mdw0526

We finished Netflix's 3-part Katrina docuseries on Friday night, which probably wasn't wise since it left me stewing in anger over the weekend. Nearly 20 years after the storm hit New Orleans, the footage and testimonies still lay bare two undeniable truths: America is very racist and Republicans ruin everything. Watching George Bush and Michael Brown fumble through their roles was a reminder that GOP administrations consistently install unqualified hacks, while lives of poor Black people hang in the balance. The disaster response was a cascade of failures that would never have unfolded the same way in a wealthy white community. Lieutenant General Russel Honoré emerges as the rare hero, stepping up while every level of government dithered as people drowned. The first two episodes lay out the facts with blunt force, while Spike Lee's 90-minute jazzy finale contextualizes the disaster within America's long, ugly history of racism. This documentary is a damning indictment that still resonates two decades later and is well worth your time.

In our ongoing quest to see every musician documentary available, we watched "Elton John: Never Too Late", a safe, easy, and affectionate look at the artist who soundtracked so much of my youth. Hearing those 70s hits again transported me back to summer drives through the southwest Ohio countryside with my dad at the wheel and Elton on the AM radio. Produced and directed by his husband David Furnish, this is a fairly conventional doc that builds to Elton's final U. S. show at Dodger Stadium. It doesn't break new ground, but it's still moving to see him with his kids and to hear him speak candidly, albeit briefly, about past struggles. The real heart is in his lifelong collaboration with Bernie Taupin, still going strong after 50 years. It's not a deep dive and the storytelling felt a bit disjointed, but it never tipped into the puff-piece zone common of hagiographies and left me wanting more, which is not a bad place to land.

I'd been hearing about this new "Alien: Earth" series in dribs and drabs, and then read this article noting it was filmed in Thailand, one of several major productions here lately. It was perfect timing, since we'd just wrapped our "Alien" movie marathon with "Alien: Covenant" for Saturday Super Cinema. The TV series kicks off with xenomorphs unleashed on Earth, and after two episodes, we're both enjoying it. It feels true enough to the original Ridley Scott classic, with plenty of motifs and callbacks longtime fans will recognize, but also adds a fresh and fun spin that makes it feel new rather than recycled. It's dark, tense, and stylish, and is one TV adaptation that doesn't feel watered down. So far, it feels like a worthy addition to the "Alien" universe.