Here are some notes on recent tv shows and movies that I enjoyed
Star Wars: Visions on Disney Plus – I love this concept; take Star Wars’ almost limitless IP and let indie filmmakers go wild. The result is a series of animated shorts in an incredible variety of visual styles and story genres. It reminds me of a gentler, more uplifting Love Death and Robots. Within its 9 episodes are characters and stories that could become much more. In particular I liked episode 7, The Elder.
Resident Evil on Netflix – the show itself wasn’t so remarkable, but I really liked the female protagonist (Ella Balinska). She has this great mix of athleticism and vulnerability, and I think she’d be fantastic in that Angelina Jolie / Milla Jovovich action/adventure genre. Also I like anything zombies, and this show – as well as the recent movie Army of the Dead – both hint at an exciting potential evolution for the cliche zombie story: Make the zombies smart, show them in a hierarchical, evolving society, with impressive leaders, differing roles and strengths, internal social tensions. I Am Legend also hinted at this.
The Boys S3 on Amazon Prime – boys oh boys was it good. Each episode was a standalone movie. Twists galore. It really avoids the filler episodes that plague a lot of other multi-season shows. Writer producer Eric Kripke is just a boss. The lead actors have really settled into their roles, there’s great chemistry between them. The show leans into everything that makes it special — bloodier, grosser, weirder. Antony Starr (Homelander) is just off the charts acting. And I like anything with Karl Urban (Butcher), including the underrated Dredd.
Icarus documentary on Netflix – I only watched half, but talk about stumbling your way into the middle of (doping) history! I mention it here because it made me wonder if a pro-doping league (of any sport) could be MORE successful. Let athletes take whatever drugs they want, and have that be open and available to all participants. I bet it’d result in some very exciting games and lots of broken records. I think the overton window will slowly shift this way, because entertainment is about extremes, and we watch sports to see the limits of human potential and human drama. Doping enhances both. Lebron James claims to spend millions each year on his body, adopting the latest in science and supplementation and equipment with an army of world specialists to support. Is he natural? Where and how do you draw the line?