Change Your Image
thecrowfam
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Vanpaia naito (2008)
Enjoyable but Irksome
This one is difficult because on one hand it's a really good story but on the other hand, the main characters are so annoying and unlikeable that it's hard to watch. It's also just too weird that there is such a height difference between the female characters and the male characters. It seems more exaggerated in this one compared to other animes. It's full of the usual anime tropes.
The main character, Yuki is completely ridiculous. She's really a one-dimensional girl who is always sorry, has no ability to assert herself when needed and avoid asserting herself from harmful situations, and she's incredibly naive. She is the tired and overused "naive (to the point of stupid) girl" trope. She's pretty much useless and helpless even in the end which really doesn't make sense when you compare her to the progression of the other characters, namely Zero. Both obtained powers but only one of them seemingly was able to use them effectively.
Zero is Yuki's friend and her partner to maintain order at the school. Yuki cares very much for Zero and does anything he wants while he treats her like absolute garbage. He loves her but you don't see his coldness towards her ever really take a back seat. His personality is just awful and he's so unlikeable. He uses Yuki to satisfy himself while wishing she would look at him the way she does Kaname.
Kaname the pureblood vampire is the most likeable of all the characters. He's really the only character I enjoyed. Yuki loves Kaname and shares a special bond with him. He also loves Yuki, is very kind to her, and gives her special preference. He has grace and is very diplomatic but also confidently cunning.
The rest of the characters are unpleasant, bland, or don't have much to do with moving the story along.
This could be a great one if someone rewrote this story and added a little cohesion it. Perhaps if Yuki was more than a brainless walking blood bank who couldn't fight her way out of a wet paperbag, and if Zero was more than just an extreme avoidant who does more than simply yell "leave me alone" everytime Yuki is present unless he needs a fix which he takes in a weird rapey way then maybe this would be a great one.
Besides the annoying characters, typical anime tropes, and a few plotholes, I did like it and think it's worth a watch. If you watch a lot of anime then the characters may seem less annoying and more typical.
Mayfair Witches (2023)
Mayunfair Witches needs a different actress
I've never read the books so I don't know how it differs from them. I don't think it's boring like some have said but it's not terribly enthralling like I thought it would be. I believe that is largely due to the main character being so contrary to her title.
I'm only to episode 7 but I'm having a really hard time with Rowan's character. I think it's bad casting and scripting. She's a neurosurgeon but she is so unbelievable as such in this role that I have to keep reminding myself she's not a 14 year old indecisive meek little girl. She lacks confidence and even the hotel scene where she corrects the front desk guy for not referring to her as Doctor, it is a very forced awkward moment. She oddly gives the impression she has no idea what to do when people around her are in need of medical assistance. She is so incredibly annoying in this role that I don't understand why she was cast.
The show also jumps around without building a dynamic between characters. An example, is Sip is in charge of keeping Rowan safe. One minute Rowan is crashing at Sip's pad the next they are in some relationship. I feel like we need more than one day of trauma bonding to create a connection worth caring about.
This would've been a much better show with a different lead actress. Someone with a strong, alluring personality and even a touch of eccentricism could've worked. I'll finish the season but it's not the easiest watch.
Night Sky (2022)
It's like listening to your grandparents ramble on.
It's so boring. There's no real story and what story there may be is too disjointed and illogical. I just don't understand where all the highly-rated reviews are coming from. It started out like it could've been a really interesting Sci-fi, but it quickly took a nose dive into the uninteresting and mundane.
It's not worth watching. Between the over-the-top nosy Mrs. Kravitz neighbor Byron to the mother and daughter arbiters of travel it's just a flimsy story. Even if you remove any Sci-fi aspect, which they should because it's a major disappointment to call it such, it's still not a well done tale. I think high school kids could put a more coherent story together.
From (2022)
Copy and Paste of Enter Nowhere
If you've never seen the movie Enter Nowhere then this will be a original storyline to you, but if you've seen Enter Nowhere then you'll see the resurrected storyline that all paths lead back to the starting point with people from all over the world ending up at this one location in the middle of nowhere and everyone has to figure out why. The difference is that From has included night monsters.
I think the gore is a little much and some of the acting is hit or miss but what bothers me most is that after awhile it feels like a wash and repeat. Pretty much the theme of every or every other episode is; people end up there, they struggle with believing what's happening, some people get killed by the monsters, nobody has figured out how to get out, and again.
