Stillwater is a Story about a Meeting of Two Cultures (and also a Thriller)
Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater is a meditative treatise on the intersections of two cultures disguised as an investigative thriller. The latter makes sense, since his earlier film, Spotlight, was also about an investigation and it won him a Best Picture Oscar.…
Family Man is as Gripping as Ever, Shifting Focus to a Different Enemy for Second Season
When Family Man arrived on Amazon Prime two years ago, it impressed viewers with its taut story and engrossing lead performance by Manoj Bajpayee. While the first season focused on a rogue Pakistani ISI cell, the second season gives a…
Mare of Easttown is a Compelling Small-Town Crime Story that also Tackles Trauma and Motherhood
Even with the glut of TV content coming out each month these days -especially from steaming services- some networks such as HBO and FX still manage to deliver stellar shows that stand out from the rest. Mare of Easttown is…
Those Who Wish Me Dead is an Old-School Thriller that is Elevated by a Fantastic Cast
Those Who Wish Me Dead feels like a throwback to 90’s films centered around natural disasters. Directed by Taylor Sheridan (who wrote Sicario, directed Hell or High Water and wrote and directed Wind River), it’s an entertaining thriller film that…
Behind Her Eyes is a Tense, Psychological Thriller with a Memorable (and Controversial) Twist
Behind Her Eyes is one of those shows that are made or undone on the basis of its major twist. On the surface, it is another psychosexual thriller following in the tradition of Gone Girl and The Girl on the…
Run is a Tense, Tightly-Directed Narrative of a Parasitic Mother-Daughter Relationship
Run is one of those movies that are easy to figure out, especially if you’re aware of Munchausen by proxy and have seen Sharp Objects or The Act. But it holds you glued to the screen, thanks to the tension…
Amazon Prime’s Utopia is a Conspiracy Thriller Involving a Comic Book (and a Pandemic) That Doesn’t Quite Measure up to Its Source Material
Amazon Prime’s Utopia is, perhaps, the most coincidentally timely series of the Coronavirus pandemic so far. Like the real world, it also features a national pandemic quickly taking lives, scientists testing vaccines and people protesting to have said vaccine released…
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is a Sleekly-Produced Action Blockbuster with a Dense Plot (and High Concept Gimmicks)
Tenet is one of those movies that will either frustrate you or delight you, especially if you’re a Christopher Nolan fan. It’s the love child of Nolan’s yearning to do a Bond film and his eagerness to dive deep into…
Raat Akeli Hai is a Tense, Well-Paced Murder Mystery That Earns its Runtime
Raat Akeli Hai opens with a man ruthlessly murdering a woman and her driver, driving their corpses to a tannery and melting their bodies down to the ground. You might expect the narrative to expand on this immediately, but the…
Netflix’s You Puts the Audience in the Head of a Stalker in an Addictive First Season
You've heard of a possessive boyfriend. You've heard of an obsessive boyfriend. You've heard of an overprotective boyfriend. You've even heard of some abusive ones. Tell me my friend, have you heard of a guy who falls in love in…
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