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Spoiler-Free Review: Top of the Lake starring Elisabeth Moss
Three of the ensemble cast: Thomas M. Wright, Elisabeth Moss, & David Wenham I really wanted to like this show, but alas, it was not to be! I read a BIT about it’s ardently feminist viewpoint (it...
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Spoiler-Free Review: Happy Valley
Sgt. Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) tries to crack down on drug dealers (& other criminals) in her small/rural Yorkshire community. After watching The Fall, I noticed that MANY fans of that...
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Spoiler-Free Review: Broadchurch (Series 1) starring David Tennant
DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) & DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) Broadchurch is a marvel. I have never seen a TV drama that explores the emotions of so many characters so convincingly. Crimes are...
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AFI Latin American Film Festival: Marshland (Spain)
NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review. DC area folks can see this film tomorrow (SAT, 9/19/15) at 9:15PM at AFI Silver. Marshland shows us a world where everyone is out for themselves. -Gareth Wood...
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Broadchurch: Series 2 (Netflix)
This review contains MILD spoilers for the British (BBC/ITV) show. I started watching this series in July, BUT didn’t get to the bulk of the eps until Thanksgiving. Series 2 focuses on the trial of...
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Fargo (Season 1)
Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) is bullied by the Hess family NOTE: This review contains MILD SPOILERS for the FX series (inspired by the Coen brothers’ film- Fargo). I heard about this show from a...
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Hell or High Water (2016) starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster & Jeff Bridges
NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review. Tanner (Ben Foster) and Tobey (Chris Pine) drink beer on their ranch. This is (most likely) the “dark horse” in the Best Picture category in the Oscars, BUT if you...
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Shots Fired (FOX): March 22, 8PM EST
This 10-part series examines the aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small North Carolina town. It was produced by the successful/critically-acclaimed husband-wife team of Gina...
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Shots Fired (Fox): First Impressions
DOJ prosecutor Preston Terry (Stephan James) and investigator Ashe Akino (Sanaa Lathan) NOTE: This review contains MILD SPOILERS for the first three hours of the series. [1] Shots Fired is at its best...
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Detective Story (1951) starring Kirk Douglas & Eleanor Parker
[1] The writing is a bit too well-structured, almost like clockwork, the characters are a bit too symbolic and easy to categorise. The comic relief kicks in just on schedule. The psychological...
View ArticleBlacKkKlansman (2018) starring John David Washington, Adam Driver, & Topher...
NOTE: This post contains MILD SPOILERS for the film (now playing widely in theaters). It’s relevant. It’s not a relic of the past. This is happening today. -Spike Lee re: the racism shown in his latest...
View ArticleSPOILER-FREE Review: White Boy Rick (opening 9/14/18) starring Matthew...
[1] I hadn’t read up on this story, because I wanted to watch the movie not knowing any details. I was pleasantly surprised. This movie was not what I was expecting. I went in thinking it would be a...
View ArticleLured (1947) starring Lucille Ball & George Sanders
In this film noir (directed by Douglas Sirk), a serial killer in London is murdering young women he meets through personals columns of newspapers. He announces each murder to the police by sending them...
View ArticleNew Series Trailers: Turn Up Charlie, Delhi Crime, & Ramy
Turn Up Charlie (Netflix) – This show is now streaming! This show stars British actor Idris Elba; he worked as a DJ in London & NYC for years in his 20s & 30s. Delhi Crime (Netflix): March 22nd...
View ArticlePushover (1954) starring Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak, Philip Carey, & E.G....
This film noir is considered a kind of sequel- in spirit- to Double Indemnity. Both movies feature blonde femme fatales, temptation, and (of course) the lure of easy money. It opens w/ a bank heist...
View Article“The Accused” (1949) starring Loretta Young, Robert Cummings, & Wendell Corey
Wilma Tuttle (Loretta Young) is a 30-something Psychology professor at a small college in California. One night, she agrees to have dinner w/ one of her students, Bill Perry (Douglas Dick), in order to...
View Article“Cry of the City” (1948) starring Victor Mature & Richard Conte
In NYC, thief turned cop killer- Martin Rome (Richard Conte)- arrives in the hospital badly wounded. A slimy lawyer, W.A. Niles (Berry Kroeger), tries to convince him to confess to another crime- a...
View Article“The Narrow Margin” (1952) starring Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, &...
Once in a while a low-budgeted film from Hollywood gives off an unmistakable aura of big-time talent. The screenplay is taut, direction swift and performances crisp and clever. Continuity is paceful...
View Article“The Asphalt Jungle” (1950) starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Sam...
Doc: One way or another, we all work for our vice. This much-loved and critically-acclaimed crime drama (released June 1st 70 yrs ago) barely broke even at the box-office. MGM only earned $40,000...
View ArticleHitchcock on Family Life: “Shadow of a Doubt” (1943) starring Teresa Wright &...
[1] Joseph Cotten is the perfect charming monster. [2] As for Teresa Wright, she finds some good notes as well in playing off of Cotten… …those kids are just the right icing to the cake the film cooks...
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