Monday, January 25, 2021

Leverage (serial)

Five seasons starring Timothy Hutton as a former insurance investigator who falls in with a group of highly specialized thieves. They start taking on jobs utilizing their specific skills (hacker, grifter, hitter, thief) to help powerless clients take down the corrupt and wealthy who are generally above the law. With Hutton being the mastermind to organize everything, this is a lightweight, fun heist drama series. Reminds me a lot, in terms of overall feel, of Burn Notice which was on around the same time (late 2000's), and may even strike you as an updated A-Team

3 stars (out of 5)

Saturday, January 2, 2021

The Long Way Up (serial)

Third in a series of travel diaries with Ewan McGregor and his buddy Charlie Boorman on a continental motorcycle trip (Long Way Down and Long Way Around). This time it is from the southern tip of South America traveling north to LA. The majority of the 10 episode trip is in South America (actually mostly in Argentina/Chile) and then a sprint through Central America and Mexico. The plot device here is that the trip will be done on prototype electric Harley Davidsons, with support vehicles of prototype Rivian trucks. Because of the electric charging and range issues, 150 miles per day is a really long day, and the trip will take 3 months. I appreciated that this slowed down the travel, forcing them to see more. I also loved the same things here as I did in the others... seeing the scenery and the remote routes and fantasizing about being alone on the open road. The tiresome parts were the repetitive self-aggrandizing "we are so lucky" and worry about "dangerous" areas of Central America and Mexico. 

4 stars (out of 5)