The Whistlers review – a smart, self-aware noir concerning a crooked cop

★★★★ THE WHISTLERS  Playful and cunningly crafted neo-noir 

Playful and cunningly crafted neo-noir is a delight from start to finish

Romanian filmmaker Corneliu Porumboiu has made a career crafting perceptive and cerebral examinations of his native country. From his 2006 debut 12:08 to Bucharest to The Treasure, they were cerebral films that powerfully embodied the Romanian New Wave. 

Westworld, Season 3 Finale, Sky Atlantic review - Dolores’s plans come to fruition

★★★ WESTWORLD, SEASON 3 FINALE, SKY ATLANTIC Dolores's plans come to fruition

Explosive finale exposes some of the season's weaknesses

After a season that sought to redefine what Westworld could become, the finale exposed the confused arc, before limping towards an emotionally weak ending.

Blood, Series 2, Channel 5 review - expertly-crafted thriller turns the screw

★★★★★ BLOOD, SERIES 2, CHANNEL 5 Expertly-crafted thriller turns the screw

Examination of family values under extreme duress

Veterans of the first series of Blood will be familiar with writer Sophie Petzal’s fondness for leading the viewer up the garden path and round the mulberry bush as the story develops. Get ready to go through it all again.

Westworld, Season 3, Sky Atlantic review – a cyberpunk triumph

★★★★ WESTWORLD, SEASON 3, SKY ATLANTIC A cyberpunk triumph 

It's still rich and intricate, but now stripped down and ready for action

In the time since the show’s inception four years ago, arguments have raged as to whether Westworld is a dud or a cult classic. For every dedicated fan, there’s someone out there crying, "The Matrix did it first!" and complaining that the plot didn’t make sense (it did).  

Extraction, Netflix review - mercenary mayhem

★★★ EXTRACTION Mercenary mayhem

Emotion and action awkwardly collide as Chris Hemsworth bulldozes through Bangladesh

This is what Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame co-creator Joe Russo and his Thor, Chris Hemsworth, did next. It’s a gritty solo project after the Avengers band broke up, attempting to recreate the lean ethos of a Steve McQueen action pic in contemporary Bangladesh.

Elizabeth Kay: Seven Lies review - can big-money debut match the hype?

★★ ELIZABETH KAY: SEVEN LIES Editor turned writer explores toxic friendship in confessional domestic noir

Editor turned writer explores toxic friendship in confessional domestic noir

Seven Lies is the debut novel of Elizabeth Kay, who under another name works as a commissioning editor in publishing. For how long will she stay in her day job when her pseudonymous moonlighting has already reaped vast rewards? Her thriller emerges to a drumroll.

Earth and Blood, Netflix review - tense and broody thriller ultimately falls short

★★★ EARTH AND BLOOD, NETFLIX Julian Leclerc's gangster drama packs a punch but lacks depth

Julian Leclerc's gangster drama packs a punch but lacks depth

There are quite a few good things to be said for Julien Leclerc’s Earth and Blood. It’s a terse and uncluttered thriller which makes full use of its main location, a battered old sawmill in the midst of a dank expanse of forest, and Leclerc has rustled up a thoroughly unpleasant bunch of gangsters led by the intimidating Adama (Ériq Ebouaney).

Run, Sky Comedy review - vicarious thrills for the self-isolation era

★★ RUN Vicarious thrills for the self-isolation era

Vicky Jones' ‘Run’ is a sexy, unpredictable thriller about being anywhere but home

Watching Run, HBO’s newest seven-part series, feels like off-the-rails escapism: it’s a fast-paced thriller about dropping everything, chasing intimacy and courting danger. It’s a vicarious adventure centred on a woman who has spent too long stuck at home. Run has hit our screens at the best possible time.

Dark Waters review - an ominous drama with plenty of backbone, but not enough flesh

★★★ DARK WATERS Ominous drama with plenty of backbone, but not enough flesh

Mark Ruffalo stars as a remarkable American hero in the latest whistleblower flick

Watching Dark Waters, the latest film from director Todd Haynes (Carol, Far from Heaven), I kept thinking — what’s the opposite of a love letter? The film is based on the work of Rob Bilott, a real-life lawyer who uncovered a corruption scandal so toxic that it was literally poisoning us. Dark Waters stars Mark Ruffalo as Bilott, and it functions as a dignified takedown of DuPont: the chemical giant responsible for the poison.