Yu Yu Hakusho (serial)

A 5-episode series based on a Manga of the same name. Yusuke is the protagonist, a tough guy school student who shows signs of caring for the underdog. When he dies saving a kid from a runaway truck, he gets a second chance. The price, he becomes a spirit investigator. First job, recover some stolen artifacts from demons who have infiltrated the human world. Which leads to the bigger job of preventing a permanent rift in the barrier between the demon and human world. He makes friends along the way, and everyone discovers something about themselves and the importance of relationship and trust and friendship. Appropriate length and really fun imagining of demon forms and battle scenes. Really fun. 

5 stars (out of 5)

Tetris

The 'based on a true story' telling of how the rights to the tetris game were sought after. Tetris was created by a Russian programmer and sold licensing to a western game developer. But the western companies were unethical, creating and distributing the game without actual regard for the licensing rights. When a small developer gets into the mix to bring it to Nintendo for their new GameBoy handheld, he ends up having to travel to Moscow to negotiate new rights. Interesting, but the first 2/3 was really necessary but to much setup. The final 1/3 actually gets interesting and pulls you in. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Family Plan

Mark Wahlberg is Dan, used car salesman and dad extrordinairre in Buffalo NY. He is the ultimate homebody and social-media avoider. Only to find out that he is a former government black-ops secret assassin. Well, we find out, the family still doesn't know. And when the bad guys come to find him, he and the family have to go on the run. So road trip to Vegas. Nothing novel, but fun. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Ghosted

Romantic Action Comedy, leaning more to action than comedy. Think Romancing the Stone, Knight and Day, etc. Chris Evans is a classic 30-something, ever-single guy living at home and helping out dad on the farm, putting his own life on hold. He meets Art Ana de Armas for a 24 hours first date/one night stand and the chemistry is sparking. And then she ghosts him. So he follows her on a whim (the encouragement of mom Amy Sedaris) to London...where he gets mistaken for a secret agent and finds that de Armas is actually the secret agent. So they spend the movie keeping the chemistry boiling and saving the world. Fun.

4 stars (out of 5)

My Life with the Walter Boys

Cheesy hallmarkish teen drama. New York Jackie just lost her family in an accident and is sent to live with her mom's college friend in Colorado. She arrives to find a ranch family of 10 kids, all boys except one. She falls for a couple and has to navigate her new life as "country Jackie" and deal with her grief all at once. Everything you expect to happen does. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Car Masters: Rust to Riches (serial)

Season 5

Picking up after season 4, the team picks up a couple new members and trys to hit the high end market. It doesn't all go smoothly and the most fun this season remains the upgrade and trade sequence. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Family Switch

A retelling of the Freaky Friday, body switch story, but this time it is the whole family. Mom switch with Daughter, Father with Son and baby with dog. All of the hijinks you expect happen. All of the derivative mechanisms that you would expect of this kind of switch plot happen. And the writing wasn't careful, with several instances of post switch wrong reactions (mom actress responds with the mom reaction when that should be the daughter persona). So at best, it is a Christmas, feel good family reconciliation movie to have on in the background that may be interesting to anyone who has never seen a body switch movie before. 

2 stars (out of 5)

My Daemon

A really fun anime series, 13 episodes of <30 min each. Set in Japan in a world after nuclear events where the use of nuclear bombs has created daemonium particles that eventually hatch into daemons. This sets up the inevitable human/daemon conflict. Enter Kentu, a young boy who has befriended a daemon Anna and seems to have a connection with her that befuddles other humans. When Kentu's mom is killed, he and Anna set off in search of a rumored time reversal daemon who can bring her back. The series tells the story of Kentu and Anna and the people and daemons that they meet along the way. It is creative and fun and ultimately helps us explore compassion, attitudes towards difference and how effective personal relationship is in allowing people to organically change their long held beliefs. 

5 stars (out of 5)

The Harder They Fall

A western from a couple years ago where Idris Elba plays uber-outlaw Rufus Buck, the nemesis to many but particularly Nat Love, who he tortured as a kid. A hint of O Brother Where Art Thou vibes seeping out of a hard core western / redemption story. Mix in the land rush west and racism and you get plenty of motivation and complexity to keep you going. The basic plot follows Nat Love as he seeks out and kills everyone who was part of that Rufus Buck torture gang. When Buck gets out of jail, he has but on job left before he can leave outlaw life forever...

4 stars (out of 5)

Genie

Melissa McCarthy is a Genie (Flora) who is let out of her box by Paapa Essiedu (Bernard). Bernard is loosing his family and his job and so Flora comes at just the right time. Of course, as with all Genies, good intentions don't quite work out right so Bernard ends up in some hot water. But in the end, it all works out and we get a happily ever after, as we should in a holiday rom-com. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Lost Car Rescue (serial)

Season 2

Like the first season, the crew travels around Canadian wilderness looking for old cars to rescue. No real drama or reality tension. Just fun car rescues with a good natured team. Can't wait for next season.