I think this would've made a really good movie or at least season 2 should be the finale. There's not enough to make it into a third season because how long do you really want to see characters with no way out at their breaking point? It gets boring after awhile. It's worth starting but not sure it's worth finishing.
Siren (2018)
Disappointing
I thought this show looked really interesting and unique and I was quite excited about its location being set near me. With the exception of Bristol Cove, the other locations they mention are real places even though it's filmed in BC. However, none of that is enough to keep it from being incredibly disappointing for a whole host of reasons.
This show is full of problems. The acting is subpar, the tropes are plenty and it's super nonsensical but not in a good way. The idea that these mermaids communicate amongst each other with body language and don't talk is silly because why would they have vocal cords? That seems like an unnecessary evolutionary adaptation that doesn't make sense from a scientific perspective. How is it that they are so intelligent they can learn a language without learning any of the context of the words that are being spoken to them? And how does repeating the words give them meaning to a creature who's never heard them? I guess I'm supposed to just go along with it but it's kind of stupid. This isn't even my biggest problem with the show, but there are so many little things that don't add up and make this show unwatchable.
The other issue I have is Ryn's character. She is terribly annoying. After awhile the hissing and weird facial expressions are just too much. It seems they could portray a mermaid better than with this girl who is more robot than mermaid and not to be mean, but her face is kind of hard to look at.
Another problem I have is the weird threesome with Ryn, Ben and Maddie. The reason it doesn't work for me is because like Donnie said of Ryn, she's like a little girl. Perhaps she is since they don't really know her age which makes Ben's obsession with her kind of gross and disturbing even though it's not his fault I guess.
I'd pass on this one unless you are good at ignoring the plethora of issues this show presents.
Kindred (2022)
Needs new writers
This show is by no means a 10, 9 or 8 rating. Only the premise is worthy of that rating, the execution and writing in this show are nowhere near that high.
The first episode is so slow. I almost turned it off half way but it picked up. However, that's not the major issue I have. The writers for this series just aren't very good. Dana is given nothing that makes her interesting or gives you the impression she's even into Kevin. There's so many scenes where she's not saying anything and when she does it's just a couple of words that could be described as millennialish, glib and insouciant.
The first time Dana and Kevin go back in time together, Dana acts totally calm like this is just a game as if she wasn't just attacked last time she went back. Then, instead of sticking together in this strange and what should be frightening situation, she sends Kevin to go with some kid while she stays with an injured boy. I mean I guess Kevin doesn't have far to go but I think in the era of slavery that she'd make sure Kevin with with her at all times for her own safety. It all just seemed so out of line in the face of such danger and uncertainty.
I was really looking forward to watching this series, but Dana needs a personality. She needs writers who understand character development. She's so one-dimensional that I just don't really care what she does. If there were better writers who could bring her character to life, and really consider what it would be like for a person in 2016 to go back to the 1800s, then I'd continue on but for now I'm done.
The OA (2016)
This show is just plain dumb
I made it through two episodes before enough was enough. The show is slow, the main character is annoying, her pseudo-profound bs is also annoying and the characters are not compelling enough care about. If that's not bad enough, then there's the long drug out storytelling. I can do slow movers but the boring monologue could've been fleshed out in a less painful manner. This show gives the impression that it has more going on than just filler and mediocre acting but it doesn't. It's kind of pretentious.
I don't think it's worth watching even if there were nothing else available. I honestly don't understand all the high ratings. The show is lame.
I Am Not Okay with This (2020)
I'm not okay with how dumb this was
Same old, same old teen show with an element of newly discovered magical powers. This was a collection of teen tropes that were slapped together and packaged for I don't know who still buys such weak storylines but someone seems to eat this stuff up given the ratings.
We have the socially inept teen, Sydney with no friends but she does have two, Dina and Stanley. Dina who dates the stereotypical dumb, overly aggressive, and unscrupulous cheating football player and the drama that creates between Sydney and Dina. How overdone is that? Then we have Stanley who likes Sydney but Sydney doesn't feel the same. Again, so much worn out teen drama. At one point, they channel The Breakfast Club detention scene. It was a copy paste but in the gym instead of a classroom. And the big one, Sydney finds out she has magical powers all this time but she didn't know about until now. Every single magical show with teens is the exact same. None of them were ever aware any time in their childhood they had powers. It wasn't really clear if she had always had the powers or only obtained them when her dad died but either way, they come out when she's angry or upset so how she didn't know before is a mystery.
