‘Hallmarked Man’: For the love of mystery, and for the love of love
Book review: The case is almost too complex. But thanks to an omniscient narrator, the romance is deceptively simple in Rowling’s eighth Strike novel.
‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ is a fantastic bore
Movie review: The retro-futurism production design is on point, and so is the acting, but the story is overblown and flat.
Gunn’s ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 is no joke, despite a lighter tone from the DCEU days
TV review: Never losing sight of his makeshift family, Gunn also uses multiverse portals to indicate how the DCU is both a continuation and a fresh start.
‘Conjuring’ saga applies wallpaper as fast as it peels in ‘Last Rites’
Movie review: The saga’s emphasis on the investigators rather than the documented case is starting to become a bit much in the fourth entry.
I like ‘John Candy: I Like Me,’ even if there’s no dirt to dig up
Movie review: While the interview subjects and home-video footage make Colin Hanks’ documentary a love-fest, I don’t detect any dishonesty.
‘Chad Powers’ powers forward as best of the ‘Ted Lasso’ ilk
TV review: By being the strangest and most daring of 2020s uplifting sports redemption fiction, it’s also the strongest entry.
‘The Paper’ is worth a subscription as it nails modern journalism
TV review: Being real without being too depressing, this “Office” spinoff is blessed by wonderful character creations and cast chemistry.
‘Echoes of Guilt’ is like a Lifetime movie without an editor
Book club book report: Beyond the standard mystery lies an existential one: How good could this novel have been if it was copy-edited?
‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’ makes true crime chillingly personal
First episode impressions (TV review): Driven by stellar performances, the Hulu miniseries is among the fall’s best shows.
‘Badlands’ lands as another good novel from Preston & Child
Book review: In their fifth Nora Kelly Novel, the authors expertly weave a bizarre ancient mystery with a modern one.