\u201cSketch,\u201d which lands in theaters Aug. 6.<\/a><\/p>\nHere\u2019s our roundup.<\/p>\n
\u201cOutlander: Blood of My Blood\u201d: Those not versed in the popular \u201cOutlander\u201d historical fantasy franchise created by author Diana J. Gabaldon and then adapted into a successful Starz TV series might want to sample a dram or two of this 10-part prequel. I polished off two episodes that were made available in advance and not only was each enjoyable but they made me want to start digging into the interconnected time-shifting timelines. I even considered starting where the book phenom began. In this sexy and romantic outing \u2014 said to the eighth and final season of the series \u2014 the focus shifts between two love stories \u2013 the 18th-century romance of Jamie Fraser\u2019s parents, Brain Fraser (Jamie Roy) and Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater; and the time-traveling pickle that happens between former World War I-era British soldier Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine) and letter censor employee Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield).<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of family background and drama to set up, which explains the need for the first episode to clock in at nearly 80 minutes. But the episode never lags, as it creates indelible characters, peppers in a few spicy moments and revels in the period details of the time, all richly brought to life. The second episode primarily sets up the passionate letter-exchange and marriage of\u00a0 the traumatized Henry and the smart, resourceful Julia. Both trip their way into the center of those magical stones and then get separated in 18th-century Scotland. \u201cOutlander\u201d series showrunner Matthew B. Roberts gives us four worthy \u2014 and, yes, appealing \u2014 lead actors and characters, all of whom also have acting chops to match their striking looks. There are, of course, bagpipes spouting off, clan skirmishes, muddy games and critter hunts, and kilts and scheming aplenty. The Highlands are almost as gorgeous as the cast. I\u2019m hooked and expect \u201cOutlander\u201d fans and newbie addicts will be too. Details: 3 stars out of 4; first episode drops Aug. 8 on STARZ.<\/p>\n
\u201cEyes of Wakanda\u201d: \u201cBlack Panther\u201d mythology comes together with ancient legend in Disney+\u2019s speedy and all-too short (four 30ish minute episodes only!) episodic animated streaming series.\u00a0 Director\/executive producer Todd Harris emphasizes the action and does it with style to spare for each of these exciting, briskly told tales united by the actions of a secret Wakanda group called the Hatut Zaraze. They\u2019re on a mission to retrieve stolen Wakanda artifacts.\u00a0 Each episode introduces a fleet of new characters and relates a crackling good Indy Jones\/Marvel-like story, from a fierce female Wakanda warrior challenging a rogue male Wakanda warrior who\u2019s stolen those artifacts and is now terrorizing 1260 BC Crete and on to a Wakandan chumming around with Achilles so he can snatch back another stolen artifact.<\/p>\n
Oakland native Ryan Coogler and Zini Coogler and the team behind Proximity Media serve as executive producers, and that does guarantee quality. But \u201cEyes of Wakanda\u201d is a triumph for Harris, whose storytelling flair leaps from genre to genre, from a sand-and-sandal epic to a swashbuckling pirate adventure. The bummer is that there are only four episodes. Details:\u00a03 stars; now available on Disney+.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlatonic Season 2\u201d: The primary reasons to tune into the sophomore season of Apple TV+\u2019s thoroughly enjoyable but risk-adverse series about the exploits of the likable but L.A. neurotic besties Syliva (Rose Byrne) and Will (Seth Rogen) are: 1. Byrne. 2. Rogen. 3. Luke MacFarlane. Season 2 allows all three a wide comedic berth in which to play around with their characters\u2019 own-worst-enemy selves. And they\u2019re up for the challenge. The three characters\u2019\u00a0 foibles hide a darker side as they fumble about trying to break free from the many neuroses that bind them.<\/p>\n
Created by Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller (\u201cForgetting Sarah Marshall\u201d), the series is witty and fun but too restrained at times, not allowing the characters to go deep enough into the wounded parts of who they are. While the wildly funny banter between Byrne and Rogen produce comedic gold, there\u2019s an unwillingness to allow any of these characters to really plumb their dark places (case in point, MacFarlene\u2019s Jeopardy!-obsessed lawyer who undergoes a change that gets resolved too easily). If you\u2019re going to put these characters out on a hook, don\u2019t gloss over the resolution. But, hey, this is a comedy foremost and much of this is hilarious as Sylvia helps plan Will\u2019s upcoming nuptials to ultra-rich entrepreneur Jenna (Rachel Rosenbloom).<\/p>\n
