Great actresses carry ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 2 (2019)
Throwback Thursday (TV review): Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep take turns being stellar.
Great actresses carry ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 2 (2019)
‘Love and Death’ (1975) skewers Russian tragedies
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): Allen’s “Love and Death” is accessible and funny even though it targets a genre that’s not mainstream.
‘Cities of Gold’ (1992), ‘Talking to the Ground’ (1995) explore West
Preston & Child flashback (Book reviews): Douglas Preston explores the American West and its complex history amid horseback journeys.
‘Coming 2 America’ has more enthusiasm than inspiration
Movie review: Three decades later, Murphy and Hall still look great. But the writers obviously weren’t polishing fresh jokes in the interim.
Marple on her game in ‘Tuesday Club Murders’ (1932)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Christie successfully breaks the “show, don’t tell” rule. Miss Marple engagingly solves mysteries from her armchair.
‘Hannibal Rising’ (2007) elegantly tells backstory
Hannibal at 40 (Movie review): It’s the only film adaptation to improve upon Harris’ novel. Ironically, the screenplay comes from Harris.
‘Coming to America’ (1988) shows Murphy’s versatility
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): “Coming to America” isn’t a hilarious screenplay, but the wild creations of the two leads are a blast.
‘Play It Again, Sam’ (1972) blends pratfalls, romance
Woody Wednesday (Movie review): In a rare entry not directed by Allen, cinematic beauty, pratfalls and romance combine to form an early gem.
Nora, Corrie amusingly team up again in ‘Scorpion’s Tail’
Book review: I love how Preston and Child don’t fast-forward Corrie from prickly teenager to confident FBI agent. She can be immature and impetuous.
‘13 at Dinner’ (1933) a vintage Christie whodunit
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): This novel has endless possibilities. It doesn’t mean it’s easy to guess the right one, though.