4 stars (out of 5)

Wingwomen

French heist-assassin-buddy movie. We see flavors of John Wick, some Lupin, some Jason Bourne, and amazingly some Xena Warrior Princess. Alex and Carole have been working together for quite some time and have a banter as they work. They recruit Sam for this last job, the one that will get them out of the business. It is never that easy is it? Definitely derivative, but a fun romp through France and enough cheesy humor (an inadvertent food truck selling hot dogs mid heist?) to make it enjoyable. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Lupin (serial)

Season 3

Picking up where Season 2 left off, Arsène is in exile, having fled France and been presumed dead. Or actually, not even presumed, but actually buried. His wife and son are still hassled by the media, to the extent that Arsène has to come home and clear his name. Of course he does it with capers and hijinks. Still a great character study and heist series. Love it. 

5 stars (out of 5)

My Life is Murder (serial)

Season 1-3

Lucy Lawless of Xena fame returns home to New Zealand to play a retired detective who just can't let go. Even though retired, the local police call on her every episode to solve a particularly strange or difficult case. And she always does. A light hearted episodic murder-mystery series that neither takes itself too seriously nor wastes our time. 

4 stars (out of 5)

One Piece (serial)

Hopefully this is season 1. One Piece is a live action serial based on a manga series by the same name. Protagonist Monkey D Luffy is a pirate putting together a crew to find the Grand Line and search for a mythical treasure known as the One Piece. Find this treasure will be a big part of Luffy becoming king of the pirates. The series definitely plays like a manga with a target audience age of middle school. Characters are eccentric and caricatures, often with special abilities. Luffy himself has eaten a dragon fruit and has become stretchy. And the crew that he is putting together is a reluctant set of individualists who are all discovering the benefits of a team or family for the first time in their lives. Overall, a highly enjoyable series that walks that live action/animation line perfectly. 

5 stars (out of 5)

Veronica Mars (serial)

Season 1

Kirsten Bell is Veronica Mars, high school junior (yes, 24 playing 17) in Neptune California, land of beach and wealth and class divisions galore. Her father (the fabulous Enrico Colantoni - who I first saw in Person of Interest) is a private detective, formerly sheriff, who was forced out of office by the wealthy class after accusing them of murder. The season long theme is the solving of that murder. And each episode has Veronica playing detective in her school. Definitely a cross between Gossip Girl and Nancy Drew. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Barbie

I don't think I was the target audience for this movie. I didn't play with barbie nor really did my sisters growing up, so the nostalgia factor was only peripheral. I also don't feel the need for a cheerleading session or unveiling of the truth on the horrors of capitalism and the patriarchy, so the messaging was a bit on the nose. Aside from that, the 80's/90's visuals were fun and the satirical illumination of patriarchy did have me laughing out loud at times. Definitely a cultural touchpoint of this summer. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Takeover

This Dutch action-thriller follows a hacker (mostly white hat) who uncovers a nefarious scheme by some nameless Chinese firm to capture facial and identity data on all Dutch citizens. It becomes seriously dangerous. Running for her life, trying not to get others involved, and trying to prevent identity apocalypse. Quite the ride. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Fubar (serial)

A fun little family-spy series that reminds me in tone of The Burn Notice. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a retiring CIA operative working his last mission, when he encounters his daughter undercover, also a CIA operative. And to save the world, they have to work together. In many ways this is cliché, but even in that it is fun to watch, the writing taking itself just seriously enough. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Heart of Stone

Gal Gadot is an operative for a top secret, extra-governmental, global operations organization that pulls all the strings to keep the bad guys from killing everyone. To assist them they have "the heart", a quantum supercomputer that can process data so fast that it seems omniscient. And it gives pretty cool real-time data to heads up display contact lenses over massively remote distances (aka science fiction). Gadot is betrayed, the heart is stolen, and she must recover it. A completely solid action thriller. The only reason I would say it isn't a franchise maker/starter is that I can't remember for the life of me Gadot's character name or the secret organization name (a la Ethan Hunt, Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher, Luke Skywalker, etc.). And this list kind of makes me sad because that list just rolled out of my head and I can't seem to recall a single female character name from a movie/series. It's just a bunch of "that girl from..." or "___'s character in ..." Alas.

3 stars (out of 5)

The Thieves

Rewatched this from a decade ago. Still a top 10 heist films of all time. 

5 stars (out of 5)

The Meg

Jason Statham is a deep sea diver who lost a couple friends on a rescue mission. He claims to have encountered a massive something that caused the loss, but no one believed him. So when he is asked to do another rescue mission (this time his ex-wife), he carries all that baggage. But he does it and in the process is exonerated for his crazy as the rescue releases a Megaladon into the pacific ocean. And now that he has done that, he has to kill it to save (literally) everyone. Pretty straight forward plot and action sequences, moves along with a nice pace and has the appropriate mix of convenient coincidence and marginally plausible capabilities (both human and tech). 