I dig the idea magic powers, really I do but the storyline I thought was too silly and should've been made more appropriate for younger kids because it's not clever enough for adults.
The End of the F***ing World (2017)
I don't like anything but I liked this for some reason
I don't like many shows. They always seem to be so over the top or the dialog is so annoying that it makes me want to get rid of my tv and move far away from civilization. I also can't stand shows with kids or teens and honestly who likes teens anyway? Regardless of all that, I liked this show. The acting was pretty good and it didn't have the stilted, formulaic writing like most American shows have and if it did it was done in a way that I didn't notice.
This is really a love story about two broken teens with intriguing personalities who are trying to escape their problematic home life but more problems find them as they venture away from home.
I wasn't going to watch it because the title doesn't really fit. I thought it would be a bunch of irritating teens having sex, being super melodramatic, and posing for selfies but I was wrong for once. I'm glad I gave it a chance. It's listed as a comedy but it's not funny at all. It's actually really kind of sad if not a bit endearing.
The Forest (2016)
Cliché and dumb
I thought this would be great with the lore of a haunted forest that can bring about hallucinations all set in Japan but it fell flat. It was somehow rushed and drug on all at the same time. I think because the character development wasn't great. I hated Sara. She was unlikeable and honestly, I didn't really care that she was lost in the forest.
The premise is that Sara gets a message that her twin is missing and in the suicide forest in Japan. Sara rushes to Japan to find her twin because she knows she's alive because of twin "powers." Once in Japan, she meets up with this guy in a bar who agrees with the help of a guide to bring her into the forest to find her sister. Things go south from there.
The movie has some good elements but it just doesn't come together well. It's like some kids threw together some really good ideas, began production but couldn't get it done in time for the deadline so they just threw together what they had. I thought it was kind of dumb and predictable.
Zone blanche (2017)
Nope! Most incompetent police officers in the world!
I've tried twice to watch this show. The first time I thought it was slow and boring and didn't get through the first episode. The second time I made it past way through episode 3. It might've been a good series since the acting isn't bad but holy cow man, just about every scene has something that is so ridiculous and stupid that it makes the show unwatchable.
There is nothing believable about Laurene being a cop, nothing. I lost count of how many times she went wandering around in the forest at night or did something that made you go, "hey, that's not how cops handle things."
I thought the scene where she walks in her daughter's room with her gun on her was odd considering the cops who I know don't walk around their homes carrying their guns.
There are times when she doesn't keep her gun on her. For example, she has the baby kidnapper at gun point outside his hideout cabin, but as she backs into the cabin, not concerned anyone else might be in there too, she then sets her gun down on a table upon spotting the baby. Whaaat? She picks the baby up and fortunately for her and the baby, her suspect keeps himself on the ground. No handcuffs and of course no back up and the gun just sitting on the table. I guess it's a maternal moment for her and not her baby.
I was kind of done at that point but officially done when the scene where her partner is wrestling the guy who's losing it about a girlfriend who he can't find any evidence of and she just stands there and watches. Her partner even said, "you going help at all?" To which she replies as if he's just asked her the stupidest question of all time, "what should I do?" Then she continues just standing there watching. Is she watching the show with us the viewers or what?
If the incompetent officers don't annoy the heck out of you then the slow pacing and gloomy scenery will depress you. If you do watch then I recommend 1.5xs the speed.
Manifest (2018)
All the Christian propagandizing ruins it.
This show has several issues that could be overlooked that would make this a pretty decent show but that is, unfortunately, not the case.
This show has a major issue that makes the idea of watching past season 2 an arduous task that I'm not up for. They've taken what could've been a neat sci-fi drama and turned it into religious propaganda. You'd die of alcohol poisoning if you had to take a drink every time someone said, "have faith," "calling," or "miracle." Or you'd become fully annoyed by the implication of the old Christian fallacy that atheists don't die in foxholes by the way they goad the atheist characters into god affirming the unexplained. "Just admit it's a miracle," seems to be the theme when the cause is not clear or in other words, the god of the gaps fallacy.
