The Imperfects (serial)

Rogue scientists have created artificial stem cells as a mechanism to treating certain incurable diseases. This series picks up a decade in, when the participants in the medical trial are finding that the stem cells are causing some side effects... like becoming a banshee, a succubus, or a chupacabra. So the three protagonists band together with one of the rogue scientists to find the other scientist to insist on a cure. A rogue government agency gets involved. As the story develops, each "victim" goes through a process of coming to terms with their side effect and moves toward a decision of whether they even want to be fixed or not. Final rating... kinda fun. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Emily the Criminal

Aubrey Plaza is Emily, a young woman in debt, unemployable as an ex-con, basically a downtrodden young woman with no options. She gets pulled into a credit card scam group and finds that it is both exciting, lucrative, scary and dangerous all at the same time. 

4 stars (out of 5)

How I became a superhero

This French action-thriller follows Moreau, a formerly great but now down on his conviction rate detective. He lives in a Paris where some people have been born with super powers, and a local crime boss has found a way to turn those powers into a drug to market on the street. What could be more high inducing that the temporary ability to shoot flames out of your hands. But there are complications and Moreau and his new partner seek out the bad guys, saving the good guys and discovering themselves along the way. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Salt

Well, contrary to my original thought, there has not been a sequel... yet. Jolie is a badass double agent Russian sleeper spy who turns out to be particularly loyal to "what is right".  Holds up remarkably well in terms of political thriller. 

3 stars (out of 5)

While You Were Sleeping

Still good 

5 stars (out of 5)

Missing: The Other Side (serial)

Highly recommend. A second tier, Robinhood like con-artist witnesses an actual abduction and while running from the bad guys, hits his head in the forest, after which he finds that he can see a mystery village. This village is the home of the dead whose bodies are missing. He soon discovers that the abductee he witnessed is there, along with a few others connected with the same storyline. And he finds another living man who lives near the village who can also see the dead. The two of them spend their days trying to help the police find the bodies of these dead/missing and once the bodies are found, the souls can move on. I know, kind of a weird setup, but not that strange for a K-drama. So what do I like? The characters are cheeky, but not cheesy. they relational struggles of each characters life is real. There are no easy answers and some pain is just allowed to be pain. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Secret Society of Second Born Royals

Straight up Disney action adventure. The 2nd born (so not the heir to the throne) of a bunch of European royal families are sent to summer school, only to find it is training for them and their new secret power. They are the protectors of the family. Only to find there is a bad 2nd born trying to use his power for self promotion. So the kids save the day. Spy Kids meets Breakfast Club.

3 stars (out of 5)

Jack Ryan (serial)

Season 3

I will say, Clancy's novels and this series share the same page turner quality. Not every series I watch hooks me to binge. In fact, some are better with a slow boil. But once again, this story begs to be started and finished. Ryan is in Europe and there is some long term rogue state stuff coming out of Russia, trying to recapture her former glory as global villain. Ryan sees through it and has to try to prevent world conflict while avoiding his own government who has designated him a rogue agent. 
4 stars (out of 5)

Avatar

Perhaps in preparation for the sequel, perhaps because I was just tired of all the series I am watching, Avatar was the late night diversion. I didn't remember the story at all from the first viewing, but only had a recollection of the vivid use of 3D depth. Clearly watching it on the small screen of my computer was not going to compare, so the story had better be good. But it really isn't that good, or that novel. In fact, characters are pretty predictable and lacking depth. 