3 stars (out of 5)

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3

I didn't want to like this movie. I am saturated on Marvel and have not really got into the last several. And on the surface, this is a manufactured plot for the sole purpose of showing the Guardians at their best. And it is done well. In short, Rocket is the subject of an attempted retrieval by his maker. The Guardians spend the entire movie rescuing him. We get flashbacks about who Rocket his and his backstory. I enjoyed the process, and a vast improvement over vol. 2. I will say, my favorite character is Cosmo with his good dog/bad dog routine. So on point. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Dream

A Korean Soccer star runs afoul of the media, and quits soccer in an effort to make some money in TV. To jumpstart his career, he agrees to participate in a documentary as the coach of the World Cup of Homeless Soccer (which is actually a real thing). So he goes from not caring, to caring, to actually changing the minds and outlook of everyone around him. Feel good sports/underdog movie.

3 stars (out of 5)

Resident Alien (serial)

Season 1

An alien crash lands on earth, kills a local to blend in by taking over his appearance, and begins the search for his device that he will use to kill all humans on the planet. Oh, and its a comedy. Harry takes on the temporary job of local doctor, interacts with your typical small-town eccentrics, and can be seen in his real form by the mayor's son. All the while, Harry becomes more and more in touch with his humanity as he seeks his device that will allow their termination. Clever, low stress, and oddball funny. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Army of Thieves

A prequel to Army of the Dead (which I tried to watch and couldn't), this is moderately good. A heist crew is looking to break into a series of legendary safes (known as the Wagner Ring) before they are moved to undisclosed locations. The planning is all done, and the new safe-cracker to the team makes all the difference. The team runs into internal strife and ultimately, only the safecracker (Dieter) makes it on to the next in series. Quirky characters and relationships make it fun, but in reality, low quality heist thrill prevents this from being an outstanding film. The safes just seemingly crack them selves??? Probably there is lots of foreshadowing that I would have appreciated if I watched the original, but on its own, only mid-level quality. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Contractor

Chris Pine stars in this movie that we have all seen before. He is a special ops soldier whose injury prevents him from active duty. So he reaches out to a friend to get a high paying, private contractor job. But it goes wrong, and it is unclear who the good guys are. So Pine has to rely on only himself and his personal ethical code to make things right... or at least not wrong. What is interesting about this movie is the pacing. Yes, there are action scenes, but it shies away from 90 minutes of non-stop action that is common. We actually get to endure with Pine as he struggles. In this case, the slow pace is effective.

3 stars (out of 5)

Hidden Strike

Set in China, John Cena is a one-time mercenary who has adopted a village and works to ensure they have water and food. Jackie Chan is special forces team leader charged with escorting oil refinery personnel in an evacuation when the refinery is taken over by other U.S. mercenaries looking to cash out. Cena and Chan end up teaming up to protect the workers, protect the village and take down the bad guys. I am not a good enough observer to put a finger on it, but this is definitely Chinese action, vs U.S. action. It really does have the feel of The Wandering Earth. The story quality here is really lacking however. 

2 stars (out of 5)

Sniper: The White Raven

This Ukrainian film is set during the Russian invasion of Crimea. An ultra-eco couple has basically staked a claim and is living on the land when they encounter a Russian incursion, leading to death. Mykola responds by joining the Ukrainian army, training to be a sniper, and becoming the best sniper ever. Definitely less action and more contemplation and slow build up than you would expect from a western film, which really pulls you in to the pain and angst of the characters. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Plus One at an Amish Wedding

Stereotypes and predicability to spare. A New York doctor meets a New York veterinarian and after some dating, she (doctor) gets invited to accompany him (vet) to his brothers wedding. Just so happens he is (was) Amish and has some family issues to deal with. We see the struggle, the mistrust, the requisite doctor saves someone, everyone makes up. But the flat characterization of all the Amish -- oh my.

2 stars (out of 5)

Peace by Chocolate

A Syrian family emigrates to Nova Scotia by way of the Lebanese refugee camps. The father was the premier chocolatier in Syria before his factory was bombed. Now in a small village in Nova Scotia, he encounters Canadian hospitality and family strife as he chances on an opportunity to begin making chocolate again. A good anecdotal bio-pic, with the biggest takeaway probably the difference between how the opposition panned out compared to if this was set in any U.S. town. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Kingdom

Set in China in 250 BCE, a couple of slave boys with big dreams are our heroes. They practice swordsmanship on their own as they dream of changing their lives and getting out of slavery. One gets the chance of a lifetime to leave and takes the offer. The second follows on and becomes a key part of correcting a coup and helping the rightful king return to power. Simple, but with depth as we explore class, race, culture and gender stereotypes.