The scene with Grace (I'm sure that name choice is a coincidence *eyeroll*) in premature labor has undertones of more harmful Christian propaganda where we should accept her premature unborn child should be saved before her. This goes back to the misplaced Christian-rooted ideology that the unborn should have more or special rights over the mother. So, we see a nod given to pro-lifers here that this mom will just die so her preemie can be born with no regard for her other children. It's sad they'd include a scene that essentially normalizes women giving up their life for the unborn. It's a reckless and harmful Christian ideology.
The religious nonsense aside, what cop heads first into a bust alongside a fully geared-up swat team in just street clothes, high-heeled booties, and great hair? She and her partner are just chatting as they walk to the front of the line of the swat team. I have seen a few things go down in real life and that is not what they do.
Not to mention, Ben is the one who seems like he should be the cop. He methodical and meticulous. He knows all the passengers, where they were seated, pictures covering his walls, and how they're "all connected" (take a drink every time you hear that phrase) but not our actual cop, Mick. She's got too much man drama. I would've liked to see the female cop shown using her brain like Ben rather than spouting off about miracles, callings, and deciding between two men.
I might have overlooked the man drama with one character but the other female character, Grace spends a good portion of the series trying to decide between two men as well, along with making dumb decisions.
Oh, but what about our lovely, brilliant scientist/doctor? They have her making oddly dumb mistakes and not being able to handle the pressure. She's cracking and then divulges information to a therapist so stupidly done that it's cringeworthy. The dialog was the most ridiculous interaction I've ever heard.
Therapist: "I don't really understand this stuff but tell me every detail of your top secret science discoveries if you really want to get better."
Brilliant scientist: "Oookaaay, I'll tell you everything."
Seriously? Nobody including therapists talks like that.
I almost forgot Miss Olive. She can't cope with not hearing voices in her head and she feels left out because of it. So, after she gives up on hanging out with mom's ex-boyfriend, she joins a religious cult and says "miracle" and "faith" about 200 times before I decide that she is unlikable even though she's probably one of the most realistic characters with the exception of the whole joining a fanatical religious cult part.
Our main male characters are handling things just fine. In fact, Ben, for example, is not cracking under the pressure. He's almost indifferent to finding out his wife was with someone else just moments before he showed back up. It's almost as if he was the one who had 5 1/2 years to move on. He's also okay with the idea that the baby might not be his and they'll just raise it as if it is without telling Danny. Luckily, the fetus transferred Ben's ability to hear voices that predict future events to Grace so that confirms it's his and besides that, the fetus was very against a DNA test. Go figure.
Jared is fine as well. His job is to follow Mick around, cheat on his wife with her, then have his wife leave him and without missing a beat continue to follow Mick around like a lost puppy which is also Zeke's job more or less.
Zeke is likable but he's essentially a rescue puppy. We see the same old unhealthy "the woman rushes in to fix the guy with a slew of problems" trope. He's an ex-addict with no job, an alcoholic, suffers trauma from a broken family, the death of his sister that he blames himself for, and he has an addict wife who he married while on drugs. Sounds like a perfect fixer-upper for any woman especially for a cop, eh?
Personally, I think 2 seasons should've been the stopping point because it was really starting to drag on and become quite silly. I'd watch a remake of this show with characters who didn't give up their intelligence so the writers could fit them into antiquated stereotypes and definitely if it left out all the Christian references. The cult and a few religious fanatics' sounds reasonable but miracle this and god that and bible verses and Christian ideology scattered through out ruined it.
The Imperfects (2022)
This wins the dumbest show award
This could've been a good show, but it was written for people with the mental capacity of a 5-year-old and cluttered with unrealistic, obnoxious characters. This could be amusing if you're 5 or a bored teen, but this is in no way appropriate for the age range it's seemingly geared for. It's poorly put together. The scripting is cliché and really ridiculous. I don't think anyone consulted with actual scientists before writing this nonsense, but it wouldn't matter because it's just a pile of irritating characters acting stupidly in poorly laid out situations. No adults are going to watch this and find it remotely good. I suspect the high ratings are from bored teens or maybe the actors themselves. The scientist, Alex has got to be the most obnoxious, unbelievable character on Netflix.
