A House Made of Splinters, on POV

It is not like these kids had it easy to begin with. In many cases, their alcoholic parents had yet to inquire regarding their status, even after Ukrainian social services revoked their parental rights. Then their welcoming halfway home in Eastern Ukraine was forced to evacuate when Putin launched his illegal invasion. When the troops crossed the border, filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont had already finished shooting his Academy Award-nominated documentary A House Made of Splinters, which airs Monday on PBS stations, as part of the current season of POV.

Unlike Eastern Front and 20 Days in Mariupol, House Made of Splinters is not a war film, but the Russian dirty war in Donbass was indeed stretching Ukraine’s already strained resources for social services. Frankly, the three kids Wilmont focuses on are lucky to be there. Longtime educator/case workers Margaryta Burlutska and Olga Tronova provided a sheltering environment for the children, who were suddenly dealing with abandonment issues on top of everything else.

The Lysychansk Center was sort of a way station. Eventually, their residents either leave for a state-run orphanage or foster parents recruited by Burlutska and Tronova. Generally, fostering is the preferable option, but it essentially means the foster children have given up hope for a further life with their dysfunctional birth parents.

The three focal children all must come to terms with that reality, which is definitely some very real-life drama. It is also very depressing. However, thanks to Burlutska and Tronova, some of the kids have relatively happy endings—at least until the Russians invade.

Eastern Front, on OVID.tv

They are a bit like Frederic Henry in A Farewell to Arms, but the war is happening in their own country. For them, volunteering as a medics and ambulance drivers was the only way they could serve during the war. Many started in the Donbass region as early as 2014 and they continued to serve following Putin’s full invasion, despite some being judged “unfit” for armed combat (due to health reasons). Medic Yevhen Titarenko captures a country that is remarkably unified, despite being under constant fire in Eastern Front, his eye-witness documentary (completed with the editorial input of “co-director” Vitaliy Mansky, the acclaimed documentarian exiled to Latvia), which premieres today on OVID.tv.

You will definitely see some things driving an ambulance around Kherson and Kharkiv. That is why Titarenko started documenting the horrors he witnessed, employing hand-held devices, smart phones, and body cams. Much of what he captured is horrifying. Yet, some of the quiet moments are even more telling.

In between their emergency calls, Titarenko and his fellow medics, relax, chew the fat, and even celebrate being alive together. Many have similar stories, especially those who hail from families with strong Russian connections. At first, they were the odd ones out for supporting the Maidan protests. However, after Putin’s illegal invasion, their parents and grandparents have become ardent Ukrainian patriots. Their anecdotal evidence suggest Putin has ironically unified the supposedly fractious Ukrainians—against Russia.

Eastern Front is a powerful and bracing film. However, it might unfairly suffer in comparison if seen soon after Mstyslav Chernov’s jaw-droppingly harrowing 20 Days in Mariupol. Yet, it has other merits, very definitely including the medics’ thoughts on Ukrainian unity and Russian propaganda. Nevertheless, Titarenko’s concluding dash through a war-zone can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Normandy landing in Saving Private Ryan.

Final Cut: Michel Hazanavicius Remakes One Cut of the Dead

Ironically, a zombie apocalypse breaks out while a film crew is shooting a zombie movie. But wait, there’s more—as those who have seen Shinichiro Ueda’s One Cut of the Dead already know. However, this is sort of a remake and also sort of a sequel. Apparently, it all transpires in a universe where One Cut exists, but the production is plagued (so to speak) by similar problems. It isn’t easy directing zombies in Michel Hazanavicius’s Final Cut, which opens today in New York.

This time around Higurashi doesn’t look like a Higurashi, but he is just as deranged. Quite irresponsibly, he has invoked a WWII-era zombie curse to illicit more convincing performances from his beleaguered cast. They too have distinctly Japanese names, despite speaking French. All will be explained eventually.

It is interesting to watch Final Cut, for the “first time,” while knowing the big twists. It allows fans of One Cut to appreciate the ways Hazanavicius tweaked the material and how he stayed faithful to the spirit of the original film. Reviewing three similar takes on Invisible Guest was probably one too many, but Hazanavicius’s clever in-film references to One Cut help differentiate Final Cut. In some ways, they also make the French remake/sequel/side-film even nuttier.

Romain Duris and Berenice Bejo are terrific as the Higurashi the director and Natsumi the make-up artist. They sort of play against type—and then they don’t—but they both use their winning screen charismas to full effect. Lyes Salem and Jean-Pascal Zadi are also very funny as the producer and composer-sound designer.

