The Enemy Of My Enemy..."The Man In The High Castle: Season 2"

The Man in the High Castle: Season 2 (2016)

TV-MA

Starring Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans, Luke Kleintank, Joel de la Fuente, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rufus Sewell,

Created by Frank Spotnitz

The Story:

Tensions in America are straining in the early 60s as The Resistance continues to chip away at both the Japanese Pacific States and the Greater Nazi Reich. The web of deceit and lies on all sides will tangle even further this season as the world stands at the brink of a final war.

So the slow build of Season 1 is long gone, and you know the majority of the characters by heart this go round.

Here's the genius of it all though:

while we watch an America under control from the Axis Powers, you begin to sympathize with characters in leadership roles on both Japanese and Nazi fronts.

That's right, this Amazon Original has Stockholm Syndromed the audience!

:)

Julia (Davalos) tries to escape to the Nazi Reich, and seeks Obergruppenfuhrer Smith's (Sewell) protection.

The Japanese want her dead, and so do the Resistance. Smith feels it's in his best interest to keep her alive, at least for now.

However, all is not well at the Smith household on both a personal and professional level.

Let's just say that a big part of season 2 involves the tenuous alliance between Germany and Japan that has been tearing apart at the seams, and there are some really big events that happen that pretty much burst right on through.

10 episodes. Available to stream for those with Amazon Prime.

I would highly recommend starting with Season 1 first if you haven't though, just to get a lot of information on who, and what, you're witnessing.

It's worth it.

Final Grade: A-

Never Doubt The Persistence Of A "Little Boy"

Little Boy (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Jakob Salvati, Emily Watson, Kevin James, Michael Rapaport, Tom Wilkinson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa,

Written and Directed by Alejandro Monteverde

The Story:

Pepper (Salvati) loves his dad (Rappaport) so very much. The two are inseparable, which helps Pepper because the poor kid is kind of not really growing, thus earning him the "Little Boy" nickname. When his dad gets drafted into the war, Little Boy is alone and wants nothing more than his dad to come home. He consults the local priest (Wilkinson) on what he should do to bring his dad home safely, and he gives him a "to-do" list which centers around a local Japanese-American (Tagawa) who is facing the brunt of racism from the locals.  Naturally, all of these stories are going to converge before the movie comes to a close.

Handkerchiefs are optional.

Based, somewhat, on a true story, those of you that remember your history will know what is and isn't true.

For the non-history buff, watch the willingness of a boy believe that if he does the right thing, God will bring his daddy home safe from WWII.

And watch the worry in Wilkinson's eyes when he realizes that this boy has more than the faith of a mustard seed, but what if even that is not enough?

The only thing that seems slightly off in the movie is the Doctor (Kevin James) who is all kinds of creepy.  It's hard to see James in a serious role as you almost expect to see him say or do something funny, but he's trying to branch out into a serious role, and that's fine.  But with the moustache and creepy overtures towards the mom (Watson), like I said... :: shudder :: stranger danger alert time!

:)

Still, a pretty decent flick that's worth a viewing.

Final Grade: B