Agatha All Along (2024) s01e05 “Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power” D: Rachel Goldberg. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. The episode does a big death and a couple twist reveals, but it’s a tad slight. The gang gets to Hahn’s trial and the show rushes it with a ouija board bit. And the rush seems to be so they can move the narrative’s perspective between characters. Only… kind of not? LuPone’s great. Hahn’s got bad material.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e06 “Familiar by Thy Side” D: Gandja Monteiro. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. Locke’s secret origin reveals all the ties to WANDAVISION and some to the rest of the series so far. And it’s a good episode, except where it lands in the series. Episode six feels a tad long to get around to the stakes… not to mention the character development reset. Locke’s real good and an awesome returning player.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e07 “Death’s Hand in Mine” D: Jac Schaeffer. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. LuPone gets her spotlight episode amid all the reveals happening with Locke. It’s a beautifully directed episode, wonderfully acted, and feels very much like a Hail Mary victory lap. The show’s not sure it’s getting away with it. None of the groundwork for LuPone’s adventures here compare to what they do now. Even the effects work seems better.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e08 “Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End” D: Gandja Monteiro. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. The last five minutes, when Locke pretends he’s been leading the show the whole time, those five minutes are a disaster. But most of the episode is this weird misfire with Hahn, Locke, and Zamata reaching the end of the Road. Plaza’s there, too, post-her big reveal. None of the performances click, which hurts it the most.

Agatha All Along (2024) s01e09 “Maiden Mother Crone” D: Gandja Monteiro. S: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza. The grand finale answers all questions but not the most important–what performance did they think Hahn was going to give and why didn’t she? For her secret origin flashback, she entirely phones it in. The present day conclusion is for a show they didn’t do. It’s a bewildering shrug of a finish. Poorly directed, too.

The Rig (2023) s02e05 “Episode 5” [2025] D: Alex Holmes. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola. They spend the whole episode resolving the cliffhanger, which works out fairly well. It’d be better if the geography were more involved, but it’s a fine cat and mouse chase. Then there’s land stuff with Teale and Alice Krige discovering common purpose. For an Amazon “backdoor” second season it’s actually working out rather well.

The Rig (2023) s02e06 “Episode 6” [2025] D: Alex Holmes. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola. Okay finale really wants to be THE ABYSS, with some pointlessly self-indulgent shots given the budget. It does give Hampshire her easy best episode of the season and it’s nothing special, she just gets to have some character development. It’s packed, too. The pacing is excellent; though they did need the happy gay couple to smooch.

Severance (2022) s02e01 “Hello, Ms. Cobel” [2025] D: Ben Stiller. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, John Turturro, Sarah Bock, Bob Balaban. Scott returns to the office to find almost everything different, and only mysterious answers to what’s happened since last season’s cliffhanger finale. There are coworkers missing, some new coworkers, some promotions, and pop culture references. And too much CGI. It’s manipulative and might show the season’s whole hand, but it’s still pretty good. Cherry and Tillman rock on.

Severance (2022) s02e02 “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” [2025] D: Sam Donovan. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, John Turturro. Now it’s the outies’ story since the season one cliffhanger. Some surprises, which may or may not pay off, they’re playing it very close all of a sudden. We meet Lower’s other half for the first time. Pins in that. All the acting’s good or great, with Tillman and Arquette in particular fire. It’s getting a better footing.

Severance (2022) s02e03 “Who Is Alive?” [2025] D: Ben Stiller. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, John Turturro. Some of the show seems to be going back to the first season’s outstanding threads–with some genuine narrative surprises–while Season Two business spins its wheels. The show keeps introducing incongruous details, without ever addressing the unresolved ones; it’s in danger of folding in on itself with intentional inconsistencies. Some excellent acting; it’s solid but just.

Severance (2022) s02e04 “Woe’s Hollow” [2025] D: Ben Stiller. S: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Sarah Bock, John Turturro, Christopher Walken. Is punting a big cliffhanger going to be a “SEVERANCE?” Perhaps (they do it again here). The gang wakes up outside on a tundra. They will get an explanation, which raises unanswered (and sometimes unaddressed) questions. But they do deal with one of the season two subplots, not letting it go stale. Great Turturro and Tillman performances.

