Linda Holmes

Nov 15, 2024 | gpb.org | Linda Holmes

It's a dark-hearted relief to know from the very beginning of the first season of the Apple TV+ black comedy series Bad Sisters, which was released in 2022, that John Paul ends up dead. It might be too much to take if you didn't. John Paul (or JP), played with breathtaking vileness by Claes Bang, is the cruel, emotionally and physically abusive husband of Grace (Anne-Marie Duff). Grace makes excuses for him; her sisters will not.

Nov 1, 2024 | gpb.org | Linda Holmes

The marketing of the film Here has heavily emphasized its status as a Forrest Gump reunion for Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and director Robert Zemeckis. (The script is also from Gump screenwriters Zemeckis and Eric Roth.) Whether or not a Forrest Gump reunion was something people were looking for 30 years after the fact, Here does have a lot in common with its predecessor, including the sense that it's sometimes more tricky - both technically and narratively - than good.

Oct 30, 2024 | npr.org | Stephen Thompson |Linda Holmes |Cristina Escobar |Hafsa Fathima |Mike Katzif |Jessica Reedy

Marriage and politics are tough negotiations in 'The Diplomat'In the Netflix drama The Diplomat, Keri Russell plays an ambassador who's thrust into an international incident with massive stakes. She's also sorting through a tumultuous marriage with her husband, a hotshot veteran diplomat (Rufus Sewell). The series combines the tension of Homeland with the administrative drama of The West Wing.

Oct 20, 2024 | npr.org | Linda Holmes

For once — a true crime story that isn't focused on the killerIn a lot of true crime stories, no one is treated as more interesting than the criminal at the center. Mildly interesting are the police, the journalists, and the family involved. But not the person who got hurt, let alone the people who just barely didn't get hurt. In the new Netflix film Woman of the Hour, however, there's little interest in the thinking or the life of real-life convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala.

Sep 10, 2024 | wrvo.org | Linda Holmes |Byron Brown

Maybe you think you've seen every scary mother-in-law fiction has to offer — you absolutely haven't. In the new movie , a pregnant woman (Brandy Norwood) allows her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) to move in. In a film that's part creepy and part very darkly funny, the two women square off for control of the house and the child on the way.