Movie and TV Reviews - October 2024

Movies and TV shows that Nancy and I watched in October. I do these posts mainly so I can keep track of what we've been watching, so the reviews are cursory. 

Movies

• The Instigators: An entertaining heist flick that we enjoyed more than the somewhat similar Wolfs. (Apple TV+)
• Alien: Romulus. The latest in the long-running Alien franchise. It's probably closest to the first movie in plot and tropes but a bit over the top for my taste. After a while it just got tedious. 
• Bruce Spingsteen: Road Diaries. A documentary about Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band preparing for their current tour. The rehearsal sequences are fascinating; the concert performances exciting. I'm very much looking forward to seeing him in Toronto next week. (Disney+)

TV Shows

• Bad Monkey: A twisted comedic drama about an ex-cop now working in the Florida keys, not very successfully as a PI, who gets a job to investigate a human arm found by a tourist fisher. We enjoyed it. (Apple TV+)
• Slow Horses (season 4): The best spy drama in years is even better in its fourth season. (Apple TV+)
• Time Bandits: This is a reboot in series form of Terry Gilliam's wonderful movie. It has high production values and a similar plot to the movie with a lot of silliness but without Gilliam's satirical bite. (Apple TV+)
• Only Murders in the Building (season 4): The podcast crew become the subjects of a movie and of course someone has to die. I didn't like this one as much the previous seasons though it's still fun. (Disney+)
• The Long Shadow: Another top-flight British police procedural about the hunt for a serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper in the 1970s. These shows often tend to sanitize the police, if not idolize them, but this series doesn't pull any punches and clearly shows both how the police bungled the search for the killer and the consequences of that mishandled investigation. Highly recommended. (Acorn TV)
• Antiques Road Trip (season 4): We continue working our way though the old episodes. (PBS)
• The Terminal List: A series about a Navy SEAL who is targetted after a mission he leads goes terribly wrong. Nothing special here; if you like this sort of thing walch Reacher. (Amazon Prime)