Wishy-washy about her career, Sylvia sticks her foot in her mouth time after time, and you can\u2019t help but love her since Byrne is such a joy \u2014 in every scene \u2014 as are her two male leads. Carla Gallo adds some kicks as Sylvia\u2019s podcasting chum. My favorite episode has a bit of \u201cThe Studio\u201d to it and involves a tiresome heartthrob whose every whim gets met. That show goes a bit dark, and maybe next season it\u2019ll fully embrace that edginess. Details: 3 stars; two episodes available Aug. 6 with one followed every week until Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cChief of War\u201d: Apple TV+ must have spent a bundle on this intense, violent 10 parter that\u2019s spearheaded by Jason Momoa and plunges into the blood-drenched history of the Hawaiian Islands of the 18th century. The gripping production, complete with a stirring Hans Zimmer score, unerringly depicts that it took a whole hell of a lot of sweat, blood and guts to unify those islands. Co-creators Momoa and Thomas Pa\u2019a Sibbett have gone to passionate lengths to nail the details (the costumes alone suck you into another era) and highlight traditions (a sled race down a cliff side is absolutely thrilling) as well as Hawaiian culture\u00a0 \u2013 all that have gotten such short shrift in American movies, series and books. That alone makes \u201cChief of War\u201d noteworthy and commendable, and helps us to overlook minor issues such as an overreliance on graphic violence, especially near its begging for a sequel finale. Otherwise, the transportative series ranks as one of the best historical streaming epics yet from the streamer. It does chart how\u00a0 King Kamehameha (Kaina Makua) led the charge for unification and how he strained relationships, but mostly focuses on warrior Ka\u02bbiana (Momoa) who left Kauai and supported and then clashed with Kamehameha and journeyed outside of the island realm where he became an iconic figure. \u201cChief of War\u201d is invigorating, compelling and sweeping (New Zealand subbing in often for the islands) and also gives Momoa one of his meatiest roles yet. He\u2019s never been better. It by no means sugarcoats how bloody that war got, and though it isn\u2019t as narratively daring as \u201cShogun,\u201d\u00a0 it is on the same playing field as that Emmy winner when it comes to the pure spectacle of it all and the level of exacting attention it pays to cultural detail. Details: 3\u00bd stars, new episodes drop through Sept. 19.<\/p>\n
\u201cStrange Harvest\u201d: Director\/screenwriter Stuart Ortiz understands that the found-footage horror subgenre has been pumped dry. So he\u2019s come up with a fresh approach that\u2019s reminiscent of it\u00a0 but is different enough and works: the fictional true-crime documentary. All the conceits of a true-crime film are there \u2013 the lead detective interviews, shaky images from police-cams, the salacious headlines, the nauseating crime scene photos, the TV news reports, teary interviews with friends and family. They get thrown into this lurid serial killer manhunt of an elusive murderer who collects body parts and uses leeches for insane reasons. The slayings are as gruesome as any that popped up in the \u201cHannibal\u201d TV series. While the climax sputters a bit, the rest is taut and engrossing. As the dogged and tormented detectives Kirby and Apple, Peter Zizzo and Terri Apple feel like they walked right out of the cop shop. Ortiz knows the true-crime genre ever so well and gets every morbid detail right. So much so that it\u2019ll have you scurrying to do a search for the \u201cMr. Shiny\u201d serial killer. I\u2019ll save you the trouble. I did it already. Details: 3 stars; opens Aug. 8 in area theaters.<\/p>\n
\u201cShaman\u201d: An American missionary family hides dark secrets, even a preference for kinky sex, as they piously insinuate themselves into the lives of a small tight-knit community of indigenous people in Ecuador. Their faith gets shaken to its core due to the omnipresence of a devil in a cave. Director Antonio Negret\u2019s affecting horror movie comes with a blistering message about the soul-crushing corruption of unwanted Christian conversion and packs a punch as controlling mom Candice (Sarah Canning) summons an exorcist to expunge the devil inside her son Elliot (Jett Klyne). Candice \u2013 played to the nines by Canning \u2013 is too taken with herself to realize that she and the family \u2013which includes a recovering heroin addict husband (Daniel Gillies) \u2013 are way out of their league and have demons already chasing inside themselves, making her comeuppance all that more satisfying to behold. Details: 3 stars; available on digital Aug. 8.<\/p>\n
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally Published: August 6, 2025 at 3:21 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week, a lusty \u201cOutlander\u201d prequel arrives to steam up your TV and give romance lovers a boost.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[3805,2356,3802,88,2695,3803,2558,47954,206,3804,47955,2628,92,17866],"class_list":["post-65065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-editors-picks","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-movie-reviews","tag-movies","tag-pm-report","tag-streaming-tv","tag-things-to-do","tag-tv","tag-tv-streaming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}