I thought the trailer made it pretty obvious that it was going to be bad, but unfortunately, I clicked on it anyway. My mistake. The Imperfects is beyond imperfect and a hard pass. Don't waste your time on this garbage.
Katla (2021)
Good but...
I thought it was a pretty interesting story. Clones popping out from under the volcano is nonsensical but it's unique.
I thought the acting was fine. The scenery and all the ash piled up everywhere was super depressing and the show overall had a slow gloomy cluttery feel that I didn't love but whatever. I did appreciate that they didn't try to squeeze humor in there where it doesn't belong or drain the life out of me with obnoxious sassy, sarcastic characters whose behavior/scripting doesn't fit the situation like in every US show.
The main thing that I'm voting down is that it just isn't logical and not even the clone part. I could buy the clone thing, I really could because I have a good imagination, but they asked these clone people no questions or at least they didn't ask logical questions. Hey, what year do you think it is? Or hey, do you remember when all this new technology came about that wasn't here 20 years ago? Or hey, doesn't this guy you had an affair with recently look sort of 20 years older suddenly? You'll want to yell the obvious pressing questions at the screen because nobody in this show is going to ask or press anyone on this. I feel like this detail makes the other unbelievable things too unbelievable even for fantasy. As it goes, nobody seems terribly shocked nor do they have much of desire to tell others what's going on.
Grima, her own clone, and her husband Kjartan will drive you crazy because nobody is going to stand back and just watch their husband talk to and mate with their clone. If there are two of me I'm gonna drag my clone around and show everyone starting with my husband!! I'm not leaving a cryptic note for my husband to wonder what the heck I'm talking about. Why not at least leave a detailed voicemail? There's a clone in your house and you're just going to leave a note saying "that's not me," I don't think so. That's really an unrealistic response that makes it hard to lose yourself in this fantasy. We need some ties to reality and normal human behavior to make all these other leaps into the whimsical but this show didn't do that.
It also sort of drove me crazy that they're not in any hurry to wash this ash stuff off of these people. What if it was a toxic substance? Nope, just get in bed and deal with that some other day.
All of that aside, it's worth watching. I'd watch at 1.5x the speed, though.
Epidemiya (2019)
Now that's how you handle a pandemic...
Or not. The story was interesting but since we're in a pandemic we kind of know that's not at all what would happen. It had too many unbelievable aspects to be believable and too much gore. Every scene is an unbelievably narrow escape and after a while, it just feels silly.
I hated all the characters except Ira. She was the only one who knew how to cope and do things under pressure. She was the only one who seemed to have a brain in this whole group of irritating idiots. Her anger toward her ex seemed well deserved but he's such an ugly piece of garbage that I felt like she didn't deserve to waste any more energy on him. With the exception of the doctor, all the men were misogynistic meatheads even Ira's son they have calling her a b**** repeatedly, like come on even the kid is an unlikeable female-hating prick. And not to mention how horrible his voice actor is. I hoped the boy would get lost in the woods and never come back but you can't win in this show.
The dynamic between the pregnant lady, her husband, and his daughter was just so messed up. Every time this pregnant chick complained, her husband was right there treating her like a baby while completely ignoring his own daughter. I don't think he hugged his daughter once. The daughter put her arms around him while he was sitting but I didn't get the feeling there was a relationship there. He was too caught up in his young stripper wife to see his own daughter even while they were in a massively distressing situation.
Sergey's current wife was completely unlikeable, deceitful, and useless. Her son was also unlikeable, autism or not she should've left him home. Then I wouldn't have had to fast-forward through teens having sex. Nobody wants to watch kids especially annoying kids get it on.
One thing that didn't make sense is why they were fleeing to the lake to avoid being found but announced on the radio they were going to the lake. They didn't even know who they were talking to. It was just some random dude who could've been after them for all they knew. Anyone in range on that channel would be able to find them.
I also thought the religious part was ridiculous. Do you mean to tell me this gold digger, who didn't even want the baby in the first place but saw a sugar daddy opportunity suddenly goes psychotic over her stillborn but miraculously gets it together when they encounter the holy man? Come on, this is Christianity being forced down our throats and painting women going through a loss as hysterical mental patients only helped by religion.
All in all the show is meh. I think 5 stars are generous for this show. I watched at 1.5x the speed and it was still slow. Fast forward is your friend.
