DVD Review– The Passenger This six-episode French-language miniseries is purportedly about the hunt for a serial killer, but the really compelling drama comes in the search for the truth about its protagonist. As the story opens, the police come upon a particularly grisly murder: a man is found dead with a bull’s head stuck over […]

DVD Review– The Americans: Season 3 The premise of The Americans is certainly attention grabbing– and disturbing. A seemingly ordinary family living outside of Washington, DC, in the 1980s has 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– Turn: Washington’s Spies– Seasons 2 & 3   Based on an irresistible true story, though streamlined and reimagined for dramatic purposes, Turn: Washington’s Spies centers on a small group of amateur spies (“the Culper Ring”) as they gather intelligence at the behest of George Washington in the hopes of winning the Revolution.   […]

DVD Review– 19-2– Seasons 1, 2, and 3 An English-language remake of a French-language Canadian cop show, 19-2 focuses on the lives of a team of first responders. These are not detectives: their job is to be the first at the scenes of crimes and to take care of assorted tasks. They’re not supposed to […]

DVD Review– Longmire: The Complete Fourth Season   Based on Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire Mysteries (as yet unread by me), Longmire is a series rescued from a premature cancellation. After three superb seasons on A&E, the show was cancelled while still popular, and after some anxiety on the part of fans, Netflix came to the […]

DVD Review– The Brokenwood Mysteries, Series 2   The Brokenwood Mysteries has been dubbed the Midsomer Murders of New Zealand, and there are indeed many parallels. Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) and Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland) are the police detectives who investigate a series of mysterious crimes throughout the lovely New Zealand countryside.   Mike Shepherd […]

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 […]

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 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   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 […]