Foundation, Season Two Premiere, on Apple TV+

Nobody ever read Isaac Asimov for steamy sex scenes. His books were informed by real science and written with a deliciously dry, mordant wit. Perhaps the ultimate Asimov is his short story “The Billiard Ball,” wherein a scientist uses physics to murder his rival, right in plain sight. Unfortunately, the first season of Foundation never felt very Asimovian. Yes, there was Hari Seldon, the Foundation, and psychohistory, but all the intrigue with lusty, naked emperor clones was more like something out of the Dune series than Foundation. At the end of season one, the digital copy of Seldon’s consciousness learned he might have gotten something wrong—which is inconceivable. Nevertheless, history might be slightly off-course in the season premiere of Foundation, which premieres tomorrow on Apple TV+.

One of the only original aspects of season one that stayed true to the spirit and ideas of Asimov’s speculative fiction was the way it found clever ways to span decades and eras. Much to the surprise of Salvor Hardin, the former warden of the Foundation’s home planet of Terminus, Gaal Dornick (Seldon’s estranged protégé) just introduced herself as her biological mother (after a loong slumber in suspended animation). (Both characters were men in the books, but that is least of showrunner David S. Goyer’s unfaithfulness). They start to get to know each other in the season premiere, but it is still mostly awkward—and boring.

The best scene is the attempted assassination of “Brother Day,” the primary governing “Brother” of the cloned triumvirate of Emperor Cleon the First, who jointly rule over the galactic empire. Frankly, the preening Brother Day is so out of place in a universe ostensibly created by Asimov, it is a shame they fail. Again, he is saved by Demerzel, who once again violates Asimov’s “Laws of Robotics.” For Asimov readers, this is truly unforgivable. Briefly, Nimrat Kaur is introduced as Seldon’s late wife, so hopefully she gets more interesting things to do in the next episode.

Quicksand, on Shudder

Who needs monsters, like vampires and zombies, when nature or everyday criminals can kill you just as fatally? Here in New York, you can take a deep breath of Canadian wildfire smoke, before some lunatic pushes you onto the subway tracks. Colombia is just as dangerous, as a separating married couple discover in Andres Beltran’s Quicksand, which debuts tomorrow on Shudder.

Sophia is happy to finally return to the world of international medical conferences that she gave up for the sake of motherhood. The only drawback is her husband (at least for the next few weeks) Josh is attending with her. They must even share a room, since their colleague Marcos wasn’t privy to their marital strife.

First, Josh was hoping to hike to the falls because he still fancies himself outdoorsy. Then Sophia decides to hike off on her own just to show him that she can, but she reluctantly agrees to let Josh join her. The altitude is brutal for the gringo, but the thug trying to jack their rental car is nastier. They sort of “get away” by running into the forbidden part of the woods, but they fall into quicksand instead. Technically, it was Sophia who blundered into it. Then Josh dived in to pull her head back to the surface. That leaves them both trapped, in a rain forest that has its share of snakes.

According to pedantic scientists, quicksand, as it actually occurs in nature, does not work they way classic Tarzan movies portrayed it. They should tell that to Sophia and Josh. I’m sure they would be quite reassured. Yet, screenwriter Matt Pitts focuses more on the perils of poisonous snakes and the long-term risks of starvation and dehydration.

In fact, the dialogue and fractured marital dynamics are reasonably believable. First Sophia and Josh really go at it, but when their previously dormant affection kicks in, the film becomes surprisingly touching. Technically, their characters are not sketched out very deeply, but Carolina Gaitan and Allan Hawco still make their desperation and mutual concern quite compelling.

The Afterparty, Season Two, on Apple TV

Apparently, Aniq Adjaye is a lot like Jane Marple and Jessica Fletcher. He is not a little old lady, but murders seem to follow him around. He successfully cleared his name when he was accused of killing pop star Xavier in season one, so this time around, he must prove the innocence of his girlfriend Zoe Zhu’s sister Grace. Unfortunately, he uncovers a lot of embarrassing dirty laundry for the Zhu family in season two of creator Christopher Miller’s The Afterparty, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

Despite being a murder suspect, Adjaye managed to win over Zhu, his high school crush, during the Xavier investigation. He wants to take things to the next level, but her parents really seem to hate him. At least Grace likes him and so does the groom, as far as Adjaye can tell. Edgar is a wealthy tech tycoon and crypto investor, but he is definitely a cold fish. He only shows real affection towards Roxanna, his pet lizard he always carries on his shoulder. Awkwardly, he will also be murdered on his wedding night.

