Shrinking (serial)

Season 1-3

Jason Segal, Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams are all therapists in Ford's practice. Segal lost his wife to a drunk driver a year ago, so his own recovery and that of his teen daughter are front and center. Surround these three with the nosy, lovable neighbors, the over-the-top gay friend, the PTSD Veteran/Patient living in the pool house and you would expect chaos. And it is... but also perfect. I know, too perfect. But I don't really care since every episode is both laugh out loud and cry in 35 minutes. Written by Brett Goldstein, also has a recurring role as the drunk driver, and somehow that works. Great series.

5 stars (out of 5)

The Best of the Best

The UCLA Bollywood competitive dance club gets a couple of new freshman dancers who are life best friends. Who gets the lead, who is likable, who is the better dancer, who can do school without trying, what romantic intertwinements will we see? All while enjoying good Bollywood/HipHop fusion dancing in route to beating USC in the National Best of the Best competition. Purely predictable. And decent dancing. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Ted Lasso (serial)

Season 4

Ted is pulled back to Richmond to coach the new women's team. Actually to form and then coach. This seems more like season 1, introducing the characters and the personality and methodolgy of Ted. But we already know Ted, so somehow it doesn't work as well. Pieces of good story and character, somewhat funny, somewhat emotional ... but overall, somewhat flat. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Reacher (serial)

Season 3

New season, new story, new city. Reacher witnesses (instigates?) a suicide on the Philly metro and opts to investigate the reasons. This leads to terrorists developing and trying to sell bioweapons, the CIA trying to cover up the source, a Senator trying to understand his involvement, a conspiracy theorist journalist pulling at threads, a back bench Philly cop and a small town policeman all weaving a web of action and entangling Reacher. This may be the first Reacher offering that I both got exactly what was promised/expected and was not really interested. Hmm...

3 stars (out of 5)

Mayday

Ryan Reynolds is a cold war pilot who is shot down in central Soviet Union. Kenneth Branaugh is former KGB living off the grid who finds and nurses him back to health. The two strike up an odd couple friendship with the goal of leaving to the USA together. Some definite Austin Powers vibes with some of the stereotype schtick and banter, but a bit more high brow... (a bit). Not too clever, but enjoyable and witty at times. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Chelsea Detective (serial)

Series 1-4

DI Max Arnold is the homicide inspector in Chelsea, along with his team of DS and DC. He is a bit regular and a bit eccentric, but also self aware enough that when the good natured ribbing between colleagues takes place, he always gets that "Oh, I see" look. The pacing is great (clues given, not too soon, not too late) and each episode is standalone. I appreciate that 4 seasons in, we haven't devolved to personal vendettas an serial killers. Excellent British police procedural. 

4 stars (out of 5)

The Mandalorian & Grogu

Mando and Grogu are now working for the New Republic as independent contractors. They are sent to the Hutt twins (successors to Jabba) to take a job in return for info on former Imperial leaders. This job is to find wayward Ratta (Jabba's son) and return him to the fold. This is one of the most re-tread movies I have ever seen. It is remarkably lazy storytelling, relying on Star Wars tropes and nostalgia entertainment. Unfortunately, the tropes haven't held up well, and the nostalgia is long gone. If Disney is going to continue the world with any success, they need creative storytellers exploring new worlds. 

2 stars (out of 5)

The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call (serial)

Korean hospital drama where mysterious Dr. Kang is hired to take over the failing trauma center at the university hospital. He assembles his team and starts to train them to become actual trauma specialists. He does this amidst the political and budget limitations of a director who really just wants to make money. Based on this description, the english language version of this would be kinda lame. But since this is the Korean version, it is actually pretty good. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Lucky (serial)

Anna Taylor-Joy plays Lucky, a small time grifter who was taught everything she knows by her father Timothy Olyphant (who happens to be in prison for a big time theft from a big time drug dealer). When she and her boyfriend move said big time theft cash, and then said boyfriend disappears with the money, Lucky moves into action. Find the boyfriend, find the money, avoid the big time drug dealer (and his enforcer Annette Bening). A well paced series with Lucky playing thief, daughter, detective and all around good person. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Balthazar (serial)

Seasons 1-3

French police procedural featuring Raphael Balthazar (the medical examiner) and Helene Bach (police captain). Balthazar is a massively talented and massively arrogant person who somehow comes across as fun and lovable. He know just how far to push is superiority on others. And he IS generally right. The two leads have a love/hate relationship where they grow into a mutual respect and need for each others talents and emotional support. Overlay this with the trauma of Balthazar having lost his girlfriend to a serial murder a decade ago, but still not recovered. Especially since the man convicted is not the killer and Balthazar regular sees and speaks to his "clients" including his girlfriend, we are regularly confronted with the trauma. Enjoyable characters, with the requisite odd-ball supporting cast thrown in to mix things up. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Action adventure by Guy Ritche that is historical fiction, mostly fiction. Based on the WWII Operation Postmaster, a small group of rakish men sail a fishing trawler around west africa into the "neutral" colonies. They are seeking to sink a German U-boat supply ship which will finally make it possible for the U.S. to cross the atlantic and enter the war. Of the key characters, the kill ratio is probably 100:0, with only one injury (fiction). But we get the typical small group chemistry and banter throughout. I would characterize this as "glittering generalities" propaganda. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (serial)

Season 1 & 2

Aang is an air bender and the selected next avatar. The avatar is a keeper of balance, able to master bending of the four elements (air, earth, water, fire) and holds the mission of keeping the nations in harmony. Unfortuantely for him, the Fire Nation attacked the Air, annihilated all and by chance, Aang was thrown into a 100 year hibernation in the north. When he awakes, he befriends two from the Southern Water Tribe, and learns of the trauma of the past 100 years without an avatar. This series is the progression of Aang's development into an avatar. Learning to bend, learning to care, learning to control. Effectively, a a morality tale unfolding in the fantasy world. I bought in to the story telling and the world building, I overlooked the "fantasy hallmark" feeling, embraced the YA targeted dialogue and preaching. I only wish it had been complete before I started. Now I need to wait a year for the final season to drop. Hope I don't forget...

