War Machine (Netflix) — If this Alan Ritchson-starring, sci-fi/actioner, with its gory violence and b-movie plot about a squad of Ranger recruits who stumble into the path of an alien battle robot, had been made in the 80s, it would have starred Jean Claude Van Damme and been directed by Albert Pyun for Canon Films.

Paradise season 2 (Disney+/Hulu) — I though the first season of this Silo-esque mystery/thriller series was pretty good. Season two (the first four episodes of which I’ve now watched), however, is something else entirely. The expansion of the narrative beyond the purposefully limited parameters of the season one-setting has so far led to some remarkably well-written story lines and some genuinely heart-wrenching moments. I also want to note the show’s evocative musical theme, which is always dropped in just the right place for maximum effect.

The Last Exile (by Sam Wiebe) — In anticipation of the next, soon-to-be-released installment of Sam Wiebe’s Vancouver-set, Dave Wakeland mystery/crime series, I caught up with the previous installment, which sees Wakeland investigating the murder of an ex-biker gang couple. As I expected, The Last Exile is a great, colourfully and concisely written page-turner that, for several nights, kept me up reading well-past the time when I’d planned to turn off my light and go to bed.