Edgar’s boozy mother Isabel immediately accuses Grace, so Adjaye calls Danner to find the real killer. She retired from the force after solving the Xavier murder, for reasons that will be explained during her flashback. Like season one, each Rashomon-style witness statement is rendered in a different style, but it is not always immediately obvious what genre each episode is spoofing.

The black-and-white film noir homage is obvious for Travis, Grace’s schlubby conspiracy theorist boyfriend. Edgar’s adopted sister Hannah seems to exist in a Wes Anderson film, while the victim’s business partner Sebastien gets the split-screen caper treatment of the Ocean’s movies or The Thomas Crown Affair. Danner’s story is sort of a 1980s erotic thriller, much to Adjaye’s discomfort, whereas the perspective of the bride’s father, Feng Zhu (Ken Jeong doing his sad clown shtick), unfolds entirely through smart phone videos. Unfortunately, the longest episode is also the slowest: Grace’s Austen-esque costume drama explanation of her unlikely romance with Edgar.

Adjaye and the bride provide a lot of exposition in the first two installments, but the second season gets much funnier once they finish. The assorted directors helming episodes, including Miller, Eric Appel, and Anu Valia, nicely handle the flashbacks, rather slyly revealing more context and explanation with each eye-witness account. Each guests’ recollections fit together rather cleverly.

The Flood: Gators Attack

Alligator really does taste a bit like chicken. It is chewier, but delicious when prepared well. Unfortunately, gators think people also taste like chicken and they are bigger, faster, and hungrier. During a hurricane-flash flood, an isolated group of cops and convicts find themselves on the menu in Brandon Slagle’s The Flood, which opens Friday in New York.

A Katrina-like storm is surging around Sheriff Jo Newman’s station, so she reluctantly agrees to put up a detoured prison transport for the night. That means Rafe Calderon’s plans also change. His gang’s former getaway driver, Russell Cody was convicted of the cop-killings during their last job, but not before he hid the money.

Cody is less than thrilled to see his old comrades, but everyone will have to work together when a pack of angry alligators swims into the flooded station. Of course, they won’t, but Cody consistently throws his chips in with Sheriff Newman, rather than Calderon’s crew or his fellow convicts.

The Flood is sort of Rio Bravo with gators, which is a reasonably promising premise to start with. Slagle certainly does not over-complicate it. It is a crying shame the soundtrack totally lacks any jazz, blues, or zydeco selections, but it still feels like a Louisiana kind of film—even though it was shot abroad, presumably for economic reasons.

Casper Van Dien, Nicky Whelan, and Louis Mandylor are all pros at this kind of unfussy action filmmaking by now, so they credibly get down to business as Cody, Newman, and Calderon. As in Slagle’s Battle for Saipan, Eoin O’Brien is the surprise standout, doing a not-half-bad Cajun accent as the other reasonable prisoner, “Big Jim” Pruett.

20 Days in Mariupol

One day, hopefully soon, this film will be entered into evidence in a war crimes tribunal of Putin and his enablers. For ninety-plus minutes, it records the systemic targeting of Ukrainian non-combatant civilians in the port city of Mariupol. “War Crime” is simply the only term that suits the events Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov and his Frontline and AP colleagues documented, like snipers assassinating nurses entering a hospital, which have no remotely credibly military justification. No matter what they might think of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol will knock the wind out of audiences when it opens this Friday in New York.

You will see several children die while watching this film and you will share the grief of their parents, even if you have no children of your own. Chernov (a native of Kharkiv) and his colleagues were there to show the world what was happening, but the Russian forces definitely did not want the story getting out.

Right from the start, they cut all power and internet access to the besieged city. There were only a handful of hotspots where Chernov could file his reports. Everything the world saw during the early days of the Mariupol siege came from his efforts. That is why the Russians wanted him. It was not just about stopping him. They also wanted to force him to recant.

Over the course of 20 days, Chernov records a city in crisis. We see one hospital shelled into rubble and another terrorized by sniper fire. Apartment buildings with no reasonable military significance are regularly razed. Nobody is safe, especially not children trying to enjoy a football game during an occasional moment of calm.

Day Zero: Zombies in the Philippines

There are plenty of guns, which is good, but there are also lots of people, which is bad. Prison is a difficult place to be when the zombie apocalypse breaks out—perhaps even trickier than Rick Grimes’ hospital bed in The Walking Dead. At least the warden declares every man for himself—and Emon is a lot of man, but he also has trouble walking away from people in trouble. Of course, everyone is in trouble in Joey De Guzman’s Day Zero, which releases Tuesday on DVD.

