TV and Movie Reviews

Here are some capsule reviews of movies and TV shows I've watched over the last month or so.

• Field of Blood: A gritty and intense Irish drama about a young woman working as a copy boy (yes, that's what they call her) at a newspaper in 1982 Dublin who wants to become a reporter. Peter Capaldi has top billing, but he only has a bit part. The casual sexism of the 1980's newsroom is remarkable, and accurate. (Acorn TV)
• Gemini Man: Will Smith tries to keep from being killed by Will Smith. A decent, if quite implausible, action flick. Not Smith's best work. (Amazon Prime)
• Hidden, season 2:  A crime drama, set in Wales, often with Welsh dialog (with subtitles). I wouldn't want to live there. Grim but worth watching for the excellent acting. (Acorn TV)
• The Order: Another fantasy about university students getting involved in some serious magic. Season 2 is quite a bit better than the first season. (Netflix)
• Dead Still: An 19th-century Irish photographer makes his living by taking family pictures with the recently deceased. Of course, some of them have died under mysterious circumstances. A better than average mix of period piece and crime drama. (Acorn TV)
• Treasure Houses of Britain: A documentary series showing some of Britain's "great houses", which are really small (and not so small) palaces. If you like historical artifacts, this is for you, but I can't help feeling appalled at the evidence of the aristocracy's bloated life styles. Also, the shows are very slow - judicious use of the fast forward button is recommended. (Acorn TV)
• Extraction: A well-made action flick primarily notable for being set in Bangladesh. Not to be confused with the 2015 Bruce Willis stinker of the same name. (Netflix)
• NOS4A2: Fantasy based on the Joe Hill novel of the same name. The first season was quite interesting, but I'm having trouble getting into the second season. (Amazon Prime)
• Eric Clapton: The 1960s Review: I thought I was familiar with the details of Clapton's career, but this documentary had a lot of information and footage that I hadn't seen. (Amazon Prime)
• Kamasi Washington Live at the Apollo Theater: Washington is the hottest sax player to come along in a while and this features a concert at New York's historic Apollo theater. The concert footage is great but the interstitial material not so much. (Amazon Prime)
• The Gateway: A better than average, low-budget horror flick about a portal that mysteriously appears in a New York apartment bathroom. (Amazon Prime)
• Black Work: The husband of a police officer in Leeds is killed while working undercover, but when she tries to find out what happened, things are not what they seem. (Acorn TV)
• Tales from Earthsea: One of the Studio Ghibli movies recently picked up by Netflix. The plot is nothing special but the animation is pure Miyazaki beauty. BTW, it doesn't have anything to do with Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea series. (Netflix)