4 stars (out of 5)

Mr. Car and the Knights Templar

This Polish action adventure is everything I had hoped The Kid Who Would Be King would have been. A treasure hunter working for the national museum finds a relic from the Knights Templar that points to a great and power treasure. Many collectors are interested, and a competition is called to find the treasure. Answering this call are 3 kids who run away from their scouting camp to join the hunt. Obviously, they are all thrown together into a team. Action, cheesy, heartfelt. Really good. 

4 stars (out of 5) 

Jack Ryan (serial)

Season 4

Listed as 'The Final Season', Ryan is deputy director of the CIA for a minute, then resigns to go clean up after the former directors shadowy operations gone awry. Too bad this is the final season since the series has been so good. But I guess it's better to quit while it is good than go a season or two too long. As Ryan does his thing with his off-books and on-books partners, his bosses cover for him officially both at the CIA and with the Senate oversight committee, who is vetting Ryan's boss for formal appointment throughout. A nice combination of politics and action. And while a character would occasionally contribute something out of left field which seemed beyond their character, it was also done skillfully such that I was willing to accept the un-shown backstory that it wasn't out of character. If that makes sense. 
4 stars (out of 5)

The Out-Laws

Owen is an ordinary, if eccentric, bank manager about to be married. When his branch is robbed a couple of days before the wedding, he has reason to suspect the soon-to-be-in-laws. In a classic slapstick/keystone genre, Owen's incompetence gets him into and then out of near-death trouble, winding up with a happily-ever-after story. Emphasis on the Keystone nature of his thievery. 

3 stars (out of 5)

65

65 million years ago and alien species that happens to have evolved exactly like humans is exploring space. Adam Driver is a pilot of a transport ship that hits an asteroid that then crashes into earth. Did I say 65 million years ago... when a catastrophic asteroid collision was an extinction level event? So Driver and his only living passenger (who happens to look like his daughter) travel through 15 km of the end of the Cretaceous period to get to an escape pod before said extinction level event ushers in the Cenozoic. A few jump scares interspersed with attempts at heartfelt connection and meaning. While I am definitely looking for original content (tiring of the franchise), this is mediocre at best.

3 stars (out of 5)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Indiana comes out of retirement when his god daughter pulls him into a search for the two parts of a device created by Archimedes. This after an extended flashback of Indy stealing the first part from under the nose of his Nazi nemesis. This Nazi returns in the present (i.e. 1969) to get this piece back and find the second piece. Indy tries to get there first, thereby helping the Nazi get all the pieces. This plot summary is both total spoiler, and I could have written it before seeing the movie (maybe I had the dial...). As number five in the franchise, the story and acting feels like a No. 5. It is predictable, and at this point, trope. Maybe it is me tiring of franchise and looking for something new, but the wow and pizzaz is definitely missing. It is a solid, if uninspired, action adventure.

3 stars (out of 5)

Divorce Attorney Shin (serial)

A 12 episode K-Drama centered around Shin and his two friends (Jang and Jo). Shin is a former international piano professor/performer who gave up music to become a lawyer when his sister was divorced and then killed in an accident. He thought the circumstances suspect at best. In the process, he becomes a divorce attorney to gain expertise in the field and understand what happened. The series takes on a case every 2-3 episodes and is quite heady in addressing the seriousness and difficulty of divorce, abuse, custody, etc. So in that realm, this is a heavy load. But the three guys are outstanding as a trio. They are late 30-something and yet, in many ways, still interacting as teenage boys. At the same time, they have a depth of relationship that takes years to develop. I love this relationship and how it is portrayed in the silliness and the emotional depth of their lives. A fabulous series.  

5 stars (out of 5)

Big

Tom Hanks vehicle from 1988. I don't think I have seen this since 1988 either. I remembered a couple of the key scenes (Zoltar, the piano, ...) but most of the middle plot was "new again". I few laugh out loud moments and lots of "sweet" scenes. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Street Science (serial)

A 10-episode series with each exploring some dramatic science demos you can do with "household" items. Mostly, this is a guy and his friend with a slo-mo camera who like to play with fire, etc. The experiments themselves aren't new and the explanations are not slick. Since he is explaining the events to people on the street, there is no opportunity for scaffolding concepts. The result is a strange mixture of too simplistic and too complex. Often the response from the viewer is "... cool". But the slo-mo viewing of some of these is pretty fun. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Murder Mystery 2

Following the original, Sandler and Aniston now have a struggling detective business and their working together and being married together results in more tension than they can handle. When they are invited to a destination wedding of their ultra-wealthy friend, they take it. And when said friend is kidnapped, they are right back in the thick of things. Wacky, bumbling ineptitude-yet-brilliant detecting. Good "pink-panther-ish" vibe, but barely held my attention. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Mule

