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Magpie Murders–A Bird in the Hand?

Magpie Murders, based on the 2016 mystery by Anthony Horowitz, is the  first in the Susan Ryeland series. The story focuses on the murder of bestselling author Alan Conway (Conleth Hill), whose Atticus Pund mysteries have long been readers’ favorites. Using a mystery-within-a-mystery structure, Magpie Murders, has Atticus Pund (Tim McMullan), the fictional character in Conway’s latest mystery titled “Magpie Murders”, solve several murders while Susan Ryeland (the always worth-watching Lesley Manville), identifies clues for us to connect.  And the question she also raises:  Was...

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White Lotus–Season 2

In the opening scene of The White Lotus, season 2,   Daphne  (Meghann Fahy), a Hollywood  blonde with the highlights of the extremely pampered, is a guest at the White Lotus luxury resort in Taormina, Sicily.  Gushing to the two women sitting next to her in cabana chairs under blue-and-white sunbrellas, Daphne lets them know that:  “You’re gonna die…They’re going to have to drag you out of here”, because the resort is paradise.  Sauntering into the Ionian Sea after spraying sunscreen on her exquisitely toned legs, Daphne breast-strokes into the waters reserved exclusively for the...

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The Good Fight (Season 6 Finale)—No Sucker Punches

In this thrilling sixth and final season of one of the most politically-charged television series ever broadcasted, The Good Fight tolerates no fools.  In up-to-the-minute scintillating writing by Michelle and Robert King (creators of “The Good Wife”), we see the simmering civil and race wars that could be just around the corner in a post-Trump, post-coup era.  Echoing President Biden’s warning in September that MAGA Republicans are a grave threat to the nation’s future, the writers consider how current political views represent more than a given government ideology...

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Extraordinary Attorney Woo—Palindromes Anyone?

In Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a newly minted attorney, Woo Young Woo (the exceptional Park Eun-bin) has just graduated from prestigious Seoul National University School of Law and is hired by one of the two top law firms in Seoul.  It is somewhat unusual that the two top law firms are headed by female CEOs.  But even more noteworthy is the fact that young attorney Woo has autism.  She introduces herself with palindromes: “My name is Woo Young Woo, whether it is read straight or flipped:   kayak, deed, rotator, noon, race car, Woo Young Woo.” And...

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Inside Man–Incarceration or Cancellation?

A dramatic four-episode mini-series by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who creator), Inside Man was released on Netflix October 31. There are two parallel plots:  Former law professor Jefferson Grieff (Stanley Tucci) is on death row for strangling and beheading his wife.  A brilliant Hannibal Lecter-style genius for solving cold cases, he waits execution.  The second plot involves an English vicar Harry Watling (David Tennant who played Doctor Who) and his wife Mary (Lindsey Marshal). The vicar reluctantly accepts a flash drive from the deeply disturbed verger (vicar’s attendant) who wants...

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The Watcher–Don’t Bother

The Watcher (a seven-episode Netflix mini-series by Ryan Murphy, creator of Stranger Things and American Horror Story) was released on October 13 of this year and is currently rated #1 on that platform. Loosely based on a true story, a creative middle-aged couple   Nora (Naomi Watts) and Dean Brannock (Bobby Cannavale), buy a mansion in a wealthy insular country-club enclave: Westfield, in upstate New Jersey.   Soon they are  haunted by a stalker, and besieged with financial problems from purchasing a home they couldn’t really afford.   Their teenage daughter is, at first,...

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