3 Body Problem (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

3 Body Problem (TV 2024): Astrophysics, quantum physics, nanotechnology, SETI, along with a novel twist on the classic threat to humanity that sci-fi stories usually pose. Science is front and center, but character development isn't neglected. The whole overcomes a lot of plot flaws. It all leaves me impatient for season 2. A-

Netflix

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Dune Part Two (2024): Epic. Outstanding world-building. Spellbinding cinematography. The stakes grow. The allegories get biblical. Paul is a prophesied messiah who drinks from a chalice, falls into a deathlike state, and is revived. Some plot points are still silly (e.g, with "atomics" in use, why is most fighting with swords?). A-

In theaters

The New Look (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

The New Look (TV 2024): Biopic of Christian Dior (and Coco Chanel). Don't be fooled. It's less about the "new look" of fashion than it is about navigating the dangerous politics of Paris during and after the Nazi occupation of WWII. What makes one a collaborator? Oh, and how much of the story is real? B-

Apple TV+

Wish (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Wish (2023): Disney homage to its own history. Animation and story feel like something from the vault. Not even the music is fresh. The moral—surrendering your dreams for security is a bad exchange—gets lost in a traditional story about an evil villain. C+

Disney+

Priscilla (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Priscilla (2023): Biopic of the Presleys together. She was an innocent child. He was a spoiled man-child. She loved him. He loved himself. Movie doesn't do either's reputation any good. Neither has enough depth to keep audience's interest for 90 minutes. B-

Max

Death and Other Details (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Death and Other Details (TV 2024): Cruise ship full of rich people. Someone is murdered. A whodunnit that morphs into...what? A terrorist revenge action thriller? Mandy Patinkin and Violett Beane are good enough, but the rest play unlikable stereotypes. There are too many crimes to solve here, all tangled up in a convoluted plot. B-

Hulu

Masters of the Air (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Masters of the Air (TV 2024): Despite the horrific death toll suffered by the bomber crews of WWII, this show is about a few survivors. Based on real people, it plays like fiction: aerial adventures of handsome, daring flyboys. We've seen this war movie before. Cramming WWII into one series makes it feel rushed. Production value is excellent. B-

#Apple TV+

Woman in Gold (2015)

Rotten Tomatoes

Woman in Gold (2015): In a true life story, Helen Mirren stars as Holocaust survivor trying to recover artwork looted by Nazis in WWIII. Austrian government doesn't want to give up its national treasure. Flashbacks save this movie from being a dry courtroom drama. B+

Netflix

#VeryTardyReview

Irma Vep (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Irma Vep (TV 2022): A TV series that remakes a 1996 movie of the same name, itself about the remaking of a 1916 French classic. Expect a lot of inside the movie industry references. Also a mentally unstable director and wild antics on and off set. The movie borders on the surreal. C+

Max

#VeryTardyReview

Ferrari (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ferrari (2023): Biopic of a point in the life of Enzo Ferrari and his wife and dead son and mistress and his son with her...it's complicated even for Italy in the 1950s. B-

In-flight

Funny Woman (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Funny Woman (TV 2023): Dramedy about a Blackpool beauty queen in London in the 1960s, trying to succeed in a TV comedy. There are modern jokes about being gay or Black or Pakistani in London, but even those jokes seem as dated as the slapstick and jokes about sexism on a 1960s TV show. C+

Sky Max via PBS

#VeryTardyReview

Black Bird (TV 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes

Black Bird (TV 2022): Convicted drug dealer in prison accepts offer to entice a suspected serial killer to confess. Nice tight psychological study. Two questions were with me throughout: "Will they catch him?" and, "Will there be a plot twist?" B+

Apple TV+

#VeryTardyReview

Spaceman (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Spaceman (2024): Adam Sandler in his most restrained acting ever, plays an astronaut on a solo mission to Jupiter, going slowly crazy from loneliness and the breakup of his marriage back on Earth. Spoiler: it also has a giant alien spider...therapist? Less sci-fi than character study. B-

Netflix

Einstein and the Bomb (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Einstein and the Bomb (2024): Docudrama about Einstein's contribution and attitude towards the development of the atomic bomb. It gives insight into the man, not the scientist. Restricting dialog to words found in Einstein's speeches and papers weakens the drama in the dramatic re-creations. C+

Netflix

The Marvels (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Marvels (2023): Don't think about wormholes and "jump points" and the Supreme Intelligence and you'll enjoy this silly romp. Reminded me of "Everything Everywhere All at Once", Bollywood, Cats, and even Star Trek ("The Trouble with Tribbles"), all while three female superheros save the universe. B-

Disney+

Boy Swallows Universe (TV 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes

Boy Swallows Universe (TV 2024): Australian boy grows up in a broken home surrounded by deadbeat dad, drug-dealing stepdad, hardluck mom, and assorted bullies and crims. Somehow the kid manages not just to survive, but to thrive. Part fantasy, part crime story, altogether captivating. B+

Daisy Jones & the Six (TV 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Daisy Jones & the Six (TV 2023): Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. This is NOT Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, although the filmmakers wouldn't mind if that's what gets you to watch. The two lead singers are both selfish brats who are soulmates, but they are toxic together. It's the TV series that ends up poisoned. B-

Society of the Snow (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Society of the Snow (2023): Spanish. Docudrama of the real life tale of survival of a plane crash in the Andes in 1972. No sensationalism. Respect for the dead and the survivors. 2+ hours of a slowly unfolding disaster punctuated by moments of sheer terror. B+

Good Grief (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Good Grief (2023): Good first movie by Daniel Levy, who wrote, directed, and starred as Marc, whose husband dies suddenly, upending Marc's life and revealing cracks in the lives of his close friends. Watching them all work through their issues is not as much of a bummer as you'd think. This ensemble would work in a sequel as a TV sitcom. B+

Gran Turismo (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes

Gran Turismo (2023): 2+ hour PlayStation commercial. Teen video gamer gets a chance to drive real race cars. Formulaic sports movie. Think Rocky and his grizzled trainer. The races blend together. Still, the movie manages to create suspense and excitement in the climax. That's more than I could have asked for. C+