ECHO IN THE CANYON – A documentary spearheaded by Bob Dylan’s son, Jakob. A great slice of musicians’ lives in the Laurel Canyon area of L.A. back in the 60s. Interviews with the original musicians intertwine with excerpts of their songs as well as excerpts of Jakob and his friends performing their songs in tribute. Appearances by Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Michelle Phillips and others highlight this interesting peek into a musical LA retreat where creativity flourished and I never knew existed. Of course, the Beatles are given their due and it becomes apparent how much bands influence each other – the end result being music that remains timeless. Boyfriend meter – 1. Cheers!

OUTLANDER 5 – Not much to chat about in episode two. Frannie as disgusted as Marsali by the amount of graphic blood and violence in tonight’s story. Not me. I find it makes the scenes realistic. I’m more bothered by the fact Marsali doesn’t call Claire “Mother Claire” as she does in the books which indicates how far they have come in their relationship. Jamie dismounting his horse is still boyfriend material, but Murtagh rules! Slainte!

THE OUTSIDER – Based on Stephen King’s novel, it’s intriguing so far. I find myself noticing specifically the mood music and camera angles. The music is an ideal compliment to the scene. The camera angles – innovative and unique. Holly, a quirky character who drives the story forward, draws me in by being just that. Kelly has been trying to get me to watch for a few weeks and I have not been disappointed. Cheers!

OUTLANDER 5 – Frannie and I are settling in with our wee drams for the season 5 premiere of our favorite show. Beautiful music as always underscoring themes and characters. Happy to see they inserted some necessary major story events that were omitted last season. Case in point – the gathering on the ridge where Roger pledges “the Mackenzies of the Ridge are here.” This piece ended book 4 and needed to be included. This was incorporated into the fiery cross scene, but it accomplished the same goal and worked well, particularly when Roger knew the words of the fealty oath by heart. Many great moments that touch our hearts and make Outlander endearing – Jamie fastening his mother’s pearls around Brianna’s neck, Jamie & Claire remembering their own vows during the wedding, Jamie’s heartbreak at banishing Murtaugh to keep him safe. As for Murtaugh, there’s no chemistry between he and Jocasta. Frannie was also bothered by the big house. She said it’s not realistic of a home being built in the wilderness in the late 1700s. She also disliked the tents on the property. She felt they would be more like lean-tos and instead looked like an army encampment. I agree with that, but the big house worked fine for me. Regardless Outlander continues to be our favorite show. And on the boyfriend meter – always one (not the one you think) and usually several more, like in last night’s episode. So we raise our glasses as always. Cheers…..or as we Scots and Irish say, slainte!!

JOJO RABBIT – Okay all the peeps are together for this one, and we all agree it is a remarkable film. Humor, humanity and one extremely powerful scene where we all gasped in unison. The kid playing JoJo was great. So was the kid playing his friend. Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson were wonderful as always – both their characters are likable and funny. The actor playing Hitler did an excellent job providing the comic relief. Mike says he wrote and directed the film, too. Kudos! I especially enjoyed the scene where Scarlett’s character, Rose, pretends to be herself and her husband conversing to help JoJo deal with his father’s absence (he’s away fighting the Nazi’s). Two clever, powerful threads in the storyline – dancing and shoe-tying. A unanimous toast to this film. Cheers!

LOCKE & KEY – A Netflix original based on a graphic novel. It’s an engaging supernatural story involving magical keys. I find it different and refreshing. So far I haven’t been able to look away and I’m almost done with the season. There are other shows I need to view but find myself returning to this one instead. Speaks volumes. Strong performances by most of the cast. Two things bothered me. One was, after just moving to a place they know no one, the kids attend their first day of school and boom…the son is on the hockey team and the daughter knows where her locker is (and apparently the combination). The other was high schoolers chugging shots or taking endless swigs of straight liquor out of bottles without appearing the least bit inebriated. Pretty sure they’d be feeling it quickly. That said……Cheers!

DUBLIN MURDERS – Based upon the Squad book series by Tana French. Intriguing story and performances. The storylines are complicated, and I still don’t understand some of the plot and relationships. Case in point – the Cassie/Lexie characters. My sister Dana and I are still trying to figure out if Lexie is imaginary or real. And if she’s real, she would have to be a twin, but apparently she’s not? It makes no sense either way within the script. I was expecting all to be explained before the season ended abruptly and too soon. It wasn’t. At least not to my satisfaction. It also annoyed me that Adam’s background was revealed in such painstakingly slow dollops. Despite this, it’s interesting storytelling and I looked forward to this show every week. I also enjoy listening to the Irish brogue, although occasionally I miss a word. (And it’s helpful to practice accent proficiency) Boyfriend/girlfriend meter – one of each! Slainte!

THE KOMINSKY METHOD – Fran and H. laughed their asses off during this series (and we hadn’t even toasted yet). It truly captures the challenges of aging with honesty and humor. Michael Douglas & Alan Arkin are great together. I kept looking at Kathleen Turner as Michael’s ex-wife and thinking “is that Kathleen Turner?” I had to wait for confirmation in the credits to be sure. Ingenious casting based on their movie history together. I kept seeing them in War of the Roses (which made it even funnier). Lots of well known guest stars frequent the series. I always like to see older actors are still working (inspires me), particularly in quality productions. The best thing about this series for me personally is it takes me home and back to my prior life in Hollywood. I enjoy seeing LA and familiar places. Michael Douglas’s character in particular is close to my heart because he reminds me so much of my acting coach, both in looks and demeanor. Even his acting studio is almost identical to my coach’s. No boyfriends or girlfriends in this one, but another honest look at the industry and relationships. Cheers!