Emon was supposed to be paroled, so he could patch things up with his wife Sheryl and daughter Jane, but than he had to save his scrounger buddy Timoy from a shanking. Fatefully, the prison is overrun with zombies shortly thereafter. Emon will fight his way out, to rescue Sheryl and Jane, who do indeed need rescuing, from their zombie-infested apartment building. He gets a little bit of help from Timoy, but mainly he must rely on his training from his stint with U.S. Special Forces.

Seriously, that is the gist of it all. Day Zero is very much a conventional zombie movie. For the first forty minutes or so, it is the standard run, shoot, and bite business. However, it culminates in a massive climactic battle, in which the well-armed Emon starts capping zombies like he is Chris Hemsworth in the Extraction movies. Emon’s last stand even rivals the awesome sharp-shooting display that closed Shinsuke Sato’s I am a Hero. If you have not seen that Japanese zombie movie, then you should absolutely check out Day Zero.

Former professional kickboxer Brandon Vera has immediate action cred and he does a nice job conveying Emon’s desperately protective fatherly instincts. It is easy to see him developing an appeal like that of the Rock and John Cena (it is not like either of them are great thesps, they just perfected their likable screen personas).

Angels of the Sky, in The Epoch Times

ANGELS OF THE SKY is a worthy documentary about the experiences of American pilots held by the Germans as POWs during WWII. There are not a lot of them still with us, so we need to listen to those who are, while we can. EPOCH TIMES exclusive review up here.

“V.C. Andrews’” Dawn, on Lifetime

V.C. Andrews never gets mentioned as an example of “Southern writers,” but she certainly was one. You know her Southern gothic tales of incest would have amused Tennessee Williams (but he surely would have found them trashy, just the same). She wouldn’t have recognized much in her latest Lifetime miniseries, because it was the first posthumous series entirely written by the estate’s mostly-transparent ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman, but the themes and style are highly Andrewsian. Get ready for some sibling awkwardness when V.C. Andrews’ Dawn premieres tonight on Lifetime.

Dawn Longchamp’s family moves so much, you would almost think her father is a wanted man. Well, as a matter of fact… Ormand Longchamp risked returning to Richmond, because as an elite prep school’s new handyman, his children, Dawn and her emotionally supportive (perhaps to an unusual extent) brother Jimmy could attend for free. Unfortunately, Dawn makes an enemy of the school’s queen bee, Clara Jean Cutler, when she outshines the mean girl’s singing talents.

Sadly, tragedy soon strikes the Longchamp family twice, when her mom dies and her father is arrested in the hospital. It turns out he was wanted for kidnapping Dawn from the well-heeled Cutler family. She was known as Eugenia Cutler then. Not surprisingly, Clara Jean is less than thrilled to suddenly have her as a sister. Her new “parents” try to make nice, but they are mostly useless. The real power in the Cutler family is her new grandmother, Lillian Cutler, whose abusive behavior rivals that of Cinderella’s wicked step-mother. It is also super creepy to be around her new brother Philip, the school cad, who was trying to put the moves on her before they knew they were related. On the plus side, Jimmy Longchamp is now fair game.

Seriously, what were you expecting? The good news is Brec Bassinger (Arrowverse’s Stargirl) is probably the best of Lifetime’s recent V.C. Andrews heroines. She brings a sympathetic presence to the first two feature-length installments (“Dawn” and “Secrets of the Morning”) provided for review. On the other hand, Linda-Lisa Hayter’s helming is disappointingly pedestrian. In fact, “Secrets of the Morning,” which focuses on Dawn now-Cutler’s studies in New York, largely feels like an old-fashioned coed drama, losing its Southern gothic flavor until the final twenty minutes.

Insidious: The Red Door

Thanks to the power of hypnosis, Josh Lambert and his son Dalton intentionally forgot what happened in the second Insidious film, but Blumhouse hopes you remember, considering the last two films were prequels, featuring paranormal investigator Elise Rainier. She had become the fan-favorite character, which would be fine with the Lamberts, who were hoping to be done with “The Further.” Nevertheless, the evil entities start reaching out for them once again in Patrick Wilson’s Blumhouse-produced Insidious: The Red Door, which opens today nationwide.

So, nine years ago, everyone got back safe and sound from The Further, but father and son were so traumatized, they had a hypnotist friend of Josh’s mother Lorraine block out their memories. That worked okay for a while, but it caused a lot of brain fog for the older Lambert, which affected his relationships with his family.

