The Baltimorons 

Michael Strassner plays a newly-sober engaged man that has a dental accident on Christmas eve that leads to a May December romance with the dentist. A very nice Indy production and a very untraditional romantic comedy strikes a lot of right notes. I knew i was going to like this film as soon as I heard the score, Vincent Guaraldi Trio's Charlie Brown Christmas. The two leads are both great and the script and style are both quite charming. There is absolutely no reason to shy away from this little gem. A winner from start to finish.

Tina

Top-Notch film out of New Zealand about a Samoan women, Mareta, who losses her daughter during the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch and subsequently becomes a teacher at an affluent private school and introduces them to choir. Plenty to love here. Kind of like an opposite-form Dangerous minds meets Mr. Holland Opus. the films weaves in several themes through the narrative like racism, classism and coping with loss, so there is some depth here. Furthermore, even though it does have some "films-about-teachers" cliches in it, the films depth and the fact that its from NZ and Polynesia made the cliches feel not so egregious. I enjoyed this immensely. Highly recommended.

BTW: Tina is Samoan for mother. 

The Girlfriend

 Set in the UK American Robin Wright is the mother of Daniel and Olivia Cooke's new boyfriend, but she senses something off about her and a game of cat and mouse ensues with Daniel caught in the middle. Who doesn't like Olivia Cooke? She's utterly fabulous and Robin Wright is also her wonderful self. This is an enjoyable show, thats takes many interesting twist and turns and it ends up being a case of which one of these two women is the bigger psycho, but it takes one too many improbable plot turns to be a great show. It's still worth watching, but temper expectations. Solid.

House of Guinness

 

After the death of Benjamin Guinness basically Irish royalty, his brewing empire is left to his 4 children each with their own strengths, weaknesses problems and secrets. To complicate matters, Ireland is divided between Catholics and Protestants and the Fenian Brotherhood (precursor to the IRA) plays a major role in the plot. HOG is a period piece that sparkles from start to finish by Stephen Wright creator of Peaky Blinders. It plays out a little bit like HBO's Succession with the various family storylines progressing the action. The cast, script and production values are all top end and as a bonus the all Irish soundtrack is excellent. Really, really, good stuff without the excessive violence of PB.

Alien Earth

With S1 in the books now, it's safe to say that the Alien franchise has been resurrected. The film franchise has long gone stale. In fact, other than Alien and Aliens, I wouldn't recommend any film in this series. They are mostly money grabs that belong in the dumpster. Not any more. On the way back to Earth with alien samples a bit of corporate espionage causes the ship to crash and then it gets interesting. A prequel to Alien, the series touches upon the the origin of the Synths and introduces a couple new and very creepy species. AE has a nuanced plot that isn't just find the escape alien before it finds you, it touches upon corporate greed, uploaded intelligence and morality. The cast is excellent and Sydney Chandler kills it as the protagonist, a little girl uploaded into the body of a synth who figures out how to communicate with them. The lead-in teaser for s2 promises some serious fun and looks like this is going to take an unexpected direction. Highly recommended!

 

The Fantastic Four: The First Steps

 

Finally, a super hero film that doesn't suck. Fantastic Four is one of the best super hero movies of the last decade. Granted, that isn't a high bar to climb, but this is still a very good film. It takes up one of the best storylines that has yet to be tapped in Marvel Comics and that is the saga of the Silver Surfer and Galactus devourer of planets. The whole cast is great, but Venessa Kirby's performance is the one that really shines. The story takes place in the 1960's so the style in this film is nothing like your used to in the MCU and it looks great. With this storyline and this cast and in this style, The Fantastic Four is a complete winner. Highly Recommended. It should be noted that this film could have been a lot better if everybody didn't like a happy ending....

Marlow Murder Club

 

From PBS Masterpiece theatre comes Marlow Murder Club a fairly standard murder mystery show aimed towards older viewers. Samantha Bonds plays Judith Potts ex Archeologist who after hearing her neighbor shot and killed decides to do some investigating with the help of friends. It's a very well done show, but far from perfect. Some plot holes do exist, but they aren't too bad. Like all mysteries the setting is one of the stars of the show and the English countryside provides an idyllic backdrop for a very enjoyable mystery. Don't be shy especially if your into this type of show.