tue 01/07/2025

tv

Black Doves, Netflix review - Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw battle against the implausible

Adam Sweeting

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).

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Senna, Netflix review - the life and legend of Brazil's greatest driver

Adam Sweeting

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.

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Landman, Paramount+ review - once upon a time in the West

Adam Sweeting

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.

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Paris Has Fallen, Prime Video review - Afghan war veteran wreaks a terrible vengeance

Adam Sweeting

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.

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Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, BBC One review - handsome finale for Hilary Mantel adaptation

Helen Hawkins

“Previously on Wolf Hall…” It’s been nine years since Claire Foy memorably trembled her way to the block as Anne Boleyn, recapped at the start of the second and final season of the BBC’s handsome Hilary Mantel adaptation. It’s a deathbound affair for all, though.

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The Day of the Jackal, Sky Atlantic review - Frederick Forsyth's assassin gets a modern-day makeover

Adam Sweeting

Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 film The Day of the Jackal was successful thanks to its lean, almost documentary-like treatment of its story of a professional assassin methodically stalking his prey, French President Charles de Gaulle. Based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel, it also gained plausibility by being rooted in historical fact. In 1962 a group of disaffected army officers planned to kill de Gaulle after he granted independence to Algeria.

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Until I Kill You, ITV1 review - superb performances in a frustrating true-crime story

Helen Hawkins

The latest true-crime adaptation about a murderous man and his female victims turns its star into a bloody mess on a hospital table, her vital signs flatlining. And that’s just halfway through, with two episodes to go. 

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Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Disney+ review - the Boss grows older defiantly

Adam Sweeting

Director Thom Zimny has become the audio-visual Boswell to Bruce Springsteen’s Samuel Johnson, having made documentaries about the making of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, Springsteen On Broadway and several more. Road Diary takes as its theme Springsteen’s 2023-4 tour, and uses that as a platform for an often emotional survey of his 50 year history with the E Street Band.

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Industry, BBC One review - bold, addictive saga about corporate culture now

Helen Hawkins

All three seasons of Industry are now on iPlayer, and after watching the most recent one and then backtracking for another look at the other two, I am still in two minds about it. With its forensic display of a toxic world where people are viewed as “capital” and anomie is the prevailing mode, is it masterly drama or an overheated mess? 

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Rivals, Disney+ review - adultery, skulduggery and political incorrectness

Adam Sweeting

Delirium has greeted Disney’s eight-part adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s 1988 novel Rivals (part of her Rutshire Chronicles series).

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