Khanya

As a fan of Homeland, the Americans, Madam Secretary, etc., I was really excited about this show, and it truly met and surpassed my expectations! Of course, Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell are both incredible performers, with the repartee between their characters being delightful. And, the entire cast was really strong, with every character playing an intricate part in this political soap opera. There is intelligent writing, witty dialogue, and while not a perfect show, it is a strong contender in the political thriller genre.

And, with Season 2 being announced recently, I am excited to see what comes next for this story. No spoilers, but the ending is quite dramatic and sets up a nice build for the future.

The Diplomat is an absolute triumph of storytelling. Debora Cahn's brilliant political thriller incorporates the best elements of her most high-profile TV work to date, mixing the relentless pacing of Homeland, the complex relationship portrayals of Grey's Anatomy, and the resolutely smart dialogue & sky-high audience expectations of the Sorkin years of The West Wing. Throw that into a brew along with a flawless cast and you get a show that is nigh impossible to stop watching mid-binge.

Keri Russell's return to TV after her iconic run on The Americans does not disappoint. Here she portrays yet another strong, brilliant woman in a position of power but this time she's out of the shadows and on the most public of stages. She deftly shifts between a rigidly formal diplomatic persona and her foul-mouthed, cutthroat private life, sometimes in the space of a couple of sentences, yet her humanity shines through. She grapples with imposter syndrome as she's thrust into an unexpectedly high profile position, but never loses sight of her strengths. She knows that she can stand toe-to-toe with her legendary-in-diplomatic-circles husband. (In fact, she warns her new colleagues that she's the only one who can help them decode or resist his charms.)

Watching their sometimes partnership / sometimes rivalry unfold across the 8 episodes is mesmerizing as both she & Rufus Sewell mercilessly chew up every scene. They're both preternatural acting talents who are used to stealing the camera from other actors, and their slow circling of each other is like a dance with words. Sewell shines as the other Ambassador in their marriage who's grappling with a crumbling relationship that he wants to save, but doesn't seem to know whether it's because he loves his wife or if she offers him a new pathway to power.

The overarching mystery of the series blends seamlessly with the evolution of their relationship, with neither feeling forced or unrealistic. And the area where so many shows can falter - the supporting roles - is yet another where this one rises above expectations. All of the secondary players shine, with the only ding against the series being the underutilization of Jess Chanliau's Ronnie. But, then again, the hallmark of the series seems to be making sure that you always want to see more. Here's hoping that we get to see more of Ronnie in (a hoped-for) season 2.

The movie, Interview with the Vampire, has always been a fav. After the first episode, I immediately nearly forgot the movie and fell in love with Anderson's Louis and Reid's Lestat. Everything about Rolin Jones' interpretation feels right. The era change, the age differences for Claudia, having Louis be Black. Top notch story-telling so far. Looking forward to following this story.

The sounds of wailing women being the police siren sound was disturbingly beautiful.

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holy shit, chef

Great show. I'm sure we can all agree that the first season was fantastic while the second season had its moments but was overall incredibly slow and boring. And while the first season was also slow, it wasn't boring. I hope the third season is more along the lines of enjoyment the first season was.

This is what pushing the limits of television looks like. Concept, execution and aesthetics, 10 out of 10.

Fishback should be crowned Queen B herself for the acting master class she's pulled off. Legendary.

This movie goes back to basics and really recaptures the classic spirit of man (or woman in this case) vs Predator.

Amber does a great turn as Naru, a Comanche trying to show that she CAN hunt and ends up in a battle against the almighty predator. The evolution of the story is a well paced and the combat encounters are well planned and satisfying.

Aesthetically the predator is a more raw tribal type than we've seen before but is well put out.

There's a few CGI moments that could have done with a little longer is post but on the whole it's pretty good.

Fun, exciting and a classic Predator tale without all the fluff, much better than what we've seen in recent years.

Also the addition of a dog companion is fun :-) Although we are in a world where every movie likes to show strong women I think this movie framed it very well and the Comanche and time frame were a great choice.

8/10

I loved it and I'm glad that Gaiman was involved. In my opinion the the start was (First 4 episodes were so good it made the next ones hard to fiollow) a lot stronger than the finish, and I do hope it picks up next Season.

But it's very faithful to the origin source and even on the books some stories are better than others.
All in all I loved it Hope you do too.

Outside of a speed bump in the fifth episode, this was a fantastic season!

It is contradictory that, the worse fit they have in the MCU, the more interesting these proposals for series of lateral characters are. In this case, there is a remarkable approach to multiple personality disorder that, mixed with Egyptian mythology, offers a very striking proposal. But, when it tries to regain the connection to the MCU, it becomes conventional and uninspiring. Oscar Isaacs is superb.