American Renegades

Action, war thriller set late in the Bosnian conflict. A U.S. special forces team is tasked with seeking out and eliminating genocidal leaders. In the process, a team member falls in love with a local, and said local has a secret history. Her grandfather told her about a cache of Nazi gold that only they can help rescue and make a difference in thousands of lives. So they do. Far fetched and physically inaccurate action sequences are par for the course in order to move the simple story along. You definitely get bang for your buck here, but not much else. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Heart of the Hunter

Zuko is a regular guy, trying to be a good father to his girlfriend's son. But his past catches up with him. He was a black ops, special forces guy for the South African democracy movement during the transition out of the apartheid system. And now a presidential candidate is running who has deep roots in corruption and siphoning off resources for his own gain. Only Zuko can do the right thing for the country. In doing so he must navigate both sides of humanity - ultra violence and tender care for those he loves. It's a movie, so eventually everything works out, but Zuko will always be questioning the benefit/cost balance. 

4 stars (out of 5)

Gran Turismo

Historical fiction story of the Nissan sponsored contest to find e-sports drivers who could make the jump to real-world racing. All the tropes show up, but it is still a fun watch. 

3 stars (out of 5)

Halo (serial)

Season 2

Following up the first season, Master Chief and his group of spartans is trying to stay one step ahead of the Covenant. This season is more about exploring the humanity of John-117, and uncovering the connection he has with the Halo. We get the humanity, and the spartan mystique wears thin. But we end with just as much mystery at the end -- which makes a good serial. Thoroughly enjoyed this

4 stars (out of 5)

Damsel

A young women is betrothed to a foreign prince. It is a political match, a necessary sacrifice for the good of her people during a time when famine is widespread. What she finds out later is that it really is intended as a sacrifice -- the foreign politics require "donation" of royal blood to a dragon as part of an ancient pact. What the dragon does not expect is that Millie Bobbie Brown (as Elodie) wants no part of sacrifice. Classic fantasy tale.

3 stars (out of 5)

Blown Away (serial)

Season 4

Another season in the Blown Away series. The challenges are tougher and everything is bigger. The artists continue to be astounding. This season every artist is a potential winner and it simply depends on performance on any given episode. 

4 stars (out of 5)

The Furies (serial)

The Paris world of organized crime is run by 6 godfathers, each with their own domain of crime. They are pretty much restricted to stay in their area of expertise and not start a war with other godfathers because they have a Fury. This person is charged with keeping the peace, and is brutal in her implementation of "peacekeeping" measures. This is the story of the Fury, and her heir who was in hiding, didn't know she was the heir and is really very good at Fury-ing. Very engaging crime thriller and is perfect in terms of timing and pacing. Well done.

4 stars (out of 5)