TV Series Review: HOMELAND SEASON 3 (2011- ) AAA

In my previous review of Seasons 1 and 2, I said I was hooked on the material and plot of the show. At that time I had just watched the first three episode of Homeland on a Netflix DVD.

Homeland has been showing for some time on The Showtime Channel. I said Seasons 1 and 2 were complete and Season 3 was being filmed.At that time I totally underestimated the entertainment value of the series. 

It's an action adventure thriller based of the CIA chasing terrorists . . . but not the usual stuff. Complex plot, well written, excellent action, fast moving. Couldn't ask for more. If you are into sitting at the edge of your seat . . . this is for you. You won't be disappointed.

I recently watched Season 3.  Some of the best TV I have ever seen.  The plot (and CIA strategies) are totally unpredictable and super exciting.  Too bad the real CIA is not as smart as the writers on Homeland. (i.e. Bay Of Pigs, Iraq, etc.).  

People have tried to compare it to 24; but its much better in terms of scripting and is much more believable and convincing. It is also less violent and depends less on special effects.  

Far superior to most movies.  Season 4 is being shown on The Showtime Channel at this time.

HOMELAND SEASONS 1/2 (2011- ) A+

I'm hooked. I just watched the first three episode of Homeland on a Netflix DVD. Homeland has been showing for some time on The Showtime Channel. Seasons 1 and 2 are complete and Season 3 is being filmed at this time. Has won all sorts of Awards. 

 It's an action adventure thriller based of the CIA chasing terrorists . . . but not the usual stuff. Complex plot, well written, excellent action, fast moving. Couldn't ask for more. If you are into sitting at the edge of your seat . . . this is for you. You won't be disappointed.

TV Series: HOMELAND SEASON 4 (2014) AAA

The ongoing seasons of HOMELAND and THE AMERICANS continue to break new ground in adult entertainment.   HOUSE OF CARDS and IN TREATMENT . . . plus the SOPRANO'S . . . and some of the KILLING were breakthroughs as well. 

As an aside, it is apparent that most of these series provide insightful psychology and/or violent action (or both), which is the obvious direction of the modern ADULT edutainment . . . that sells.  They are not like THE BELLS OF SAINT MARY, THE BOOK OF MORMON,  MAMA MIA, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC which are basically produced for adults who are looking for feel-good children movies . . . which also have their place in the spectrum of the entertainment world (and earn the producers big bucks). 

I am a believer that these various forms of entertainment vehicles should never be compared to each other in an award competition.  It's like comparing a baseball game to a football game. Or Harvard to George Washington High School in upper Manhatten.  It makes no sense whatsoever. 

I honestly can't remember all of the drama and action during of the 12 episodes of HOMELAND, Season 4, but some of the intricate and creative plots combined with super acting takes this series beyond regular Hollywood awards.  These newer TV Series have brought Cable TV to a new level of entertainment and edge-of-your-seat thrills and excitement.  These dramas have also been immeasurably enhanced by the new High Definition 60 inch screens. 

TV Series Review: THE AMERICANS Season 2 (2013-2014) AAA

Set during the Reagan presidency, this Cold War drama follows two married Soviet sleeper agents living discreetly near Washington, D.C. 

As I said when I reviewed Season 1 of this series,  Homeland and The Americans creates a new era of spy series on TV.  24 was good in it's time but The Americans films are fast moving exciting, and have elements of marital discord, psychology, and great action and acting.  DO NOT MISS IT.  Season 3 coming up in Jan of this year, 2015.

Movie Review: HOSTILE BORDER (POCHA: MANIFEST DESTINY) (2016) C-

Netflix: Subtitles required

Story about a young undocumented Mexican women that we know little about.  Who raised her, her value system . . . nothing.  Commits some sort of money laundering crime and get deported.  Lives with her father and gets into more trouble in Mexico.  Sneaks back to the USA and the movie ends. A BIG NOTHING.  Don't waste your time with this one.  Got good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.  The message . . . be careful of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
 
From Rotten Tomatoes: Raised in the U.S., Claudia is an undocumented immigrant living beyond her means in a twisted version of the American dream. When she's arrested by the FBI for credit card fraud, Claudia is quickly deported to Mexico. Speaking no Spanish and lost in her foreign "homeland," she reluctantly takes refuge at her estranged father's cattle ranch. As she clashes with her unyielding father, her attempts to return home to the U.S. thrust her into a dangerous bond with a foreign smuggler, Ricky. Caught between her father's sermons, Ricky's promises, and the encroaching military, Claudia must navigate a tightrope of impossible choices. Both a slow burning crime thriller and western, HOSTILE BORDER follows the transformative journey of a young woman confronting the high price of American ideals in the dark places between two cultures.

