Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in ADOLESCENCE — PHOTO: NETFLIX (Still image from trailers).
Series created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham.
Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham’s Adolescence tells the story of a 13-year-old boy, Jamie (played by Owen Cooper), who is shockingly arrested in his family home on suspicion of the murder of a female classmate. When Jamie is questioned at the police station, he repeatedly insists that he is innocent, while his father, Eddie (played by Stephen Graham), is at his side. Later, a child psychiatrist seeks to evaluate the young boy, and the police start to ask questions at Jamie’s school.
Paprika Steen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas in Thomas Vinterberg’s FAMILIES LIKE OURS — PHOTO: Per Arnesen/TV2.
Series created by Thomas Vinterberg.
Dogme95 co-founder Thomas Vinterberg has had quite the career. He burst onto the scene with his sophomore effort, the Cannes-darling and Danish classic The Celebration, and, though he struggled in the early 2000s overseas, he rebuilt his career on home soil with Submarine and The Hunt, the latter of which was a particular international success critically and with awards bodies. In the mid-to-late 2010s, he took another stab at filmmaking overseas with Far From the Madding Crowd and Kursk (with the Danish drama The Commune sandwiched in between the two). Then, at the very beginning of the 2020s, his binge-drinking dramedy Another Roundtook him to new heights as he not only accepted an Oscar and a BAFTA for the picture but also became the first-ever Danish filmmaker to be nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards. Now, he has turned to TV, as he has crafted a television series about the calamitous potential of climate change that works as an eye-opener and much more. For me, it’s been one of the most interesting shows of 2024.
At this point, I feel like Mike Flanagan is becoming a master of horror. I don’t think it happened over night, though. I think his output was fairly consistent in the beginning, but the latest works in his oeuvre are just outstanding. While I think Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and Hush were all right, I think Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep, and his Netflix shows (The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor) are all great must-watch horror films or shows. I think he has this ability to find beauty in even some of his more frightening works, and that is also true of his latest horror series, Midnight Mass, which I think is pretty much on par with the truly excellent Hill House.
The following is a review of the Netflix mini-series Unbelievable.
Netflix’s Unbelievable is an eight-episode-long true-crime drama mini-series based primarily on an article titled ‘An Unbelievable Story of Rape.’ Unbelievable dramatizes a series of rape cases from the Washington and Colorado areas that took place between 2008 and 2011. The series follows both Marie Adler (played by Kaitlyn Dever), a victim of sexual assault who is charged with making a false crime report, and two detectives — Grace Rasmussen (played by Toni Collette) and Karen Duvall (played by Merritt Wever) — who are investigating the links between several rape cases from different areas. Though, heartbreakingly, her case is not on their radar. Continue reading “REVIEW: Unbelievable (2019 – Mini-Series)”→
The following is a series review of When They See Us — Created by Ava DuVernay.
Before I saw Ava DuVernay’s incredibly important and overwhelmingly powerful mini-series When They See Us, I never knew anything about the Central Park jogger case or the so-called Central Park Five. At the end of the series, I felt out of breath. I needed some air. DuVernay’s series is another excellent 2019 limited series true story that is so very bleak and absolutely infuriating, but it is also just as gripping as it is tough to watch. Continue reading “REVIEW: When They See Us (2019 – Mini-Series)”→
The following is a review of the HBO / Sky Atlantic Limited Series Chernobyl — Created by Craig Mazin.
While Game of Thrones, HBO’s proudest possession, was coming to an end amid fan uproar and disappointment, the co-writer of The Hangover Parts II and III, Craig Mazin, was quietly releasing his masterpiece to the world on the very same television network. Released alongside an in-depth after-the-episode podcast, Chernobyl is, now that it has ended, starting to earn the acclaim and popularity that it deserves. I think Chernobyl is one of the most accomplished mini-series that I’ve ever seen, if not the most incredible and impressive of its kind. Continue reading “REVIEW: Chernobyl (2019 – Mini-Series)”→
The following is a full review of Netflix’s Maniac — Developed by Cary Joji Fukunaga & Patrick Somerville.
It is a good time to be Cary Joji Fukunaga, the director of Sin Nombre and Beasts of No Nation, who won an Emmy for directing the first season of HBO’s True Detective. Although Fukunaga’s career has seen him deal with behind-the-scenes production issues, with his exit from 2017’s IT being the primary example, he may have just had the best week of his career. Continue reading “REVIEW: Maniac (2018 – Mini-Series)”→
The following is a review of HBO’s Sharp Objects — A Mini-Series Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée.
I had been looking forward to this show for quite some time when I first sat down to watch the first episode of Sharp Objects, which is titled Vanish. The entirety of HBO’s latest well-cast mini-series was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée who, just last year, was the talk of the town with his first HBO series Big Little Lies — one of my favorite shows from 2017. It only made me more interested in the show when I learned that Sharp Objects, his new mini-series, was based on a novel by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote Gone Girl. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sharp Objects (2018 – Mini-Series)”→
The following is a review of all eight episodes of Marvel’s The Defenders – Created by Douglas Petrie & Marco Ramirez.
It all started extremely well for the Netflix Marvel show universe. Both seasons of Daredevil are very popular, Jessica Jones’ first season was as well. Luke Cage, however, was much more divisive. It was met mostly by praise, but, looking back at it, it’s hard not to be upset with how the latter half of the season was presented. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Defenders (2017)”→
The following is a quick review of 11.22.63 – a Hulu limited series based on the Stephen King novel.
Everyone knows who Stephen King is. You may not have read his novels. Maybe you’ve only watched films based on his work. But you absolutely know who Stephen King is. When I was younger, I was introduced to Stephen King’s work through films and mini-series by my father who has always been a fan of Stephen King. I was surprised to find out that I liked 11.22.63 more than my father did, though. Continue reading “REVIEW: 11.22.63 (2016 – Mini-Series)”→
I'm Jeffrey Rex 