police
Van der Valk, ITV review - can the Dutch detective make a successful comeback?Monday, 27 April 2020
Between 1972-1992 five series of Van der Valk were made for ITV, starring Barry Foster as the eponymous Amsterdam detective. Nearly 30 years later comes this reincarnation with Marc Warren in the title role, no doubt hoping to find a regular home in... Read more... |
Pass Over, Kiln Theatre review - fierce critique of racist brutalityThursday, 20 February 2020
The Black Lives Matter movement is such an important international protest that it is odd how few contemporary plays even mention it. Since the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter has been around since 2013, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman who... Read more... |
The Haystack, Hampstead Theatre review - a chilling surveillance state thrillerFriday, 07 February 2020
With counter-terrorism an urgent concern – and specifically how best to find, track and use the data of suspected threats, without sacrificing our privacy and civil liberties – it’s excellent timing for a meaty drama about the surveillance state.... Read more... |
Queen & Slim review - a stylish and raw tale of outlaws on the lamThursday, 30 January 2020
There’s a palpable rage to Melina Matsoukas’ first feature film Queen & Slim, starring Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith. Cast in the mould of Bonnie and Clyde, it’s a film that has you clinging to the arms of your seat... Read more... |
Deadwater Fell, Channel 4 review - dark murder mystery in a Scottish villageSaturday, 11 January 2020
An idyllic Scottish classroom full of happy children making sponge paintings of flowers with two enthusiastic young teachers – clearly, doom is in the air. Here comes that sense of dread again a little later at a ceilidh in a village hall, with... Read more... |
Seberg review - lightweight script, heavyweight performanceFriday, 10 January 2020
It’s 1968, and Seberg leaves her husband, Romain Gary (Yvan Attal) and son, Alexandre (Gabriel Sky) for an audition in Hollywood. She seems happy to be going. Touching down in LAX she joins a group of black activists, led by Hakim Jamal (Anthony... Read more... |
White House Farm, ITV review - gripping opener of true crime dramaThursday, 09 January 2020
It's the smallest lies that can bring you down. When he is asked by a detective how he got on with his family, who have just been murdered in a mass shooting at their Essex farm, Jeremy Bamber (Freddie Fox) says: “Really well. We were friends.” A... Read more... |
Motherless Brooklyn review – tic tecThursday, 05 December 2019
Edward Norton has wanted to adapt Motherless Brooklyn since Jonathan Lethem’s acclaimed novel was first published 20 years ago. His film (as producer, writer, director and star) is an obvious labour of love, an evocative, entertaining, old-fashioned... Read more... |
21 Bridges review - police corruption thriller sets a cracking paceWednesday, 20 November 2019
Thanks to a powerful cast and crisp direction from Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones, Luther), 21 Bridges drives home its story of good cops, bad cops and a Big Apple rotten to the core with bulldozing force. Centre stage is Chadwick Boseman as Andre... Read more... |
Dublin Murders, Series Finale, BBC One review - eerie detective drama grips tightlyWednesday, 06 November 2019
You wouldn’t expect a drama called Dublin Murders (BBC One) to be a laugh a minute, but the cumulative anguish, menace and torment of this eight-parter made it almost unbearable, even if viewers were thrown a tiny scrap of hope in the final frames.... Read more... |
Black and Blue review - police thriller aims high and missesThursday, 24 October 2019
Police corruption has fuelled many a Hollywood thriller, but sadly Black and Blue is no Training Day or The Departed. Naomie Harris plays US Army veteran turned rookie cop Alicia West, just three weeks into a career with the New Orleans police... Read more... |
Spiral, Series 7, BBC Four review - hard-hitting return of our favourite French cop showSunday, 20 October 2019
And welcome back to our favourite French cop show – perhaps our favourite cop show from anywhere, in fact – which has raced into its seventh series (on BBC Four) with some typically grimy storylines about death and lowlife in a very de-romanticised... Read more... |
