Atlanta (2016-22)

This one leaves a pretty large hole in the television landscape. Atlanta was a landmark. It was experimental. It spent whole episodes without a glimpse of our main characters. It pulled stories from real life. It was raucous and poignant. It had something to say about the black experience in America. And then in its penultimate season they go to Europe and speak to the black American experience abroad. It bravely portrayed white people in a way no other show dares to. Its bizarre-ness is explained in its final episode with a not wholly original but brilliantly executed meta sensory deprived dream. It went from a black Justin Bieber to a white Teddy Perkins to a trannsracial man being interviewed on a Charlie Rose type talk show.

Donald Glover can do just about anything and everything. Brian Tyree Henry is now a highly sought after actor, who I apparently saw on stage in Book of Mormon years before Atlanta, and who stole the show in the excellent If Beale Street Could Talk. I think Hiro Murai also gets a lot of credit for the look and dreamlike feel of the show. And I don't know who the music supervisor is, but they're first rate.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

I was thoroughly entertained by Han Solo's origin story. Han Solo is one of the most iconic characters in film history and I think Alden Ehrenreich plays Han the way exactly how I imagine young Han would have been, smug as hell. Good casting of Donald Glover for Lando too, also smug as hell. It makes it really quite enjoyable. Ron Howard did a good job swooping in and finishing the movie. The origin story is basically to fill in some gaps and expound on some of the things we know about Han from the original trilogy. There is the introduction of some new things, like the love interest Qira and the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Qira's inclusion as a character in Han's story makes perfect sense. Except at the very end, when she goes off on her own story line. Are they giving her a movie too? Because they do not explain (though heavily infer) what happened between Han's escape from Corellia and when he reunites with Qira. The whole Crimson Dawn inclusion is unnecessary, unless it's coming back in a Qira movie. Maybe putting the cart before the horse a little bit. And then for some reason, Darth Maul, instead of just any new character that would've done just fine, is brought back. Wasn't he dead?

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I think I'll always be partial to Tobey Maguire. He was just the kind of nerdy awkward that Spider-man should be. Tom Holland is maybe more age appropriate for the character, but he's not the right kind of awkward. He's just being a charming kid that strangely calls Aunt May just May. And we see a good portion of his high school life. I really like his Filipino friend Ned. The two of them are believable best friends. The casting diversity is praiseworthy. Spider-man is from Queens after all, the most diverse place on the planet. I appreciate that Peter's love interest (and future love interest?) is African American. And there's a great twist/reveal that screams this-is-a-modern-spider-man.

I don't really appreciate all the Marvel tie-ins. I think it cheapens Spider-Man, who is a standalone character that can pull his own weight without the help of Ironman and the Avengers. I understand that they're playing up the whole kid thing, but I don't see the Avengers taking a backseat in the inevitable sequel. Captain America pulled a cheap trick on us after the credits, with a fake scene. There's also the placement of big enough names in deceptively small roles that I just have this sinking feeling we'll see returning. For example, Donald Glover has only a few lines, but we know he'll be back even though his character is seemingly unimportant.

The Martian (2015)

This movie is perhaps the best advertisement for NASA and STEM. If this doesn't inspire you to pursue a STEM field, nothing will. It makes science cool. The characters are true experts in their fields, quickly solving complex problems with innovative out-of-the-box solutions. I think this movie will inspire a generation to pursue careers in astronomy, physics, and....botany. The script is well-written, fast paced, and sounds mostly scientifically accurate to someone like me who doesn't know (But to my credit I did follow some of it!).

The ensemble cast is excellent. Matt Damon carries the film with his likable personality, quick thinking, and one-liners. In the face of certain death, he finds a way. There is a moment at the end that reminded me of the end of Captain Phillips, when Tom Hanks gives a masterclass in acting--in a state of shock having just been rescued. In The Martian, this moment comes before the rescue attempt, when Matt Damon breaks into tears of hope. The scene could have been elongated to let Damon play it up a bit more, but it evoked a similar feeling. The casting of Kristen Wiig in a largely non-comedic role was a little strange. And as much as I like Chiwetel Ejiofor, he is decidedly not Indian, nor is Mackenzie Davis Korean. The characters were written as Asian, and so those roles should be played by Asian actors. There are not that many roles for Asian actors, so we should give the few that do exist to Asian actors.

Ridley Scott creates a convincingly barren picture of Mars on location in Jordan. He made a crowd pleasing, visually thrilling, and thought provoking story.