wouldn't put it down until I finished it, even if the storm was already long gone. When the film with Jim Carey was released in 2004, I was hoping more films would be released to cover more books, but I was extremely disappointed to learn otherwise. That 2004 film however had plot holes and didn't stay true to the characters as they were represented in the books. However, this series is 100% true to the books. The actors used for the children and supporting characters look exactly like they do in the illustrations. DOZENS of actual lines from the book are used in the series. Many things were confusing in the books that had me often going back and forth to a previous chapter or book over and over again and even at the end of the series I felt like there were still so many things that were unanswered or only half answered. This series takes care if that and even answers some things early and goes into more detailed depth of the mysterious organization known as VFD that plays a major role in the books. Neil Patrick Harris starring as Count Olaf isn't as too "show off-ish" as Jim Carey was and he took his role very seriously, and Neil even served as an executive producer for the series, as did David Handler, which is Lemony Snicket's real name. Some changes have been made to the show whereas more details and backstories have been added to the supporting characters as well as the main characters, but they're added in a way that doesn't add any plot holes and that actually enhances the storylines and even adds to the suspense. This show also has a varied all-star cast scattered throughout several episodes starring (not in any particular order) Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Warburton, Aasif Mandvi, Mindy Sterling, Lucy Punch, Alfre Woodard, Tony Hale, and more.

I've been wanting to see this film for many years after hearing that numerous elements in this film served as the inspiration for other numerous elements in Star Wars, particularly the famous character Ahsoka Tano from the animated series and The Mandalorian and the Loth-wolves in the final season of Star Wars Rebels. But when I finally saw this film through HBO Max, I was TOTALLY unprepared for just how epic and extraordinary this film was. This film covers over the endless issue of mankind struggling to get along with nature, but is presented in a way that will DEFINITELY make you think twice before littering or doing something disrespectful to a nearby forest. Not only that, it takes hand-drawn animation to a WHOLE new level. The backgrounds and environments, even for an animated film, are absolutely beautiful and breathtaking, especially if you're a nature lover. Many of the forest spirits presented in the film are based on actual Japanese mythology (you can look it up through videos on YouTube). The English dub has a great all-star cast including Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith, John DiMaggio, and more. It's also one of the longest films in the Studio Ghibli collection, so be sure to find a good pausing point. Also, since it's the ONLY Studio Ghibli film that is rated PG-13, you better think twice before letting young kids watch it. There's an EXTENSIVE amount of animated blood, and some scenes presenting it are pretty disturbing (even for me, a 29-year-old woman). There's also quite a lot of violence involving samurai techniques, using cannons and guns at the heroes, and in the battle scenes numerous characters on both sides are dismembered and even beheaded, but they're not presented in a terribly gruesome way, otherwise the film would've been rated R. But like I said, I'd advise extreme caution when it comes to letting kids watch it. Other than that, it's an absolute work of art that will take your breath away and keep your eyes glued to the screen. An absolute must watch!

Saying this movie is intense is DEFINITELY an understatement. Mel Gibson is an absolute genius who has created an amazing masterpiece, but also an extremely disturbing and sad one at that. Until I saw this movie, I hardly knew anything about Jesus's death, nor did I even know that he was arrested, brought to trial,, condemned, and even tortured. Seeing everything that happened to him being done was so very disturbing, especially due to the blood and gore that's shown throughout the film pretty much nonstop. I just watched the film a second time and for both times I watched it, I was sobbing and shaking almost the entire time, I felt like I was going to throw up but didn't, I and I was so angry and clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white. But despite all this, the movie was extremely well done. There were actual lines/actions from the Bible in the film. The music was an epic combination of both classical angelical and Middle Eastern music. The makeup and visual effects were absolutely stunning. The acting was phenomenal and Jim Caviezel was absolutely flawless in his role as Jesus. If you haven't seen this movie, then I HIGHLY recommend it, regardless of whether or not you're a person of faith.