tv
The Split: Barcelona, BBC One review - a soapy special with seasonally adjusted sentimentalityMonday, 30 December 2024
Maybe it was the timing, even though most of the action takes place in bright sunlight, that made The Split’s two-parter uncharacteristically soft-centred. This was a Christmas-but-filmed-last-summer special, often a guarantee of a mushy mash-up. And indeed, it was as if writer Abi Morgan had started channelling Richard Curtis. Read more...
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Best of 2024: TVSunday, 29 December 2024
They say cinema is dying (you never know, they may be wrong), but you can’t help noticing the stampede of movie stars towards TV and streaming. Many of 2024’s most memorable shows had a big-screen name attached, even if it was impossible to be entirely certain that it really was Colin Farrell inside all those prosthetics as he romped his way through the gripping second season of The Penguin (Sky Atlantic). Read more... |
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, BBC One review - hilarious high five to an indelible cast of charactersFriday, 27 December 2024
The most hyped special of the season came to a cosy comedy ending with pairings accomplished, evil witch Sonia and her coven dispatched and the usual everyday chaos reinstated. Tidy. Read more... |
All Creatures Great and Small, Christmas Special, Channel 5 review - Mrs Hall steps into the spotlightTuesday, 24 December 2024
Since its revival in 2020, All Creatures Great and Small has drawn big audiences internationally and become Channel 5’s biggest hit, even if there have been occasional grumbles about how it takes liberties with James Herriot’s original books. Read more... |
Death in Paradise Christmas Special, BBC One review - who killed Santa Claus?Monday, 23 December 2024
Though Death in Paradise is an Anglo-French production filmed in Guadeloupe, in the French West Indies, the Frenchness seems to have mysteriously leaked away. Read more... |
Strike: The Ink Black Heart, BBC One review - protracted, convoluted puzzler lifted by its leadsThursday, 19 December 2024
The man whose name sounds like a major aviation accident, private detective Cormoran Strike, is back, with his sidekick Robin, for more of the lobster quadrille that is their relationship. Read more... |
Black Doves, Netflix review - Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw battle against the implausibleTuesday, 10 December 2024
It’s rare to spot Keira Knightley in a TV series, and it’s no doubt a sign of changing times that she’s starring in this six-part spies-and-guns caper, penned by Joe Barton (of Giri/Haji and The Lazarus Project fame). Read more... |
Senna, Netflix review - the life and legend of Brazil's greatest driverFriday, 29 November 2024
Brazilian Formula One triple-champion Ayrton Senna was already legendary during his lifetime, but his fatal crash at Imola in 1994 brought him virtual deification in his home country. The Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning, and half a million people turned out for his funeral. Read more... |
Landman, Paramount+ review - once upon a time in the WestThursday, 28 November 2024
Is there only one Taylor Sheridan? His output is so prolific you’d think there must be half a dozen of them. Although little acknowledged in the UK, over the last decade Sheridan has been amassing an extraordinary string of credits that has made him one of the most significant players in Hollywood. Read more... |
Paris Has Fallen, Prime Video review - Afghan war veteran wreaks a terrible vengeanceThursday, 14 November 2024
You might assume that the “Has Fallen” in the title of this Anglo-French thriller connotes the presence of Scottish lunk Gerard Butler (as in Angel Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Olympus Has Fallen), but there’s no Gerard in sight. Read more... |
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It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...
MobLand, Paramount+ review - more guns, goons and gangsters...
A year ago Guy Ritchie brought us the Netflix series The Gentlemen, and now here he is on Paramount+ with his latest romp through the...
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That friend you have who hates musicals – probably male, probably straight, probably not seen one since The Sound of...
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Apex Predator, Hampstead Theatre review - poor writing turns...
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Album: Elton John and Brandi Carlile - Who Believes in Angel...
Spring may have sprung, but there’s little in life to truly raise the sprits, so this week’s release of Who Believes in Angels? ...