Silo (2023) s02e10 “Into the Fire” [2025] D: Bert. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Steve Zahn. There’s a lot of good acting. And what should be Ferguson’s best scenes, if the script weren’t so banal. Everything comes to a head and so on, nothing goes unresolved (except stuff for next season). It’s all very neat, and also shows the effects of never flexing against constraints. Zahn does not break out (sadly); Robbins maybe next season?

Bridge of Spies (2015) D: Steven Spielberg. S: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Sebastian Koch, Austin Stowell, Billy Magnussen. Milquetoast, profoundly problematically jingoistic “thriller” about successful attorney Hanks defending an accused Soviet spy (Rylance). The storytelling (despite a Coen Brothers rewrite) is hackneyed and bland. It’s visually bland, too; all super high contrast and CGI-y. The Thomas Newman score… well, I’m glad it’s not John Williams. Hanks is good, Rylance is great, everyone else is just there.

Cunk on Life (2024) D: Al Campbell. S: Diane Morgan. Morgan’s indomitable interviewer Philomena Cunk returns for another special, this time contemplating the big question–human existence. Given there’s no real imperative for the contemplation (there’s a good ChatGPT gag), it’s just a showcase of Morgan’s deliveries of the absurdist f*ckwit history. There are some excellent laughs, even if none of the interview segements stand out.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) D: Chuck Russell. S: Patricia Arquette, Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Robert Englund, Ken Sagoes, Rodney Eastman, Jennifer Rubin. For the third NIGHTMARE, Langenkamp and John Saxon return from the original, with the former now a hotshot dream research grad student (less said about Saxon the better). She’s trying to help the latest teens Englund’s hunting; they’re all under psychologist Wasson’s care. Excellent effects, okay enough direction, and some solid performances (not Langenkamp or Wasson) get it through.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) D: Renny Harlin. S: Robert Englund, Rodney Eastman, Danny Hassel, Andras Jones, Tuesday Knight, Ken Sagoes, Lisa Wilcox. Englund inexplicably returns from the dead the hunt down the teens who escaped last movie. Knight is in for Patricia Arquette and is terrible. Otherwise, the cast is likable and able if not talented. Some excellent direction from Harlan at times, even better special effects. It’s as good as NIGHTMARE gets. Fantastic pacing too.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) D: Stephen Hopkins. S: Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Erika Anderson, Valorie Armstrong, Kelly Jo Minter, Danny Hassel. Direct follow-up to the previous entry has Wilcox returning, only looking more like a different character from the last one. She can’t help but dream Englund back from the dead for another sequel. Creatively bankrupt is mean but not inaccurate. The special effects seem a tad too staid and budget. The cast’s not terrible just kind of silly.

Paddington (2014) D: Paul King. S: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Nicole Kidman, Julie Walters. Constantly entertaining adaptation of Michael Bond’s children’s book character. Whishaw does a fine job voicing the talking Peruvian bear trying to find a home in London, pursued by evil Kidman, and crashing with Bonneville and Hawkins’s family. It gets short towards the end, but it’s always charming and usually a delight. Some great cameos and bit players, too.

Saturday Night (2024) D: Jason Reitman. S: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris, Willem Dafoe. Not quite real time recounting of the first SATURDAY NIGHT (LIVE). Brash, passionate young producer LaBelle has to contend with hostile network fogies and squares, temperamental cast members, and a particular marital arrangement. All in 90 minutes (ish). All the performances are excellent plus, particularly Sennott, O’Brien, Morris, and Smith. LaBelle’s a superb lead. Wonderful direction and production too.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) D: Merlin Crossingham. S: Ben Whitehead, Reece Shearsmith, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, Lenny Henry. Nick Park’s dynamic duo returns for a tightly paced (shall we say, reasonably budgeted) feature, with a thirty-year legacyquel to their second outing, THE WRONG TROUSERS. Evil penguin Feathers McGraw is plotting his revenge. Wallace invents a third wheel, aggravating Gromit but getting things underway. There are some nice laughs, good action scenes; a convivial, constrained outing.

The Rig (2023) s02e01 “Episode 1” [2025] D: John Strickland. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. Last season’s cliffhanger resolves real quick when it turns out they’re just on another RIG. By the end of the episode, Hampshire and Glen are commanding another undersea mission (anyone seen the ABYSS), while their bosses deceive them. The finale’s incredibly tense, which makes up for the narrative recycling and the acting being a little bland.

