In the Hulu spy drama, The Amateur, released June 11, we see Charlie Heller (Rami Malek), a brilliant, but underappreciated CIA programmer communicating with an unidentified programmer about code that doesn’t seem legit. Charlie’s life soon becomes tragic as he watches the news of a London terrorist attack in...
Red Eye–A Terrifying Flight
Directed by horror superstar Wes Craven, Red Eye (2005) is more of the genre “Snakes in the Plane” than horror, which is not one of this reviewer’s favorite forms of entertainment. However, this is a solid thriller which builds tension.
Lisa ( Rachel McAdams of “The Notebook”) is a hotel manager who has booked a flight back home to...
Astrid et Raphaëlle–Extraordinary Attorney Woo meets Silent Witness
In the highly unusual six-season (French) PBS series, Astrid, we see an extremely perceptive woman police officer, Raphaëlle (Lola Dewaere), who is underappreciated by her colleagues–a familiar theme in current police procedurals. What makes this unique, however, is that the detective quickly surmises that a librarian working in the...
Widow Clicquot–Effervescent Pioneer
Inspired by a true story. Widow Clicquot, a 2024 Netflix movie, dramatizes the audacious journey of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (Haley Bennett). She married at a very young age to the handsome but deeply disturbed Francois Clicquot (Tom Sturridge) who was heir to a champagne vineyard long struggling to be profitable.
Based on...
Secrets We Keep–Lies and Privilege?
The Danish “Nordic noir” series, Secrets We Keep (2025), centers around the disappearance of an attractive Filipino au pair, Ruby (Donna Levkovski), from a wealthy Copenhagen home. An investigation is requested by Ruby’s wealthy neighbor, Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen). No one else in the affluent neighborhood seems to care enough to...
I, Jack Wright– ”Succession” British-style?
This Netflix six-episode British thriller I, Jack Wright (2025) unravels a highly dysfunctional family’s secrets and betrayals. Each member of a multi-millionaire’s overly privileged family has motivation to murder the aging septuagenarian patriarch and business tycoon, Jack Wright (Trevor Eve), found dead in the opening scene. ...