Alice & Jack (2024) | REVIEW

Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson in Alice & Jack.

Series Created by Victor Levin.

In the last weekend of January, the full season of Alice & Jack, a British series soon to be released later this February on Channel 4 in the UK and in March on PBS in the US, was released on Denmark’s DRTV (the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s online streaming service), which was a relatively big surprise to me. Created by Destination Wedding and 5 to 7 writer-director Victor Levin but directed by Hong Khaou and Juho Kuosmanen, the romance-drama series starring Domhnall Gleeson, Andrea Riseborough, Aisling Bea, Aimee Lou Wood, and Sunil Patel tells the story of two on-and-off lovers over the course of years as they struggle with relationships, parenthood, heartache, and poorly timed love. For six episodes, we follow them through their lives from 2007 all the way up to this current decade.

Continue reading “Alice & Jack (2024) | REVIEW”

REVIEWS: Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ Film Series (2020)

Letitia Wright as Altheia Jones-LeConte in “Mangrove.” — Photo: Des Willie / Amazon Prime Video.

When British filmmaker Sir Steve McQueen makes a film, you pay attention. McQueen has quietly become one of the best directors of his generation with critical darlings such as the perhaps underseen Michael Fassbender-led films Hunger and Shame, the Oscar-winning Solomon Northup-biopic 12 Years a Slave, and his 2018 heist film Widows, which did not get the awards attention it deserved. In 2020, McQueen released a collection of films — an anthology — titled Small Axe at film festivals and later on, for example, BBC or Prime Video (on the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s streaming service in my territory).

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Recommending Danish TV: ‘The Mole,’ ‘The Investigation,’ and ‘Cry Wolf’

Still Image Efterforskningen
‘Efterforskningen / The Investigation,’ Still Image — Photo by Henrik Ohsten — TV2.

Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of Danish television. I did this, in part, to prepare for my article on Mads Mikkelsen, but I’ve also been binge-watching a lot of Danish TV in anticipation of the upcoming fourth season of Borgen, which will be a co-production between Netflix and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). But I’ve also recently watched three Danish shows that were released over the course of the last few months. Today, I want to tell you about Cry Wolf, The Mole, and The Investigation. Continue reading “Recommending Danish TV: ‘The Mole,’ ‘The Investigation,’ and ‘Cry Wolf’”

Mads Mikkelsen’s Top 10 Performances: Ranked

I hold the Danish thespian, Mads Mikkelsen, in high regard. I think of him as my nation’s finest actor, but also possibly the finest actor of his generation. He has proven himself both in his home country, overseas, and even in Hollywood. He’s a Bond-villain, a Marvel supervillain, and Hannibal the Cannibal. But he is also so much more than that. He is a skilled actor of many talents, who can be more than just a villain. He’s a star. Today, let’s take a trip through Mads Mikkelsen’s glorious career, as I rank his ten best roles and performances. Continue reading “Mads Mikkelsen’s Top 10 Performances: Ranked”

REVIEW: Leaving Neverland (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – HBO

The following is a review of Leaving Neverland — Directed by Dan Reed.

The saying goes that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. When it comes to the case of Michael Jackson and everything surrounding him there’s been more smoke than you can safely breathe in. Indeed, Leaving Neverland-director Dan Reed and his film’s subjects would allege that Michael Jackson has been blowing smoke most of his adult life about what exactly goes on inside Jackson’s bedroom or his Neverland-ranch. Continue reading “REVIEW: Leaving Neverland (2019 – Documentary)”