Fauda (serial)

Season 3
Continuing where Season 2 leaves off, Doran and his team have infiltrated the home of a West Bank family, with Doran as the boxing coach for the son. Eventually the story leads the team into Gaza in pursuit of a pair of kidnapped Israeli teens. The story line is simultaneously outrageous and believable. This is outstanding drama, and horrifically tragic historical fiction exposing the reality of war and oppression and occupation. More than the first seasons, I felt the hopelessness and feelings of being defeated by all characters. We see how the idea of defeating terrorism by removing terrorists is a fallacious path. Instead, "removing" people pushes others first to defeatism and then they become cornered in anger and hatred. There are no winners in this show, that much is clear.

5 stars (out of 5)

The Extraction

You get exactly what you expect from this film - nothing more and nothing less. Chris Hemsworth is a former special ops soldier working as a mercenary. He is hired to extract the son of an Indian cartel boss who has been kidnapped and is held in Dhaka. He blasts in, encounters difficulty, pushes through adversity (more blasting), makes an emotional connection with the kid, continues blasting until the big blast finale. Probably this would have been a big event at the theater. Instead, it was just another film in a long list of military action thrillers available to stream that doesn't do anything to distinguish itself.

2 stars (out of 5)

Agent X (serial)

A secret article in the constitutional authorizes the Vice President to set up the blackest of black ops to protect the nation against all enemies. Only the VP and the chief justice of the supreme court know about this program. And the VP has full authority to do whatever they deem necessary. Fortunately, Sharon Stone is the VP and she is honorable. And it really is lucky that this program exists since there is a cabal trying to overthrow the US government from within, that apparently includes heads of FBI, CIA, Congress, and name any other organization that you can (except the office of the VP of course).  This is a fun action thriller that jumps the shark almost immediately. It is similar to Alias or 24 in wacky scenario's that are presented and overcome. And it makes sense that it is only one season... well, I thought that about 24 too and it went on for 8 seasons so...
3 stars (out of 5)

Code 8

We are introduced to a world where some people are Powered. They can be extra strong or read minds or control electricity or melt things or ... you get the picture. In what is possibly the most effective opening credit scene ever, a complete story is told of how Powereds were discovered and beloved, how they built buildings and stopped wars, how people became afraid and finally they became ostracized and regulated. This story is a 3 minute montage and sets the stage for the movie without the extra 30 minutes of poorly edited backstory. Nice job. The protagonist is a Powered with a sick mom who just needs some money to pay for her care. He gets in with the wrong crowd to achieve said goal and has to reevaluate his own integrity as a person. Overall, the movie reminds me of Bright, panned by critics, but actually pretty entertaining.
3 stars (out of 5)

Spectral

I found this on a list of under-rated SciFi films to watch. I would say it was probably appropriately rated. In a proxy war zone in eastern Europe, US special forces encounter an enemy they can't see. They bring in DARPA tech wizard to help understand this new enemy, and find a way to defeat it. Spoiler Alert: He does. The science here is definitely fiction, and not the tweak-one-thing-and-see-where-it-takes-you variety. Instead, it is the throw lots of science-y words around so you can have a semblance of a plot. Maybe because of the MacGyver'd plasma projectors, this really is closer to Ghost Busters meets Platoon than anything else. Shouldn't be on anyone's top-10 list, but a good mid-level diversion.

3 stars (out of 5)

Terminal

What do you get when you cross Moulin Rouge, Brazil, and a wrote assassin plot? Well, maybe this... or something similar. Add in Margot Robbie in the lead as a sociopathic assassin choreographing the entire score. Maybe she is being typecast, but I would put this as a much better movie than Birds of Prey. More engaging anyway. Robbie is looking to move in as the primary contractor for Mr. Franklin. But to do so, she needs to eliminate some competition and prove her expertise in the field. So while if this was filmed in the cold blue of a Bourne film, it would not rate. But it isn't. The artistic coloring and staging gave it a different flavor, making it unique in this crowded field.
4 stars (out of 5)

The Farewell

Awkwafina is one of those actresses who I forget about for awhile, and then fall in love with all over again every time I see her act. Here she plays Billi, an 30-something Chinese American in New York pursuing a writing "career" (my quotes). She talks on the phone with her grandmother frequently so when she finds out that grandmother has cancer and only a few months to live, she is distraught. The family has planned for a cousin to get married so that everyone can travel to China one last time to visit. But grandmother only knows of the wedding, not her own diagnosis, and the family won't tell her. Billi is exceptional as she navigates her western sensibility with her eastern history. An American individualist approach to death is very different than the Chinese familial approach. Alternately funny, awkward and heartbreaking this is a fascinating dive into one families journey.
4 stars (out of 5)