2nd time around 2 stars (out of 5)

I Used to be Famous

The 2022 version, a remake of the 2015 by the same title. A 40-something London musician is working to get back in the scene, some 20 years after his boy-band 15 minutes of fame. When he can't even get gigs at the local bars, he happens upon a talented young drummer with autism and the two of them forge a relationship. This film follows the navigation of that relationship (is if personal, professional, etc.) Moderately good. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Metal Lords

A couple of unpopular high school kids are preparing for the Battle of the Bands with their metal band, but they only have a guitar and drummer. They really need a bass. And they really want to get out of high school having survived the bullies. A pretty lighthearted comedy/drama that deals with all the typical high school angst that comes from parents, friends, mental health, girls and just general acceptance by others and yourself. Pleasantly enjoyable.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Big 4

An Indonesian action movie following a team of four assassins. They are brutal and effective, with the jobs they take largely community service types of jobs (killing drug dealers, human traffickers, etc.). When the boss is killed, the group goes into retirement, and then a few years later is forced out of retirement. We follow the team as they try to find out who killed the boss while also trying to find out who is hunting them. The plot is very holey, with the motivation and reveals largely unsatisfying. In the end, it is a grindhouse movie with Indonesian flavor. 

2 stars (out of 5)

Warrior Nun (serial)

Season 2

Ava, as the Warrior Nun, is now fully part of the Order of the Cruciform Sword. The OCS is a secret black ops order of nuns who are charged with protecting the church against supernatural attacks. Having freed the angel Adriel at the end of last season, only to find that the Halo was his and he has designs on taking over religion on earth. The OCS (mostly Ava) spend the entire season trying to take down Adriel -- plan A leads to Plan B leads to Plan C leads to ... you get the picture. There is some new technology, some new characters, and some revelations about the bigger picture of power in the universe. But in spite of all that, this is basically a Warrior Nun v Angel season. And it doesn't lose focus. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Sniper: Rogue Mission

A CIA London and a Homeland security officer team up to take down a sex trafficking operation. Only watch when desperate or after 2am.

2 stars (out of 5) 

Troll

An ancient mountain troll is awakened during an mining explosion in northern Norway. This turns out to be a king of trolls and is on his way to Oslo to his home, the palace. A paleobiologist is brought in, has to battle the military for the ear of the prime minister, to save all of Norway from this monster. As cheesy as that sounds, this is a pretty good 1-dimensional fairy tale. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Andor (serial)

TBH, I was expecting Ewoks. It took two episodes for me to realize Andor was the main character and not the planet we were going to be centered on. Once I got over that preconception, this is a good series, providing good backstory on pre-rebellion galaxy. Andor is a bit lucky (as all good heroes must be I guess) and this was good enough that I stopped part way through to watch Rogue One again (and it gave me some reason to care). 

4 stars (out of 5)

The Bad Batch (serial)

Animated series following squad 99, a group of clone soldiers who had their dominant clone traits enhanced, making them both fierce warriors and slightly glitchy and unreliable. This series take place just as the Republic falls and the Empire is being set up. The clones, who had been fighting for the Republic now have no home as the Empire is phasing them out for "loyal humans". Pretty fun episodic storytelling where we get to know the characters and the difficulties of clone life. I would say more character development here that with Obi-wan...

4 stars (out of 5)

Wednesday (serial)

Wednesday Addams is sent to Nevermore school (for outcasts) to continue her education and make friends. She is determined not to... and so does. There is a plot on her life, lots of scary stuff like monsters and demon pilgrims and all of it is perfect for her. I enjoyed the series, and the driest of dry humor which is Wednesday. But probably it could have been 5, or maybe 6 episodes instead of 8. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Enola Holmes 2

Enola continues to aspire to great detective-ness like her brother. She is on her first case - searching for a missing person. Of course there are conspiracies and such, and of course there is misogyny (a lady detective? oh my!!). But she gets the job done. More of a light hearted romp through London's corporate underbelly than the darker Sherlock series. But fun. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Obi-wan (serial)

Obi-wan is hiding from the Imperial Jedi purge. But when young Leia is in trouble (kidnapped to draw him out) he gets drawn out. Kinda basic in terms of story telling, not really adding much depth to the character or the world. If this was a book, it would be a summer beach read.

3 stars (out of 5)

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Tatiana Maslany is Jennifer Walters, cousin of Bruce Banner who happens to get some of his blood in her in a car accident. She is excellent, both as Walters and as her hulked out self. Trying to keep her life as "normal" as possible, she heads up the superhuman law division at a big firm. Her cases are weird, and she gets to actually engage in self discovery and ease into her new life, even as she is thrown into the deep end. Light hearted fun.

