"In the Heights"

Incredible - story, music, dance; every human emotion: joy, delight, inspiration; sadness, sorrow, tears; hope, laughter, love,  and then some ... and some surprising SFX ... music, dance, everything, superbly done. Yes, yes, yes ... and yes, again. Don't miss it.

And, and, and ... a post-credit trailer ... I mean, post-credit ... right at the very end ... a lovely little moment!

"The Tribes of Europa"

Finished the series yesterday - wow ... so very good ... lots of commentary about the present state of affairs in Europe ... and some darn good story telling - it's all about power, what we do with it, how it affects us, how some go crazy with it, while others know how to limit its allure. In the midst of it all, family - it is, for better or for worse, our origin.

Yet, we have other origins, too - our tribe.

Special effects, superb. Cast, terrific. Violence? Of course - life is violent, but here in this series it's handled well. It's all part of the story, like it or not. It's the kind of world in which we have to live and work, and find our way.

At the end, I was hooked on the three main characters, siblings, separated from another, striving to be a family again ... each with their own story ... I cared about them, wanting to know more, wanting to see how it works out.

There has to be another season.

Don't miss it.

"The Last Word"

Finished first season of #TheLastWord, a terrific German #Netflix "comedy" that deals with death, grief, and just about anything else we can throw at the wall. Superb cast, scripting, acting. It's all here.

Hope there's a Season 2.

"Biohackers" - Netflix

Biohackers ... 

All the elements of a thriller are here ... it caught me, and got inside of me, disturbed, unsettled me.

A story well conceived and well done. 

A story of young lady putting her life together, to challenge the self-anointed righteousness of the powerful and the wealthy, convinced as they are of their own place in the sun, believing they alone know the truth and can break the law at will because they, and they alone, are entitled to govern, and when given their due, they will offer to humankind a perfect world, a world determined by the few and not the many. Democracy be damned. 

The acting is superb; Luna Wedler is thoroughly convincing, innocent, yet never naive; her character is bright, and utterly devoted to justice - not revenge, but justice, because justice liberates. This young actor captures the heart of the story and brings it to life.

The rest of the cast, terrific. Jessica Schwarz is evil to the core - strong, intelligent, visionary, and completely dismissive of life, all in pursuit of her self-righteous dream to create life without disease.

A great story, good music, excellent cinematography ... a story utterly relevant for our times: when Democracy strives against Oligarchy; when the voice of the people is threatened by the voice of the few.

The ending is dramatic, with an unexpected twist; left me breathless, and hoping for Season Two.

"Birds of Prey"

Perfect DC movie - darkly comedic, comedically dark ... it all worked - great acting, music, fight-scene choreography nothing less than fantastic, IMAX sound worth it. At the very end, after all the credits, a bit of joke ... not exactly a post-credit trailer, but fun.

"Bad Boys for Life"

the story was better than I anticipated ... more than just fast cars and mayhem ... a real story of family, loyalty, religion. Martin Lawrence was terrific.

"1917"

A remarkable story - common soldiers, stuffy brass, and a whole lot of folks caught up in a story none of them wanted, but for which they suffered and died. As a war movie, it's an anti-war movie - and from the perspective of the trenches, with all of their blood, gore, filth and disease ... when killing the "enemy" is the only thing that counts. The cinematography is, of course, fantastic - long, long, shots without cutting ... some of the most elaborate sets ever, the trenches. And lighting - flames at night, flares ... and in it all, what soldiers seem always to say: they end up fighting, not for a cause, but for one another.