The Rig (2023) s02e02 “Episode 2” [2025] D: John Strickland. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. Is Mark Addy good here, or is he bad and just so unpleasant as a villain, it’s effective. And they don’t waste any time with conspiracy subplots, the good guys are already discovering them. Hampshire does get the short end of the stick here, however. Silly ladies in the oil industry. But they’re in good shape so far.

The Rig (2023) s02e03 “Episode 3” [2025] D: John Strickland. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. Intrigue continues on land and sea (Teale and Sandall have the best episode, content-wise), and the season two cast members–Alice Krige, Ross Anderson, Johannes Roaldsen Fürst–are all doing fine acting work. Sadly, Compston gets the most for the original cast and he’s (as ever) beyond flat. Top-billed Hampshire and Glen are barely in it.

The Rig (2023) s02e04 “Episode 4” [2025] D: Alex Holmes. S: Emily Hampshire, Iain Glen, Martin Compston, Rochenda Sandall, Owen Teale, Abraham Popoola, Nikhil Parmar. It’s a solid episode but the intrigue involving new season two regular Alice Krige–getting outmaneuvered by a nepo-baby, hopefully a feint because otherwise RIG’s got a catastrophic misogyny problem–just showcases how they should’ve started her in season one. Too little, too late, also amid much more concerning turns of event. Probably Glen’s best episode this season.

Shrinking (2023) s02e11 “The Drugs Don’t Work” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Turns out Tennie does have more subplot, we just don’t get to see it. It comes up during Ford’s part of the episode, which goes by way too fast. Williams has a deck-chair arranging plot point or two, but mostly it’s Segel being upset. And it requires some basic dramatics; neither Segel nor the show can manage them.

Shrinking (2023) s02e12 “The Last Thanksgiving” [2024] D: Bill Lawrence. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. If I’ve sat through a more manipulative television episode, it’s been a while. It’s Thanksgiving and everyone’s going to learn… nothing. They skip the big scene the season’s been promising (can’t expect Segel to act, after all). Williams’s plot is a big diss. Ford does get a great scene. Also, Apple’s appropriation of the mental health tag is gross.

Silo (2023) s02e09 “The Safeguard” [2025] D: Bert. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae. Despite some concerning flashbacks, Ferguson’s solo b half of the episode (quarter of the episode?) is quite good. Nice resolve for the Zahn arc, even if he’s just an extended guest star of the week. The main silo plots are talky and stalled, but then there’s a big cliffhanger reveal, promising something more interesting for next week’s season finale.

Doctor Who (2024) s00e05 “Joy to the World” D: Alex Pillai. S: Ncuti Gatwa, Nicola Coughlan, Jonathan Aris, Joel Fry, Peter Benedict, Julia Watson. Ultimately disappointing Christmas special has Gatwa stumbling into a hotel mystery. Complicating factors is the hotel being a time travel tourism location so there are plenty of trips to various periods (always at Christmas). Ostensibly mooning over departed companion Millie Gibson, Gatwa tries out Coughlan, de Whaley, and Fry, with varying results. The third-ish act sinks it.

Shrinking (2023) s02e06 “In a Lonely Place” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. Better–mostly because guest star Brett Goldstein keeps up with Maxwell in their big scene, and it’s a lot. But still on very shaky ground as far as schmaltzy. As some of the outstanding personal conflicts are solved (thanks to talk therapy), we get hints at forthcoming ones. Segel’s such a limp noodle opposite Ford, too. His timing’s broken.

Shrinking (2023) s02e07 “Get in the Sea” [2024] D: Randall Keenan Winston. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. As painfully foreshadowed, the shits start hitting the fan. It leads to McGinley’s first real scene on the show ever and… well, it’s unsuccessful. But two multi-episode crises resolve with hugs and whatnot. Actually, it’s like fifty-fifty. Also, people unironically wear jean jackets in the show. Maybe it wouldn’t be so shallow if they weren’t healthcare professionals.

Shrinking (2023) s02e08 “Last Drink” [2024] D: James Ponsoldt. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. Well, McGinley gets to have a pretty good episode even with a thin script because they’re relying on Segel to act and he hasn’t got it in him. Maxwell continues to be the show’s easy best performance, though Ford gets a few moments to shine as well; at least SHRINKING appreciates when he’s funny. But it’s afterschool special obvious.

