THE MISSING – My rating: 8.5/10

When I first encountered this series I thought the Missing would be about the Rapture like “Left Behind” or “The Leftovers”.  To my surprise, The Missing is about a 5 year old boy they call Oliver (Oliver Hunt), who suddenly disappears from his father’s sight.  The entire set up is done so well it caught and held my attention immediately.  A couple on vacation with their 5 year old son in Paris were having the time of their lives when Tony Hughes played by James Nesbitt took his son swimming in a local pool.  After drying off, Tony and his son Oliver went to get something to drink from the local, semi-quasi out-door pub.  Because the soccer championship playoffs were in full swing, massive crowds were gathered anywhere a TV was on.  Europeans are very passionate about soccer.  There was barely standing room in the pub.  The moment Tony let go of his son’s hand, Oliver disappeared.  It happened so quickly, I couldn’t reconcile the boy’s complete disappearance with the time line.  Frantic, Tony tried to find his son to no avail.  This mini series picks up 8 years later with Tony and Emily divorced but Tony is still looking for his son.  After finding new clues, the case was reopened.   By the second episode, foul play is revealed to us and wella, a mystery is born.   The Missing is a thriller and is very entertaining.  Frances O’Connor plays the x-wife Emily Hughes and mother of the missing boy.  She remarried to one of the detectives on her son’s case, Mark Welsh (Jason Flemyng).  In the end, all is revealed with the help of the lead detective Julien Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo) and Khald Ziane (Said Taghmaoui.  The Missing airs on STARZ and is only 8 episodes.  Check the whole season out on “On Demand”.  I understand a teaser trailer was revealed entitled “A New Case”.  No date has been set, but this limited series looks like it may go into a 2nd season.

BEAST OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (2012) – My rating: 10/10

Beautifully told, this movie was quite a surprise.  Its raw footage and documentary styled format will hit you right where it hurts.  It’s hard to believe people actually live like the folks in this story but they do and if we didn’t know it before, we know it now.  The amazing talent of the star of this movie was very moving.  Only 5 years old when she auditioned and 10 now, Quvenzhanè Wallis is youngest actress to be nominated for an Oscar.  I found it hard to believe how well she portrayed her character.  I was duly impressed.  The movie was real and told a pretty harsh story of a little girl who had no mother and only a very sick father to raise her in the back woods of the Louisiana bayous.  Her journey is Oscar worthy as this movie is up for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).  Overall I loved this movie and highly recommend it to all.