4 stars (out of 5)

Kleo (serial)

Set in the 80's in newly reunified Berlin. Kleo Straub is an unofficial employee of the East German secret police. Unofficial meaning she is a professional assassin, her grandfather is the intelligence General and she has no loyalties except to the state. Right before the fall of the wall, Kleo has assassinated someone in a West Berlin bar. Now that East=West she is sent to prison abandoned by her country. The 8 episode serial follows Kleo as she works to uncover who sent her to prison, who it was she assassinated in that bar and what was so important to keep everything so secret. Sounds like a dark, political spy thriller. But it isn't. Kleo is quirky and all the characters have personality and idiosyncrasies to spare. Laugh out loud funny at times. Loved it. 

5 stars (out of 5)

Tomorrow (serial)

Another Korean drama that is quite powerful. The setting is modern day Korea in Jumadeung, which is the company that manages Korean grim reapers. The Director of Jumadeung has created (controversially I might add) a Risk Management Team, whose purpose is to find people seeking suicide and help steer their life to avoid that ultimate sin. It is a small team and gets an "intern" of sorts when a guy in a coma joins the team for a 6-month stint while waiting to wake up. So it is a bit cheeky, and has its fun buddy-team moments. But it also takes on deep and emotional topics as each episode is focused on a person seeking or near suicide. The series hits many of the major mental health mountains that people struggle with every day (body image, relationships, bullying, self image, depression, money, loss of a loved one, terminal diagnosis, sexual assault, etc. ). And it doesn't just gloss over them, but really exposes the struggle. Highly recommend.

5 stars (out of 5)

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (serial)

Woo Young Woo is a rookie Attorney at one of the biggest law firms in Seoul in this Korean drama. She and two other rookies are working together with their senior mentors, and generally provide the breakthroughs to make the cases. Well, Attorney Woo does. She is also an autistic woman who lives alone with her dad (does not know her mother) and has a fixation on whales. One storytelling device is that every time she has an epiphany about the case, her hair blows and a whale floats by her vision. It is a lightweight, enjoyable series with comedy, drama, romance, relationship and coming of age elements. I never lost interest.

4 stars (out of 5)

Secret Headquarters

An alien energy source comes to earth and chooses Owen Wilson to be the guardian. This means he gets to take advantage of the energy source, and the technology it allows to fix all bad things on earth. This includes a secret lair beneath his house, but costs him time with his kid. The bulk of this movie is the kid and his friends finding the lair, and then protecting it against the bad guy, while Wilson is out on a mission. Pretty derivative, with a Spy Kids feel.

2 stars (out of 5)

Blown Away (serial)

Season 3

Ten artists compete in weekly challenges in glass blowing. Much like Inkmaster the joy in this series is in watching the artistic process. But there is no drama here, no snippy competition show angst. Just a bunch of artists trying to put out their best work and supporting each other through the process. Some really fantastic work is shown as a result. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Carter

A man wakes up in a bloody bed in Korea. A CIA team breaks in and asks him a bunch of questions, but he has no memory. Then a com in his head starts giving him instructions. Turns out he is the sole resource available to prevent the further spread of a massively contagious virus while simultaneously working toward North/South collaboration. Within the first 10 minutes, the body count is well above 100 as Carter fights his way out of his opening bloody bed. I lost interest...

1 star (out of 5)

Uncharted

A treasure hunt that shows its fantastical nature in the first scene (jumping up a chain of containers hanging from a C-137 while fighting) consistently through the last (Sikorsky sky-crane helicopters in dogfight while towing 500 year old 3-mast wooden ships). So knowing this, it is DaVinci Code + Indiana Jones + Romancing the Stone. Nate, Victor and Chloe (Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and Sophia Ali) are all treasure hunters, seeking Magellan's lost gold. Santiago Moncado (Antonio Banderas) is the bad guy whose family originally funded the trip and believes he is the rightful owner of the gold. Summer diversion: check.

