I REVIEWED THE FIRST season quite a few years ago. They brought it back! Many of the same rugged characters in a good cast. While the new season imagines a sequel that allows for lost time, they fiddled with fidelity to the book as I remember it. Violent, globe skipping, and full of the same ruthlessness, the early episodes of Season Two (perhaps because they more closely mirror present conflicts) take us back to Latin America and arms trading, power-seeking, and traitorous elements in MI6. Tom Hiddleston returns as the former hotelier-turned-spy, identities swapped-out like suits and ties.  Olivia Coleman is still around as “Jonathon’s former hander.  It’s early and, in keeping with most of the content for streaming these days, demands that you suspend

This got my attention when I saw that Christian Bale played the lead: a former soldier and respected expert who is called in to investigate a lurid death at what was a nascent US military Academy. What’s more, the series is based on a fiction book of the same title, in which a young Edgar Allan Poe, while at the Academy (he actually did briefly attend), is drawn to center stage amid the turmoil. The portrayal of Poe is engaging, and as you can imagine, the language is elevated. Christian Bale is always fun to watch, but a strong cast did well to support the production. One well-known actress appeared whom I didn’t recognize under her costume and speech pattern. Keep an eye out for

THIS WAS REFRESHING on a couple of levels. First, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have done action films galore, but when they have appeared in the same film, they usually had a personal connection. Here, they are on the same raw, gritty, Miami narco team, but the team has a trust problem: a member of their team discovered a huge cartel money stash, but died a violent death in the process. The title word  “RIP” refers to confiscating illegal drug money, but it also stands for keeping or stealing some or all of it. The other level of interest is very edgy content and dialogue thick with insider lingo and tough cop to cop confrontations, as well as interplay between several levels of enforcement who

I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED this; you get some acting heavies like Glen Close, Daniel Craig, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, and Andrew Scott (not necessarily ranked in order for their performances). An impressive newcomer for me is Josh O’Connor as the young new Catholic priest assigned to a small-town church to help the Monseigneur (the other Josh). But why would the Bishop send another priest to the Monseigneur who wouldn’t need much help in a small town?? Fun to see new characters evolve from actors/actresses who may have established their prowess along different lines. WRH

This is another gem: an Agatha Christie work, and I was thrilled to see that Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock Holmes) and Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter, The Theory of Flight) played key roles. Set in what must have been early 20th century England, a newcomer for me, Mia McKenna-Bruce, plays young Lady Eileen (less formally “Bundle”), who is drawn up into substantial intrigue surrounding the death of a friend and suitor who was presumed to have committed suicide— right after arranging a meeting where he would propose marriage to her. It is a coming of age(nt) tale of sorts–for a persistent young woman with courage and a quick head. The acting is wonderful and the period costumes, vehicles, etc. only add to it all. WRH 

  THIS GEM just showed up on Netflix. Ray Fiennes and Carey Mulligan star in a story based on real events. Set in 1939 Sussex, England at the very onset of World War II, Carey Mulligan plays a landed widow who has what appear to be burial mounds on her land. She learns of a private  “excavator” (played by Fiennes) and engages him about digging into one or more of these mounds to see what lies below. Fiennes transforms himself into this rustic character whose wonderful accent renders him almost unintelligible to the  American ear  (subtitles not a bad idea if they’re available). Mulligan‘s character is less dynamic, though she sees it through with due credibility.  Unless I miss my guess, you will “dig” it as much

  Blue Moon was a special movie experience in that it was set entirely in a restaurant bar with most of the lines coming from the main character (Lorenz Hart played by Ethan Hawke). The award-winning My Dinner with Andre’ was similar in those respects. So this film about the end of a famous composer/lyricist duo relied upon the real or imagined words of a famous lyricist on the night his former partner opened “Oklahoma” with his new partner, Oscar Hammerstein. The night also included a lovely young woman (played by Margaret Qualley) whom Hart had romantic feelings for. But if you’re going to let a character fill a movie with a besotted rant, they had better have something special to say. Hart, it seemed,

WITH THE DISCLAIMER that I haven’t seen nearly enough of the nominated films to offer a fair assessment, from what I’ve read and from what I have, in fact, watched, I have a few opinions about the Golden Globes: Jesse Buckley (whom I have raved about in the past) will win for “Best actress in a Drama” for her role as Agnes (Ann) Shakespeare in Hamnet. She will go on to be her generation’s Meryl Streep. Best picture (comedy or musical). This category has only two likely winners, One Battle after Another, and Marty Supreme. OBAA already has awards momentum, broader box office appeal, and perhaps an edge among the GG voters for its political message. I don’t think Marty Supreme should (or will) win

  THIS MOVIE COULD FIT under either the science fiction or the conspiracy theory labels. Jesse Plemons does some of his best work here. Emma Stone doesn’t amaze, though she gets the job done forthrightly when you consider the tepid character she must work with and the effect she had to produce. It’s a dark comedy, and as I suggested, holds your attention—not unlike a game of Texas Hold ‘em: bet and call, raise and reraise, etc., ‘til the last card is dealt and the facedown cards are turned faceup and the questions are answered.  I have no idea what Bugonia means. In the end, it meant entertainment for me, but for the bulk of the film, the title offered no hint regarding what I

  THIS MOVIE follows the documentary that was done in 2008 about a Milwaukee, WI couple who reinvented themselves as “Lightning, and Thunder,” a Neil Diamond cover band that called themselves his “interpreters rather than “impressionists.” When you consider that I grew up half an hour from Milwaukee and that I heard Neil Diamond songs on the radio for about 20 years, it’s not hard to imagine that I would venture out to see such a film with an impressive cast. The result was pleasant, and I was surprised to have learned about them when I had never heard of them before Despite his massive talent, Hugh Jackman was upstaged by his costar, Kate Hudson, who is nominated for a Golden Globe for her work