Recent Movies or TV Series I've Watched

Again, partly to remind myself, here are some recent movies or TV series I've watched on Netflix or Amazon Prime, with a comment or two.

"Ex Machina" is a 2015 science fiction thriller involving artificial intelligence. Besides time travel, this is another area I enjoy and there have been some very good recent films about it. I have also read a couple of interesting books ("Superintelligence" by Nick Bostrom and "Our Final Invention" by James Barrat). What I liked about this film, without giving away too much, is I believe the ending is truly what would likely happen under the circumstances. You can read more at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Machina_(film)

"Infinity Chamber" is a 2016 science fiction thriller on Netflix. The story emerges over time by virtue of flashbacks but the bulk of the story involves a man held in an automated prison and what he can do about it. His only companion is a computer named Howard who is charged with looking after his needs. The story is a little slow in parts and definitely low budget, but it held my interest and the ending does explain what's been going on.

"Predestination" is a 2014 science fiction time travel film starring Ethan Hawke. It is based on a 1959 story by the famous science fiction writer Robert Heinlein. I am a big fan of time travel movies, but this one tops them all for complexity and paradox. If you don't mind spoilers (and I needed them even after watching the film) the website below is pretty helpful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_(film)

"Colony" is a science fiction TV drama on Netflix starring Josh Holloway (who played Sawyer on "Lost"). There are two seasons available and a third season has been approved. While science fiction in its premise, most of the show is actually about how people cope with an occupation of their city (Los Angeles mostly). The city is ruled by humans who are effectively collaborating with the alien "hosts" (the aliens are unseen). There is also a resistance movement. You can read about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_(TV_series)

Mr. Monk is an eight season (2002-2009) comedy police drama featuring a brilliant but obsessive compulsive detective named Adrian Monk. Monk has been suspended from the San Francisco police department, but now assists them as a private consultant. He has been mourning the death of his wife in a car bomb three years earlier. The story sounds grim but much of it is played as comedy, though there is also a real mystery in each episode. I've grown to like the show and (at this time) am in the middle of season 3 on Amazon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_(TV_series)

"Erased" is a 2016 Netflix Japanese 12 episode thriller with elements of science fiction. The protagonist, Saturo, is sometimes able to slide back in time during which he attempts to prevent bad things from happening. After a brief introduction most of the show concerns Saturo's efforts to prevent a serial killer from murdering some of his victims after sliding back to his time in elementary school in the city of Hokkaido. The scenes from a Japanese classroom, the surrounding area, and the story held my interest. The voices have been dubbed in English which has its pro's and con's. Of course there are also subtitles if you wish. You can read about it at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erased_(2016_film)



The Tudors is a four season Showtime series largely about the life of England's King Henry VIII and his six wives. Being a Showtime offering there is plenty of sex, and the writers took some historical liberties (e.g. Henry had four sisters for example), but still gives an entertaining overview of that history. It's a shame Anne Boleyn didn't have a boy: the whole history of England would have been different!

Black Mirror is a series of Sci Fi type episodes, sometimes characterized as a modern day version of The Twilight Zone. However be warned that some of the episodes are pretty grim!

La Mante is a French series with English subtitles. about an imprisoned serial killer called The Mantis and a copycat killer at large. It held my interest but is pretty dark in parts.

Stranger Things is two season science fiction series about another dimension and its impact on ours. The main characters are the children involved.

One of several TV series based on Henning Mankell's Swedish detective Kurt Wallander. Well done mysteries, and a detective who has personal issues to deal with too.

Documentary about the current ruling royal family in England, the Windsor's. Interesting that the name Windsor was created around the time of World War I: the original name was German and it was changed to avoid issue with the anti-German sentiment of the time.

Excellent adaptation of Michael Connelly's Los Angeles detective mysteries. Again, the mysteries are interesting and so is the personal interplay between Bosch, his teenage daughter, and his ex wife. A fourth season begins airing on April 13, 2018.

Brad Pitt stars in this World War II spy movie, "Allied". Pitt is a British spy and so is his wife. But is there more going on?

The Circle is a movie set in a hypothetical not so distant future where everyone can automatically share everything about themselves through the cloud. Emma Watson and Tom Hanks star.

If you haven't had enough of The Tudors, this shorter and more PG rated series covers the life of Elizabeth, Henry and Anne Boleyn's daughter. At one point Henry disowned her, but later relented and restored her to the order of royal succession. When his older daughter, Mary, dies of cancer, his younger daughter Elizabeth became Queen and enjoyed one of the longest and most successful reigns in history.

Interesting two season series: what if Germany and Japan had won World War II? The US is divided in half, with Japan ruling the western part and Germany the east. But they don't trust each other. And there are these mysterious films that show a different outcome to the war.

British multi season science fiction series that explores android/human interaction and the nature of consciousness. Watching this you come to like the androids more than the people.

Another science fiction series starring Halle Berry as an astronaut who returns to earth pregnant after 13 months in space. What happened? She also has an android adopted son. Interesting series and well acted.

Multi season Golden Globe winning fiction series about hackers, starring Rami Malek and Christian Slater. If you like hacking then this show has plenty of it. And the lead character has some serious personality issues as well.

Alien life retrieved by astronauts in the space station from a returning Mars probe.

Fringe is a 5 season (100 episode) science fiction series involving a Harvard lab and a parallel universe. The series gets interesting when a parallel universe girlfriend forcefully takes her double's place. But clearly the story was widely liked to last 5 seasons.

"Westworld" is a 2016 HBO TV series starring Anthony Hopkins.  There was a 1973 movie of the same name, and both the movie and this series are based on the Michael Crichton novel of the same name. Westworld is a resort populated by androids programmed to fulfill the guest's wishes without harming them, so guests can live out their fantasy of being in the wild west. But are some of the androids developing consciousness and a will of their own? There is a lot of gratuitous nudity when the androids are repaired or re-programmed overnight, but an interesting series. A season 2 is slated for later in 2018.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)

"11-22-63" is a Hulu series starring James Franco and based on the novel by Stephen King. The November 22, 1963 date is the day President Kennedy was assassinated. The premise of the story is a time portal that allows one to travel back to 1960. You can also return to the present, but if you do everything done while you were back in time is undone (i.e. never happens). Franco's goal is to somehow prevent Kennedy's assassination. The ending is touching.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11.22.63