3 stars (out of 5)

Alone (serial)

10 people are dropped for a solo survival adventure in remote northern canada. They must shelter and hunt/gather to survive and the last person standing wins the cash. It is kinda fun to watch the different techniques (build a boat, hunt, fish, dig up mushrooms, just starve) at the beginning, but after awhile, these particular characters lost my interest. 

2 stars (out of 5)

The 355

When a hardware decryption device is created that can crack any network and take control of any system comes on the market, every intelligence agency in the world is in pursuit. So are all the bad guys. This movie centers on CIA, MI6, BND, MSS agents and a Colombian therapist who all get thrown together in hunting down the device. They are all "I don't have a partner" types and all women who are at the top of their game. Overall, it is predictable and yet still fun to watch. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Car Masters: Rust to Riches (serial)

Season 4

I continue to like this series. Mark and the Gotham Garage crew are entering new territory, gunning for the high end client (getting away from the trade-up model). The feature builds this season include a baja beetle, viper 3-wheel camaro, an army ambulance party bus and a zephyr sedan/panel van hybrid. 

4 stars (out of 5)

The Counselor

A lawyer decides to get into the drug trade to make some extra cash. A single coincidence blows up the entire operation. This is not a good film. It is very pretentious, with monologues and put-on intellectualism. You can see that it is trying to probe the human psyche, but it plays like a PhD thesis instead of fictional entertainment. 

2 stars (out of 5)

The Grey Man

Black ops CIA hitman "Sierra Six" is getting erased by the new bosses. They send an over the top private contractor who is willing to literally nuke an ant. As you can expect, lots of chases, shooting, hand to hand combat and traveling throughout Europe and Asia. I am trying to think about what makes this film different, or what the directors thought the "unique angle" was, but I'm drawing blanks. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Big Timber (serial)

Season 2

This second season of Big Timber finds the Wenstob mill crew seeking out western red cedar. The claim they have rights too is inaccessible (snow and then road and then heat). So they pivot to work on log salvage from the miles of coastline near their mill. The drama is often cheesy and manufactured, but that is a bit of the charm. Basically we are watching a School of Hard Knocks episode for small businesses. Nothing is ever easy. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Lost Car Rescue (serial)

A very Canadian reality show. Matt and his quirky team based in BC travel into the northern stretches of Canada in search of old, abandoned cars for recovery and restoration. The fun in this series is the conversations they have with people along the way as they search for the cars and the tricky retrievals (from swamps, rivers, forests, barns, etc.). 

4 stars (out of 5)

Body of Proof (serial)

3 seasons

Medical Examiner Megan Hunt is the smartest one in the room and basically solves every murder on her own. A classic medical/police procedural with a pretty good supporting cast. This is the kind of show meant to be watched an episode every week or two. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Card Counter

Oscar Isaac plays Will Tell, an ex-con card player who makes a living driving from one casino to the next, playing blackjack and poker, winning just enough to stay under the radar. He enjoys being a low stakes winner. When he meets a kid that raises some memories of his painful past, Tell makes efforts to help the kid out. In some ways this is a fascinating character study. But I also found myself wondering on several occasions "where is this going?". The question itself is not bad if it is borne of curiosity and engagement. But when it festers out of confusion or boredom, we know that something is lacking (usually the script). It did eventually go somewhere, stayed true to its dark genes throughout, and in hindsight was a "slice of life" memoir for a character that we don't normally encounter. 

3 stars (out of 5) 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

What I liked about the first Fantastic Beasts was Eddie Redmayne and his character Newt. This episode is more about plot and conspiracy and intrigue. So not my favorite. 

2 stars (out of 5)

Spiderhead

Chris Hemsworth is a megalomaniac pharmaceutical experimenter who has implemented a drug trial in a prison environment. Miles Teller is the protagonist prisoner. Moderately engaging, with an attempt at enticing deep thinking about choice and what it means to be human that largely falls flat. While a pretty good soundtrack rolls throughout, the first view of the prison structure architecture tells you everything you need to know about the movie. Futuristic, dramatic and zero functionality in design. Skip this one.

