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“The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” can’t find its way around

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
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Amazon’s “Groundhog Day” for teens tries its best, but goes too heavy on metaphors instead of plot.

Sean Price Posted on February 15, 2021February 15, 2021

“Bliss” doesn’t have much to offer as a sci-fi Kaufman wannabe

Bliss
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Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek are certainly giving it their all in this frantic and sloppy simulation from Amazon Studios.

Jon Negroni Posted on February 13, 2021February 13, 2021

The Expanse Season 5 Finale Recap: “Nemesis Games”

Expanse Season 5 Finale
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The fifth season of The Expanse ends on a more muted note, giving beloved characters rushed-by-real-life exits and setting up bigger stakes for the end.

Clint Worthington Posted on February 3, 2021February 3, 2021

The Expanse Season 5 Episode 8 recap: “Hard Vacuum”

The Expanse Season 5 Episode 8
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Naomi goes out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the occupants of Earth and the Rocinante face hard choices about how to strike back at Marco Inaros.

Clint Worthington Posted on January 21, 2021February 14, 2021

“Education” caps off “Small Axe” with a quiet, powerful call to action

Small Axe: Education
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Steve McQueen’s incredible anthology closes with a deeply sympathetic probe of the racial deficits of the British school system.

Jonah Koslofsky Posted on December 18, 2020December 18, 2020

The Top 25 TV Shows of 2020

The Best TV Shows of 2020
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From BoJack to What We Do in the Shadows, we break down the TV that got us through a hellish year.

The Spool Staff Posted on December 16, 2020January 3, 2021

Stranded teens wild out in Amazon’s survival drama “The Wilds”

The Wilds
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By stubbornly refusing to embrace subtlety or reject clichés, The Wilds ends up unapologetically great.

Tim Stevens Posted on December 11, 2020December 11, 2020

“Alex Wheatle” is the rare stumble in Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe”

Small Axe: Alex Wheatle
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Steve McQueen’s anthology about Black life in London has its low point in a truncated biopic about the acclaimed British author.

Jonah Koslofsky Posted on December 11, 2020December 11, 2020

“The Expanse” makes its interstellar stakes more personal in season 5

The Expanse Season 5
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Amazon Prime Video’s sci-fi series returns for another season of intergalactic intrigue, with a greater emphasis on its characters.

Clint Worthington Posted on December 10, 2020December 10, 2020

“Uncle Frank”‘s ’70s setting matches its tiresome themes

Uncle Frank
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Paul Bettany is fantastic in the title role, and about the only thing worth watching in Amazon’s interminable family drama.

Jonah Koslofsky Posted on November 29, 2020November 30, 2020

Welcome to the Blumhouse: “Black Box”/”The Lie” offer grounded scares

Black Box the Lie Welcome to the Blumhouse
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Blumhouse and Amazon Prime kick off their anthology series with a pair of intriguing domestic chillers.

Clint Worthington Posted on October 6, 2020October 6, 2020

NYFF58: “Small Axe” takes racism to the grindstone

Small Axe
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Steve McQueen’s new anthology series is an impassioned, insightful look at anti-Black discrimination in 20th-century London.

Jonah Koslofsky Posted on October 5, 2020October 5, 2020

“The Glorias” is a run-of-the-mill biopic about a living legend

The Glorias
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Julie Taymor directs Julianne Moore in a frustratingly muted look at the feminist movement icon.

Gena Radcliffe Posted on September 29, 2020September 30, 2020

The compelling, gory “Utopia” takes you down the rabbit hole

Utopia
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Gillian Flynn’s new Prime series is an ambitious saga that offers loads to chew on, assuming you can handle the bleakness of it all.

Tim Stevens Posted on September 21, 2020September 21, 2020

“The Boys” blasts away superhero fatigue in season 2

The Boys Season 2
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Amazon’s anti-superhero show returns for a more assured sophomore run that gives its broad satire deeper character.

Jon Negroni Posted on August 24, 2020August 24, 2020

Joseph Gordon-Levitt flies the unfriendly skies in “7500”

7500
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Patrick Vollrath’s feature debut shifts from Hitchcockian claustrophobia to tone-deaf xenophobia.

Clint Worthington Posted on June 18, 2020June 18, 2020

“The Pale Horse” Brings Agatha Christie’s Deathly Novel To Haunting Life

The Pale Horse Amazon
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Amazon’s adaptation of the Agatha Christie mystery The Pale Horse (one of the author’s final works) keeps her innate spirit for intrigue.

Jon Negroni Posted on March 10, 2020March 10, 2020
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