The Intern

A re-watch of the Robert DeNiro film from a decade ago. That man can fully act with just his face. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Moxie

An Amy Poehler produced vehicle that is a bit too much "on the nose" to be authentic. Vivian is a teen girl entering her Junior year, basically a wall cat. As she is paying attention in a new way to discrimination, to new peoples ideas, and to her mom's (Poehler) activist past, she starts a feminist zine that spurs action for change in her high school. Even though this is formulaic at best, I do appreciate the formula. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Maine Cabin Masters (serial)

Season 10

Another season of good natured building. Happens concurrently with the Italy season, the show is still fun mostly because the people are fun and friendly and the pace of each episode is appropriate. I will say that the projects are much different than the beginning, with new construction about 1/2 of the scope, which loses some of the fun of the dramatic change.

4 stars (out of 5)

Plane

Gerard Butler is a commercial pilot making a New Years flight from Singapore to LA. He is a former RAF pilot, has only 15 people on the flight, and at the last minute this includes a prisoner extradition passenger. A weather check right before takeoff includes a money saving decision by the airline to send the plane on the shortest route through the center of a storm. Enough foreshadowing for you? The plane goes down, lands on a remote island in the Philippines controlled by bad guys. Butler and his new buddy the prisoner are all about saving lives. Classic action thriller. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Celebrity Bear Hunt (serial)

A silly reality show where 2nd Tier famous Britons do challenges created by Bear Grylls. The challenge losers are sent into the "bear pit" where they have to escape before being caught by Bear. Sort of fast forwarded through these and the challenges themselves got lame after a bit. 

2 stars (out of 5) 

The Cleaner

A young woman is a window cleaner (the outside the building, high rise kind) who lives on the edge of her means. She takes care of her autistic brother, which is very expensive, and her boss is an ass soshe has no actual job security. On the job this night, she is cleaning windows late only to find that the building has been taken over by eco-terrorists who have crashed the party of a big energy corporation. The terrorists turn violent and she is the only one who can stop them. It's actually a pretty consistent plot, no matter how far fetched. The lines all pull together and the characters have motivation and personality beyond just being in the right place at the right time. Well done. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Tulsa King (serial)

Season 1 and 2

Sly Stallone plays an old school, NY mobster just out of prison on a 25 year murder sentence. He comes back to a "new way of doing things" and since he doesn't fit in with the new order, he is shipped to Tulsa to be out of the way. Of course, he starts new, using his old school mafia tactics in a world that is not ready for him. Stallone has a way of simultaneously inhabiting both charming and aggressively violent, which makes this series simultaneously light-hearted and gory. Kind of average TV, but after Season 1, I was looking forward to Season 2, which continued with all the same vibe. So

3 stars (out of 5)