Unfortunately, Pops Lambert starts having strange, demonic visions possibly brought on by his mother’s death. So does dreary Dalton, when he taps into subconscious memories of The Further for an art class exercise. Soon, he too is having freaky encounters with the angry entities of The Further, much to the alarm of his only friend at college, Chris Winslow (platonic from what viewers can tell, because who could ever be attracted to such a moody whiner).

Although the audience might be happy to leave Dalton in The Further, we can guess his father will eventually go back in to save him, but this time, they will not have Rainier’s help. Thematically, Red Door is a lot like Wilson’s other major horror franchise, The Conjuring, in which the strength that comes from family is always essential for defeating supernatural evil.

In his directorial debut, Wilson displays a surprisingly refined visual sensibility. He has the patience to let key scenes play out deliberately, to steadily crank up the atmosphere of dread. He also uses the full frame, with some clever soft-focus tricks, to keep viewers guessing. It looks good and the slow-build suspense compounds quite profitably.

The Horror of Dolores Roach, on Prime

During the sixteen years Dolores Roach was in prison, Washington Heights considerably gentrified. The streets are now safer and the property values have greatly increased. Apparently, these are bad things. At least Roach can rectify the safer streets in creator Aaron Mark’s eight-part, Blumhouse-produced The Horror of Dolores Roach, based on his original podcast, which premieres tomorrow on Prime.

Empanadas are the meat pies of New York City, so it makes sense to make them the vessel for Mark’s modern-day Sweeney Todd riff. Getting us to sympathize with the notorious mass murderer will be a trickier proposition. The actress playing her in a one-woman show likes to think she humanizes the killer, but Roach begs to differ, when she introduces herself to the thesp after the opening night performance. She insists on telling her the full, supposedly unvarnished truth (if ever there were a narrator with the potential for “unreliability,” Roach would seem to be it, but Mark and the battery of writers do not play that game).

Roach was happy with Dominic, her drug-dealer lover, back in the era of Giuliani New York, except for the fact criminals like them were getting busted. Eventually, it happened to her, but not Dominic. Since she refused to turn on her lover, they threw the book at her. When she finally gets out, the Washington Heights she knew is completely changed (she even missed the Broadway musical—so unfair). Fatefully, the only thing that stayed the same is the empanada shop, now operated by Luis Batista, the late original owner’s son. Conveniently (or maybe not), he always carried a torch for Roach, so he is delighted to let her stay in his spare room.

For a while, Roach actually thinks she might get her life back together as an unlicensed masseuse, but then she starts killing people. It always happens in a one-darned-thing-after-another kind of way. Usually, they are asking for it too, like Batista’s sleazy landlord, Gedeon Pearlman (of course, the socially conscious series makes the implied Jewish character a greedy landlord). However, Roach and Batista are subsequently stuck with Pearlman’s son Jonah hanging around looking for his father and chatting up Nellie Morris, their cashier. Fortunately, he won’t look for his father where Batista has him hidden: in the meat locker and in the empanadas. In fact, Batista will need more “meat” when the new flavor becomes a hit. Reluctantly, Roach keeps obliging.

The writing is intermittently clever, but it is frequently undermined by the urge to offer social commentary. Frankly, HoDR is at its most interesting when Roach puts her pity party on hold, to start contemplating her own culpability—it does happen, eventually. The slightly meta twist towards the end is also genuinely amusing. If you can slog through the first episode, which is the longest and the slowest, you might as well go all the way.

The Wicker Man: 50 Years a Folk Horror Classic

It is a place of free love and folk music, where people are keenly attuned to nature. The remote Scottish Summerisle is also a profoundly evil place. Sergeant Neil Howey, an outsider investigating the reported disappearance of a local teenaged girl, will discover just how sinister in Robin Hardy’s folk horror classic The Wicker Man, which opens Friday in New York, marking its 50^th anniversary.

Sgt. Howey is a righteous God-fearing Chistian, as we can see from the early prologue (depending on which cut you are watching—they all end the same way). He has come to isolated Summerisle via the police department’s seaplane, to investigate an anonymous letter claiming a teenaged girl, Rowan Morrison, is in peril.

At first, nobody acknowledges knowing Rowan, not even her mother. However, as he unearths evidence of her existence, they change their tune. The girl is actually dead, and therefore gone, according to their Pagan beliefs, so there is no Morrison left for them to speak of.

