“Le Code” – His own [TELEVISION REVIEW]
A legal procedural in any other language is still a procedural and we just can’t get enough of them, especially when the lead is charismatic and handsome. This one, in French, centered in the city of Lille, is just such a series and is graced with a hunk of a lawyer able to leap tall […]
“Red Light” – Go. Don’t stop [TELEVISION REVIEW]
Based on an idea by Carice van Houten, Halina Reijn, and Frank Ketelaar, “Red Light” explores the seamy side of legal prostitution in Antwerp and Amsterdam that relies on an illegal network of human trafficking. What sets this dark series apart is the way “Red Light” explores the topic through the prism of three women […]
“Time is a Killer” – Not just time [TELEVISION REVIEW]
Fasten your seat belts and suspend belief because “Time is a Killer” (“Le temps est assassin”) will have you on a psychological tilt-a-whirl of thrills, spills, and mystery. After many years away, Clotilde Baron has returned to Corsica, ancestral home of her father Paul Idrissi, son of Cassanu Idrissi, a leader of one of the […]
“Amsterdam Vice”- And nothing is nice [TELEVISION REVIEW]
For those of you who like the dark side, “Amsterdam Vice” will be your cup of espresso. The stories, characters, and even the cinematography lack any ray of sunshine. It’s Amsterdam in the 80s and Beatrix is about to be crowned queen of the Netherlands. The city is beset by squatters in abandoned buildings protesting […]
“Alexandra Ehle” – Quincy in a skirt [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Alexandra Ehle,” created by Elsa Marpeau and Frédéric Faurt is a nice edition to MHz Choice’s collection of murder lite. Unlike the relentlessly dark bingeable British mysteries such as “Criminal: UK,” “Unforgotten,” “Broadchurch,” and “The Fall,” the French have lightened the genre with “Murder In,” “The Art of Crime,” and “Perfect Murders,” among other entries. […]
“Arsène Lupin” – Sneaky fun [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Lupin,” that mega hit on Netflix starring Omar Sy as a modern day thief and sleight of hand expert had its antecedents in dozens of plays and films, whether it’s the American films, one starring John Barrymore, another with Melvyn Douglas, or even earlier in the silent films with the gentleman thief as protagonist. This […]
“Monsters Inside” – As well as out [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Monsters Inside; The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan,” the new Netflix four-part docu-series on Billy Milligan, the sociopath with 24 personalities, attempts to cash in on the serial-criminal-content-trend so popular on streaming services. Directed by Olivier Magaton and written by Megaton and Brice Lambert, they spend four episodes detailing the troubled life of rapist and […]
“Blood on the Docks” – Well marinated [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Blood on the Docks,” which in French is “Deux Flics sur les Docks would have been better and more cleverly translated as “Two Cops on the Docks,” continues to follow the intrepid “non” partners Richard Faraday (Jean-Marc Barr) and Paul Winckler (Bruno Solo). Non-partners is perhaps a misnomer because, for all intents and purposes, they […]
“The Art of the Crime” – Four is better than Three [TELEVISION REVIEW]
The Fourth Season of “The Art of the Crime” begins soon on MHz Choice. Although Season Three, reviewed previously (“Art of the Crime” – Season 3) had become perfunctory and much more procedural with less effective character development, some of that is remedied in this new season. Once again using the format of two 2-part […]
“Revolution Rent” – Viva la revolución [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Revolution Rent,” written by and co-directed by Andres Señor and Victor P. Alvarez, is a multifaceted documentary that follows the production of “Rent” in Havana with a Cuban cast, the first time in over 50 years that a Broadway musical has been presented in Cuba. But it is also the tale of Señor’s own journey […]
“The Art of the Crime” – Lessons to be learned [TELEVISION REVIEW]
Welcome to season three of “The Art of the Crime,” the French series created by Angèle Herry-Leclerc and Pierre-Yves Mora. Following the path of the previous two seasons, this engaging procedural gives us a new murder or murders in every two part episode along with an art history lesson. It is that art history […]
“Apocalypse ‘45” – The cost [MOVIE REVIEW]
With new, previously unseen footage, director Erik Nelson brings the last horrific months of World War II into view again. The battle for Europe was all but over by April 1945. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, and Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) on May 8 marked the end of the war in that […]
“Dark Woods” – Very Grimm [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“Dark Woods,” a six part mini series premiering on the Topic streaming platform, is a fitting title. Written by Stefan Kolditz and directed by Sven Bohse, “Dark Woods” is based on true events. The title is apt in more ways than just the titular forest. In the summer of 1989, the bodies of two different […]
“The Crime of the Century” – Not just this one [MOVIE REVIEW]
HBO’s new two part documentary, directed by the incomparable Alex Gibney, is a deep dive into the opioid crisis and the major contributing players. In association with the Washington Post which has led major investigations into the crisis and the perpetrators, “The Crime of the Century” documents who started it, who spread it, who profited, […]
“The Secrets of Whales” – Strictly rumors [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“The Secrets of Whales,” a new four part documentary series by National Geographic on Disney+, is a well-intentioned failure. From the outset, let it be said that the artistry of internationally renowned whale photographer Brian Skerry is superb and is best appreciated with the soundtrack muted. Beginning with the somnolent narration by an almost unrecognizable […]
“An Ordinary Woman” – As if [TELEVISION REVIEW]
“An Ordinary Woman,” the Russian television series launching on the Topic Streaming Service, is a sly soaper that combines high drama with low life dilemmas and always with a wink and a nod. Marina, a Moscow housewife, leads a seemingly mundane existence. Her husband Artyom is a surgeon at the local hospital, teenage daughter Katya […]