Clint Eastwood stars and directs himself in a role starting to be a typecast for him. Curmudgeonly old guy, racist but charming. Here he loses his business and home and with remarkable easy, becomes a drug cartels most successful drug transporter, moving heroin from El Paso to Chicago.  Rolling in money yet matter of fact about what he is doing, this is a pretty flat character drama without a significant story arc. Instead, it is a "slice of life", albeit an out of the ordinary life. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Muster Dogs (serial)

A four-part series following 5 sibling pups through a training regiment to see if they can become cattle muster dogs within a year. Each pup goes to a different trainer/rancher in far-flung regions of Australia. Clearly lots of the hard work is done behind the scenes to condense a year into 4 episodes, but this is both interesting and fun to watch as the dog mature into working ranchers. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Extraction 2

Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as special-ops mercenary unicorn Tyler Rake. We start at the end of Episode 1, with Rake in a coma from the last op. He survives, finds a will to live, gets a job that is personal and apparently (with a couple months of chopping wood) is again a special-ops, mercenary, unicorn. Pretty consistent military action throughout the 2 hours. So consistent, in fact, that after the first third I realized there was not going to be any down-time or interstitial drama. Just fight...shoot...rescue...repeat...

3 stars (out of 5)

Tex/Mex Motors (serial)

A car restoration series where a team of mechanics/sales people gets together to take old junkers and convert them into big sales. The hook here is that the cars are purchased in Mexico, brought across the border to El Paso where they are fixed and sold. Part of the story is the acquisition, part is the restoration. Similar to Gotham Garage, this evolves into a "let's get bigger and bigger deals" scenario. Unlike Gotham, this is a mercenary team, brought together for a 6 month project to see if it works, meaning not a local shop feel. Quick watch and I like the car restoration stuff. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor re-finds his mojo as he goes after the god-destroyer. Natalie Portman, as a worthy person to hold Mjolnir, has also transformed into a Thor god (to help manager her cancer). God-destroyer vanquished. MCU has truly lost its way if this is indicative of the story-telling and world building they are planning to engage in. The over the top attempts at cheeky humor mostly fall flat.

2 stars (out of 5)

Lost Bullet 2

Following directly on the heels of #1, Lino is seeking out the corrupt former cop who was responsible for killing his brother. Of course the corruption goes deeper (or higher?) than he knew so his job is more difficult and more dangerous. He makes it part way... I guess there will be a #3.

3 stars (out of 5)

Lost Bullet

A sort of Fast and Furious feel coming from France. A convict (Lino) is given early release on the condition that he work for a special police unit tasked with stoping drug trade in the country. Their particular niche is intercepting go-fast cars used for delivery of drugs and money. Hence the need for a magical mechanic. Problem is, a corrupt group in the police make some poor choices and Lino goes after them. I think better than Fast and Furious because there is more story, even at the cost of less car chases. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Law School (serial)

Sixteen episodes of fantastic drama. This Korean legal series is set in a law school where scandal abounds. The criminal law professor is accused of murder and each of his students is somehow connected to the resulting cases. And they all participate in the real life prosecution or defense of these cases. The characters are all well written and have depth and idiosyncrasies that are revealed over time. And each episode ends with a reveal to send things in new directions. And all well wrapped up in the end. Love it. 

5 stars (out of 5)

The Kid Who Would be King

Modern retelling of King Arthur + Disney = this movie.

2 stars (out of 5)

Star Wars: Visions (serial)

Season 1

A series of animated shorts that fill out the star wars universe. The first season are all anime produced by Japanese studios. There is no running theme through this set, but each in independently a showcase for what storytellers can do in a well developed world. I will say, if you only watch one, watch Season 1, Episode 1. One of the most creative and visually interesting portrayals I have seen. Loved it...

4 stars (out of 5)

Mother's Day

Polish action movie where the protagonist is a former NATO special ops soldier. When her son (who she gave up for adoption at birth for his own protection) is kidnapped, she is pulled back into action to protect him and engage with former and new enemies. She is in many ways a typical badass woman action hero. Somehow, though, this has a different feel than American or even Asian action. Our protagonist simultaneously exudes strength of body and character and melancholy that is never a key character component. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

So I'm not a D&D fan, never played, completely naive about the culture, etc. I say this to provide context for my expectations for this movie... none. I had heard complaints from "the community", but those mean nothing to me, without a history. The movie is a comedic fantasy telling of a thief who lost his wife, takes on one last job to get a "wife-bringer-backer" talisman, gets caught, loses his daughter, and spends the rest of the movie winning her back. This most reminded me of The Princess Bride, without being quite so iconic. Or maybe Romancing the Stone? I don't know. I quite enjoyed it as a light hearted, occasional chuckle (who's not going to laugh at an obese dragon) fantasy romp. Definitely better than the Mortal Kombat movie, which I also had no connection to. 

3 stars (out of 5)

School Spirits (serial)

A high school girl is killed on her campus, but finds that her spirit sticks around. She meets other spirits who are also stuck to the school. Her obsession becomes finding out what actually happened to her (how she was killed). Helps that she can actually still converse with her living best friend. Scooby Doo meets Sixth Sense?