As Howey explores the tiny isle, he is shocked by the openly hedonistic behavior he sees. However, he is outraged to find the schoolteacher opens teaching witchcraft and paganism. Technically, Lord Summerisle rejects the term “Pagan.” He essentially preaches a licentious version of New Age mysticism that retain many of the “old” deities. Howey will not be swayed, nor will he be tempted into sin by Willow MacGregor, the lusty innkeeper’s daughter.

Arguably, The Wicker Man is one of the few horror films that is even scarier after you have already seen it. You might already guess where it is all headed—probably Howey is the only one who cannot. Even if you can’t, there is no way to miss the overwhelming atmosphere of impending doom Hardy realizes. It is powerfully accentuated by all the unnerving little occult easter eggs incorporated into the richly detailed set and production design. The film deserves its reputation as the greatest folk horror film of all time.

It also features one of Sir Christopher Lee’s most distinctive villains, the hippy-like Lord Summerisle (sporting an unkempt Beatle-style coif). Even though Wicker Man co-stars both Lee and the great Ingrid Pitt (as the Librarian), nobody ever confuses it with Hammer Films (like fans often do with Amicus releases, such as The Skull). Pitt and Diane Cilento (the Schoolteacher) are also great as supporting villains, who definitely help wind up Howey. Of course, nobody does so more than Britt Ekland as MacGregor. This must be Ekland’s greatest screen performance, even though her voice was dubbed by jazz vocalist Annie Ross (of Lambert Hendricks & Ross).

Chosin, for Remembrance on July 4th

How would you like to watch a German movie that pretends the Allied invasion was completely rebuffed at Normandy? That is essentially what the recent Chinese blockbuster Battle at Lake Changjin tries to do for the Korean War battle referred to in America and Korea as Chosin Reservoir (the film even opened in America with minimal challenges from what pass for Twitter-approved film critics). The truth is, it was the American Forces who were vastly outnumbered, but inflicted disproportionate casualties on the North Koreans and PLA—not vice versa. With the CCP literally trying to rewrite history, it is important to establish the truth, which director (and former Marine) Brian Iglesias does with authority in the documentary Chosin, which makes perfect 4^th of July viewing (and look for a capsule review in an upcoming issue of American Essence magazine).

The Second World War was not so very long ago, but America had already grown complacent. As a result, many young recruits were being trained by WWII veterans (probably including my grandfather) on the ships bound to Korea. Even to this day, Chosin is considered one of the three bloodiest battles the Marine Corps ever fought. Of course, the Korean War started when North invaded South, despite the DPRK’s propaganda to the country. By the time the Marines landed, South Korea was almost lost. The entire war was also almost lost at Chosin Reservoir.

Basically, the 1^st Marine Division found itself encircled at Chosin, largely by Chinese PLA troops, whom the top brass insisted were not in North Korea. Yet, the 15,000 Americans managed to punch through the 120,000 hostiles surrounding them, in order to escort 98,000 Korean civilians over 78 miles to safety. It is somewhat analogous to Dunkirk, but it was a much greater failure on the PLA’s part, allowing the 1^st Division to largely remain intact.

The veterans Iglesias interviews have harrowing stories to tell of the battle, especially the Marine who fought barefoot in the frozen snow, because he had been wrapped in his sleeping bag when the fighting erupted. Admittedly, they often use colorful terms to refer to the PLA. Yet, it is important to also listen to how movingly they describe their experiences visiting South Korean decades later, as part of the ROK’s ongoing campaign to thank American veterans for their service and sacrifices.

Chosin is the definitive film on the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. It is also an extremely moving work of cinema. Iglesias’s approach to documentary filmmaking is straightforward and conventional, but it suits the seriousness of the subject. Since the CCP is trying to obscure, censor, and rewrite the truth, it is important that we preserve and remember it.

Moonshine, on CW

One of the only good things about the Finley-Cullen family resort is the lobster, but their animal rights activist granddaughter is about to wreck that too. Everyone is supposed to be mourning the irascible aunt who just died, but they are really too busy feuding and acting crazy in creator Sheri Elwood’s Moonshine, which premieres (sort of) this Friday on CW.

Maybe you saw Moonshine in Canada, as a CBC original, or maybe you saw it when it briefly streamed on Freevee, but now it’s a CW property. Here it is regardless. That is also sort of Lidia Bennett’s attitude when she arrives at the Moonshine on Nova Scotia’s South Coast in the pilot, “Standby Out of Newark.” She is the prodigal daughter who left to be an architect in New York. Her son Finn is endurable, but her self-styled activist daughter Eleanor is a real pain. They do not expect to be staying long, but surprise: Bennett is about to inherit her cranky aunt’s shares in the Moonshine.

