“Kingdom.” “Bosch.” “Brooklyn 9-9.”

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“Kingdom.” Netflix. South Korean political period horror. 2 Seasons. Adapted from the webcomic series “The Kingdom of the Gods” by Kim Eun-hee and Yang Kyung-il. First, I am enthralled by the facility of movement and ease of action despite the confoundingly elaborate old-Korea jeogori and honbok costumes. And the “gat” hats! Perplexing. I wouldn’t be able to tilt or twist my noggin with that headgear, and yet they do Martial Arts sequences and swashbuckling swordplay with the double-edged “geom” with such a get-up. Ha!



       To add intrigue, this is a zombie movie, okay? And mind you, the undead here are like those hyper thingies in the 2013 Brad Pitt movie “World War Z.” They do run like Usain Bolt trainees!

But seriously, the series is well-done. I already gave up two Asian historical series—“King’s War” and “The Rise of Phoenixes”—but “Kingdom” is good. In fact, a special episode, titled "Kingdom: Ashin of the North,” is set for release this year and will be focusing on the supporting character Ashin. It will be a sidequel from Season 2 and a backstory about the mysterious character Lee Chang's group encountered on their journey north to discover the origins of the infected. Hmmm. Bring it! Jeogeon hwansangjeog-in geoji! 📽👍🎥 


“Bosch.” Amazon Prime. Police procedural. 7 Seasons. If you are a fan of Michael Connelly novels, you will love this as well. I am not a Connelly fan at all although I must admit I only read one of his books, 2002’s “City of Bones” when I was living in L.A. myself. Honestly, I didn’t feel central character police detective Harry Bosch was interesting on page—until I watched Season 1 of “Bosch.” then Season 2 etcetera. The restrained grip and understated drama of this cop procedural keep you glued.



       Det. Bosch, played with minimal flair by perennial also-starring Titus Welliver, is your typical pragmatic, ice-cold professional but hey he is dad, too. Mr Welliver, now as lead actor, shines here but not the sparkling kind. But the kind that is just enough to keep the Bosch franchise alive onto Season 7. 📽👍🎥 


“Brooklyn 9-9.” Amazon Prime. Police station comedy. 8 Seasons. In case you were pleased with comedies “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “The Good Place” like we did, then you will dig “Brooklyn 9-9.” It is co-created by the same guys—Dan Goor and Michael Schur—who gave us the entertaining sitcoms that I just mentioned. First things first: Hands-down this is Andy Samberg’s showtime. He is the wackadoodle energy that runs the entire riotous shebang, so to say. The series revolves around Jake Peralta (Mr Samberg), a talented but immature NYPD detective in Brooklyn's fictional 99th Precinct.



      My favorite support clowns are Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) and the confused duo Hitchcock and Scully (Dirk Blocker and Joel McKinnon), and of course Gina Linetti, played by Chelsea Peretti who looks like a young Penny Marshall. Of course if you grew up on Samberg’s generation, you don’t know “Laverne & Shirley.” So google it! 📹📺📹


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