“Special Ops: Lioness.” “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.”

“Special Ops: Lioness” (Paramount+ via Amazon) spy thriller, follows Force Recon Marine Cruz Manuelos who is tasked with befriending the daughter of a suspected terrorist who is being surveilled by the CIA. Primary magnet to this series aren’t the performers, though Nicole Kidman has a top-billing role and Morgan Freedom, on a cameo. Not them.  

       My focal interest: Taylor Sheridan, mainly a writer who ups the macho rambo, sensitive dad quotient in recent years and it has been working lately. Mr Sheridan, who is also a part time actor, is connected to brawn and bull series “Sons of Anarchy,” “Yellowstone,” and “Mayor of Kingstown.” He also wrote the screenplay to the kickass neo-Western, 2016’s “Hell or High Water” and war actioner 2015’s “Sicario” and its 2018 sequel “Sicario: Day of the Soldado.” A third film, titled “Sicario: Capos” is in development. I just finished “Tulsa King,” but I must say, this Sly Stallone mumbler is Taylor’s worst. 

       So what do we expect in a Taylor Sheridan brainstorm of an action movie? Even though the top protagonists (are they?) here are women: Zoe Saldaña as Joe, CIA officer in charge of the Lioness program; Laysla De Oliveira as Cruz, Force Recon Marine and rookie Lioness operative; Nicole Kidman as Kaitlyn Meade, high-ranking CIA official; plus Jill Wagner as ballsy Bobby, team leader for the Lioness QRF, this is still masculine banger. You know what I mean? The women play the men role, not the women role, I mean.

       Still, “Lioness” is an entertaining, edge of your couch ride. Zoe Saldana and Laysla De Oliveira deliver the goods like Amazon delivery with lots of muscle. 🎥📺📹

“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” (Amazon Prime) drama miniseries, based on the novel by Holly Ringland. The picturesque narrative of Ms Ringland’s work invites prior readings. Try her second novel, “The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding” and the non-fiction “The House That Joy Built.” The books could be different per visual treatment though but still intriguing, fascinating and mesmerizing. 

“...Alice Hart” is about an orphaned  young girl from a violent upbringing who moved in with her grandmother on a flower farm that is run by women healing from various forms of abuse from their past relationship. This series is a refreshing breath of fresh air from the usual contrived advocacy of “MeToo” induced narrative features. Still, it is about women but the telling, rife with kneading flower metaphors, isn’t rammed into your throat or chest. The impact is forceful nonetheless. 

Acting is exemplary, especially Sigourney Weaver as June Hart. Not hysterical, not sobby. Actually the understated power of her character kicks in during moments of emotional pain. 🎥📺📹

SOME that we/I gave up, midway:

GAVE up “Hope Street” (BritBox via Amazon) Northern Irish crime drama series, after 4 episodes. The crime cases aren’t too challenging enough, or exciting. And it seems kind of soapy even, the backstories. So we gave this one up as a living room collective watch. 

The first series sees the sudden arrival of DC Leila Hussain in the fictional Northern Irish town of Port Devine. The local residents question the reason behind her arrival; only Inspector Finn O'Hare knows why Leila has been transferred, but is keeping it to himself.

In the second series, a former colleague of Finn's, DC Al Quinn, is sent to town as part of an undercover operation. 🎥📺📹