3 stars (out of 5)

AKA

French action thriller that doesn't really fit any of the trope styles, and yet somehow fits them all. It isn't traditional former black ops soldier a la Bourne Identity, it isn't revenge thriller a la Taken, it isn't white knight a la Equalizer. But mesh them together and you get a sense of the feel. Maybe a French Jack Reacher? Adam is an off the books hired gun for the French government that is called in to clean up (i.e. find and kill) a suspected terrorist. He has to rapidly infiltrate a local crime family to get at the terrorist cell. Everything goes exactly as planned, while not going to plan at all but he still succeeds. I would watch more of the Adam Franco character.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Mother

JLo is a former military trained sniper. Her backstory suggests that she didn't see any job prospects for someone of her talents in the civilian world, so fell in with some arms dealers. When their deals crossed even her moral boundary, she turned to the FBI. But the bad guys find her, so she has to send her newborn child into witness protection. Twelve years later, the kid is discovered, the bad guys still hold a grudge and only JLo and her mother bear instinct can protect the daughter she never knew. In many ways, standard action faire.

3 stars (out of 5)

Air

Historical fiction telling of the signing of Michael Jordan by Nike. Clearly they had fun with setting the scene of 80's pop culture (Phil Knight in day-glo aerobics wear). And everybody comes up smelling like roses. Fun, and maybe just because that was my sports history they were telling.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Glory (serial)

Wow. A Korean psychological thriller that really gets into it. The story follows 30 something Dong-eun as she initiates a revenge plan. In flashback we see in detail the years of bullying and abuse that she receives as a high school student at the hand of 5 friends. We see human depravity, entitlement of wealth and class. But this is not a Taken style one-dimensional revenge thriller. We see Dong-eun and her commitment to her plan. This commitment is complex, to the point that she recognizes human and potential friendship in a colleague, only to turn it away in order to maintain her focus. Somehow, as much as she craves relationship, she knows that letting herself feel human will cause her to lose her ability to enact her revenge. And we see her decades of pain slowly surfacing and be held by those who care for her, allowing her to be more whole. Add to this character is the plot, with twists and developments that keep you guessing. Maybe not "I didn't see that coming", but "Did she see that coming? Is she really that far ahead? Or is she just adaptable and reacting really well to a changing situation?" It's really good.

5 stars (out of 5)

Ghost Dog

Forest Whitaker plays an assassin who is indebted to a mobster for saving his life. He adopts the way of the samurai, which makes him very good at what he does, and also oddly bad at it. Ultimately, and probably the most obvious plot resolution ever, it leads to his downfall. Dark and moody, but achieves its moody-ness by just not having many words. Largely forgettable.

2 stars (out of 5)

Passengers

This has been on my list for a long time and never came available on any of my services. A colony ship is in transit to a remote planet. This planet is far away (100 years travel, ship already traveling at 50% speed of light {don't get me started}). All the passengers and crew are in bio-hibernation for the duration of the trip, with the ship itself auto-piloting, auto-repairing, etc. Traveling through an asteroid field at some point overloads the shields, causes a failure and wakes up one passenger, Chris Pratt. After over a year of living alone and nearly ending his life, he wakes up another passenger Jennifer Lawrence, having fell in love with her bio. They live happily ever after... actually, the psychological impact of effectively being sentences to a living death by the only other person in your universe is sort of address. But then bigger problems come around and the entire ship needs to be saved. I don't think this film knew what it wanted to be. A dark psychological trauma/relationship film, or a space action film. It tries to do both, so does neither excellently. But to be fair, does both adequately.

3 stars (out of 5)

The InHumans (serial)

A human-like, yet genetically unique species lives in their city on the moon. It is protected by a shield that keeps atmosphere in and the humans from discovering the city. These InHumans also get special powers as part of a genetic modification program that they undergo at a coming of age ceremony. With this background, the royal family is ejected to the earth as part of a coup and they must fight the usurper while discovering all that is good about humans while on earth. A moderately good comic story that probably did everything it needed to in its one season.

3 stars (out of 5)

The Mandalorian (serial)

Season 3

Din Djarin and Grogu spend this season helping the diaspora Mandalorians retake Mandalor. This season is a better full season single story. Every episode had purpose. Djarin is no longer trying to get rid of the kid, but training him. Didn't really care for the Jack Black/Lizzo episode (gave me Jar Jar vibes). Otherwise, great episodic space opera.

