HUMANS (2015 – 2018) – My rating: 8/10

Humans is a science fiction television series.  Written by the British team Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley and is based on the Swedish science fiction drama Real Humans, the series explores the themes of artificial intelligence and robotics, focusing on the social, cultural, and psychological impact of the invention of anthropomorphic robots called “synths”. The series was produced as a joint effort by AMC in the United States as well as Channel 4 and Kudos in the United Kingdom.

Humans start out with a couple of men wheeling, what looks like mannequins, into a warehouse filled with row after row of synth, which is short for synthetic and is the name given to  AI’s, which are sold as household maids.  AI is an acronym for artificial intelligence. The mannequins are shown to be unlifelike, wearing nothing more than underpants (men and women alike). The next scene takes us to the Hawkins family, which consists of husband Joe Hawkins (Tom-Goodman-Hill), wife Laura Hawkins (Katherine Parkerson), oldest daughter Mattie Hawkins (Lucy Carless), son Toby Hawkins (Theo Stevenson), and youngest daughter Sophie Hawkins (Pixie Davies). Joe is trying to manage his home, children, and a wife who is overworked as a lawyer.  Overwhelmed with his overflowing plate, Joe goes shopping and purchases a synth.  When his wife returns home after five days away, they argue because Laura is opposed to having a synth because of past circumstances.

Five weeks earlier, five synths who are low on charge, are traveling as they look for a place to settle, charge-up, and regroup.  A couple of synth poachers kidnap synth, Anita/Mia (Gemma Chan), and deliver her to a scientist named Hobb (Danny Web).  Leo Elster (Colin Morgan) and synth Max Elster (Ivanno Jeremiah) conduct a fierce search for her, to no avail.  synth Fred Elster (Sope Dirisu) and synth Niska (Emily Berrington) also befell to the same fate.  So far, Anita is the only one who hasn’t been in touch with Leo and Max, causing Max to believe the two have been destroyed or reprogramed.

I really liked Humans, the subject was a lot like “Better Than Us” except the synths are motivated by different circumstances. George Millican (William Hurt) as a retired artificial intelligence researcher and widower who suffers memory loss and physical disabilities is a special and brilliant addition to the series. George forms a special bond with his malfunctioning and outdated caregiver, synth Odi (Will Tudor).   The synth goes into hiding, some are reprogrammed, some are discovered, some take on proving they are more human than the world thinks, and some live to fight the good fight.  The liaison between the synth and the life they are fighting to live is Humans.  There are a host of characters introduced into the series with many plots and sub-plots.  You’ll find Humans exciting and somewhat emotional.  Eight episodes were produced for the first series which aired between 14 June and 2 August 2015. The second eight-episode series was broadcast in the UK between 30 October and 18 December 2016. A third series was commissioned in March 2017 and aired eight episodes between 17 May and 5 July 2018. In May 2019, Channel 4 announced that the series had been canceled. The series is now streaming on Prime Video. If you like fantasy and science fiction, you will probably love Humans.  I recommend you binge-watch this one — Check It Out!

INCREDIBLES 2 (2018) – My rating 7.5/10

Incredibles 2 is categorized as a computer-animated superhero film, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Written and directed by Brad Bird and is a sequel to The Incredibles (2004) and the second full-length installment of the franchise. The story follows the Parr family as they try to restore public’s trust in superheroes while balancing their family life, only to combat a new foe who seeks to turn the populace against all superheroes. I don’t think this sequel measures up to it’s original but still a fun family movie.

The Incredibles, which consist of  Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), who is the father of the family and possesses super strength and limited invulnerability; Helen Parr / Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), who is the mother of the family and has the ability to stretch her body into many shapes and forms; Violet Parr, (Sarah Vowell) the family’s daughter and first child, who can become invisible and project force fields for limited lengths of time; Dashiell “Dash” Parr, (Huckleberry Milner) the family’s troublemaker first son, who has superhuman speed and Jack-Jack Parr, (Eli Fucile) their infant son who has a huge variety of powers; as well as Frozone / Lucius Best, (Samuel L Jackson) the best friend and close ally of the Parr family who has the ability to create ice and freeze surfaces by manipulating moisture.

In this sequel, The Incredibles and Frozone battle The Underminer,  (John Ratzenberger) a powerful supervillain, criminal, bank robber, and terrorist whose ambition is to destroy peace and joy and has just appeared to terrorize Metroville. Despite preventing the destruction of City Hall, The Incredibles are unable to stop The Underminer from robbing a bank and escaping. The collateral damage caused by the incident outrages the government and prompts them to shut down the Superhero Relocation Program, leaving the Parrs without financial assistance. Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird) a classmate and love interest, discovers Violet’s superhero identity, forcing government agent Rick Dicker (Jonathan Banks) to erase his memory.

In the meanwhile, Lucius informs Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl of an offer from Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), a wealthy businessman who wants to bring back the public’s faith in superheros. He and his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener) a technical genus who has never encountered a problem she couldn’t solve,  propose sending the superheroes on secret missions that will be recorded and publicized as evidence of their importance.  Due to Mr. Incredible’s tendency to accidentally cause collateral damage, Winston chooses Elastigirl for the initial missions.  Accepting the challenge takes Elastigirl away from home, leaving Bob, who struggles with his new role as a stay-at-home parent.