Nikki Glaser: Bangin' (2019)
An hour about normalizing sexual assault
Look, I like lewd jokes and women should be able to talk about enjoying sex and having sex but she's just straight up describing sexual assault that women are conditioned to believe they need to endure to satisfy men. She wasn't funny. I mean I've heard similar jokes from other comedians who pulled it off and were funny but they wrote their jokes in a clever way that leaves out details that will obviously trigger a good portion of people. I guess I get that she was trying to poke fun at this male and female disparity when it comes to sex and painful sexual acts or men who are oblivious or don't care if they harm their partner sexually but it's not funny, and it's especially disturbing if you've been through it. It's a TedTalk, not a comedic routine. This woman told no jokes and just came across as a hot mess. It felt like I was intruding on a conversation between her and her therapist. I ended up feeling pretty down by the end of it. It still bothered me the next day. I watch comedians to laugh, not to dredge up memories of sexual abuse that left me feeling sad.
Cidade Invisível (2021)
It's not bad
I liked it. It wasn't full of that sarcasm, snarky, contrived comedy nonsense that so many shows have. It was well done and the folklore was very cool. I wouldn't say it's a 10 good but it's a definite 7 or 8. I think the whole "we need to save our forest" thing was weak. I didn't think it tied together as well as it could've and I'm sure a better storyline could've replaced it entirely. Overall, it's worth a watch.
Behind Her Eyes (2021)
Way too much foreplay for what little you get
I think if you want the typical 'it's the crazy wife behind everything' mystery thriller, then the first several episodes you'll find pretty decent. You'll know she's the issue but it's a decent story. However, if you were looking for something supernatural then just watch episode 6. Had I not expected something paranormal then it would've been fine but since I expected it, then I was quite let down to wade through so many episodes before they got to it.
Black Mirror (2011)
Some episodes were good, others meh
After being completely disappointed by Love Death and Robots, I thought I'd give Black Mirror a try. Black Mirror is definitely an improvement and leans towards amazing tech that significantly changes the lives of the user and the world. However, after a few episodes in, I felt like they just kept rehashing the same tech; place the nub on the head and enter layered reality. Of the 5 seasons I watched, I really liked 2 episodes and then there were about 3 that were good, not great or memorable. The others were not worth the time spent watching them especially since some episodes are over an hour long. I felt they were either too predictable, ridiculous, and/or cheesy. All in all it was an okay series.
Love, Death & Robots (2019)
Hit or miss and mostly just gore
I'm giving it a 3 stars because there are a couple stories that weren't so bad but it's like the writers and directors were under the impression that good entertainment means lots of blood, dismemberment and death. There are some really hokey stories as well and I think they knew that so they tried to add in a bunch of gore thinking that would fix poorly put together episodes. It could've been good but I guess the target audience are desensitized 14 year old boys.
Some Assembly Required (2014)
A show so bad it should be criminal!
Many have already summarized the plot of the show, so I'll just jump to it. The writing is terrible and the inconsistency with the characters makes it seem as if the writers had several ideas about character development but rather than fight about it, they just threw it all together and hoped for the best. The kids can't act to save their lives. They break the 4th wall rule regularly and it gives the show a low budget feel. The jokes in this show are so bad. It's like they intended their target audience to be a group of Patrick Stars from Spongebob but dumber. There's nothing educational about this show either. There was an opportunity here to infuse science with fun, but this show fell short of anything remotely fun, intelligent or educational. Then there's the stereotypes with the girls which is just a huge disservice to girls as being anything but their looks. The goth girl is the smart one and probably the smartest of the group but of course she's not noticed by her crush because she's not the pretty one. The blonde girl doesn't contribute anything except for extreme stupidity and is only there because the guys think she's pretty. Overall, the jokes are bad, the kids are rude to each other and all together it's annoyingly bad.
The Who Was? Show (2018)
Excellent for sparking a child's interest in history!
Ignore the Debbie Downer reviews because those people didn't even watch the series. The show is perfect, especially for kids who could care less about history. I have talked to so many kids who love the show and become inspired to learn more about these influential historical figures. History is boring the way it's presented in most schools but this way makes it fun and gives parents a chance to have teachable moments with their children. Let's hope there is a season two because there are just not enough fun and highly educational shows for kids.