5 stars (out of 5)

Doogie Kamealoha MD (serial)

Season 1 & Season 2

Disney TV at its best. A reboot of Doogie Houser with a 16 year old doctor Lahela Kamealoha in Hawaii. She is growing up teenager, finding love, being a genius and living the island life with a doctor mom and a shave ice truck owning dad. Low stakes, low expectations, low key. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Fire of Love

A documentary following the relationship and work of volcanologist couple Katia and Maurice Krafft. This film has astounding footage of both red volcanoes (with lava) and grey volcanoes (explosive ash) and teaches us along the way both about volcanoes and about life work, love and how to live with passion instead of fear. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Lady Driver

A 16-year old with her newly earned drivers license is fed up with her "sad teenage life" and runs off to live with her uncle. She learns about her dad (who was killed and she never knew) and learns to love dirt track car racing. She is instantly good, wins over everyone and becomes a massive success. Not even any drama or story arc here. 

2 stars (out of 5)

Into the Beat

Apparently I am now the target audience for transformational dance movies. Into the Beat is the german version of Battle. Here Katya is a ballerina (from a family of ballet dancers) who is coming up on an audition for the NY Ballet Academy. But Katya is not feeling the passion for ballet and is pressed into it by her family legacy. Instead, she discovers hip hop at a local club, finds a boyfriend to teach her, and enters a hip hop competition where she can demonstrate her passion for dance. I will say that the actual hip hop dance here is less angry or aggressive (it felt more like modern interpretive) and therefore less fun. But still pretty good.

3 stars (out of 5)

The Way Back

Ben Affleck is a former HS Basketball all everything player, but he hasn't touched a ball since then. As a 40-something construction worker clearly struggling with some serious life issues, he gets a call from his alma mater to become a coach mid-season. Oh, and the team is awful. Affleck is rough but somehow turns a 1-9 team into a playoff contender overnight. But he can't deal with his life issues and things go off the rails of sorts. Classic, second-tier sports film. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Battle

Turns out this is the origin story for Battle: Freestyle. Actually, Freestyle was the sequel, but I watched them out of order. This story begins with rich and entitled Amalie as a modern dance student on the verge of making it big. But her dad goes bankrupt and loses everything. They move into public housing on the other side of town and Amalie has to hide her change is status from her friends and spend a lot of time on the train across town. She goes to the local community center to find a place to train and meets the local HipHop Dance crew. Has she found a new love? What happens when worlds collide? Well, in this movie, dance heals all wounds.

3 stars (out of 5)

Battle: Freestyle

A Norwegian film following a hip-hop dance crew as they qualify for a Paris competition. The story centers around Amalie. She is a former modern dance student who has been working with this crew for a couple years, getting closer with her boyfriend also a member of the crew, and conflicted about her mother (a bigwig ballet professor) who she meets up with in Paris. Where are her loyalties and what are her true loves? Well, I love watching dance competition movies, so this was a fun addition, even if predicable in plot. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Call Me Chihiro

This Japanese drama tells the story of a former sex-worker who has changed jobs and is looking to not be defined by her former career. Chihiro works in a small bento shop as the counter clerk and becomes a local favorite because she actually pays attention to people. She befriends an old homeless guy, a couple of school girls, a latch-key kid, the old woman/wife of the shop owner. In each case, she makes a friend and helps each to discover more about themselves as they explore next phases of life, while she herself struggles with many of the same questions. It is basically a 'slice-of-life' film, with the slice encompassing a middle fraction of Chihiro's transformation. There is a lot we don't know about her history, and we don't get the end of the story either. But still I felt resolution. And the pacing of this film is perfect. It is slow, with plenty of time both for subtitles and for breathing between scenes. In fact, I can't imagine this film working in english. Well worth the watch and one I will likely return to.

5 stars (our of 5)

Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill

The sequel to The Fable, Sato is still in his one-year "no-killing" sabbatical. It is something like a few months after the original. Sato encounters a girl he once saved and a criminal that escaped his attention from a job 4 years earlier. With the same self-discovery and care for those close to him as exhibited in the original, Sato simultaneously navigates "normal life" and discovers what "normal life". Oh, and takes down another bad guy.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Fable

Akira Sato is the most feared and most mythical assassin in Japan. He is so good at what he does, that most believe him a myth because his skills are fantastical. His boss, recognizing the need for Sato to be human, assigns him to a one year sabbatical, forbidding him from killing anyone. He is given a place to live, a job, a "sister" as part of his cover. He is to live a "normal life". Absolutely fantastic storytelling and development of a likable character in Sato. He is highly protective of people close to him and it turns out his skills are actually as advertised... so much so that he can defeat entire yakuza armies without killing anyone. This is a fun assassin/action movie that avoids the dark revenge trope in favor of personal discovery.

4 stars (out of 5)

Kill Boksoon

A Korean assassin movie. Here the "top knife" is Gil Boksoon, middle aged single mother juggling drama at work and a teenage daughter. At work, the assassin guild operates by rules that her boss created in "normalizing" the business. Boksoon breaks a rule and is now navigating the consequences. All while trying to be open and honest with her daughter but not telling her anything. Yes, you can predict how well that is going to work. What John Wick does with guns, Boksoon does with knives. But this I enjoyed more. 