Incredibles 2 continues with a story that is action packed and quite entertaining.  The film moves quickly, paralleling between Mr. Incredible’s new role as a stay at home dad vs his wife, Elastigirl’s action packed adventures as a solo action hero.  Mr. Incredible is dealing with domestic issues that are out of his comfort zone, with no help. Elastigirl is thoroughly enjoying her solo performance fighting and solving crime.  Incredibles 2 is well done and children everywhere will surly enjoy the movie.  You can see Incredibles 2 on Netflix. Check It Out!

[Incredibles 2 is Oscar nominated for Best Animated Feature Film]

 

DADDY’S HOME 2 (2017) – My rating: 7/10

Daddy’s Home 2 is a comedy sequel to Daddy’s Home directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders and John Morris.  While it was descent, it wasn’t as good.  It starts out pretty mundane before it builds up to the comedy you though you came to see and there’s not quite enough of that to make it the hit of the original.

Daddy’s Home 2 is all set from the events of the first film with Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberg) and Sara Mayron (Linda Cardellini) divorced from each other with 2 children, Dylan Mayron (Owen Vaccaro) and Megan Mayron (Scarlett Estevez).  Sara is now Sara Whitaker and remarried to Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) with a new baby (Griffy).  Dusty Mayron is also remarried to Karen (Alessandra Ambrosio) who is divorced from Roger (John Cena), they have 1 child, Adrianna (DiDi Costine) who is now Dusty’s difficult stepdaughter. In this sequel, Dusty and Brad who are now  “besties” must deal with their fathers, who are coming to visit for the holidays.  It’s going to be quite the showdown right from the start, when they meet at the airport. Brad’s father Don Whitaker (John Lithgow), who is sweet and kind vs Dusty’s father, Kurt Mayron (Mel Gibson) who is rugged and manly, must find a way to get along during their stay. The criticisms start to fly from Kurt immediately but most of it goes over Don’s head because he so nice.  The airport scenes give Daddy’s Home 2 a lift but that might be the pinnacle of the movie for most.  There are a few more remotely funny scenes but nothing earth shattering.  There are some pretty good lessons to be learned about getting along and surviving extended family situations but all in all, I recommend waiting for Blu-ray or DVD.
 

MISTRESSES – My rating: 6/10

I feel somewhat reluctant critiquing Mistresses because I’m not certain it’s going to be renewed.  I understand the British version is a big hit, but that’s in England.  In the US it’s considered just okay.  In my opinion the plot is a little ridiculous.  Mistresses is a drama about the scandalous lives of four girlfriends.

 Savi (Alyssa Milano), a successful lawyer is married to Harry (Brett Tucker), a restaurant owner and chef.  They want to start a family (he more than she). Savi ends up having a one night stand with Dominic, a lawyer on her job, played by Jason George .  She becomes pregnant to her husband’s delight but has to come clean since the father in unknown and the baby could be black.

Season 2:  Savi’s baby problem is resolved since she was in a horrific car accident in last season’s finale, causing a miscarriage.  She divorces her husband anyway, in favor of her baby daddy. For the record, Savi seems very uncomfortable in this relationship — the chemistry is just not there.

 Josselyn (Jes Macallan), Savi’s younger sister is a savvy real estate agent and a single, serial dater who strikes up a love relationship with a female client. Josselyn ends up sleeping with her French boss, causing her current gay relationship to come to an end. Additionally, Josselyn is wild and loves to party.

Season 2:  Josselyn is no longer a real estate agent.  She along with her sister’s x-husband, Harry, are party planners, complete with catering.  For the record, this is an unlikely pairing since Harry will be constantly running into his X, plus he’s a professional.

 April (Rochelle Aytes), an entrepreneurial, store owner is a  recent widow with a young daughter.  April seems to be the only normal one in the group until her dead husband reappears, complete with a mistress and child, clamming blackmail as the reason he faked his death.  April is currently dating and now has to figure out what to do going forward.

Season 2:  April has met someone new and is throwing her prudish ways out the window to enjoy lots of sex with her new hunk.  For the record, no mention of her resurfaced, dead husband.  Life goes on as usual.  I think they replaced the person playing her daughter.

Karen (Yunjin Kim), a successful therapist with her own practice, has an affair with her dying, married client, Thomas Grey (John Schneider).  After many complications, Karen ends up sleeping with Sam Grey, Thomas’s son.  If matters weren’t bad enough, Thomas’s wife fines out and has Karen arrested for aiding in her husbands death, which she did not do.

Season 2:  Karen no longer has a private practice since Sam got killed and his mother was arrested for the murder.  For the record, this story is pretty gray since there was a struggle at the end of last season, between Sam and Karen and Sam’s mother when the gun went off.  It seems odd that anyone was arrested for this accident/incident.  There was no motive for killing Sam.

Mistresses aired for 13 weeks in June of 2013.  I just learned Mistresses has been picked up for a second season and will air June of 2014.  I don’t know how they will resolve Sevi’s potential baby daddy, Jason George, since he also plays Dr. Bailey’s husband on Grey’s Anatomy.  He was away for a while but has returned.  It’s unrealistic to think 4 friends have this kind of life or maybe I’m the one that’s out of touch.  Mistresses airs on ABC.

Season 2:  Still unrealistic and has started off rushed with most of the characters emotionally detached. For the record, I will be surprised if Mistresses makes it a 3rd season.  Only time will tell.