Homeland, Seasons 1-8

Starring: Claire Danes, Damien Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, F. Murray Abraham

Showtime TV MA (language, sexual situations, nudity, violence)

2011-2020 

This is another outstanding TV series that I can’t stop watching.  Home grown terrorism with so many twists and turns that you really don’t know whose side people are on! 

Claire Danes plays CIA agent, Carrie Mathison.  She is the top spy agent who has spent many hours in the field working cases.  Damien Lewis plays Nicholas Brody, an American Marine Sniper who has been held hostage for 8 years in Iran.  He has come home to a hero’s welcome, but all is not right with him.  This is the start of an 8 season run for this show. Seasons 1-3 deal with the relationship between Brody and Carrie and her quest to prove that he has “turned.” That he is working for al-Qaeda.  She becomes obsessed with proving the truth about Brody but no one in the CIA will believe her. 

Mandy Patinkin plays Carrie’s boss, Saul, who is amazing!  The working and personal relationship between all these characters are so intertwined it makes you wonder how much of the story is “real world spying.”  There’s a lot of revolving characters and story lines.  There’s love and loss.  Betrayal and redemption.  But you’re never really sure who the good guys are! 

What’s exceptional about this show, besides telling intriguing spy stories, is it gives you a view into a world that’s not black and white.  Sometimes the good guys have to do bad things to stop the bad people.  Is that ok? Is it justified?  By what means and how far will someone go for the truth or to create their version of it? 

Homeland is so easy to binge because the storylines are crazy insane, but yet you know this stuff happens!  If you’re bored with TV like I am and need something to help pass the cold winter nights – this show will get you through! 

Library Link: Homeland, Season 1 (DVD)

Library Link: Homeland, Season 2 (DVD)

Library Link: Homeland, Season 3 (DVD)

Library Link: Homeland, Season 4 (DVD)

Library Link: Homeland, Season 5 (DVD)

Library Link: Homeland, Season 6 (DVD)

Library Link: Homeland, Season 7 (DVD)

Breaking Bad, Seasons 1-6

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Anna Gunn

AMC TV MA (language, sexual situations, nudity, violence)

2008-2013 

I always seem to be late to the party of watching series.  But with the way TV is lately, there’s nothing to watch, which gave me a really good reason to watch some series that I’ve heard so much about. 

I THROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS SERIES!!  Who wouldn’t watch a show about a high school chemistry teacher that tried his hand at cooking meth and became the biggest drug lord! 

Bryan Cranston, “Walt,” is the typical, boring, high school chemistry teacher.  He has a wife, a teenage son and a baby on the way.  It may not have been what he really wanted out of life, but he left the business he helped build to spend more time with his family.  He finds out he has terminal lung cancer and just a short time to live.  His brother-in-law, Hank, just happens to be a DEA agent who takes Walt on a ride and shows him the dirty side of his job - busting drug dealers.  What’s Walt to do when you want to leave your family financially well off when you’re gone?  You cook meth.  Aaron Paul, “Jessie,” (who is now my favorite actor) is a former student of his, but also becomes his meth partner.  Between the two of them, they cook up the cleanest meth around town.  What started as a simple, one time deal, turns into a living nightmare that Walt didn’t see coming. 

What an intense show!  There are dealings with the Mexican Cartel that go bad. Dealing with other drug lords that go bad.  There are crimes that are committed that they thought they would never do. Everything centers around Walt trying to do the right thing for his family.  But along the way, Walt loses the reason of why he was cooking and becomes an alter ego with power.  Walt and Jessie go down the rabbit hole and when the story ends – you’re not sure who’s going to be the last man standing.  Superb show with superb actors. 

