In the decade since her breakout in “Short Term 12” and the seven years since she won an Oscar for “Room,” Brie Larson has become a kind of cautionary tale for how little Hollywood has to offer its rising stars. After achieving the industry’s highest honor, Larson has largely cycled between blockbuster franchises (“Captain Marvel,” “Fast X”) and car commercials …
Read More »‘The Winter King’ Review: King Arthur Drama Falls Flat
The MGM+ series “The Winter King,” adapted from a trilogy of novels by English author Bernard Cornwell, derives much of its plot from Arthurian myth. But in practice, the drama acts more like earthbound historical fiction than fairy tale or fantasy. This Arthur Pendragon (Iain De Caestecker) doesn’t pull a sword from a stone in the five episodes provided in …
Read More »‘A Small Light’ Review: A Profound Anne Frank Series From Nat Geo
The story of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who hid in a cramped attic with her family during the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam, is widely known, and amid the atrocities of the Holocaust, Anne’s diary presents a story of resilience and unrealized dreams. Nat Geo’s new limited series “A Small Light” isn’t Anne’s story, though the precocious teen’s legacy is …
Read More »Fire Country Review: CBS Drama Spotlights Inmate Firefighters
It was only a matter of time before broadcast TV — where police procedurals reign supreme — took a harder pivot into exploring the lives of firefighters. With audiences either craving more cop content or deeply skeptical of its lionization, it makes sense that networks might be more into the idea of spotlighting firefighters, who tend to point hoses at …
Read More »‘Everything I Know About Love’ Mixes Pleasure with Wisdom: TV Review
The success of “Fleabag” loosed a glut of shows about young women tottering – heels broken, mascara smeared – in the vague direction of adult responsibility. Few have been as purely enjoyable as “Everything I Know About Love,” Dolly Alderton’s adaptation of her own memoir, which debuts on Peacock this week after winning plaudits on the BBC in midsummer. With …
Read More »‘Mrs. Davis’ Review: Betty Gilpin Stars in Damon Lindelof AI Show
The Holy Grail, a character in “Mrs. Davis” observes, might be the “most overused MacGuffin ever.” From “Monty Python” to “Indiana Jones,” the mythical chalice is an easy shorthand for a magical object that motivates heroes and antagonists alike. Sister Simone (Betty Gilpin), a nun who spends her days mak- ing strawberry jam at an abbey outside Reno, is the …
Read More »‘Faraway Downs’ Review: Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Australia’ TV Show Has Issues
Baz Luhrmann’s work has always been infused with an air of grandeur. An homage to his homeland, his 2008 film “Australia” is no different. Set just before the outbreak of World War II, the movie is a sweeping epic, comprising adventure, romance and war. It also attempts to address the country’s notorious race laws, which have affected the Aboriginal populations …
Read More »Searing ‘Trial by Fire’ Is One of Netflix India’s Best Yet: TV Review
On the afternoon of June 13, 1997, a fire caused by an improperly maintained transformer broke out in Delhi’s Uphaar Cinema, quietly fumigating an auditorium packed for a first-day screening of flagwaving blockbuster “Border” with carbon monoxide before plunging the room into darkness. Those scrambling for the exits found multiple code violations standing between them and survival; the balcony doors …
Read More »Three Pines Review: Alfred Molina as Gamache, Louise Penny Adaptation
Adapting a beloved book series into a television show that doesn’t lose the author’s carefully crafted nuance is a tough job. Doing so while expanding upon that world and elevating the original work is an even more challenging task. Yet “Three Pines” does both with aplomb. “Three Pines” is based on Louise Penny’s award-winning mystery novels, which feature an array …
Read More »‘Twisted Metal’ Review: Anthony Mackie Struggles In Peacock Series
Earlier this year, the creative and commercial success of “The Last of Us” all but guaranteed video games would be television’s next great font of IP. Yet there are reasons video game adaptations have historically been troubled, and why “The Last of Us” was uniquely suited to become not just a show, but a prestige drama on HBO. In protagonists …
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