Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx team up for a spy, action, drama. The two are former black ops CIA spies who have left the business and raised a "normal family" for 15 years. But they are discovered and pulled back into the life as Foxx had stolen a "magic key" back when they were faking their death. So a pretty typical plot line that, I believe, is supposed to be novel based on the witty banter and chemistry between the stars. But it is mostly just a typical offerings.
3 stars (out of 5)
Season 4
This French PBS series follows Astrid Nielson, an autistic police officer who works in the documents archive. Astrid continues to navigate social integration and the novelty of relationship with new boyfriend Tetsu and Stepbrother Niels. Astrid continues to be the driving force in all investigative break throughs with the team. So entirely predictable. And entirely enjoyable. One of my favorite police procedurals of recent years.
5 stars (out of 5)
A Japanese period drama which plays out as a treasure hunt / action thriller. A former soldier who seems to have acquired some sort of invincibility in battle joins up with an indigenous girl in the hunt for a treasure stash of gold that was stolen from locals in the prior generation. They are seeking the map (tattoo'd on the skin of a bunch of escaped convicts) and run into both a rogue military unit and a criminal mob seeking the same map. I thought is was going to be a standalone movie, but apparently it is a part one since the gold was not found :)
3 stars (out of 5)
Set in the star wars universe, four kids accidentally find a space ship and launch it into hyper space. Turns out they have become the owners of a pirate ship, and have no idea how to get back to their home planet of At Attin, since it is largely an galactic myth - rumored to hold endless wealth. The kids have to grow up quickly, learn to trust each other and find a way home. Quite fun.
4 stars (out of 5)
Keira Knightly plays the titular Black Dove, a deep cover spy working for a non-governmental agency who deals in information for sale to the highest bidder. Pure capitalism - or at least that is the idea. But information is power, and the political interweaving of this power with corruption and the requisite mistrust that accompanies state actors (China, England and U.S. in this case) means that more is at stake than just money. This series is exactly what serial story telling should be. Coming in at 6 episodes, we have plenty of time to have plot depth, character depth, intrigue and several interweaving storylines. And at 6 episodes, we don't have time for fluff. There isn't even one interstitial scene to just fill time and make another episode. More creators could learn from this editing. Not much gets 5 stars from me these days, but this I loved.
5 stars (out of 5)
Historical fiction telling of the WWII unit of soldiers who were sent to England to fix the army's mail problem. Mail was deprioritized by the leadership, with the result being a massive backlog of deliveries (17 million pieces) and the associated low moral that comes with being cut off from communicating with family. The 6888 delivered all of this mail, while simultaneously fighting sexism and racism since they were an all black, all women company. I am sure that this telling glorifies the work and overlooks the awfulness of war. But it is a feel good, crowd pleaser in the end.
4 stars (out of 5)