Library Link: Breaking Bad, Season 1 (DVD)

Library Link: Breaking Bad, Season 2 (DVD)

Library Link: Breaking Bad, Season 3 (DVD)

Library Link: Breaking Bad, Season 4 (DVD)

Library Link: Breaking Bad, Season 5 (DVD)

Library Link: Breaking Bad, Season 6 (DVD)

 

Unhinged

 Rated R

1 hour 30 minutes

Starring: Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman

With everything going on in the world these days, I was looking for a movie to watch to just “escape” that didn’t mention the pandemic, elections, or anything too controversial.  There also haven’t been many movies released lately that I’ve even heard of or that have any actors I know.  That being said, this was not really a “stress-free,” or “fun” movie, but I still enjoyed it.  Russell Crowe stars as a man that is a little unstable and gets pushed over the edge by a small traffic incident – and it turns into road-rage to the max!  The woman he’s upset with doesn’t help the situation and is unwilling to apologize to him, but he ends up taking things WAY too far and over-the-top!  It was kind of unrealistic, but I could still see it happening, too, especially with how close to the edge so many people seem to be anymore.  It reminded me of the ‘90s movie Falling Down, but seemed a little more relatable and also out of control, so I’d say it was entertaining.  Not the greatest movie ever, but glad I watched it.

Library Link: Unhinged (DVD)

Yellowstone, Seasons 1-3

 Rated TV-MA

1 hour episodes

Starring: Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes 

I hadn’t planned on watching this series until Christy “made” me watch it because she “knew” I’d like it.  I hate to admit it, but she was right.  She was SO right!  I loved these shows.  Watching this series felt very familiar with the backdrops and scenery being in Montana and Wyoming.  Basically, the story is about John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner), who is running the largest ranch in the United States that has been passed down through seven generations, while trying to protect it from everyone wanting a piece of it.  It’s a full-time job for him and his family to keep back the land developers, battle with a Native American reservation, along with the government threatening to take it over, too.  While all of this is going on, he’s also trying to reconnect with his son and grandson.  The writing, the story lines, the scenery, and the music all add up to make a great show!  There is definitely a lot of language and violence in these shows, so if you’re sensitive to that, you might want to pass.  

Library Link: Yellowstone, Season 1 (DVD)

Library Link: Yellowstone, Season 2 (DVD)

 

Library Link: Yellowstone, Season 3 (DVD)

Yellowstone, Seasons 1, 2, & 3

Rated: TV-MA

Actors:  Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Gil Birmingham, Wes Bently

Wow.  Yellowstone.  How do I describe it?  Yellowstone is an intense series with a taste of the old T.V. show “Dallas,” thrown in.  As Eric mentioned, Kevin Costner plays John Dutton, land owner of prime, coveted land.  But the show doesn’t revolve only around him.  John has 3 boys and 1 daughter and they are a very dysfunctional family!  They all have issues that revolve around their past. 

Secrets.  Lies. Betrayal. Murder.  You name it . . .they’ve done it. 

Beth, his daughter, is a “kick your butt, kick it again then take your name” kind of woman.  You don’t mess with her unless you want to come up on the losing end.

Kayce is the younger brother who has issues from being in the war.  That being said, he finds it hard to walk on the straight and narrow as there’s always something calling his name to the other side. 

Then there’s Jamie.  Wow.  He has daddy issues.  Never feeling like he’s part of the family.  Never feeling like he’s “enough” for his dad no matter what he does. 

There’s also a brother that only survives the first season. 

And I don’t want to forget about Rip.  Rip is the guy!  He’s the one you go to when you need something done and kept a secret.  He’s the one that you don’t want to tick off because he’ll take a beating and keep on hitting you back.  He also plays the love interest for Beth.  Hot! Hot! Hot! 

This series’ intensity hits high highs and very intense lows.  There’s a lot of revenge.  A lot of violence.  A lot of language.  On the flip side, the scenery is beautiful.  The ranch they live on is a real ranch in Montana.  The music is perfect.  This was the most watched series as the third season ended this summer – on an explosive twist that everyone was talking about!  It’s only a summer time series and waiting for season 4 will seem like forever.

