Elle

 Prequel to Legally Blond, 1995 LA sees a 16yr old Elle is forced to uproot to a new school in Seattle where she once again struggles to fit in (as you know all gorgeous blond haired girls do....lol) until she doesn't. Your enjoyment of this show will be determined by how much you liked Legally Blond, if you were a fan you are going to like this, as most of the same trappings and themes are there. However, if you weren't its doubtful this will change your mind....The script acting and direction are all just Ok, but the show seems to overcome them with that typical LB charm. Worth it for fans.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

 Little known fact, the original DWP was one of my guilty pleasures. I've seen it more times than I care to admit and why not? It was a fun film filled with beautiful women, a formula sure to please. The sequel contains many of the same trappings, the cold hearted Miranda is once again in danger of losing Runway magazine and Hathaway comes to the rescue while still trying to win Miranda's favor, but the magic is gone. This is still a decent film, because the cast is still outrageously good and filled with A-listers, but the spark from the first film is sadly missing. On a positive note, and you heard it here first, this film is almost guaranteed to produce the Oscar winner for best original song with Sienna Spiro's "Material Lover" which you've probably already heard as it's trending hard right now. Average.

Country Music

 Still scratching my head on how I missed this as a release in 2019, but once I heard about it, I ran to watch it and I'm glad I did. This is a film by Ken Burns, That should be all you need to know right there. Its an amazing experience and may even appeal to folks who don't like Country Music. Its a comprehensive history of the genre from Jimmy Rogers all the way to present day and it hits on every cylinder. A must see for anyone into music and not just the hillbilly kind.

Widow's Bay

 

Terrific show set on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts that has been cursed leading to all sorts of horror shenanigans. Some of the island residents led by the mayor, played wonderfully by Matt Rhys, try to figure out the curse and then break it. Very Stephen King-like even down to the New England setting and over the course of 10 episodes we are treated to all the subgenres of horror from haunted-house to slasher to folk-horror and it works marvelously. It checks all of the boxes but I will say this had an ending that was very difficult to figure out. I had to Google the ending to be sure of what I saw and I am very glad I did, because I missed some stuff and I am sure most viewers will too, but don't let it discourage you. Just get ready to do something similar. Outstanding.

Teach you a Lesson

 Korean drama about a newly formed governmental department tasked with going to the worst schools and cleaning them up. If you ever watched any Korean TV, you know it's going to be a little bit corny and far too melodramatic for American tastes, but still this series satisfies and entertains. If seeing horrible people get there just desserts is your thing, you are going to love this show. Each episode is a different school but the creators managed to get a fair amount of variety with different age groups and flipping between bad students, bad teachers and bad parents and they all get what's coming to them. IMDB rates this as an 8.6, but almost all Korean shows are more highly rated than they should be, its like every single Korean on the planet votes it 10 stars, its a good show, but 8.6, no, that's rarefied air territory.

Hoppers

 

A young student who loves animals uses consciousness-transferring technology to inhabit a robotic beaver and save the habitat of a group of animals from an encroaching highway. It's Pixar so you know there is going to be some goodness to be found. There is excellent vocal acting along with top-notch production values and really stunning animation, but this script is not up to their high standards. The robotic thing seems tacked on or else the story would just be another in a long line of animated films about animals trying to save their habitats...(eg. Happy Feet, Epic, etc...) Still the film delivers, just not like we are used to seeing from Pixar. Worth a watch an d I'm sure the kids will love it, but don't expect to be blown away.

The Boroughs

 Produced by the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things), the Boroughs is a retirement community where some residents team up to fight creatures from another world. The similarities between this and Stranger Things are pretty hard to ignore, and some may find that an instant turnoff, but you know what? It doesn't matter much to me, I still found this to be fantastically entertaining stuff and seeing as how far off the rails ST became over time, this may actually be the better overall product. The production values, soundtrack and cast are great, the script isn't perfect, but it's flaws are easy enough to overlook. If ST was your jam, this is for you. Excellent stuff.