Into the Deep is a completely forgettable shark-thriller on Prime … except for Richard Dreyfuss.
The only (and most interesting) thing about it is the inexplicable appearance of Richard Dreyfuss – in a shark movie, ffs. Yes, that Richard Dreyfuss.
Gogglebox: UK TV at its … finest?
Here’s an idea that should never have worked. Yet it’s one of the most popular shows in the UK …
Slightly older but no less fascinating posts
Marvel’s Echo is a ground-level, culturally complex superhero story (sort of)
Marvel's Echo, available on Disney+ and Hulu, is a major re-telling of a B-List Daredevil character, in a disorganized, risky and ultimately admirable but not completely successful attempt at telling a ‘deeper’ story despite the superhero genre. It’s far from perfect,...
Nat Cassidy’s Mary is a dark, wild wonderful ride
Nat Cassidy’s Mary is basically the story of Carrie suffering through a very bloody version of menopause – among so many other things. In the beginning, Mary herself looks like a singularly uninteresting woman: quiet, middle-aged unassuming, working in the basement of...
Musical zombies!
Musical zombies? Really. No kidding: it’s not quite as rare as you’d think. Strangely enough, zombie music spans the decades, including two features, at least one theme song and an Off-Broadway show. One thing that’s been pointed out a million times is the reallly...
School Spirits is a spooky high school drama that’s surprisingly effective and ultimately frustrating
School Spirits, a supernatural teen-drama mini-series in nine parts on Netflix by way of Paramount Plus, tells an engaging story about a plucky, troubled high school senior who suddenly has to deal with the fact that she’s … well, dead. And worse than just dead:...
Joe Abercrombie: The best damn fantasy novelist working today
Yeah, it's that simple: Joe Abercrombie is one of the best writers of gritty, realistic fantasy working today. His only flaw is that there isn't enough of him. Abercrombie has created a number of interlocking series set in a world of barbarian nations, very difficult...
Rehabilitated Sleaze: Half satire, half nostalgia, all inappropriate
I'm not a huge Facebook fan (who is anymore?), though I still use Messenger with clients and the occasional friend. Still, there is one group -- a strange little corner of the Intertubes called Rehabilitated Sleaze" where a number of talented artistic assassins create...
Revisiting Mike Flanagan’s Absentia
Sometimes it's worth looking back. I've been so impressed by Midnight Mass, and basically be everything Mike Flanagan has done so far, that I took a couple of hours on a quiet Friday afternoon and re-watched Absentia, his first (available) feature film made more than...
The Plague is a long-forgotten zombie (ish) post-apoc (sort of) movie from Clive Barker … and actually pretty good
I have no idea how I stumbled on this, but I recently found myself slightly stunned at just how interesting – far from perfect, but damned interesting – I found a forgotten TV movie from 2006 – yeah, fifteen years ago – unfortunately called The Plague, or...
Winchester is just … a waste
I just waded through Winchester on Netflix and … I am at a loss. At a loss to explain how so much money and talent could be wasted on such an utterly uninvolving, derivative, boring ‘haunted house’ movie. This shambling, unfeeling, tedious thing has beautiful...
The Stranger is pretty good, but Harlan Coben? Meh.
Harlan Coben's The Stranger is the firt indication than heis adaptations don't have to be kind of limp and half-baked.. Maybe there's hope. Coben makes a few jillion dollars a year on his suspense novels (though 'suspense' seems like a pretty strong word for his...