Shrinking (2023) s02e09 “Full Grown Dude Face” [2024] D: Anu Valia. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller. The show remembers it’s a comedy so there are actual laughs. Maxwell and Ford continue their inglorious competence–Williams isn’t bad she’s just lost, ditto Tennie–but there are some actual bad performances. Especially with the comedy flexing. Though Segel didn’t bump his head on his action calling, which is a pleasant turn. Zero stakes.

Shrinking (2023) s02e10 “Changing Patterns” [2024] D: James Ponsoldt. S: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley. How’s the show going completely post-reality? Less than zero stakes (it’s literally just looping back to plot lines on hold), but still some decent and better performances. Until the soft cliffhanger, Segel’s doing fairly well. Because he’s either the butt of the joke or better than new guest star love interest Cobie Smulders. It’s too often exasperating.

Silo (2023) s02e07 “The Dive” [2024] D: Michael Dinner. S: Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Tim Robbins, Shane McRae, Steve Zahn. In addition to other disappointments, SILO is also not Zahn’s renaissance so he and Ferguson doing little but bickering for their art is tiring. The political machinations and such with Robbins and Common are fine. Uche continues to have nothing to do and excelling. Some actual plot surprises keeps things moving. It’s a very weird season. Ferguson’s barely around.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) D: Stephan Elliott. S: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Bill Hunter, Sarah Chadwick, June Marie Bennett, Rebel Penfold-Russell. Popular Sydney drag queen Weaving up and takes a gig in the middle of nowhere, then invites Pearce and Stamp (playing a trans woman) along for the company (and gig). The often bickering trio makes the trek across the desert, far outside their less dangerous comfort zone. Funny, warm, sad, scary; excellent handily performances carry the uneven third act.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023) D: Christopher Berkeley. S: David Giuntoli, Patrick Fabian, John DiMaggio, Karan Brar, Navid Negahban, Darin De Paul, Emily O’Brien. The gorgeous production design alone could carry this animated Batman adaptation, set in the Roaring Twenties and has the Caped Crusader battling Lovecraftian horrors. The third act is an objection lesson in committing too much to the bit. The rest is a disturbing delight. Giuntoli is quite good as Batman here, though that third act does him dirty.

Black Christmas (2019) D: Sophia Takal. S: Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, Cary Elwes, Simon Mead. Sort of remake, sort of occasional homage has sorority sisters again, but this time it’s all about the frat boys being creeps, rapists, and murderers. The first hour is basically just a zero humor SCREAM riff, getting worse as it goes. Good thing director Takal’s got a killer finale (no pun). It’s a long wait for the pay-off.

The Dark Crystal (1982) D: Frank Oz. S: Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Brian Meehl. Beautifully puppeteering can’t make up for the rest of this deeply weird, entirely unpleasant fantasy picture. Two elves have to save their desolate planet from the gross vulture-men. There’s torture, and “essence-sucking.” Henson and Oz aren’t up to the directing tasks either. But the David Odell screenplay is the real villain. It’s just awful.

It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2003) D: Kirk R. Thatcher. S: Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson, David Arquette, Joan Cusack, Whoopi Goldberg. Lackluster outing ends up being MUPPETS IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but doesn’t have enough story for it so instead does a bunch of very contemporary references. Though it’s the best MOULIN ROUGE has ever been. Cusack and Arquette are bad as the main humans, but it’s really the writing and (lack of) budget. Some good laughs, of course.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) D: Brian Henson. S: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, David Rudman, Don Austen. Delightful adaptation focuses on Caine as Scrooge; he just happens to be Scrooge in Muppet world. He’s utterly fantastic opposite the magic unfolding around him. Great writing, great songs (by Paul Williams), and a particularly good outing for Gonzo and Rizzo as the narrators. Henson’s strong direction also helps. Funny, dad, and scary at all the right moments.

Muppet Treasure Island (1996) D: Brian Henson. S: Tim Curry, Kevin Bishop, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Kevin Clash, Bill Barretta. Superb production design and imaginative “Muppet-izing” make up for some second-act meanderings in this adaptation of the Stevenson adventure classic. And while Curry’s fine as Long John Silver, he’s far from transcendent. Lots of good Muppet gags, and the eventual love song montage helps put it over. Make sure to hang out for the credits.