TV amp; Movies Reviews

“Happy couples ruin TV shows.” This is a sentiment I have heard a lot over the years from television writers whose series feature a romantic component(*). They believe that the pursuit is much more fun than the actual relationship, and that once the sexual tension gets resolved, it’s harder to …

There’s a line that host Howie Mandel likes to revisit throughout the all-too-brief duration of the first season of Bullsh*t the Game Show, Netflix‘s new entrant to its (largely unsuccessful) game-show canon. The contestant has won a significant amount of money answering trivia questions, despite getting a sizable percentage (in …

In the music world, it’s pretty much a given that the mellower the artist, the more troubled he or she may be — think of the demons lurking behind those all those languid guitar strums or yacht-rock tempos. (See: the Doobie Brothers.) And thanks to the new documentary Sheryl, which …

We are dropped en multiverse res: Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is running through a Ditko-esque geometric cosmos filled with runes and floating rock fragments, perfect for leaping away from danger. A young woman in a star-spangled jean jacket is sprinting right beside him. A raging, fiery demon is in …

In the second season of Netflix’s Russian Doll, the show’s time traveling heroine Nadia tells a friend, “The only reason to go into the past is to change shit, alright? I mean, haven’t you ever seen a movie?” Nadia is onto something: pop culturally, characters who travel in time tend …

Roar is what happens when a group of five-star chefs combine their talents, roll up their sleeves, and wind up making a garbage plate. All the ingredients are there, and all the skill, but it somehow adds up to a muddled creation that’s less than the sum of its parts. …

The Northman, Robert Eggers’ biggest and most expansive (and expensive) feature to date, is also his best so far. It’s an oft-stunning visual feast and an entertaining peek into Eggers’ instincts as a choreographer not only of historical detail but of bloody action. It is also an instructive example of …

In the 14 years since The Wire concluded its run as one of the most acclaimed dramas in television history, fans have pleaded with the series’ co-creator, journalist-turned-producer David Simon, for an additional season or three. Simon and Ed Burns made The Wire as much to politically agitate as to …

How much do you love Nicolas Cage? We have gone on record with our own Cage idolatry, of course, but it’s a question worth considering in regard to the original Valley Guy, the man who raised hell (and Arizona) and modeled snakeskin jackets, the onscreen consumer of live cockroaches, the …

Second seasons: What a concept! The original eight-episode run of Netflix’s Russian Doll was an instant classic, perfectly melding a familiar, larger-than-life premise with an idiosyncratic star. In Nadia Vulvokov, a self-destructive software designer who kept dying and being resurrected at her 36th birthday party, Natasha Lyonne co-created (with Leslye …