Katie Walsh – Page 21

I've been rewatching this dramedy that ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2004, and it is as sardonic and easy-to-watch as I remembered. The premise: An apathetic 18-year-old (played by a wonderfully deadpan Ellen Muth) is killed by a piece of airplane equipment falling from the sky — a toilet seat, to be exact — and enters the afterlife equivalent of annoying temp work, helping recently deceased souls leave their bodies to move on to the next realm. She and her small group of "colleagues" (including the marvelous Jasmine Guy) have none of the perks you'd expect: They still more or less have to live on earth, scrambling for housing, but minus any meaningful human connections. Mandy Patinkin plays her boss (of sorts), who calls her "pumpkin" but cuts her zero slack. It might be my favorite (and least-known) show from creator Bryan Fuller, who would later go on to create "Pushing Daisies" and "Hannibal." (Tubi, Amazon Prime, VOD) — Nina Metz

‘Nobody’ review: Bob Odenkirk stars in lean, mean dadsploitation flick

March 25, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) is stuck in a rut. Or, perhaps he's stuck in a Talking Heads song, finding himself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife (Connie Nielsen), asking...

‘Shoplifters of the World’ review: A heartfelt coming-of-age drama centered around The Smiths

March 24, 2021 at 12:03 p.m.

For years, a myth persisted that in 1987, a young Smiths fan held up a local Denver radio station at gunpoint with a stash of Smiths tapes and demanded they...

‘Enforcement’ review: Genre thrills fuse with sociopolitical commentary

March 19, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.

The English title of Danish policing drama "Enforcement" loses something in the translation. The original title, "Shorta," means "cops" in Arabic, and in the film, it's wielded like an insult,...

Merab Ninidze and Benedict Cumberbatch in"The Courier." (Liam Daniel/Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)

‘The Courier’ review: Uneven, but ultimately more than standard spy movie fare with Benedict Cumberbatch

March 17, 2021 at 8:33 a.m.

Dominic Cooke's 1960s spy thriller "The Courier" unfolds as expected until it doesn't. Based on the true story of British businessman Greville Wynne and the daring acts of espionage he...

‘Long Weekend’ review: Man conjures dream girl in mediocre love story

March 11, 2021 at 11:15 a.m.

There's something about Vienna. Something off, that is. The love interest of writer/director Stephen Basilone's "Long Weekend," Vienna, as played by Zoe Chao (who has perfected the art of quirky...

What to stream: Celebrate Women’s History Month with the best films directed by women

March 9, 2021 at 10:57 a.m.

Celebrating Women's History Month is as good an occasion as any to stream a film directed by a woman (not that one needs an occasion for that!). After combing through...

Even with Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan front and center, little in the trailer of "The Dig" seemed particularly promising, but I gave it a go and it's good. Some of it's true, too: Along the east coast of Britain in 1939, with war clouds looming, self-taught Suffolk archeologist Basil Brown was hired by ailing widow Edith Pretty to discover if anything of value lay beneath the earth mounds on her property. There was indeed, and the remains and artifacts of a sixth-century Anglo-Saxon burial ship stunned the world. Fiennes is Basil; Mulligan is Edith; around the halfway point of director Simon Stone's film, the focus (for better or worse) shifts to others in the orbit of the excavation effort, particularly characters played by Lily James and Johnny Flynn. Based on the 2007 novel by John Preston, "The Dig" freely mixes fact and invention, overloading the crises a bit but generally succeeding. A fair amount of screenwriter Moira Buffini's dialogue plays out as Terrence Malick-styled voiceover, while the camera focuses on the stark beauty of the surroundings, and men and women actually doing the work. The results are trim, well-made and quite moving. So much for my prejudgments. (Netflix) — Michael Phillips

‘The Truffle Hunters’ review: Oscar-shortlisted doc is a cinematic delicacy as rare as the truffle itself

March 3, 2021 at 11:35 a.m.

The documentary "The Truffle Hunters" offers a glimpse into the world of high-stakes truffle hunting in Italy, with an approach is artful, thoughtful and at times, even whimsical. The film,...

‘The Vigil’ review: Efficiently creepy horror film rooted in Jewish lore

February 24, 2021 at 11:43 a.m.

Horror films often offer catharsis, but rarely are they also as deeply sorrowful as Keith Thomas's "The Vigil," a horror film based in Jewish faith and culture. Dave Davis stars...

Review: Jungle prison-set ‘Night of the Kings’ unleashes layers of legend, lore and the power of storytelling

February 23, 2021 at 12:07 p.m.

In writer/director Philippe Lacôte's astonishing film "Night of the Kings," a young man (Bakary Koné) walks into a notorious jungle prison, MACA, with its own systems of law and order....

What to stream: Celebrate some of the best films available online made by Black women

February 23, 2021 at 11:51 a.m.

This week marks the last of Black History Month, before Women's History Month kicks off in March. So to send off one month and usher in another, check out some...

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