4 stars (out of 5)

John Wick: Chapter 4

Following Chapter 3, Wick is now a pariah, seeking his freedom from The Table, and revenge for ... actually I forget what... but revenge. The Table has given carte blanche to the Marquis to hunt down and kill Wick. To accomplish this, the Marquis destroys anything and anyone who has sympathy for Wick. In the end, it comes down to a personal matchup between Wick and the Marquis.

There is nothing subtle about this movie. It is pure choreographed action that follows in its predecessors footsteps as being fantastical. So much so that the fight scenes are no longer fights. I mean, kevlar suits that block bullets without being torn or even flutter when a bullet hits, only letting off a few sparks? It's just silly, allowing the actors to fire their blanks at will and only occasionally lifting a kevlar cuff to "ward off" a barrage of gunfire. And the number of body-car collisions that result in only minor limping??? What was perhaps most noticeable throughout was Reeves age as Wick. He no longer runs like a svelte martial artist, but lumbers around, knees not working like they used to, the James Garner/Jim Rockford of our time.

2 stars (out of 5) 

The Violence Action

A Japanese action/assassin movie where the protagonist is a school girl who happens to be the most feared assassin around. She works for a group who serves the Yakuza, and gets involved with a succession battle and embezzlement/revenge scheme. Sort of a coming of age story coupled with brutal violence and Lolita undertones.

3 stars (out of 5)

The Bad Batch (serial)

Season 2

This animated series is the best thing in the Star Wars universe right now. Picking up where Season 1 left off, the crew of clones continues to work as mercenaries, trying to stay neutral and make enough money to not be beholden to anyone. Turns out that is difficult as the Empire grows stronger and the defeated Republic becomes more and more rebel based. Add to the mix that Omega is part of the crew as a teenage girl batch 99 clone who is somehow important to the empire. I love the reality of "just getting by" paired with the struggle for when to get involved when injustice is really everywhere. 

5 stars (out of 5)

Scream 6

My first ever viewing of something in the Scream franchise. I will say that either this version did a pretty good job of catching up new viewers or the premise is actually so simple that catching up is not required. I did not feel like I was missing out on a bunch of inside jokes or historical meanings. A couple of sisters were involved in a serial killer spree in California and, in attempting to put it all behind them, move to New York for school. The same MO of killer begins stalking the sisters (Ghostface costume, knife killings, etc.) and they need to fight for their lives. Really, it is cheeky fun, with a lower gore score than many action adventure movies. Since it is my only experience, I will say that starting (and ending) with episode 6 isn't a bad way to go.

3 stars (out of 5)

Astrid (serial)

Season 2

Sophomore season picks up right where season 1 left off. Astrid and Raph are getting into a groove together, learning each others limits and how to work together. Essentially, they are becoming friends that rely on each other. The star of the series is Astrid and her ability to make connections between disparate cases. But this season she spends more time in the field, making Sherlock Holmes like observations of crime scenes that are not seen by anyone else. We also get to have Astrid's social group get more involved a couple times which is fun. Maybe I've built it up in my mind over the past year, but I love this series. 

5 stars (out of 5)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

In the year after T'Challa's death, there is no longer a Black Panther. But Wakanda is increasingly under global pressure to share technology and vibranium (mostly pressure by the war hawk nations like the U.S.). When a new source of vibranium is discovered under the sea, Namor the sub-mariner and his people protect it by attacking and killing all the navy SEAL "explorers". Wakanda is blamed for the attack on the explorers, Namor attacks Wakanda, Wakanda attacks Namor... everybody hates everybody. Basically, this entire movie is a way to get Shuri to process her grief of T'Challa's death, accept her own strength, and take her place as the leader in Wakanda.

3 stars (out of 5)

Dog

Channing Tatum is a former Army Ranger, unwillingly retired by TBI. Lulu is a former Army Ranger K9, unwillingly retired by handler death. The two are teamed up on a cross country trip and become friends, each saving the other. Predictable, bland, and remarkably avoiding the traditional sympathetic dog emotions.

2 stars (out of 5)

Wrath of Man

It has been quite some time since I have seen a Jason Statham action thriller. In this Guy Ritchie directed adventure, Statham is a highly trained killer who goes undercover to avenge the death of his kid. As expected, the characters are at best 1 dimensional. What you see is what you get, and the only motivation and personality is built to serve the action and killing. It is a straight up revenge thriller. The two things of note here are 1: the telling of the heist story is at least moderately interesting, including the mechanism of flash back, flash forward and 2: the soundtrack is effective and building tension. Unfortunately, for the soundtrack, the effectiveness was diminished as time developed since tension can't really build for an entire 2 hours. For example, the tension building soundtrack played the first 10 minutes straight, with no payoff. Eventually, my brain tuned it out. Actually, I got exactly what I expected from this formula of a movie.

3 stars (out of 5)