18
Sep
If you’re afraid sticky-fingered children will invade your social distancing to get at your favorite candy, lock the doors and tune into “Ghostober.” Halloween rules again all month long on Travel Channel. Its third annual paranormal programming event takes viewers on “spine-chilling adventures to the other side – where tales of poltergeists, ghostly creatures, demons and even a few legends will keep you company,” according to their press statement. Travel Channel’s “Ghostober” begins Sept. 27 and runs until Halloween. “Halloween is Travel Channel’s Superbowl, and with more people at home than ever before, we plan to deliver an over-the-top slate…
14
Sep
This spoiler-free review is based on the first two episodes. There’s a Woody the Woodpecker cartoon where Woody starts to fall from a height, then double takes, flaps his wings and soars into the sky saying, ‘Hey! I forgot I was a bird!’ Every so often, TV pulls the same trick. It goes along, airing detective shows and cooking shows and superhero shows and property programmes, falling, falling, falling… and then it suddenly remembers, ‘Hey! I forgot I was Television! I’m a box of mad, uncontainable dream magic conjured by imagination wizards who send stories through the air! Hop it, Gregg Wallace. I’ve…
11
Sep
The fascinations of Dennis Kelly are worth paying attention to. A decade ago, the playwright and screenwriter was kept up at night by the looming shadow of overpopulation and global resource scarcity. He channelled that concern into Channel 4’s Utopia, a global pandemic conspiracy thriller that in 2020, could hardly be more timely (serendipitously, Amazon releases the long-gestated US remake this month). Before that, Kelly’s plays were preoccupied with the suspicion of outsiders fostered by the so-called War on Terror, from which you might draw a straight line to Brexit and Trump. You could call his work a barometer for crisis,…
07
Aug
HBO miniseries The Third Day has released its full trailer, proving that it has quite a lot to offer in addition to its headliners in Jude Law, Naomie Harris, Katherine Waterston and Emily Watson. Indeed, while we’ve already caught a teaser for the concept-driven drama, the latest clip is a fantastical barrage of intriguingly contrasting imagery of wonderment and terror. The series comes from creator/executive producer Dennis Kelly (Utopia, Pulling), who, joined by Dean O’Loughlin and Kit de Waal, scripted the series for directors Philippa Lowthorpe and Marc Munden. This creative coalition has concocted a most intriguing format for The…
22
Jul
The Third Day represents an intriguingly original storytelling style for an HBO offering. Indeed, the six-part limited series is headlined by Jude Law and Naomie Harris… each of whom won’t likely share the screen, since the series is divided into two halves, each centering on their respective characters during different times. Additionally, one episode will showcase an interactive element. Dennis Kelly, creator of the acclaimed U.K. sci-fi series, Utopia (which he’s currently remaking as a U.S. Amazon series), co-created the series with Felix Barrett. Set on a mysterious island off the English coast, the show bears a deliberately ambiguous mystery-box-esque…
25
Oct
Bursting pipes, rotting walls, and unidentifiable slime were not what Don Koch (Phil "CM Punk" Brooks) expected when he convinced his wife, Liz (Trieste Kelly Dunn), that he could rehab their new Victorian home himself. In over his head, under duress, and tempted by his old weaknesses, Don soon discovers that the house has its own dark, sordid history and won't be so easy to renovate after all.Rated: Not RatedRelease Date: Oct 25, 2019
14
May
In 19th century rural Vietnam, 14-year-old May becomes the third wife of wealthy landowner Hung. Soon she learns that she can only gain status by asserting herself as a woman who can give birth to a male child. May?s hope to change her status turns into a real and tantalizing possibility when she gets pregnant. Faced with forbidden love and its devastating consequences, May finally comes to an understanding of the brutal truth: the options available to her are few and far between. [Film Movement]Rated: RRelease Date: May 15, 2019
17
Jul
Leading attorney Shigemori takes on the defense of murder-robbery suspect Misumi who served jail time for another murder 30 years ago. Shigemori's chances of winning the case seem low - his client freely admits his guilt, despite facing the death penalty if he is convicted. As he digs deeper into the case, as he hears the testimonies of the victim's family and Misumi himself, the once confident Shigemori begins to doubt whether his client is the murderer after all.Rated: Not RatedRelease Date: Jul 20, 2018
22
Apr
Rent It Time-Life releases the seven discs comprising the 1969-1970 season of "Laugh-In" from the complete series set put out last summer separately here. I hadn't seen much of the show aside from a few brief clips and had always wanted to see more of it; I'd even contemplated springing for the big set myself but got a chance to review this individual volume. Unfortunately there's a serious flaw with the picture quality that now makes me glad I didn't buy the whole set, which I'll discuss in the details below, but first some words about the show itself:"The Brady…