2 stars (out of 5)

Harry Wild (serial)

Series 1

An Irish set murder mystery where the artist formerly known as Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman is a retired literature professor who can't help meddling in her Detective Inspector son's murder cases. Of course literature is the key to solving all cases. A pleasant police procedural from across the pond that gives New Tricks vibes. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Hustle

Adam Sandler is an aging NBA scout who scours the European clubs for the next big talent for the 76ers. He really wants to coach. But new ownership puts him back on the circuit. And when he finds the next big talent, he realizes the ownership doesn't want him. This is a story of the battle to create and show greatness. Great cameo's by NBA players (of course, with Adam Sandler and produced by LeBron). This is a really fun movie.

4 stars (out of 5)

Signora Volpe (serial)

A British spy/operator travels to Italy to attend the wedding of her niece. She gets involved in a murder investigation, falls in love with Italy, and sticks around to investigate new murders every episode. To the consternation of the local police, of course. 

3 stars (out of 5)

No Time to Die

I enjoy a good James Bond, and Daniel Craig has been quite good in the action/adventure sense. I was again reflecting on how different the Bond franchise is this decade than it was in the 80's and 90's. Definitely a reflection on the gritty nature of action films that is du jour. In this installment, Bond had tried to retire but Spectre is back and he is pulled into action again. Lot's more individual action and killing (more of a John Wick feel, than MI-6 dashing spy-craft). Largely this feels like a long farewell tour for Craig, while still trying to be moody and gritty. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Top Gun: Maverick

Cruise is back as Maverick and Goose's son (Rooster) is played by Miles Teller. A pretty good action, flight movie although I am not sure how it would view if you didn't know at least the basics of the original. Seems like there was a lot of built in tension in the first third. The flight scenes were very good, demonstrating the stresses and difficulties of flying. Of course, there has to be something crazy so I have to complain about the turning radius on the mach-10 airplane. No way... enough said. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Hidden Assets (serial)

A six-episode series following a joint investigation between Ireland and Belgium. An Irish forensic accounting police unit is chasing a drug smuggling money launderer and traces him to Belgium. The case intersects with a recent set of terrorist suicide bombs that have detonated in Brussels and Antwerp. International intrigue and well written bouncing back and forth between the two police forces, offering the expertise of each a chance to contribute significantly. Both are professional and competent instead of a typical juxtaposition of sloppy/strait-laced or professional/bumbling. Intriguing throughout and well acted. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Toscana

Poor imitation of Mostly Martha with a little bit of Chef vibe. A Danish chef inherits an Italian villa (castle?) from his estranged father. When he goes to sell it, he meets the people and falls for the place. All in all, a completely formulaic chef reckoning-with-his-demons offering. There are better offerings in this category.

2 stars (out of 5)

Operation Mincemeat

Colin Firth stars in the historical fiction version of a World War 2 subterfuge mission. The allies want to invade Sicily, but want the Nazi's to think they are invading somewhere else. So Firth's team comes up with an elaborate plan to leak believable false intel to the Nazis. Quite involved at times, but the fact that this is historical fiction makes it fantastic rather than farcical. Firth is always good. 

4 stars (out of 5)

The Lost City

Modern version of Romancing the Stone. If you have any idea what that movie is, you will likely appreciate this as much as you did that. Sandra Bullock is a romance novelist nee intellectual who is really an archaeologist and writing actual archaeology into her novels. When she finally has had enough, she is kidnapped by Harry Potter, and eventually rescued by Magic Mike (who was the cover model for her romance books). Mid-level romcom.

3 stars (out of 5)

Ultraviolet

Wow, this is bad. Bad script, bad CGI, clunky fight scenes, poorly delivered dialog with a contrived plot tension at the center. Sometime in the future, a fatal blood disease separates humans into two different species. A boy has been created with a blood pathogen that will either cure the disease, or kill all the people with the disease, or kill all the people without the disease (oh my, the tension). Normally I don't give movies that I have watched all the way through one star, but...

