A phenomenal dark comedy that captures the Midwestern noir spirit of the original Fargo film while thoughtfully interweaving biblical themes and tropes. A season replete with suspense, great performances and macabre scenes, this show is a great addition to the anthology.
A pretty good season 2 for Loki. It starts a little slow, and the storyline is initially somewhat complicated, but it picks up quickly and what’s unfolding becomes clear within the first couple of episodes. Some wonderful performances all around and suspenseful moments. Recommend.
A pretty funny, warm romantic comedy about pirates who pirate, starring some great American and New Zealand comics, including Rhys Darby, Taiki Waititi and more. Worth a watch for sure.
Entourage is crude, vulgar and politically incorrect, but if you look beyond that, the show displays a portrait of real male brotherhood, vulnerability and overcoming that is rare and pretty great.
Scary, suspenseful, thought-provoking. On a cross-country road trip, a family stumbles into a bizarre world of monsters and is trapped, along with its denizens, in a nightmare. Can they escape, or will they live out their days struggling to survive their shared imprisonment?
A pretty intriguing show so far, but the cliched, boring dialogue really ruins an otherwise interesting concept. And the spectrum of good to bad acting is all but present.
“White House Plumbers,” Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, 2023, US. An underrated but well-produced political comedy/crime drama satire that depicts the lead up to the Watergate Scandal, the break-ins and the inevitable fallout. Stars greats such as Woody Harrelson and Judy Greer.
“GITS: Standalone Complex,” 2002, Kenji Kamiyama, Japan. A cyberpunk anime starring a kickass GI-Jane who leads a special police force composed of ex-military to secure Japan, investigating the ever-blurring line between human and machine.
Barbaren, 2020/2022. Pretty good fictionalized account of critical battles between early Germanic tribes and their Imperial foe, Rome which had lasting historical impacts, halting Rome’s advanced and preventing Germany from becoming romanized. Fighting for their right to self-determination, the Cherusci, along with other Germanic tribes, band together, start thinking of themselves as a collective, and face off against one of the most advanced militaries of the time.
From the creators of Dark, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, “1899” is a thoughtful, artful science fiction Netflix series that keeps you guessing throughout. A real shame they cancelled it given all the terrible, endless shows we have to put up with. Give it a watch!
Bearer of Pity 