Television | Reviews

4 Minutes

Animal Kingdom: “Pilot”

T. Dawson June 15, 2016

The trailers for TNT’s Animal Kingdom, as effective as they are, are somewhat misleading. By that I mean, they don’t do the show justice. Based on the 2010 Australian film of the same name, Animal Kingdom follows Joshua...

4 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Scream: “Vacancy”

T. Dawson June 14, 2016

For every thing that Scream does right (and it does do some things right; the show isn’t completely boneheaded), it does way too many things wrong. This can be chalked up to idiocy. Or laziness. Or obviousness. I...

4 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Preacher: “The Possibilities”

T. Dawson June 13, 2016

As far as Preacher episodes go, “The Possibilities” didn’t quite reach the heights of last week’s wonderful “See.” But it did something nearly as impressive. “Possibilities” was interested mainly in cultivating atmosphere. This is the episode...

5 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Game of Thrones: “No One”

T. Dawson June 12, 2016

Game of Thrones really is on fire this season. Even an episode like “No One,” which wasn’t as explosive as previous installments, works wonders when it comes to plot and character development. It’s a mostly...

4 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Bloodline: “Part 17”

T. Dawson June 10, 2016

A lot happens on Bloodline. It might be the show’s best-kept secret. In its best episodes – “Part 17” among them – Bloodline is able to maintain its languid pace while engaging in some deceptively propulsive storytelling. “Part...

3 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Scream: “Psycho”

T. Dawson June 7, 2016

The idea of Scream is not, in itself, a bad one. Hell, Wes Craven made four Scream movies, and one of them was actually good. Most of the programming on Freeform (formerly ABC Family) is about high school...

3 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Feed the Beast: “Pilot Light”

T. Dawson June 6, 2016

Chefs are all the rage right now. In the wake of films like Chef and Burnt, it was inevitable that a small-screen narrative would arise to tap into this zeitgeist (or fad, whichever you’d like). AMC beat everyone...

5 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Game of Thrones: “The Broken Man”

T. Dawson June 6, 2016

In many ways, “The Broken Man” is an episode that is perfectly emblematic of Game of Thrones‘ sixth season. By which I mean, a ton of shit happens. This is a busy episode, and yet it never...

2 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Steven Universe “Hit the Diamond”

B. Simmons June 3, 2016

So the past several weeks of Steven Universe have flowed in a way that actually would have worked well with the -bomb format. Which makes me feel a little bit sheepish, since it almost...

4 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Bloodline: “Part 16”

T. Dawson June 3, 2016

At long last, Bloodline is starting to show glimpses of the kind of show it can be when it comes out from under the shadow of Danny Rayburn (don’t get me wrong, though; Ben Mendelsohn is...

3 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Bloodline: “Part 15”

T. Dawson June 1, 2016

Bloodline is a slow-paced show. This is not news to anyone familiar with it. That’s not always a bad thing, though. At its best, Bloodline is an excruciatingly tense slow burn that you watch while peeking through...

3 Minutes

Television | Reviews

Steven Universe “Barn Mates”

B. Simmons May 27, 2016

Oh, hey, it’s that Steven Universe episode that was leaked months ago. Smooth moves, Cartoon Network. It probably would’ve been smarter to really get on it, but there’s still a twist so whatever. Anyway,...