3 stars (out of 5)

Ellis (serial)

Season 1 & 2

British TV drama where DCI Ellis is a London ringer who is sent to outlying districts when the locals are ill equipped to manage a particularly big case. She is brilliant, eccentric, and dogged in her pursuit of truth. She is sent in, and so rarely welcomed, and battles through it all to find the culprit. Her discovered help in the first case (DS Harper) becomes her go-to assistant for the rest of the season and their ongoing interactions, working relationship and discovery of each other is also a slow burn. Fantastic.

4 stars (out of 5)

Enola Holmes 3

In this 3rd installment, Enola is getting married to Tewksberry in Malta. Once there, Sherlock is kidnapped and the detecting begins. It is Enola coming into her own as a detective with the full confidence of everyone around her. Moriarty returns, as does Mom Holmes (the always excellent Helena Bonham Carter) and Dr. Watson. So while this is a relatively entertaining detective storyline, I will say that I don't remember quite so much breaking of the 3rd wall in prior movies. Enola spends 20% of her time talking directly to the camera to "bring the audience up to speed". I guess it is a different way to do voice over, but I found it either annoying or not in character enough to feel seamless. Too bad since I like the Enola Holmes concept, but liked this one less than the prior. 

2 stars (out of 5)

Renoir (serial)

Season 1-10

French police procedural with Candice Renoir as the protagonist. She is a detective in the crime division and has been recently been appoint Commander and team leader in Sete. She is taking the job after 10 years away from the force to raise a family and follow her husband in his job. She finds the team was promised to Antoine, so tension is high from the start. And Candice is a eccentric detective, so her methods are effective yet strange. 

This is a 10 year series, and as the team evolves and develops chemistry, it is an absolute pleasure to partake. A combination of her investigative brilliance, her ongoing imposter syndrome in life and the struggles of everyone with personal and professional stress. I love that the stressors are real feeling, and not hyper exaggerated for dramatic effect. Makes the whole thing hold together. And since the series went off the air as planned, it has a really well done wrap up. Highly recommend.

5 stars (out of 5) 

The Last Woodsmen (serial)

Season 3

Logging outfit owner Jared has made a deal to buy a "forever claim", but needs to earn $2 million before the end of the season. This provides the dramatic pressure around which to tell the story. Opening up other claims to earn extra money, getting the mechanic to flip a tug for quick cash, etc. Just fun to watch the variety of events...

My biggest disappointment is that in the end, after the claim is purchases, the tag line for next season is something like "What do we need to do next to expand the empire". Why, after buying a forever claim, can you not just log the claim forever, giving jobs to the crew. Why does expansion need to be the goal?

4 stars (out of 5)

Mother's Day

A story of several friends who are mom's of different varieties. Jennifer Anniston leads the group as a single mom, who finds her husband marries a much younger woman, and has to come to terms for the kids sake. The friends are all dealing with some other "culturally sensitive relationship". High message movie that plays as a rom-com. So ... meh...

2 stars (out of 5)

Office Romance

JLo is the CEO of the airline that her father (still on the board) founded. Roy Kent is the new company lawyer. She doesn't need any help, especially from men. He just wants to do his job and be near his incarcerated sister. Company crisis + trip to caribbean island + trope + trope + chemistry. Can you guess if they fall in love? In actuality, not bad chemistry and I love Roy Kent :)

3 stars (out of 5)

No Offence (serial)

Season 1-3

British police procedural that gives definite The Wire vibes. Set in the grit of Manchester, the DCI, DS, and DI are all women who run the show and are brilliant police. The plot for season one follows a series of murders of young women with Downs Syndrome as the through thread. In fact, there are not really many disconnected cases or storylines in each episode. But somehow each does hold together as an individual unit. Season 2 digs into human trafficking and the local criminal families and 3 jumps to a political storyline (with a mayoral race as central). DI Deering is the brilliant boss who is always one step ahead and willing to take a risk when necessary. And when the risk blows up, she and her team pivot quickly to still be one step ahead (of both the criminals and their own bosses). Really well done. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Patience (serial)

This is the British adaptation of the French series Astrid. The storyline follows protagonist Patience Evans, a young, autistic woman who works in criminal records as an archivist/researcher for the police. Her (now deceased) father was a police detective and she is a puzzle hound. Turns out she is exceptional in connecting disparate clues to put together cases. I really loved the French series, and this is also good, but different. Patience is slightly less severely autistic than Astrid, has a different relationship with her boss (who changes between season 1 and 2), and the boyfriend is definitely more realistic (meaning more clunky with relationship). Somehow the differences between the two seem to be the difference between French and British police procedurals in general. French more austere, where the fact that Raphael is a bit rogue is both counter point to Astrid and a bit of the story itself. The British version, rogue seems to be more the norm, and the fact that Patience is less severe means that there is not nearly as much tension in the relationship/autism angle. Even neurodivergent seems typical. 

4 stars (out of 5)