TV: Deadloch (Season 1)
What a great trick the Australian series Deadloch pulls off: it grabs the sinister reins of Nordic noir, then steers it off the road into a refreshing briar patch of …
Film: Game Night
The surprisingly delightful Game Night (2018) throws a number of ideas and influences into its hopper. A fairly conventional comedy set-up introduces us to competitive gaming couple Max (Jason Bateman) …
TV: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5)
At times during its run What We Do in the Shadows has threatened to overplay its bag of tricks, but somehow it always manages to reinvigorate itself with timely, surprising invention. …
TV: The Afterparty (Season 2)
Having pulled off something extraordinary once, The Afterparty faced, upon its renewal, the steep challenge of doing something extraordinary again. It doesn’t quite manage it, although the effort is commendable. …
TV: Hijack
On The Wire, Idris Elba made an early mark as Stringer Bell, one of TV history’s most fascinating, memorable schemers. Apple’s Hijack is the best “mastermind” vehicle for him in years, …
Film: Confess, Fletch
Positive buzz drew me to Confess, Fletch (2022), an appealing, throwback comedy reminiscent of simpler times. Jon Hamm takes up the mantle as Irwin “I.M.” Fletcher (played by Chevy Chase …
TV: The Haunting of Hill House
Based on the deeply impressive Midnight Mass, I went into Mike Flanagan’s earlier limited series The Haunting of Hill House (2018) with high expectations, bolstered by lingering media buzz proclaiming it …
TV: Creamerie (Season 2)
New Zealand’s Creamerie was already weird after one season; impressively, the second gets even weirder. Set in a post-plague future in which men have died out, it involves the struggles of …
TV: Full Circle
Full of herky-jerky camera motion and walking pans, Steven Soderbergh’s limited series Full Circle may look like it was shot on a cellphone, but once the story gets rolling that …
TV: Dead Ringers
It’s a testament to the draw of Rachel Weisz that Dead Ringers pinged my radar, despite my having long forgotten the David Cronenberg film it reboots, and having a potent …
Film: You’re Next
There’s an unrealistic, if eye-catching, hook at the center of slasher film You’re Next (2011): the killers paint those very words on the walls of their victims’ homes, in blood, …
Novel: Red London by Alma Katsu
If there were any doubts after Red Widow that Alma Katsu wasn’t the real-deal in spy fiction, Red London (2023) should put them squarely to rest. This sequel brings back all the elements …
TV: Love & Death
As early as the first episode, I was questioning the point of Love & Death. A competent true-crime drama with a first-rate cast, it has the weighty feel of prestige …
Film: Smoking Causes Coughing
French humor is a peculiar business, and one need look no farther than the outlandish Smoking Causes Coughing (2022) for evidence. This superhero-flavored comedy anthology is as zany as it …
TV: Avenue 5 (Seasons 1 & 2)
Given the pedigree—a series led by Armando Iannucci, with Hugh Laurie in the lead—Avenue 5 should have really worked. Instead, it only sort of does, proof (if any were needed) …
TV: The Witcher (Season 3)
As season three of The Witcher fades rapidly from memory, I’ll acknowledge there’s still plenty to admire about the series: the performers, the world-building, the effects. But something seems to …