Tag: Vladimir Putin

‘Cold Storage,’ ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ and More (2026) | Bite-Sized Reviews

Top Row: Cold Storage (StudioCanal); The Wizard of the Kremlin (Gaumont); Over Your Dead Body (IFC / Amazon Prime Video).
Bottom Row: Mortal Kombat II (Warner Bros. Pictures); The Devil Wears Prada 2 (20th Century Studios); Propeller One-Way Night Coach (Apple TV).

In this edition of Bite-Sized Reviews, I want to share my thoughts on six films released this year. This time around, I want to talk about 1) an underseen zombie-adjacent film with a surprisingly strong cast, 2) a political drama about Putin’s rise to power, 3) a genre-blend from the director of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, 4) Mortal Kombat II, 5) the long-awaited sequel to a beloved fashion-focused film, and 6) John Travolta’s directorial debut. If you follow me on Letterboxd, do know that some of these bite-sized reviews have previously been posted on my Letterboxd profile (either partially or entirely). Should you wish to get a sneak peek at what films I see, I advise you to follow me on that social media platform.

Continue reading “‘Cold Storage,’ ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ and More (2026) | Bite-Sized Reviews” →

Sherlock Villain To Star in House of Cards Season 3

Yesterday, the 11th of January 2015, Netflix released the trailer for season 3 of its hit-show House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright. Beware of slight spoilers in the trailer, and in this post.

During the trailer you see someone resembling, in my opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin – my initial thought was that it was Lars Mikkelsen, brother of Mads Mikkelsen (known as Le Chiffre in Casino Royal, and as Hannibal Lector in the NBC-show Hannibal). Lars Mikkelsen has starred in many Danish shows and films, and got his ‘big breakthrough’ in 2013’s Sherlock Series 3 as the antagonist, Charles Augustus Magnussen.

Today, Lars Mikkelsen confirms that he stars in the show – and that he will star in a number of episodes. Mikkelsen is humble, and appreciative about this role. He shared this information with Danish network DR (Short for Danmarks Radio).

Though I initially thought he looked like Vladimir Putin, I doubt they’ll dare cast him specifically as the Russian President by name. I speculate that they’ll simply make him the fictitous leader of Russia.

In the trailer you see him sitting next to Spacey’s character, supposedly rejecting a handshake (0:15) – standing in front of the seated Spacey, with the Russian flag in the background (0:18) – kissing Robin Wright’s character (0:21) – and at, supposedly, a press conference with his back towards the camera (0:30).

For more on House of Cards, Netflix, and casting news – stay tuned.

– I’m Jeffrey Rex