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Reverie (2018)
Modern day Quantum Leap, though not as actiony
The fantastic portion of Quantum Leap was the mind-to-mind method of time travel that sci-fi audiences just suspended disbelief, and said, OK we'll allow it, future hologram Al and Ziggy super computer.
Reverie still has a supercomputer, Dylan, but a total-immersion, surgical virtual reality (VR) chip is the vehicle we're asked to believe in now. One part Jennifer Lopez's The Cell (sans bodysuit -- Mara (Sara Shahi) gets to wear stylish normal clothes and jeans), and one part Star Trek Holodeck (all non-standard tools are coded into the VR trouble-maker's simulation by a team of Onira-Tech company geeks), real-life acting and site locations take the place of a "virtual world"... no uncanny valley here!
Definitely recommended in exploring VR ethics in a serial format, especially with US military and corporate interests, Mara's real-life-grounded negotiation methods, as well as ideological humanism between the one of the co-founders Oliver Hill (John Fletcher) and the other co-founder Alexis Barrett (Jessica Lu). There is much more time than The Cell to focus on the character change and development happens with all the main characters, but the writing delivers it lightly in due to the amount of subject they can fit within a VR-trouble-maker of the week, until the story and technological effects cause TV episodic cliffhangers. I hope a Season 2 can continue these themes, which are complex in our society, and can jumpstart these conversations mainstream.
Hua Mu Lan (1964)
Closer to the original story than Disney's.
This version of MuLan was produced at least 30 years before Disney's MuLan, and tells a more PG-13 story than Disney's. The story addresses many identity exploration issues, including proper soldier etiquette (possibly as a commentary for perceived fallacies in military conduct of ancient/old China).
This excellent version is also presented like a Traditional Chinese Opera, complete with traditional kung fu-dancing and singing, however, it has multiple unique sets like a regular movie. Thank goodness for English Subtitles! The subtitle dialog is definitely Chinese in flavor, and it is not American English.
But regardless it is a exquisite creation for its time. This version might be considered even cheesy by American tastes, for people expecting a transliteration like Mel Gibson's Hamlet or something similar. I definitely recommend this if you'd like to explore more traditional Chinese art. There's nothing wrong with the Disney version for its own sake, but this is a slightly grittier, absolutely more serious version of MuLan. This has none of the extrapolation and weirdness that is Disney's MuLan 2.
If you have trouble finding this 1964 version of MuLan, it is available via Blockbuster Online also, which is how I saw it.