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Eye In the Sky:
Helen Mirren is outstanding as usual, here playing Col. Katherine Powell of the British military, leading an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. There are a lot of moving parts to this film – Powell is in the UK, and is using the aid of American satellite intelligence, plus a drone in the area piloted by Steve Watts (Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul), who is in the U.S. Using remote cameras and the drone’s technology, we learn the bad guys inside the ramshackle premises on the edge of Nairobi are keys to the terrorist insurgency and a decision is made to take them out … but Mirren has to go through the British government, and then the US, because neither country is at war with Kenya … and to further complicate matters, just before the “go” is given, a young girl wanders into the area and sets up a little stand selling bread. Now what? Great tension and gripping reality. Rated 14A.
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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot:
War in the Middle East again, this time from a journalist’s viewpoint. Tina Fey is real life television reported Kim Baker who is embedded with a military group in Kabul, and learns firsthand about the clash of cultures that exist in this kind of war. No one trusts anyone, because no one understands anyone. Billie Bob Thornton is the American General who has little use for what he sees as dilettantes among the working press, and it’s Kim’s job to get him onside if she is to get her story. The competition from other international journalists is fierce, and Kim’s brief sojourn turns into years in Afghanistan. A little like MASH in the way that black humour and booze helps the press people survive … unusual, but a good story. Rated 18A.
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Kung Fu Panda 3:
Jack Black again as the voice of Po, the Panda who went from selling noodles to being a major force for right and freedom. This time it’s supernatural villain as Po is reunited with his long-lost father (voice of Brian Cranston), who introduces Po to an entire village of relatives who are just like Po used to be … overweight, unmotivated, and lazy. With the villain on the horizon, can Po train this batch of laid-back pandas to help save the world? Oh, I think so! All the usual characters and voices are back including that of Angelina Jolie’s Tigress. Rated PG.
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Good Will Hunting (1997):
It's worth revisiting this 1997 Oscar-winner in which Matt Damon and Ben Affleck went from relative obscurity to Oscar-winners all in a matter of one short year. Damon and Affleck wrote the script and star in this story about a young man named Will (Damon) who works as a janitor at MIT and does a construction job on the side. He led a life in which he was abused, and in which he essentially checked out early, just looking to get through each day and hope that a time would come when it would all be over. There's another side to Will Hunting too ... he is a mathematical genius, but doesn't even know what that is. It takes some psychotherapy and a supportive professor to bring out his true talents. Robin Williams co-stars along with Minnie Driver and Cole Hauser. Rated 14A.
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| Humans: (TV Series: 2015 - ):
This British/American co-production debuted this week in the UK, and in North American on AMC. It is set in a universe parallel to our own, which turns out to be pretty similar except for the fact that robots called "synths," with a highly developed sense of Artificial Intelligence, now play a major role in just about everything people do in their day-to-day lives. Joe Hawkins (British actor Tom Goodman-Hill), misses his wife who works outside the home, so he acquires a synth in the female form to become part of the household. The kids like her, but the fact that he didn't actually get around to consulting his wife Laura about the purchase leads to some stress in the family. A very unusual series that is just right for binge-watching. Rated 14A.
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