poptransmission

Category: TV

  • The Sympathizer: A Different Perspective on the Vietnam War

    “In America it’s called the Vietnam War. In Vietnam it’s called the American War.” During the pilot episode, HBO’s latest addition to Sunday night TV makes it clear that The Sympathizer is about the American War; a shift from the common perspective of the U.S soldier to the plight of the Vietnamese people. Directed by…

  • Undercover: Another International Treat from Netflix, This Time a Dutch Crime Thriller

    The scenario: Undercover agents infiltrate a drug kingpin’s operation by posing as a couple at the campground where he spends his weekends. They gain his trust and become close friends and partners in crime. Bad cops, twists and turns, double crosses, and sexual tension. Sound familiar? Of course, we’ve all seen a variation of this…

  • The 96th Academy Awards: No Surprise, Oppenheimer Was the Big Winner

    After sweeping the Directors, Producers, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Golden Globes, Oppenheimer was a shoo-in for Best Picture. Nominated in 13 (!) categories, it won seven – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Supporting Actor, Cinemaphotography, Editing, and Score. Poor Things took home the Oscar for Best Actress, Production Design,…

  • Oscars Predictions 2024: Looks Like Oppenheimer for the Big Wins

    The Best Picture nominations for the year 2023 run from blockbusters (Barbie and Oppenheimer) to critical favorites that few people saw (Past Lives and Anatomy of a Fall). Often by now many of the categories are sure things by building an unstoppable momentum during the Awards season. That’s still the case, but there are some…

  • Netflix’s A Nearly Normal Family: A Murder in the Swedish Suburbs

    Netflix continues to provide an array of compelling international programming. I love hearing the different languages (I would never dream of watching a foreign film dubbed in English) and exotic locales. Sweden is the setting for Netflix’s new limited series, A Nearly Normal Family. The Sandells – Adam, a local priest, Ulrika, a local attorney,…

  • True Detective: Night Country – A Spooky Chill in Dark Alaska

    In 2014, True Detective offered a fresh take on crime dramas. It was a swampy thriller, set in voodoo-land Louisiana, starring mismatched detectives played by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. It was HBO’s highest-rated debut since Six Feet Under, 13 years earlier. The second season in 2015, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams, moved to…

  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 Induction Ceremony

    The Rock Hall continued moving on from old white guys to a more diverse group of artists and musical styles, exemplified no better than this year’s headline inductee, Missy Elliott (on the heels of last year’s Dolly Parton). Here’s a complete list of the 2023 inductees: For the first time, the Induction Ceremony was livestreamed…

  • All the Light We Cannot See: An Uneven Adaptation of the Best-Selling Novel

    Here we go again…a favorite novel gets the greenlight from Netflix. A time for anticipation and possible disappointment. If the novel in question is the Pulitzer Prize winning, enormously popular, All the Light We Cannot See those feelings are heightened. How will the tone balance human hope and desire with the misery and fear of…

  • You Betcha, Fargo is Back for Season 5

    (This was an early review of the first two episodes of the new season of Fargo. Fargo airs on FX Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. and is available to stream on Hulu the following day.) “This is a true story.” Fargo is back to the Midwest after a detour to Kansas City. There’s something about…

  • The Gilded Age: Old Money V. New Money in NYC

    The Gilded Age: a term coined by Mark Twain, to refer to the period between Reconstruction and the Progressive Era (1877-1900). A time of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding of economic expansion. A pejorative phrase for materialistic excess combined with extreme poverty. The TV series focuses on the privileged wealthy, and…

  • Israeli TV Crime Thrillers: More International Intrigue from Netflix

    German, French, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Russian, Japanese, South Korean. I’ve really enjoyed the polyglot of languages on Netflix programming. (Some Americans would add the U.K. and Ireland to the list of countries whose TV programming requires subtitles.) Netflix has made international programs accessible and easy for many who previously might have shied away…

  • The Diplomat: Netflix’s Surprisingly Delicious Political Drama

    Career diplomat, Kate Wyler (Keri Russell, The Americans), reluctantly accepts reassignment to the U.K. as U.S. ambassador. Her husband Hal (Rufus Sewell, The Man in the High Castle), also a diplomat, accompanies her to London. He’s got swagger, a high profile, and a penchant for the limelight. Their roles have reversed; she’s driving the relocation…