Well, I’m back with some viewing opinions. Here they are and PLEASE send me your suggestions! I’d be so grateful for options (besides just reading a good book) and avoiding the inevitable What toWatch.
Series:
“Patience” (PBS) This is a pretty good crime series, albeit uneven, with some episodes more interesting that others. Patience, the eponymous crime solver is an attractive twenty something autistic genius ( a familiar trope, it seems, in crime series). She solves crimes and slowly earns respect from the NT’s (neurotypicals) around her. It’s set in York, England, an ancient and lovely cathedral city, so the visuals are good.
“Ride or Die” (Apple) Octavia Spenser and Hannah Waddingham are the two friends that the title of the film refers to. That said, I’m going to let you watch it to find out more. I promise you will really enjoy all the plot twists and turns. Add Bill Nighy to the brew and how can it go wrong?
“Gone” (Brit Box) This is a compelling series with episodes released every Thursday. Critics seem to like it well enough, but claim it’s “predictable”. I usually know who did it in the first 15 minutes of a crime drama, but I’m a little stumped.
“Ted Lasso” (Apple) The new season has started and the first two episodes carry on the spirit of the earlier seasons. It’s such a feel good, gentle comedy that it may not be to everyone’s taste. Episode 2 is a little cringey but gets resolved in the usual amiable way.
Movies:
“Enola Holmes” (Netflix, 2020 and 2026) Enola Holmes is Sherlock Holmes’ sister. An astute detective in her own right, she is an intrepid crime solver. The acting is great and the 19th Century costuming is terrific. I really enjoyed it.
“Stolen” (2025 Netflix) Last month I was in the Norwegian Arctic where I saw a gorgeous exhibit by a Sami artist, the indigenus reindeer herders. It’s a fascinating culture that has been subject to the same kinds of decimation and brutality that most indigenous people have experienced. The film is fictional but based on true events and uses many locals as actors. It provides a picture of the modern issues and conflicts the Sami people endure. I haven’t watched any of the documentaries yet but am looking forward to telling you about them.
New York Cynic 
I enjoyed Nolan’s The Odyssey a lot. First the positives: fabulous IMAX cinematography, mythic recreation on a scale rarely seen (think the big ones: Ben Hur, Cleopatra, 10 Commandments).
Almost 3 hours of immersion in one man (Nolan’s) interpretation of Homer’s epic.
Stand-outs: Circe’s magical transformation of Odysseus’s men into swine — perhaps the most feminist part of the film.
Scylla and Charybdis. What can I say? Favoloso!
Grand and realistic scenes of the sack of Troy, violent storms at sea, etc.
I will preface the negatives by w the fact that last Fall I took a 6-week seminar/reading of the Odyssey with one of the recent translators, NY Review of Books editor, Daniel Mendelssohn (whose current review in the NYRB is not to be missed.)
My biggest problem was the role of Odysseus as written for an acted by Matt Damon. Yes the reviewers are spot on, Damon’s Odysseus is a kind of American quarterback with PTSD.
Athena (Zendaya) was not the “Owl-eyed power muse of the poem. Just kind of a mortal chum.
Yes some important parts of the piem were left out, e.g. Odysseus’s encounter in Hades with Achilles; Calypso’s rage against the male Greek gods for their sexual double standard, the Phaeacians episode, and a few more.
But you know what I say to critics you read and see all over the place? IT’S A MOVIE! If you want all the poetry and psychological depth — GET OFF YOUR butts and read the poem! (As I believe many are doing judging by the prodigious sale figures of various translations.)
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I haven’t seen it yet, but I really enjoyed your very funny and enthusiastic review. I didn’t include any theater movies but will either as an additional post or next time (e.g. The Invite, and three fantastic ones from the Jewish film Festival which may end up on the streaming scene).
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An astute reader pointed out the Ride or Die is Amazon Prime, not Apple–sorry–I get my Oligopolys confused sometimes.
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We’ve been enjoying Lasso also. We also are enjoying “The four Seasons,” an update of the Alda vehicle.
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“The Four Seasons” is great. Who doesn’t like Tina Fey??? I haven’t watched the last season but will.
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Asphalt City
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One reader just wrote “Asphalt City” Have not seen it and will check it out
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