Turns out the Bennetts might be sticking around longer than they thought, especially when her mother suffers from a very mild but dramatically convenient stroke. Bennett will have to corral her psychedelic mushroom-growing brother Ryan Finley-Cullen and her resentful sister with a martyr complex, Rhian Finley-Cullen, to whip the indebted resort into shape.

Inevitably, Lidia and Rhian will clash, especially when the former starts asserting her new authority in the second episode, “Escape Goat.” Bennett decides to transform the Moonshine’s annual goat roast into a New Age Goddess festival. Of course, Eleanor will want to sabotage the goat roast, just like she freed all the lobsters intended for the memorial reception.

So, clearly the morale of Moonshine is millennial activists ruin everything. Maybe Bennett will not say so in so many words, but any viewer could tell she would be happier without Eleanor—at least the audience certainly would be.

However, Jennifer Finnigan brings a great deal of charm to the first two episodes playing Bennett. She also has a nice bantering comedic rhythm with Emma Hunter, who plays Nora Finley-Cullen, the DJ sister, who mercifully has no day-to-day involvement in the management of the Moonshine. On the other hand, the obnoxious petulance of Anastasia Philips’ sister Rhian and the cliched stoner stock character that is Tom Stevens’ brother Ryan are already annoying in the pilot.

Shadow Detective, on Hulu

Detective Kim Taek-rok is old, but he is still a little intimidating to his colleagues, for good reason. He always pursues the criminals the rest of the force is too scared to take on. He also knows where a lot of the bodies the crooked police chief had buried, because he did some of the burying. He is still only mildly bent compared to some of his old comrades. However, that makes him vulnerable to the schemes of “The Friend,” a blackmailing mastermind, who frames him for murder in the eight-episode Shadow Detective, which premieres Wednesday on Hulu.

Det. Kim is getting too old for this…stuff. Frankly, his slightly fuzzy memory is almost a blessing. He has done things he is not proud of, but what really troubles him is the price his family had to pay. Ironically, it was because of honest police work that a brutal criminal targeted his now grown daughter, when she was a young child.

Regardless, he never went on the take, unlike Chief Seo Gwang-su or Woo Hyun-seok, who became the Chief’s liaison and fixer for Geumo City’s elite special interests. Kim always regretted not talking Woo back to the straight-and-narrow. That is why he agrees to meet his old chum on what will be Woo’s final night. Unfortunately, their heated meeting makes it too easy for the friend to frame-up Kim for his murder.

Even though he is already under suspicion, the Friend forces Kim to re-investigate cases that will potentially reflect discredit on the Geumo police. The first few are easier, because he was partly culpable, but they get trickier when he doesn’t know which corners were cut.

The mystery/thriller business in Shadow Detective maybe isn’t quite as insidiously clever as writer Im Chang-se might hope, but it is a terrific showcase for character-actor Lee Sung-min (who has been in a ton of films, like The Witness and The Spy Gone North). Det. Kim is a great character and Lee brings out all his prickly eccentricities, to their fullest. He ages up a bit to portray him, but he does so completely convincingly.

It is also jolly good fun to watch him curmudgeonly jawing with Det. Lee Sung-A, the closest thing Kim has to a protégé. She is quite a down-to-business butt-kicker, thanks to Kyung Soo-jin’s massively deadpan performance. Jin Goo is appropriately slippery as Kook Jin-han, the hard-charging new major crimes detective, who is determined to bust Kim. Kim Hong-fa is also entertainingly sleazy as Chief Seo, just like he was in Chief of Staff (playing the sleazy mentor of the Squid Game star’s girlfriend).

Call Her King, on BET Plus

There are those who think Judge Jaeda King is too tough on criminals, or the “accused,” if you prefer. Somehow, an armed takeover of her courtroom seems unlikely to chill her out. The accused’s brother also did not understand how much training Judge King had in martial arts and marksmanship. He and his private army are totally out-of-order in director-screenwriter Wes Miller’s Call Her King, which premieres this coming Thursday on BET Plus.

Judge King’s court is the only one in session this morning. Apparently, this is for security reasons, due to the intense interest in the case of accused contract-killer Sean Samuels. However, nobody thought to increase the level of security personnel. Its still just a handful of nearly-retired officers drinking coffee around the magnetometers. Gabriel Samuels, a.k.a. “Black Caesar” is not complaining.

