The Girlfriend is a slippery, dual-perspective psychological thriller on Prime Video, adapted from Michelle Frances's 2017 bestselling novel. Robin Wright, who also directs several episodes and executive produces, stars as Laura, a successful gallery owner and fiercely protective mother whose comfortable life tilts off its axis when her adored son Daniel brings home a new girlfriend. Olivia Cooke plays Cherry, the ambitious young woman who may be a devoted partner or a calculating opportunist, depending entirely on whose version of events you believe.
The series' central formal trick is to refuse to take a side. As the relationship between the two women curdles from wary politeness into open psychological warfare, the show replays key events from each woman's point of view, subtly altering a glance, a line of dialogue, or a gesture so that the same scene reads as either menacing or perfectly innocent. The effect keeps the audience permanently off balance, unsure whether Laura is a mother rightly sensing danger or a snob poisoning her son's happiness, and whether Cherry is a victim or a predator.
Wright and Cooke are both excellent, circling each other with icy precision, and critics praised the series as a tense, morally ambiguous adult thriller elevated by its two committed leads. Stylish and coolly unnerving, The Girlfriend is streaming on Prime Video.
Just how much reality can we really stand? After being involved in a serious car accident with his wife and son Michael Britten, a police detective, must face the reality of one or the other of his loved ones having been killed in that wreck. He experiences "realities" involving each scenario and as we witness, his mind wraps around the existence of that reality being true. Scary as that may sound the detective does manage to perform his duties as a police detective and solve crimes. His captain (Laura Innes from ER, The Event) and his partner "Bird" Freeman (Steve Harris from Homicide: Life on the Streets, Law & Order) worry about Britten's sanity as he moves between two reality scenarios that are equally terrifying. Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter films, The Patriot) is detective Britten, a man who is Awake through his sorrow and visions. He wears colored rubber bands, each one different for the reality he sees. Red reflects his wife being alive and green for his son remaining alive. We, the viewing audience, can tell by color of those bands how much he pines for his missing loved ones.
Typical of the hugely popular TV series Survivor, we see men pitted against the women to see who can perform tasks better. But with Survivor: One World there is a new twist according to Jeff Probst, the shows host. While the competition will be men against women they will be allowed to cohabitate for the very first time. In other words, they can play together until the games begin, then it's every man "“ and women for themselves! Should prove to be interesting. The contestants can build a single camp, two camps, or not even have a designated camp, it's up to them to decide. And there will be even more reward challenges than before plus no Redemption Island. Some "Do it yourself challenges" as well as no judges and no Probst to interfere, they just need to figure things out for themselves. A new host steps up and proves to be equally as annoying as Jeff Probst ever was! Part of the challenges involves what to do with some of the props. Fun time in the jungle once again!
Ann Biderman, highly respected as a writer on the NYPD Blue TV series as well as movies (Copycat, Primal Fear), created Southland originally for NBC television. When the series moved on to TNT cable network it opened up the plots and scripts with a freedom not seen on network television. It became decidedly more earthy and real without the constraints of network censors. SouthLAnd (styled promotionally to represent LA California) follows the lives of LAPD officers who try to keep the streets of one of the largest cities in the U.S. clear of crime and corruption, but that's a daunting task! The series closely follows several officers in particular, bringing in their personal lives along with the dangers they face every day on the job. Being a cop is never a 9 to 5 job and it's never boring! Starring Benjamin McKenzie (The OC, 88 Minutes) playing Ben Sherman who we follow from rookie to seasoned veteran, Shawn Hatosy (Dexter, My Name Is Earl) is Sammy Bryant and is Ben's partner, a man who has plenty of problems at home. The show is definitely worth watching for the honest look at dramatic police life.
