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The Birch

Horror series on Facebook Watch.

Evie is a lonely teenager, living with just her father in a small town. One day, while getting bullied by the local drug dealers she find a strange totem in the forest. It allowed her to summon a tree like creature who will attack everyone who wronged her.

The format is quite interesting: it is 15 episodes of roughly 15 minutes, with a regular change of perspective, Sometime we follow Evie, sometimes the drug dealers, and another time a third character who is kind in another plot line. It works really well giving a good rhythm to the series. The atmosphere is really creepy and while it is not too gore, this show is not for the faint of heart. While not very known, the cast is not bad at all. Also the production is really good, this does not feel like a web-serie at all, despite the format. Overall an excellent surprise for the horror fan like me.

Verdict: Pretty good.

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Castle Rock (S2)

Horror anthology in Stephen King universe. On Hulu.

Annie Wilkes is a nurse, constantly moving from town to town with her girl, stealing pills. Until one day a car accident forces her to stop to Castle Rock. She arrives in the middle of tension between the Merill family  who owns lots of business in towm, legal and illegal, and a Nigerian community from Jerusalem Lot, a neighbour town, which is preparing its 400th anniversary.

While I appreciated the first season, there was some glaring pacing issue: the story as a whole was great, but would have benefited from one or two less episodes. But this season, so far (7 episodes seen on the 10) is really fantastic: the story is interesting, progressing well, with even some ties in with the first season. Lizzy Caplan is excellent in Annie Wilkes (the character from Misery), it is great to see her in such a different role from everything she played in. There is also Tim Robbins as the head of the Merill family and Elsie Fisher as the daughter of Annie. I can’t wait to see how it all ends :)

Verdict: Watch.

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The Mandalorian

New Star Wars show, with a space cowboy vibe. On Disney+.

We follow the story of a Mandalorian, a legendary cast of bounty hunters, after the fall of the Empire. Right after an easy job in which he took down three guy without breaking a sweat, he is already on his next job. But this one is for former Empire member, very secretive and for a huge reward.

The series is created by Jon Favreau, and it really feels true to the Star Wars universe. It looks really good most of the time, and some shot could have right out of one the movies; sometime you can see the limit of the budget, but it is still ok. Also the fight and action scene are really great and entertaining. The biggest issue is in fact the main character: a Mandalorian never takes off his mask, and this Mandalorian is the silent type. They are going for a kind of classic Clint Eastwood Far West character, but when you do not see the face of the guy it is really hard to get attached or feels something for the lead: why use an excellent actor like Pedro Pascal, if we cannot see the guy, and we almost never hear him ?. Also, more than once they tried to go for some funny/sarcastic one liner and it always fell flat. Same for some action scene where he gets throw on his ass: it was supposed to be funny but it just was not. The show is kind of saved by its support characters, especially the little guy at the end of the first episode: it is cute AF and you know Disney will make a shit-ton of money with the toys on him at Christmas. Also, special note to the cover-art in the post episode credit part, that kind of sum-up what happened: they are really beautiful, and it is a truly excellent way to finish an episode.

Verdict: Very good, but it could have been so much more.

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See

Post-Apocalyptic show with Jason Momoa. On Apple TV.

A few hundred years ago, a virus almost wiped the whole human race. Only a few millions survived, but they all ended blind and since then all new born are also blind. Sight is now something of a legend, considered heresy by the queen. But there are rumors of twins who can see and they will be hunt down.

The show looks absolutely fantastic and somehow, despite most people being blind, they managed to make the fight scenes impressive and almost believable (still hard to believe that there is no “friendly fire” in all the mess :P ). And, surprisingly for an Apple show, it is quite gore. The cast is pretty good, lead by the great Jason Momoa in a role not so distant from Khal Drogo. There is also Alfre Woodward, recently seen in Luke Cage, playing a kind of spiritual guide,  Archie Madekwe and  Nesta Cooper playing the twins, and  Hera Hilmar playing the mother. There are a few very stupid or WTF stuff, like the queen who masturbate to pray o0 But overal it is a fun show, entertaining, you just need to not overthink it ;)

Verdict: Fun

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Family business

French comedy about a family starting a weed business. On Netflix.

After yet another business failure, Joseph Hazan hears a rumor about legalization of weed. He decides to convince his father who owns a butcher’s shop in difficulty to transform it into a weed shop.

It starts a bit slow, with a few weak joke, but it really gets better. The cast is really good, with Gerard Darmon playing the father fan of Enrico Matias,  Jonathan Cohen playing the son, Julia Piaton the daughter and the hilarious Liliane Rovere as the grand mother. The different twists and turns of the story are almost never surprising but always done in a fun way. With only 6 episodes of 30 min, it is perfect for a snowy Sunday ;) A second season has been announced.

