Month: April 2023
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Black Bags: a surprising thriller
Black Bags is essentially a two hander starring Olesya Rulin and Laura Vandervoort as strangers who mix up their black suitcases getting off a bus. What starts off in seeming innocence quickly turns dangerous and startling.
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Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody review
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is the latest biopic about Whitney Houston. This one was directed by Kasi Lemmons with the approval of Whitney’s family and the caretakers of her legacy. It tells her story with a focus on her voice and her talent.
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Door Mouse: an indie with a strong look
Door Mouse uses its unwavering comic book noir aesthetic to tell a story about missing girls and the heroes who save them. It’s indies like this one that emphasize the importance of giving independent storytellers with an artistic vision a chance to tell you a story in a different way.
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Mrs. Davis, reflections on the first half of season 1
Mrs. Davis is an absolutely bonkers, absurd, trope-filled quest on the part of a nun to destroy an AI known as Mrs. Davis. As of this writing, 4 of the 8 episodes in the series are available on Peacock. I have a few comments.
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The Diplomat, smart and fascinating television
The Diplomat stars Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, the newly appointed US Ambassador to the UK. It wasn’t the job she wanted. She was thrown into it in mid crisis when somebody blew a giant hole in the side of a British Navy ship.
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Cocaine Bear: gory dark comedy
Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, tells a story triggered by a real event, but is a wild version far from the reality of what happened. It’s an over the top gory version of what might happen if an 800 pound black bear developed a love for cocaine.
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Catherine Called Birdy: high jinks in Merry Old England
Catherine Called Birdy features Bella Ramsey in a tale about a 14 year old girl in medieval England who doesn’t want to do anything involving rules. She especially doesn’t want to marry someone with money just to save her family from ruin.
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MPower: Marvel celebrates its women superheroes
MPower is Marvel taking a look at the women superheroes in numerous Marvel movies and TV shows. It doesn’t detail every woman superhero in the Marvel universe in just 4 episodes, but touches on several.
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Nanny: drama with a horror chaser
Nanny stars Anna Diop as the nanny to a New York City family. The nanny, Aisha, is an immigrant from Senegal who wants to make enough money to bring her young son to the United States with her.
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Dear Edward: tragedy, grief, hope, life
Dear Edward could not be more timely. It’s about the shared grief experience of a group of people brought together by a tragedy. We are a nation overrun with grief – from COVID, from gun violence, from police violence, from the violent writhing of an overheated planet. We share in that in much the same…