Just as King sentences Samuels to death, his brother comes in guns-blazing. Presumably, this stunt will do some reputational damage to the Caesar’s internet security company, but he seems to have a bigger plan than simply freeing his brother. However, he did not count on Judge King and her chief of security, John Stryker, being so resourceful. Soon, they are regrouping in King’s chambers, with the convicted defendant and his neurotic lawyer, Jerry Spencer (he’s no Gerry Spence), which is obviously super-awkward. Samuels claims he knew nothing about his brother’s plans, but he continues to protest his innocence.

So, yeah, it’s a you-know-what in a courthouse. You have definitely seen better and you have probably seen worse. However, Miller uses the siege as a soapbox to air racial grievances regarding the U.S. justice system, but there is no meaningful sociological or criminological analysis in Miller’s screenplay (like you can find here).

Called to Duty: Navy and Air Force, Flying Together

These Naval aviators are quite surprised to be training at an Airforce facility. My late father, a former Naval aviator, might be turning over in his grave at the very suggestion. This flight of Navy officers is particularly uncomfortable there, because they happen to be the Navy’s team of women air-show demonstration pilots. However, desperate times call for unorthodox measures and a North Korea-like rogue state’s nuclear testing absolutely qualifies as a crisis in Ashley L. Gibson’s Called to Duty, which releases tomorrow on VOD.

The “Wing Girls” are inspired by the WWII Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), but they are Navy instead of Air Force. Even though they are fulltime active-duty, they are only supposed to make exhibition flights and not perform combat operations. That is how their leader, Kaden “Country” Riebach reconciles her service with her Christian faith. She really takes the “thou shalt not kill” part seriously.

Serving with cocky male pilots like Jeter “Ego” Ulter really tests her Christian charity. Say what you will, but Ego has one of the most believable call signs of any military aviation movie. He is also a jerk and Margo “Edge” Lee is not about to let his sexist cracks slide. In fact, she is always spoiling for a fight. Yet, the Wing Girls, Ulter, and several top Airforce pilots will have to work together to pull off a strike on “North Kiyoung’s” nuclear program. There are a lot of misgivings regarding the Wing Girls’ involvement, including from Country, but the DOD is convinced they are only pilots agile enough to evade the North Kiyoung anti-air defenses.

Between its feminism and some characters’ Evangelical Christianity, there is something in Called to Duty to alienate either side of the social spectrum—which we should respect it for. Gibson and screenwriter Bobby Hammel never make things too easy for the Wing Girls. Arguably, the messiness of their climactic mission is much more realistic than the Top Gun films. However, it totally sacrifices authenticity with the frequency with which major characters disregard orders. That just doesn’t fly in any branch of the service. (In contrast, the “S.O.S.” episode of Quantum Leap did a good job establishing the significance of chain-of-command in military service.)

Despite these credibility issues, Called to Duty is refreshingly patriotic. It is no accident it is releasing right before the 4^th of July. Clearly, the filmmakers had a lot of sympathy for military personnel and their families. Nevertheless, it is pretty weak of Hammel to create aliases for North Korea, China, and Cuba. The truth is most of the potential audience for Called to Duty would love to see a successful mission against any of those three terrorist-sponsoring countries, so why not give it to us?

Warhorse One: Heroism in Afghanistan

This rescue mission should not have been necessary. Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was strategically questionable, but the execution was a humiliating horror show. The chaos also caught Zoe Walters’ missionary father by surprise too. However, the U.S, military was so grateful for his help during the evacuation, they redirect Master Chief Richard Mirko’s team to extract him and his family. Sadly, little Zoe will be the only one left to save and Mirko is the only surviving team-member who can save her in Johnny Strong & William Kaufman’s Warhorse One, which opens this Friday in theaters.

Mirko’s team were on their way to another mission when they reassigned to save the Walters instead. Unfortunately, the team’s chopper is blown out of the sky, leaving Mirko the only survivor. He wants to take the fight to the Taliban in the area, but Commander Johns back at HQ keeps him on mission. Tragically, the same Taliban faction also found the Walters’ transport. Only Zoe survived, because her mother died shielding her.

Initially, Zoe is also frightened of Mirko when he finds her. However, she starts to trust him, because she recognizes the wounded sensitivity under his gruffness. When you boil it down, Warhorse One is a lot like Man on Fire, transplanted to the mountains of Afghanistan. Of course, that means each time Mirko guns down a Taliban fanatic (and he blasts a lot of them), viewers get some cathartic endorphins.

Frankly, you have to give credit to Strong, who plays Mirko and co-wrote and co-directed with Kaufman, because Warhorse One has enough slam-bang action to hang with Extraction 2. The body count is impressive, but its depiction of boots-on-the-ground warfighting is grounded in reality.