Verdict: Good

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Limetown

A journalist investigate a mystery from 15 years ago. On Facebook Watch.

A panicked woman from the gated community Limetown calls 911, asking for help. When the police arrive, some masked force army is blocking the access. After 3 days, they finally render without reason but the whole town seems empty. Fifteen years later, the mystery has been mostly forgotten, but Lia, a journalist with a podcast continues her investigation and starts to get some answers.

This is an adaptation of a podcast, in 10 episodes of ~30 min.It is not bad at all thanks to an original story and a solid cast with Jessica Biel and Stanley Tucci. Unfortunately there was a few pacing issues and some part of the plot felt stupid (like what happened between Mark and Lia). But the overall atmosphere, mysterious and creepy, combined with a short format, makes the whole series entertaining enough.While the mystery is fully revealed at the end, they are leaving the door open for a second season.

Verdict: Just OK.

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We are the Wave

A German drama about activism adapted from a book. On Netflix.

When Tristan arrives in a new school, he quickly makes a name for itself by defending loner girl and son of immigrant. He incite people to speak their mind, and dare to dream of a better world and take action. With 4 others students,  they starts some happening to protest against consumerism, plastics, ...

I quite enjoyed the show. The subject is interesting and very contemporary considering all the different  protest and revolution around the world at the moment. The cast is quite good, and their characters likable. I just wished they went a bit further and darker: it goes a few times on the edge, but it always ends up going fine. This season of 6 episodes tells a full story, but the show clearly has some potential for a second season.

Verdict: Quite good.

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Dublin Murders

Yet another UK crime show. On BBC One.

A young woman is found dead in the woods, near a small town close to Dublin. Two detective are put in charge, but both are quite reluctant to investigate it due to their past.

The story is inspired from two books (In the Woods and The likeness) and it is quite good, with lots of twist and red-herring. I was just not a big fan of the love affair side-story that brought nothing. The casting, mostly Irish, is pretty good, with Killian Scott and Sarah Greene as the two detectives, and Conleth Hill (Varys from Game of Throne) as the captain. The season is 8 episodes.

Verdict: good.

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Nancy Drew

The youth if the famous detective. On The CW.

Nancy Drew has always be fascinated by mystery, solving crime before the police. But today, as she was working as a waitress, she found a woman dead just outside, right before the police arrived. She and her co-workers are immediately suspect: they decide to work together to find the actual murderer.

The very beginning where they try to introduce Nancy and the town is quite terrible, but after it gets better. It is still your standard CW show, full of young and pretty people, but just average in term of acting. The mistery itself looks interesting, even if I'm not sure about the whole ghost part. The show gives a definitive Riverdale vibe, so if you liked it, this might be a show for you.

Verdict: Ok.

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Treadstone

Spy show set in a post-Jason Bourne universe. On USA.

In the 70's, an American spy is tortured by russians, physically and psychologically. He manages to escapes, but his loyalty is quickly put in question. Nearly 50 years later, sleeping agent, like Jason Bourne, are activated in various coutries to assassinate some targets.

So far (3 episodes), it looks good. The action is not bad for a series, and the story seems interesting. We follow the two different timeline, which helps keeping a good rhythm. Overall, it feels like a nice addition to the Bourne universe, even if you don't need to know anything about it to follow what is going on.

Verdict : Good.

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Daybreak

A teen post-apocalyptic show. On Netflix.

After a bomb exploded almost all adults either dies or transformed into ghoul. The surviving teenager organised themself into clans very similar to highschool one: jocks, cheerleader, nerds, ... Josh was a very average student, but he is thriving alone during the apocalypse. But for the last 6 month he has been looking for his girlfriend, and can’t seem to find her alone.

The show has a nice Zombieland-like tone, with a narrator, on -screen overlay and pop-culture reference. It also does some pretty cool variation around the narrator: the samourai and the mute one were really good.The show does not take itself too seriously but at the same time it does a pretty good job in showing a kind of post-racial and post-gender teenagers. Unfortunately the acting is sometime quite bad (especially the lead) and, even worse, the characters say and do stupid stuff, or at least out-of character, just for the sake of having drama. There is also a few rhythm issues here and there ... Overall it is still a fun show with some good moment, but do not expect too much ;)

Verdict: Just Ok.