1 star (out of 5)

The Batman

I apologize in advance to the true believers. I saw the first 1/3 of this movie... only. It was so brooding and talky and cliché that I found myself reading a book at the same time. So, I quit.

1 star (out of 5)

Bridgerton (serial)

Season 2

Last season followed the high society Bridgerton's as eldest daughter Daphne was pursing marriage. This season it is eldest son Anthony, who is duty bound to marry and carry on the family name. And that duty bound nature becomes the theme of the season. Follow duty - or seek true love? The women of the family seem to think you have have both. Anthony is so repressed that he refuses to consider true love. The other boys are released from duty as "not the eldest" and so seek their passion as men of leisure. The love interests are a pair of sisters that represent these choices of love v duty, and at the same time mesh with the subplot involving Eloise and Penelope, starting an exploration of class (which I think is foreshadowing a main theme in a future season). 

3 stars (out of 5)

Inkmaster (serial)

Season 13

The latest tattoo reality season (the others) and this one has 20 artists divided into 4 geographical teams (west, east, south, midwest). The flash challenges are fun (really? glue bread on a wall, toast it with a torch, and show your artistry?). For this season, there really aren't any overly belligerent actors and there aren't any awful tattoos. So we get to see great artists competing to show the variety of their skill. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Female Agents

The historical fiction telling of 5 women who are recruited to parachute into France a week before the Normandie allied beach landing. Their task is to rescue a geologist who was captured in Normandie and who would give up the entire invasion plan. A cat and mouse war film that is a fascinating and thrilling story, but also horrific as it reminds us of the brutality of people (both individuals and systems). The film captures well a lot of the nuance of gender bias, personal motivations of the characters, and just the machine of war.

4 stars (out of 5)

Freaky

Horror comedy remake of Freaky Friday with a body switch. The twist is that it is a teen girl and a serial killer. Lots of horror-graphic gore, not-so-novel Vince Vaughn as teen girl schtick, and completely predictable plot.

2 stars (out of 5)

Frankie Drake Mysteries (serial)

A PBS series from 2018 set in Toronto 1920. Frankie Drake and her friend Trudy run a private detective agency in the city. Frankie is ahead of her time in terms of what "women can do". She has the eye for details that a detective needs, and the brash, charge ahead attitude that puts her in situations to cause and solve problems. The series is light hearted fun and all the women are clearly smarter than the men. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Daughter of the Wolf

A woman's son is kidnapped by some survivalists of some sort and when she tries to pay the ransom, they try to kill her. So she hunts them. But it is plodding, with some plot choices clearly intended to only lengthen the chase (follow the guy 2 feet behind him so he can keep attacking you instead of following 20 feet behind... I mean, you already shot him in the leg, he's not going to run away). 

1 star (out of 5)

The Adam Project

Ryan Reynolds is a time traveling renegade trying to do good and find his girl. To do so, he has to go back and meet himself. So a modern Back to the Future of sorts, with more Ryan Reynolds signature cheeky personality and way cooler tech. Light hearted and family friendly sci-fi fun. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Ender's Game

The movie version of Orson Scott Card's book by the same name. The film is pretty true to the plot lines of the novel, putting into view what Card created. Sometimes, especially with alien/space characters, the movie version and my imagination version from the book are very different. But in this case, Card's original text is so vivid that creative license took the viewer to the same place as the reader. Meaning no real surprises or revelations here and the movie was as expected. Perhaps because of this, I wanted to see more of the battle training sequences - which were the most fun of the entire movie. I'll stick with 'the book is better' only because it was fun to have my own images of Card's world.

3 stars (out of 5)

The King's Man

Origin story for The Kingsman organization. Ralph Fiennes is the protagonist, former war hero turned pacifist who encounters a series of tragedies. These life events put him on the path of combatting evil and ultimately forming Kingsman. Almost a straight forward spy thriller, but enough oddities to toss around 'spoof' and 'farce'. But these don't really stick either. The intrigue here is supposed to be in the character development of Fiennes, but I found it to be a flat side story that didn't provide enough intrigue to carry the plot along. Without it, the spy thriller portion is formulaic.

