Medici: Masters of Florence - S01 (TV 2016)

Rotten Tomatoes

Medici: Masters of Florence - S01 (TV 2016): Historical drama about the dynasty that ran Florence in 1400s. Politics, intrigue, sex, and violence with lots of 2-D characters. Easy way to absorb history. Only in the last episode did I realize S01 was a murder mystery at heart. B-

#VeryTardyReview

Tehran - S01 (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Tehran - S01 (TV 2020): Israel. A thriller. Secret Israeli mission in Iran is blown due to mistakes obvious to the viewer. Israeli spycraft doesn't live up to its reputation. The characters who make those mistakes are human, with some stereotypes surprisingly broken. B-

#VeryTardyReview

The Woman King (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Woman King (2022): Female African warriors fight European slave traders. Revenge. Tragedy. Joy. Formulaic movie with roles reversed. Ahistorical? So were all those John Wayne movies. It's time Hollywood paints Africans as the heroes. Viola Davis rules. so does Thuso Mbedu. A-

Foundation (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Foundation (TV 2021): Galactic empire challenged by ragtag rebels. Another sci-fi classic (this one by Isaac Asimov) ripped off by Star Wars. This one lacks passion or fun. Cerebral psychohistory instead of the Force's woo-woo. Main characters seldom interact with each other. C+

POTD: Viking River Cruises 2023-2024

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a map in a brochure we received in the mail from Viking Cruises advertising their European river cruises in 2023-2024. Think of it as our wish book. Where will we go? The Rhine? Danube? Elbe? Seine? Rhone? Douro? Wait. What happened to the Volga? We had a great vacation in 2018 on the Volga, sailing the "Waterways of the Tsars", but I don't see us getting to go back again. That red oval on the map (added by me) encircles the terra incognita that Russia has become for Western tourists since Vladimir Putin decided to become Ivan the Terrible.