Foreign Movie Review: POKLOSIE (AFTERMATH) (2013) AA

Subtitles

A significant Polish movie (for Polish consumption) about the horrible atrocities perpetrated on the Jews in Poland during WWII by the German SS . . . AS WELL AS THE POLES.  Again it has taken about fifty years for the third generation children to come to grips with the actions and prejudices of their elders.  This movie was banned in some Polish theaters.  AA for content.

​

From Rotten Tomatoes: In this movie Franek and Jozek Kalina, sons of a poor farmer, are brothers from a small village in central Poland. 

Franek immigrated to the United States in the 80's, and  returns to his homeland and discovers that Jozek has been ostracized from the community, and constantly receives various threats. As Franek and Jozek struggle to rebuild their relationship, they are drawn into a gothic tale of intrigue. The two brothers eventually uncover a dark secret that forces them to confront the history of their family and their hometown. Upon its release in Poland, Aftermath received acclaim and also generated intense controversy. Polish nationals have accused the film of being anti-Polish propaganda, as well as a distortion of a sensitive piece of Polish history, leading the film to be banned in some Polish cinemas.

Documentary Movie Review: THE LONG WAY HOME (1997) AA

I know you may have seen this refugee story before.  But this film is special and appropriate considering today's problem in the Mid-East/Syria. Available from Netflix . . . and possibly your local library.

From Promotional Material:
The struggles of European Jews during WWII have been well documented, but this film (produced with the cooperation of the Simon Wiesenthal Center) makes it clear that the ordeal of those who suffered during the Holocaust did not end with the liberation of Europe.

The Long Way Home uses interviews with Holocaust survivors, newsreel footage, and readings of letters, journals, and news reports, to tell the story of the hardships faced by those freed from concentration camps in 1945. Often riddled with disease, suffering from malnutrition, and remorseful over having survived while their loved ones perished, many survivors soon discovered that they no longer had homes to return to, and many European nations, struggling with their own post-war poverty, would not accept the refugees.

Some found themselves in Displaced Persons camps, which were often only marginally better than the camps from which they had been freed, while others attempted to flee to Palestine, over the objections of the British government, who then held the territory as a colony.

The establishment of the Zionist state of Israel was widely seen as the best solution to bring dignity, self-determination, and a homeland back to the refugees, but the notion was widely opposed at first, particularly by the British government. The Long Way Home is narrated by Morgan Freeman. Martin Landau, Edward Asner, Helen Slater, David Paymer, and Michael York contribute readings to the soundtrack.

British TV Spy Series: THE GAME Season 1 (2104) AA

One more of the excellent MI5 spy series created by the BBC.  It appears that this one ran only for one season.  There were weak spots in parts of the plot, but the last two discs were very good.

From other Reviewers;
Tense, fast-paced, and rich in atmosphere, The Game is a gripping spy drama with more than one kind of intelligence.
The deeply creepy idea of shadowy terrorists seeking to sneak warheads onto enemy soil resonates with American viewers, which lends menace to this already heart-stopping thrilling show, easily the equal of the early seasons of Homeland or cable drama The Americans. The pacing is quick, the motives murky, the characterizations deft. We know everything we need to know about one agent when she sizes up an undercover colleague as a spy because he hadn't thought to crack the spine of the novel he was pretending to read
BBC America’s new six-episode spy miniseries “The Game” combines elements from both types of fiction, with an emphasis on the former. Set in the drab London of the Cold War, it pits very human British spies against a potentially disastrous Soviet plot.

Movie Review: GONE GIRL (2014) C

This very thin movie is about a marriage (of sorts) between a 35 to 40 year old couple we who we never really get to know . . . except that they are dishonest with each other have good oral sex.  (In general the movie contains scenes of gratuitous sex).  Early on it appears that the women is a nutcase. I'm not sure what her mental disease is.

All sorts of holes in the plot.  Money issues, moving from New York to Missouri, etc., etc. 

Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) reports that his beautiful wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same question.  Did he kill her?

Movie had a beginning, middle but no ending.  Needs a total rewrite.

Recent TV Series have been much, much better,  The Killing, Homeland, The Americans and Prime Suspect.  Don't waste your time with this movie, unless you want to talk to a friend who has also seen it.