TV TV Articles

“The King is the crime!”: Commoners, royalty, and animated depictions of monarchy

Over forty-four years ago, on September 3, 1980, the series finale of the now-classic Rose of Versailles, entitled “Adieu, My Beloved Oscar,” aired on Japanese television. It depicted revolutionary leader Louis Saint-Just telling an assembly of Frenchmen, in 1792, that “the King’s own existence is itself an unforgivable crime” and “The King is the crime!” […]

Film Film Reviews

Cleaner Review

Cleaner feels like a relic from a bygone era. The many comparisons it’s received to Die Hard are debatable, although the marketing is certainly inviting them. To be fair, their cores are the same: an action-thriller in the style of an airport novel about an unassuming person thrust into a dangerous situation whose skills and […]

Film Film Reviews

The Monkey Review

The Monkey is a darkly comic offering from the pantheon of Stephen King adaptations. This film is the follow-up of Osgood Perkins’ sleeper hit, Longlegs. In 1999 twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn (Christian Convery/Theo James) find a toy monkey amongst their father’s possessions. When the boys use The Monkey people they know die and […]

TV TV Reviews

Severance – Atilla Review

Well, that was a heck of a lot to pack into a single episode. From the much-anticipated meeting between Burt, Irving, and Fields to the continued reintegration of Mark’s Innie and Outie lives, this, for my money, is the episode in season two where things really start kicking into high gear from a story perspective. […]

TV TV Reviews

A Thousand Blows Review

A Thousand Blows, the latest British historical drama from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), ostensibly tells the story of the Forty Elephants, an all-female London crime-syndicate who specialize in shoplifting but are aiming for a larger score. I say ostensibly because that is only one portion of the overstuffed story being told, with the other segment […]