Below

 This is the Netflix's answer to AppleTV's fantastic Widow's Bay. You have an isolated seaside community being terrorized by unknown forces, in this case a giant squid, and the action is a blending of various horror subgenres. Josh Harnett plays a struggling fisherman who lost his Dad to this terror 40 years earlier and he leads the fight against it now. There are some things to like here, but there are also some script issues that may or may not effect your perception of the story. Either way this is not nearly on the level of Widow's Bay, but its still probably worth a watch. It's not very long and it's not very painful. A very very soft recommendation

 Lanterns

S1 concludes yesterday and it's a good 'un. Hal Jordan is dead, murdered by somebody and Earth's newest Green Lantern is set to take the helm. Told in partial flashback and completely non-linear HBO has scored yet another hit with Lanterns. They have used their first-rate production team to create a more grounded super hero show, gone are the bells and whistles that keep the vast majority of super hero films/shows feeling poorly written and hollowed out displays of CGI action. Instead, they have created a really "human" show with great actors and fully developed script and characters. In fact, you won't be seeing any green dragons flying out of the ring to reign fire down on enemies, they barely use the ring at all. That doesn't mean they wont in the future, but if that s is what your expecting you'll be disappointed. It's a unique and refreshing take and i am not surprised that it's HBO doing it. It's a smash hit, so go forth if you haven't

 Last Seen

Patrick Brammall (Colin from Accounts) shows us his range can go beyond comedy as he plays a former alcoholic policeman turned 911 (000) dispatcher who had his daughter go missing 11 years prior. When he receives a call from her, he launches on a quest to find her and repair his broken family. AppleTV+ strikes again with a really good Australian production. There really isn't a lot here that hasn't been done before in one form or another, but it is still an excellent show with good writing, good acting and compelling subject matter. There is one episode left in this 6 part miniseries, but I wouldn't hesitate to give it a go. I said it before and Ill say it again with the exception of HBO, there isn't currently a better production company than AppleTV+

 Unabomber

Rock solid portrayal of Ted Kaczynski is a true crime drama that focuses more on what made Ted who he is than the manhunt to catch him or the crimes he committed. Russell Crowe plays the Harvard Professor that uses Ted to figure out how the Koreans made their Manchurian candidates and Shailene Woodley plays the FBI behavioralist who tracks him down. Extremely well acted and well cast and this deserves more than a 6.2 IMDB rating. It seems there was enough material left out that this subject matter could have easily expanded into a mini-series, but its less a critique than it is a suggestion and the film shouldn't be punished for what's not in there. Worth it

The Invite

 Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde play an estranged couple who invite Ed Norton and Penelope Cruz (who still looks incredible) over for a dinner party and one thing leads to another, which leads to drama and a reckoning. Extremely well written, but also extremely talky drama will not be for all tastes, it's basically a play put to film, but there is certain something here in Wilde's direction and the acting that many will find appealing. Your enjoyment of this is going to depend on how much you like these four actors, your tolerance for slower moving films and your willingness to stay for the payoff.

The Audacity

 Billy Magnuseen plays a Silicon Valley, billionaire, tech CEO whose company is in danger of failing, so he starts to blackmail his therapist in order to get inside info and keep it afloat. This is a scathing look into the business of AI and an IMDB rating of 6.2 shocked me a little bit as this is criminally low. The Audacity succeeds in an effort to capture the atmosphere of Silicon Valley. It has very dry and sometimes dark humor along with quirky, unlikeable characters and their neglected children. These people are awful and the show wasn't created for you to fall in love with them, you won't, but that's intentional, and probably the reason for the abnormally low rating. Zach Galifianakis shines in support as the richest kid on the block. Netflix just recently added this to their lineup, but it was an AMC production and I think once more people see this you will slowly see its ranking rise into the 7's. Recommended and Worth it

Lucky

 

ATJ plays Lucky, a grifter, that gets in over her head with the wrong people. It's hard for me to be completely objective on this one as Anya Taylor-Joy is my favorite actress. I waited for months for this just because she was in it. However, Lucky has a great supporting cast featuring Annette Benning and Timothy Olyphant and although the script isn't anything groundbreaking, it takes enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and keep your attention and watching Anya Taylor Joy work is as good as it gets. Worth it.

Furious

 Emmy Rossum plays a battered ex-cop turned FBI agent who starts to track a female serial killer out for revenge. Outstanding stuff here both on the screen and in the writing room. There are many fine performances and some really well written complicated characters, but none better than Rossum, an Emmy (get it?) nomination would not surprise me one bit. It's not quite over yet, but I cant imagine this going off the rails to a degree where I would think its not worth it. Highly Recommended.

Alley Cats

 Some British feral cats wander around making observations and being cats. Not much in the way of a narrative, but still manages to be very entertaining. It's from the mind of Ricky Gervais and it's only 6, 15 minute episodes, that really aren't much more than clever banter, yet Alley Cats still manages to be screamingly funny. From a cost benefit perspective, its hard to top the amount of laughs you will get over the time you have to spend to get them. Go for it.

The Bombing of Pan Am 103

 Top-Notch dramatization of the investigation into the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 over Scotland. The US, Scotland and Germany were involved in this massive investigation and the script was meticulously created from transcripts from the actual case. Patrick Adams (Suits) plays the FBI lead investigator and the fantastic Peter Mullins leads the Scottish team. This is mainly a BBC production from 2025 that Netflix grabbed on to so no worries whatsoever about the quality of the product. Really hard to find any fault at all with this one. Highly recommended

Once Were Brothers

 When a film has been on your watchlist for a few years and then you randomly wake up at 4:00 AM to find it has just started, divine providence is the only explanation. Fantastic documentary about the most criminally underrated group in rock history The Band. Told mainly by Robbie Robertson, through a serious of stills and clips and filled with their wonderful timeless music, this can only be described as an absolute must see. For fans of the Band who haven't seen this, you need to correct it post haste.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed

 A suburban soccer mom with a fractured relationship with her husband gets involved with a cam-boy which leads to her involvement in a murder and then down the rabbit hole we go. This is an under the radar gem with an excellent multi-layered script that is sure to please. Tatiana Maslany really shines in the lead role and its a very well acted and very well directed series with the promise for more. Well worth the time.

The Hawk

Ferrell plays an aging, washed-up, pro golfer trying to make his way back to the PGA tour while simultaneously repairing his relationships with his wife and son. Pretty middling stuff here will produce a few laughs, but how you feel about this series is going to depend on how you feel about Ferrell and the game of golf, being a fan of either will make it worthwhile, otherwise there isn't much to see here. Decent.

 

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.