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: 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: 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 …
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 …
Novel: The Opium Prince by Jasmine Aimaq
Although there isn’t a whiff of straight-up espionage to Jasmine Aimaq’s The Opium Prince (2020), it reminded me of a Graham Greene or John le Carré novel: an immersive, literary …
Film: Black Box
The conspiracy thriller gets an effective update in Black Box (2021), a French production that slots in nicely alongside classic genre progenitors. When a passenger plane goes down in the …
TV: Yellowjackets (Season 1 & 2)
Showtime’s recent content merge with Paramount+ finally afforded me the opportunity to catch up with its hit series Yellowjackets, a show that has proven as buzzworthy as its title. The …
Film: Repeat Performance
While more or less packaged as straight-up noir, Repeat Performance (1947) is in fact an early progenitor of a filmic fantasy trope often attributed to Groundhog Day—which makes this obscure …
Novella: The Marylebone Drop by Mick Herron
Damn, is Mick Herron ever good at this stuff. The infectious groove of reading London Rules propelled me straight into the next Slough House release, The Marylebone Drop (2018), one …
TV: Bad Sisters (Season 1)
The depth and quality of Apple’s content library continues to impress with Bad Sisters, a time-jumping, seriocomic mystery about complicated, highly dysfunctional families. This Ireland-based series involves the tight-knit but sketchy …
TV: Black Butterflies
If you can look past its inherent, excessive depravity—and it ain’t always easy—there’s an awful lot to admire about Black Butterflies. This intricate French thriller combines the bloody trappings of …
Novel: Red Widow by Alma Katsu
Alma Katsu is known primarily for historical horror fiction, but evidently she had a lengthy career in the intelligence services. This shows—vividly—in her first spy novel, Red Widow (2021). Brisk, …