It’s a new dawn on Reacher. This is the first episode of the entire show in which Reacher (the splendid Alan Ritchson) goes west of the Mississippi! While Neagley (Maria Sten) lives in Chicago, Reacher’s previous adventures have kept him in Georgia, Arkansas, New York City, Maine, and now Massachusetts. …
Unusually, September 5 faced one main question before its release: why has it been made? Well, since the last presidential inauguration, we have our answer. September 5 is one of those biopic-style (but not a documentary) re-enactments of tragic real-world events. Here the disaster is at the 1972 Munich Olympics, …
The number of underrated actresses in today’s industry is so vast that any cinephile can bring a different name to the table and present solid arguments. Personally, one of the names at the top of my list is none other than Ash‘s lead, Eiza González. From Baby Driver to The …
Samara Weaving has become a recurring presence in horror, thriller, and action flicks with a touch of dark humor. From The Babysitter to Ready or Not, along with Guns Akimbo and Azrael, the Australian actress has cemented herself as a modern-day final girl, embracing roles that balance stylized violence and …
Well. If we thought the previous episode of Reacher was plot heavy, in Smoke on the Water all those plot points have babies, meaning there’s an entire family tree of stuff going on that, thanks to the spoiler restrictions from Amazon, reviewers cannot reveal. It’s understandable since so much modern-day …
The news that Amazon are now the owners of the James Bond franchise has landed with some surprise amidst this new season of Reacher. It’s not so much the sale but the fact that the Broccoli family, who creatively controlled the series for over fifty years, relinquished those creative rights …
I will bet a hundred billion dollars the character of Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson) was named after the heroine of The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand’s smash-hit novel from 1943 that introduced the political philosophy of objectivism to the world. Objectivism has been an incredibly influential ethos in economics and politics in …
Luck is not a belief unique to Americans, but The Luckiest Man in America – a half-fictionalised dramatisation of real events directed by Samir Oliveros – makes the case that no one commits to the myth of random good fortune with as much aplomb as does the denizens of the …
Dawn breaks over the Maine countryside as Duke (Donald Sales) and Reacher (the remarkable Alan Ritchson) drive back to the compound and discuss the infuriating Angel Doll (Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz). In the kitchen, Reacher tries to glean intel from housemaid Annette (Caitlin McNerney) and sharp-tongued English chef Agnes (Helen Taylor), though …
This second episode of the new season of Reacher is a day without much sunshine. By which is meant Reacher (the magnificent Alan Ritchson) has only one physical fight in Truckin’. It is between Reacher and Paulie (Olivier Richters), the unpleasant thug who is literally double Reacher’s size. Fortunately, Reacher …
The most popular American TV show is back, and as the first three (plus!) episodes of the new season of Reacher recently dropped on Prime Video, it’s worth discussing why this show – the modern James Bond – has been such a smash hit. The similarities with James Bond do …
One of the many reasons I love film and television is its ability to comment on the world. A piece of content can take a real-world context (i.e., a global pandemic or world disaster) and wrap it in an even more heightened setting. The results can create something entertaining while …
If there’s one person you want to cast in your movie about a man waging war against local thugs, who slowly but surely has a mental collapse, it’s the ever-eccentric Nicolas Cage. Pair Cage with Lorcan Finnegan, director of bizarre suburban horror Vivarium, and you have a match made in …
The AppleTV+ show Severance is an extraordinary feat of imaginative filmmaking. Over the course of a critically acclaimed first season, and three episodes of funky mystery-box plotting, and a crazy cliffhanger which saw Outie Mark begin to be psychologically recalibrated with his Innie, the show has consistently agitated and cajoled …
The title of episode three of Severance season two, Who Is Alive?, is a question. In a show that is constantly asking questions, this is only the second instance of the title itself existing as a question. The first was in season one, with the episode What’s For Dinner? which …
Death to Smoochy came out in 2002 when I had three kids under three and was expecting my fourth. I was in the thick of parenting little kids, which meant I was at my most familiar with children’s television programming. Danny DeVito’s dark look at the seedy underbelly of that industry seemed …
Winning an award is always an achievement worthy of noting. The first season of Severance, the superb Apple TV+ thriller where characters sever their brains to become two people (an Innie for work life, and an Outie for home life) earned several but the one that feels most salient to …
The art of cinema has room for all kinds of experiences, whether unusual blends of genres, unorthodox storytelling methods, or unique filming techniques. Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) is a pioneer of modern independent cinema, and his movies are often acclaimed precisely for their inventive or distinct perspective. Presence fits into the …
When Apple announced their appearance on the streaming market, there was palpable excitement amongst media fans. Allowing filmmakers and creatives to play with big budgets to create vibrant, energetic stories nearly totally liberated from network executives was a concept unfamiliar within the media zeitgeist. That excitement soon deflated after AppleTV+ …
Pierce Brosnan became an action icon when he portrayed the most iconic secret agent, James Bond. Throughout his four films with the franchise, he appeared in some of the most popular films of the recent era, including Goldeneye. Lately, Brosnan has engaged in action flicks as an experienced agent who …