DVD Review– Elementary– The Fourth Season When I first heard about CBS’s plans for a 21st-century, New York-set series based on the Sherlock Holmes stories, with Watson given a sex and ethnicity change, I was dubious, to use most polite word possible. Then I remembered how pessimistic I was when I first learned about the […]
Author Archives: Christopher Chan
DVD Review– The Player
DVD Review– The Player The Player is a scathing indictment of the vapidity and venality of Hollywood culture made by people who love the movies. Robert Altman directed this classic 1992 satire, with Michael Tolkin adapting his own novel for the screen. As usual with Criterion, the release is filled with great extras, but the […]
DVD Review– Major Crimes– The Complete Fourth Season
DVD Review– Major Crimes– The Complete Fourth Season Major Crimes is an example of a spinoff living up to the original series, although in many ways, it is more a continuation of The Closer than a spinoff with a new premise. The big differences are that Kyra Sedgwick left her leading role on the show, […]
DVD Review– Midwinter of the Spirit
DVD Review– Midwinter of the Spirit Midwinter of the Spirit is both crime drama and horror show, an unsettling story that manages to take religion seriously while exploring the natures of evil and madness. At the center of this three-part miniseries is Anna Maxwell Martin as the Anglican vicar Merrily Watkins. The widowed single […]
DVD Review: Father Brown Season Three
DVD Review: Father Brown Season Three DVD Review– Father Brown- Season 3, Part 1 I love G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown mysteries. They are beautifully and intelligently written, intellectually and spiritually challenging, and some of the cleverest mysteries ever created. A television series based on Chesterton’s short stories ought to be brilliant television. However, the BBC’s […]
DVD Review– And Then There Were None
DVD Review– And Then There Were None Terrific novels often get turned into sub-par TV and movie adaptations, sometimes bearing little resemblance to their original source material. Agatha Christie’s seminal 1939 novel, And Then There Were None, has been made into a classic comedy-thriller, an ineffective pallid slog, a campy near-horror flick, and a […]
DVD Review– The Americans: Season 3
DVD Review– The Americans: Season 3 The premise of The Americans is certainly attention-grabbing—and disturbing. A seemingly ordinary couple who live outside of Washington, D.C., in the 1980s have a secret. To the world, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) are a mild-mannered couple who run a travel agency and have […]
DVD Review: Cop Rock
DVD Review– Cop Rock: The Complete Series The short-lived series Cop Rock has provoked a wide variety of opinions among viewers. Is it Steven Bochco’s great folly? Is it a misunderstood and original commentary of our troubled society? Is it flawed but fun? Should it be acclaimed as a risk-taking triumph? Ought it to […]
DVD Review– Luther: Series 4
DVD Review– Luther: Series 4 The third series of the crime drama Luther was thought to be the last, but, thankfully, creator Neil Cross and star Idris Elba are back. The first six-episode series saw the brilliant detective John Luther exploring a number of cases involving particularly twisted criminals, trying to piece together his […]
DVD Review– New Tricks: Season 12
DVD Review– New Tricks: Season 12 While Hollywood steadily pushes youth-oriented fare, the BBC’s series New Tricks broke the mold in a refreshing manner. The premiere showed an ambitious young police officer’s career sidelined by a twist of fate and sent to what was supposed to be career limbo: she was placed in charge of […]
DVD Review– The American Friend from the Patricia Highsmith Novel
DVD Review– The American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund) (DVD Review– The American Friend by Christopher Chan who looks at Bruno Ganz and Dennis Hopper) Based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel Ripley’s Game, the 1977 movie The American Friend is an intriguing experiment in crime drama. The West German production is bilingual, blending English dialogue with German […]
DVD Review– True Detective: The Complete Second Season
DVD Review– True Detective: The Complete Second Season The first season of True Detective was a critical smash, with its fans bandying about praises like “best series ever,” and declaring that it deserved every award available. I had a more lukewarm opinion of Season One, appreciating the very strong performances by Woody Harrelson and […]