3 stars (out of 5)

Lupin (serial)

In 2 parts - 5 episodes each. Omar Sy is outstanding as Assane Diop, a gentleman burgler who fancies himself the modern version of the fictional character Arsène Lupin. And by all accounts, he is. Diop has one purpose in life... to clear the name of his father who was framed for stealing a multimillion dollar diamond necklace from his employer. Most of the action happens in the present, 25 years after the original theft, but timely flashbacks give us enticing history about many of the characters. In every way, this is a classic action-heist that holds all the pieces together and is entertaining from start to finish. If you are a heist fan, put this on your must see list. 

5 stars (out of 5)

Star Trek: Discovery (serial)

Seasons 1-3

Don't know why this has taken so long for me to get to, but really a pretty good series that is well in line with the "discovery and exploration" vibe that I liked about ToS and TNG. Obviously some technology timeline issues, but really an interesting series. The protagonist is Michael Burnham, foster sister to Spock, and the action take place a decade before ToS. Burnham is not a captain, and yet is in the middle of every galaxy changing event - from war with the Klingons to super-sentient life hating AI to faster than warp travel to time travel. All while staying true to the prime directive and core values of Starfleet. Two things that I find worth noting: 1) I am much more cognizant of the colonial underpinnings of Starfleet and how even in its best self, the true believers in colonial power for good are blinded to the oppression that comes with it, and 2) The title music is definitely a rip-off of the Game of Thrones title music. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Reacher (serial)

Season 1

This is exactly what you want from a serial adaptation of a Jack Reacher story. Action, every motivation and decision is straight and to the point. In fact, if I hadn't been watching Star Trek simultaneously, I might not have noticed, but Reacher is very Vulcan. This season follows Lee Child's The Killing Floor. What I particularly miss in the screen version is that we don't get to see Reachers thought process, except for the occasional oration of that to another character. But if you are a Reacher fan, you kind of already know that process anyway and it is almost as fun reciting that inner dialogue yourself. It's not great filmmaking, but neither are the books great literature. Both are beach / late night entertainment. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Hawkeye (serial)

A little series that continues the Kingpin lineage (see Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, etc.). Hawkeye gets an unwanted protégé (Kate Bishop) as he tries to clean up some loose ends from a blip-inspired past he would like to forget. The fact that we get to spend time with the Track Suit Gang again (the Washington Generals of crime) makes the whole series worthwhile. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Eternals

This seems like is was meant to be a big budget, tentpole summer movie. I watched at home on my computer. I enjoyed the character banter (it's what you get after a 5000 year later family reunion) and appreciated that Marvel moves their story forward. Definitely this is a setup movie, and definitely the longer Marvel sticks around, the less important earth (and humans) are in the grand scheme of things. I mean, we're just and incubator?

3 stars (out of 5)

The Book of Boba Fett (serial)

Having been introduced in The Madalorian season 2, we now get a series just for Boba, but not really. It is 1/3 Boba back story, 1/3 Boba where are you now and 1/3 Mandalorian. Still all pretty good. I don't really buy the idea of Boba Fett settling down and being the benevolent overlord on Tatooine, but I am not sure that believable is really the goal here. Mildly entertaining, somewhat of a stop gap until something more interesting comes along.

2 stars (out of 5)

Star Trek: Picard (serial)

Season 1

Having retired from Starfleet, Picard is enjoying growing winegrapes on his farm in Napa. Until he is drawn into a life & death struggle between good and evil. This is a pretty good story, but relies a bit too much on the nostalgia, with cameo appearance by most of the former crew and enemies. In the end, Picard is fighting for his friend Data and all sentient machines (who have been outlawed by the way). I think if you were not a fan of TNG, this will largely be a flat offering. Maybe that audience is large enough.

3 stars (out of 5)