“Side Quest” Expands Virtual Universe of One of Apple’s Best Programs
“Side Quest” is an easy watch, but a forgettable one.
TV/Streaming
Seth Rogen’s Clever “The Studio” Skewers Hollywood with Love
Every cameo is another brush stroke in the portrait rendered by “The Studio”: A collective middle finger to the system, sent with love.
Tyler Perry’s Duplicity
Perry feigns engagement with serious themes, such as racial profiling, media manipulation, domestic violence, and policing, but uses them as if they are Play-Doh.
Netflix’s “The Residence” Spins White House Chaos into Cozy Mystery
“The Residence” is a comedy of manners and murder that nails scintillating satire to the White House walls, compelling us to step inside.
Paramount+ True Crime Series “Happy Face” Entertains Even as It Loses Direction
I walked away from “Happy Face” having mostly enjoyed the experience of watching it, but I couldn’t say I was smiling.
Brian Tyree Henry Does His Best to Carry Apple TV’s Explosive “Dope Thief”
One can’t help but wonder what the 150-minute film version directed by Scott would have looked like.
Long Bright River
It’s really the circular nature of the script, and its languid pacing and numerous red herrings, that lets the otherwise-workmanlike nature of the miniseries down.
Prime Video’s “The Wheel of Time” Finally Comes Into Its Own With Season Three
It finally feels like “The Wheel of Time” can become the show it was always meant to be.
The Sweet and Sour K-Drama “When Life Gives You Tangerines” Measures Life in Four Seasons of Love
One of the joys of stories like this is how it unfolds like the pages of a book; every episode is a chapter, revealing deeper meaning to scenes you previously thought were simple.
HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” Return for Its Darkest Season Yet
“The Righteous Gemstones” is funny, wry, clever, disgusting, moving, shocking, and endearing in ways that are purely aspirational for most comedies on TV, and I’m sorry to say goodbye to it.
Picture This
“Picture This” is a rom-com that’s more effective as com than rom, with several big laughs and a thoroughly winning lead performance from Simone Ashley.
A Look at the Rich Tapestry of Films Coming from South Africa
A look at great South African films, all available on Netflix.
“Daredevil: Born Again” is an Imperfect Interrogation of Our Current Moment
The ambitious nine-part series lands plenty of punches if you go in knowing that it positions comic-book fare not as escapist entertainment but as bloody, political commentary.
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Ashcroft crudely shifts between black comedy and disturbing violence, rather than accomplishing the more difficult task of combining the two into one nauseating, yet undeniably thrilling sensation.
