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‘HUNTERS’ ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
A dark chapter in modern history, the Holocaust is a grim reminder of the unspeakable horror of the forced labor, torture and mass killings imposed on the Jewish people in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany.
Survivors of the Nazi genocide are a dwindling number these days 75 years after the liberation of the death camps, with Auschwitz probably the most notorious one.
“Hunters” may serve, in an uncomfortable way, as a reminder of the Nazi regime’s cruel barbarism.
During the winter television press tour, show creator and executive producer David Weil reported that his grandmother was a Holocaust survivor whose stories about her time during the war “felt like the stuff of comic books and superheroes.”
For the memories of a then-impressionable 6-year-old, Weil may have formulated in his mind that donning a vigilante cap to fight antisemitism was a good premise for a group of Nazi hunters in 1977 to root out war criminals in our midst.
The premise of “Hunters” rests on the notion of a vengeance fantasy where philanthropist Holocaust survivor Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) recruits and leads a diverse group of hunters based in New York City to pursue war criminals.
In the first episode, teenager Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman) deals drugs in Brooklyn to support his grandmother Ruth (Jeannie Berlin), who ends up brutally murdered. It turns out that Meyer and Ruth were together at Auschwitz.
The Holocaust history is news to Jonah and he longs for revenge, but Meyer is initially reluctant to recruit the young math whiz into the group until Jonah proves his value as a code-breaker.
The show’s most jarring note is the introduction of Dylan Baker’s role of creepy Biff Simpson, an undersecretary of state who turns out to be a high-level Nazi.
This revelation strains credulity in the obvious sense that one would expect a person appointed to an important federal post would have been vetted in a serious background check.
Interesting sidekicks in the hunter group include Josh Radnor’s Lonny Flash, a master of disguises with a sly sense of humor and Kate Mulvany’s Sister Harriet, a former MI6 operative dressed as a nun.
Another standout is Jerrika Hinton’s Millie Morris, an African-American FBI agent who stumbles onto the Fourth Reich conspiracy.
“Hunters” is so often unnerving that it has caused me to wonder at the halfway point of ten episodes whether to hang in to the end. Curiosity may get the better of me.
‘CHICAGO P.D.’ REVISITED ON NBC
During this time of the seemingly eternal lockdown, is there a chance we will run out of programming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to fill the void of entertainment that may not be enjoyed in public venues?
While Netflix and Amazon appear primed to take care of our immediate needs for diversions, there is a world beyond the streaming services. Let’s take a look at what network television may have to offer.
You can count on producer Dick Wolf for successful network runs of must-see television. One that has no end in sight is the popular “Chicago” franchise series that began with “Chicago Fire.”
The original series that focused on firefighters in the Windy City and Jason Beghe’s Hank Voight, suspected of being a dirty cop, was a recurring character involved in a feud with a fire station lieutenant.
Launched as a spinoff, “Chicago P.D.” turned Sergeant Voight into the central character running the Intelligence Unit to deal with major offenses such as high-profile murders, drug trafficking, organized crime and other sensational crimes.
The tough-talking Voight can be as ruthless in enforcement as he is caring for the vulnerable. He always seems willing to make an extra effort to help young kids break free of criminal gangs.
Now in its seventh season, “Chicago P.D.” maintains consistency with Voight’s character willingness to bend the rules and ignore the admonitions of the brass often worried about an outfit that many want disbanded.
Voight and his mainstays, Detective Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), Officers Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger, Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) and Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), and Desk Sgt. Trudy Platt (Amy Morton), have been around since day one.
Other characters come and go over the years. Sophia Bush’s Erin Lindsay was one that Voight took under his wing and who then joined the force, and later in the series decided to join the FBI, much to the disappointment of her mentor.
The gravel-voiced Voight remains consistent in his tough-guy routine with operating techniques one would think that put him in the crosshairs of Internal Affairs with the frequency of daily meals.
The rough-and-tumble of policing by Voight and his team is unlikely to change. If Voight has a catchphrase, it’s most prone to be “Do what you gotta do.” As “Chicago P.D.” was recently extended for another three seasons, chances are that Voight’s maxim hangs around too.
“Chicago P.D.” continues to be a durable police procedural that fans of the genre will tend to enjoy for the mix of action and personal drama.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Dance! Dance! Dance! Film!
Mendocino College choreography students turned the shelter in place order into an opportunity to create dance on film.
With the Mendocino College Spring Dance Festival 2020 canceled, the nine student choreographers decided to transfer their new choreographic works to film for the first virtual Mendocino College Spring Dance on Film Festival.
Eryn Schon-Brunner, dance instructor and producer of the dance performances at Mendocino College, said she is “delighted by the creativity that has emerged from the challenges that social distancing policies have imposed on the dancers. The students’ fearless flexibility and willingness to explore a new choreographic modality has produced exciting and fresh new dances (on film).”
As of May 8, new works by choreographers Clara Carstensen, Yves Charles, Margarita Diaz, Traci Hunt, Kai Krasts, Paloma Rodriguez Irizarry, Hannah Nicole, Jonah O’Conner, and Megan Youell can be virtually viewed at https://www.mendocino.edu/dance .
In “LIMIT(LESS),” by Paloma Rodriguez Irizarry, explores and penetrates the invisible barriers that we face. Her work challenges how the body perceives, interacts, and transforms these realities into movement.
“LIMIT(LESS) is a creative response to the cancellation of the Mendocino College Spring Dance festival 2020, where I was going to present a different work, called ‘Death Flesh,’” said Irizarry.
The Mendocino College Dance on Film Festival is just one section of the virtual artwork that can be viewed in the Spring Student Art Show Virtual Art Gallery.
Thanks to ceramics instructor Doug Browe and graphic designer Tony Novelli, who coordinated this virtual show, many different Mendocino College art forms will be shared, such as paintings and drawings, ceramics, culinary arts, theater, music, and creative writings.
“The Other” by Traci Hunt is an “exploration of similarity and likeness in humans; a search to find out what we hold at our core that connects us all.”
Traci Hunt elaborated, “This piece came about organically, and the shift to video definitely changed the course of the piece and its theme. Nevertheless, the evolution of the piece was fun to watch, and moving it to a video format allowed me as a choreographer to push the boundaries of what can be said through movement with the theme of likeness in mind.”
Traditionally, Dance Club scholarships are given out at the Spring Dance Festival, when the hard work and artistry of the dancers is publicly acknowledged.
A huge congratulations goes out to Clara Carstensen, who will receive the Inspiring Dancers Scholarship, and to Megan Youell, who will receive the Kayla Grace Chesser Dance Scholarship.
Both Mendocino College Repertory Dance Co. dancers have excelled in their art by inspiring those around them and generously sharing their art form through performance and choreographing.
Don't miss out on the wide variety of virtual art that Mendocino college has to offer. Contact
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