Library Link: Yellowstone, Season 1 (DVD)

Library Link: Yellowstone, Season 2 (DVD)

Library Link: Yellowstone, Season 3 (DVD)

Longmire, Seasons 1-6

Rated:  NR

Actors: Richard Taylor, Lou Diamond Phillips

I am loving this series!!  Longmire is based on the best selling books by Wyoming author Craig Johnson.  Walt Longmire, (played by Richard Taylor) is the sheriff in fictional Absaroka County in Wyoming.  He’s the strong, silent type but make no mistake – he’s not dumb!  He knows his business and he doesn’t take any guff from anyone!  The county resides next to the Indian reservation where Lou Diamond Phillips, who plays his best friend, Henry Standing Bear, runs the local bar and grill.  I like this show because it’s more than what I thought it would be.  Walt possess a deep rooted character that you don’t see very much anymore. His line of justice is the truth. The rules of the West.  The beauty of nature that surrounds him.  The stories are honest, sincere, sometimes brutal but they don’t take the watcher on some crazy ride.  The show has succeeded where so many fail because they focus on making the people real.  The characters are bruised, broken, trying their best to do their jobs and live their lives even though the odds are against them at times.  I really enjoy the storylines where his life intersects with that of the Cheyenne people.  The show involves stories of the Native American people and the issues they have encountered through the years.  But the star of this show is still Walt . . .solving crimes.  It’s just rewarding to watch a show that doesn’t resort to CGI all the time or have to be bloody and disturbing with their crimes.  There’s a lot of reasons to watch this show and I’m glad I took a chance on it.

Library Link: Longmire DVDs

Library Link: Longmire Books

The Invisible Man

Rated R

2 hours 4 minutes

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer

Are you looking for something to watch that will keep you on the edge of your seat? This might be the movie for you. I found it to be creepy, suspenseful and a really good psychological thriller. Our main character, Cecilia is involved in an abusive relationship with Adrian. The opening scene opens right into the storyline. We watch Cecilia, in the middle of the night, leaving Adrian. Every noise she makes, you’re fearful she’ll wake Adrian up. She does get out of the house, but that’s not the end. Cecilia finds out that shortly after leaving him - he dies. But she doesn’t believe it.  Then that’s where the movie gets very atmospheric. Who’s in the shadows? Is someone sitting in the chair? Are those footprints on the carpet? Just because someone says they’re dead doesn’t mean it’s true! This isn’t a horror movie, but it has a few good scares and jumps in it. There are also a few twists that I enjoyed, too.  It’s a little over 2 hours, but I was entertained and would watch it again.

Library Link: The Invisible Man (DVD)

 

Bad Boys for Life

Rated R

2 hours 4 minutes

Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens

This is the 3rd in the series and I wish I could say I liked it, but I can’t really give it two thumbs up. I saw the first 2 over the years and they were fun. What made them fun was the banter between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. They absolutely play well off of each other. With the new one - it’s like they forgot to bring the chemistry that made them “Bad Boys.” The movie starts out very violently and really didn’t let up. Yes, there’s always violence in these shows - but it seemed extreme this time. I liked some of the action sequences - but it just didn’t seem to click this time.  The story line focused on Will Smith’s character,  Mike Lowery, whose past comes back to haunt him. Martin Lawrence’s character no longer wants to be a “bad boy” and retires after Mike gets shot. Mike can’t let go of it, and as he unravels the truth, we find out the double life he once led.  I wanted to like it so much more than I did. But it forgot who were the “bad boys” and just made them “old boys.”

Library Link: Bad Boys for Life (DVD)

 

Shooter

Rated R

2 hours 4 minutes

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Danny Glover

Mark Wahlberg is one of my favorite actors and he didn’t disappoint in this movie. Shooter came out in 2007 - not sure why I’m just now watching it, but am glad I did. Very good movie with a good storyline and great actors. Mark Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, an ex Marine. He’s not just any marine, but a top notch marksman - a sniper whose skills are unmatched.  He’s living in exile after losing his best friend until a colonel asks for his help. The President of the United States might be assassinated in the next couple of weeks. They need his special skills to prevent this from happening. Well, all is not what it seems and he finds out he’s just been set up as the one who fired the shot at the president. From there the movie is on the run! How do you stop a marine who’s out to clear his name and how high up do the dirty politicians go? Lots of action. Lots of payback. And with Mark Wahlberg doing what he does best... you can’t go wrong.

Library Link: Shooter (DVD)