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Watchmen

New adaptation of the comic. On HBO

In the 20′s, during an open lynching in Oklahoma, a black couple manage to hide their young child in a carriage, just before dying in an explosion. Fast forward 50 years later: a black police is killed during a simple control by a member of the 7th cavalry, a terrorist group wearing Rorschach mask, who forced the police to wear mask to avoid being targeted and was thought inactive.

Damn what a pilot ! It wasted no time in introduction, and put us right in the action for almost the whole episode. The universe is fascinating and the aesthetic of the show is great. It is adapted by Damon Lindelof (Lost and Leftovers) and the cast is excellent with the always great  Regina King,  Don Johnson, Jeremy Irons and many more known faces (like  Tim Blake Nelson ).

A side note about the opening scene: it is inspired by a true story from 1921, the Tulsa Race Riot where more than 300 black people were killed.

Verdict: Watch.

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Dark

A German mystery. On Netflix.

Everything starts with the disappearance of two children in a small German town, near a nuclear central. At the same moment a man hangs himself.

And I won’t say more about the story because it is fantastic, and best appreciated if you have no idea of the direction the show will take. The cast in general is pretty solid, especially Louis Hofmann as the “main” character. The show is not of easy access, there is a lot of things unsaid, lots of different story line, but it really pays of at the end. The show is supposed to be a trilogy, with the first two season available on Netflix, and each end of season broadens the universe in a great way.

Verdict: Must watch.

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Raising Dion

A kid super-hero, adapted from a comic. On Netflix.

Since the sudden disappearance of her husband, presumed dead, Nicole is raising her only child Dion alone. But he starts to manifest super-power and he will soon be the target of a big corporation.

This show is mostly directed at kids: almost no violence, some simple dialogue and a story not too complicated. But still, it reserves some nice surprises. Ja’siah Young playing Dion is an OK actor and a very likeable kid. His mother played by Alish Wainwright is pretty good, and as a bonus we sometimes get to see the excellent Michael B. Jordan (who also produces the show). Special effects can be either great, when it is lightning effect, or absolutely atrocious when they starts to make people levitate (but it only happens like twice). 

It is a simple show, but well done, with attaching character, and some nice twist, perfect for children, but still good for adults ;)

Verdict: Good.

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Batwoman

Batman cousin. On CW.

Kate Cane is back in Gotham, when a gang lead by Alice targets her father and her ex-girlfriend. While looking help from an absent Bruce Wayne, she soon discovers his secret identity and decides to put on the mask herself to save Gotham.

It is your standard CW super-hero series: it is just OK, actors are fine ( Ruby Rose  is playing Batwoman) but not great, dialogue can be pretty bad sometime. You also get some love story: batwoman’s ex-girlfriend is getting married ... The action scene are barely OK, you can clearly see all the cuts to make the punches looks harder than they really are. 

The thing is: there is so much better super-hero shows at the moment, like The Boys on Amazon (a must watch), the incoming Watchmen on HBO looks great, or even the second season of Titans on DC, is mostly good. Why bother with this very generic show, who brings nothing ?

Verdict: Meh.

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Living with yourself

New comedy with Paul Rudd. On Netflix

Miles (Paul Rudd) is a failing publicist, depressed and his marriage is slowly falling apart.He gets a recommendation from a co-worker to a get a special treatment in an exclusive spa center, which promises to make a better version of himself. It ends up being a bit too literal :)

It is an excellent comedy, with a good mix of drama and sweet moment: wholesome without being cheesy or naive.The cast is great: Paul Rudd is doing a fantastic job playing two very different of himself. I also love his wife, played by Aisling Bea, a famous comedian and actress in the UK. And there is also  Alia Shawkat,  Desmin Borges. The story is pretty cool, and every episode they change the main perspective, between the two miles or even his wife. At 25/30min the episode and 8 episodes, it goes by quickly, perfect for a rainy weekend. And they setup quite nicely a second season, I can’t wait.

Verdict: Watch

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Godfather of Harlem

The return of a crime boss in Harlem, based on a true story. On Epix.

After ten years of prison, Bumpy is back in Harlem at the beginning of the 60′s. His old neighborhood is now controlled by Italian Mafia, but he is ready to fight to take it back. One of his old friend, is starting to make a name for him-self : Malcolm X. Bumpy thinks he can form a powerful alliance with the Nation of Islam.

The casting is just fantastic: Forest Whitaker as Bumpy, Vincent D’Onofrio as a member of the mafia and Giancarlo Esposito as Congresman Powell. There are a lot of other known faces and John Ridley, director of 12 year of slave, directed the pilot. The story so far (after 3 episodes) is really interesting, and I like the aesthetic of the 60′s. 

Verdict: Watch