La Brea, Ordinary Joe and Maid

                                                My Top Three This Week

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. We are currently in a horror renaissance with all the streaming platforms showing old and new movies and series, But i will get to that in my next horror blog. In the meantime here are some of what I am currently watching.

1) La Brea currently on NBC but streaming on Hulu is exactly the kind of series I have been waiting for since Lost and while it may lack some of the caché Lost carried , it can learn from its mistakes.  A sinkhole in the middle of Los Angeles appears near the La Brea tar pits dragging, cars, people and anything that fell in its path. Instead of falling to their death, some of these people survived and are now fighting for their lives in an upside world that could possibly be 10,000 B.C. Saber Tooth Tigers other extinct animals start smelling new meat and start hunting this band of survivors who are slowly realizing what actually happened to them even if they don't believe it. Back in the present day one man is having visions of this world and is working with the government to try to find his son and wife who are trapped in the old world. Lots of mysterious survivors, a government conspiracy and visions. If the special effects work and the series doesn't fall prey to bogged down storylines this could be good series.

2) Ordinary Joe also a network program streaming on Hulu is a version of Sliding Doors with three different story lines for the road not taken. Starring America's favorite tv actor James Wolk as Joe he can pretty much play anything. A chance meeting at his graduation could alter his life. A famous musician, doctor or a police officer! We get to see him live his life as Joe in three versions simultaneously. I have heard that this could be a breakout hit like "This is Us" but this is a wait and see for me and I am interested to see further episodes.

3) Maid streaming on Netflix based on Stephanie Land's memoir is gut wrenching and each episode will tear your heart out. Alex (Margaret Qualley) leaves her drunk and abusive husband in the middle of the night with her little daughter Maddy. They stay in a shelter and she slowly learns to start building her life back a little piece at a time while cleaning houses. Each small success she earns fills your heart with hope but that hope is quickly dashed as a new obstacle rears its ugly head. A woman whose house she cleaned stiffs her and sets of a chain of events that she barely recovers from. She is dealing with her own emotional abuse from growing up with a drunken father and a mother (Andie MacDowell) who has undiagnosed Bi-polar disorder. Without giving too much away, we learn that not only is Alex a gifted house cleaner she is also a gifted writer and is writing about all of her clients. Qualley is excellent as well as Anika Noni Rose and MacDowell is beyond superb as her mother Paula. This is a must see!