And just might prove to be the better choice as far as the entertainment factor goes! Animation today is far better due to some CG effects. Taking up where the 2004 movie left us, Napoleon Dynamite follows along with the adventures of Preston, Idaho resident Napoleon Dynamite as well as his family friends and some new characters as well. Napoleon is a teenage boy just sixteen year old who just happens to be multi talented. Being quite good at drawing, dancing, and always practicing his ninja moves, he also claims to have a girlfriend back in Oklahoma. He has a brother named Kip who is 32 and still lives at home. Kip is always trying to meet up with girls on the internet. The brothers live with their grandmother who spends much of her time with friends four wheeling on sand dunes. Napoleon is voiced by Jon Heder and other voices include Aaron Ruell, Tina Majorino, Diedrich Bader, Sandy Martin, and Efren Ramirez.
DreamWorks TV and producer Steven Spielberg are hoping their latest entry into prime time television lives up to its name. Smash is about the making of a Broadway musical play which involves the life of Marilyn Monroe. But personal conflicts among the cast members prove to be difficult to work with as they deal with the everyday demands of theater life and this musical in particular. Debra Messing stars as Julia Houston who is the co-writer as well as lyrist and song writer on Smash. Messing, formerly seen on Will & Grace, is an award winner with a musical background. Angelica Huston (Prizzi's Honor, The Adams Family) plays Eileen Rand the musical's producer who has to juggle handling a messy divorce along with the difficulty that goes with producing a Broadway musical. Frank Huston, Julia's husband is played by Brian d'Arcy James (Broadway's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) is jealous of Tom Levett (Christian Borle from Broadway's Jesus Christ Superstar), Julia's partner and co-writer of Smash. The actress who finally gets the role of Marilyn is Ivy Lynn played by Megan Hilty from the Broadway production of 9 to 5: The Musical. Plenty of behind the scenes back biting helps keep this production on a bumpy road.
In a comedy based on a novel with the same name by David J. Rosen, I Just Want My Pants Back follows poor Jason Strider as he searches for his favorite pair of jeans. Seems he had a one night stand with a girl and it ended with him missing not only his pants but the girl as well. Now he must hunt around in New York City, no small task, and hopefully get his best pair of pants back and perhaps the girl as well. Jason is also trying to handle a new job working at a casting agency. Her name is Jane and Jason thinks she just might be "the one" for him! But now he can't find her. Peter Vack (As The World Turns) is Jason Strider, his best friend Tina is played by Kim Shaw from Sex and the City, Did You Hear About The Morgans?), Chris Parnell (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Answer This!) is Jason's casting agency boss. A typical "twenty something" living in Brooklyn, Jason prefers hanging with friends, finding a better job, and hitting the bars. But he begins to grow up as he seeks the missing girl he apparently fell in love with and now wants to find the elusive Jane.
As Martin Bohm, father of an emotionally challenged boy of 11, we find Kiefer Sutherland bringing an emotional character to life as he tries to understand what makes his son "tick". Martin's son Jacob (who also goes by Jake) has been caught up in a world of his own since his mother perished during the attacks of September 11, 2001. He sees events in the future and seems obsessed by numbers. This series blends spirituality with science as we find out about the connections that bind all of humanity together in ways hidden from normal view. The 11 year old boy may well hold the key to shaping the planet's destiny. The supernatural Touch has a spectacular cast beginning with Kiefer Sutherland (24, The Cowboy Way) as the father Martin Bohm, his son Jake Bohm is portrayed by David Mazouz (TV's Criminal Minds, Mike & Molly), Professor Arthur Teller is played by Danny Glover (the Lethal Weapon series, The Color Purple). Professor Teller and Jake's dad Martin Bohm try to solve the puzzle that is Jake's mind and find a way to break through to him. This series hold promise of becoming a "must see" each week!
As a sequel to the popular Spartacus: Blood and Sand, we find Spartacus: Vengeance is more about how and why he became a gladiator. Determined to free the slaves owned by the Roman Republic, the Romans need to stop Spartacus before he does them more damage. And now Spartacus, himself a former Thracian slave, has a huge decision to make which is whether to help free the slaves or seek vengeance on those who condemned his own wife into slavery then death. Starring as Spartacus is Liam McIntyre from Neighbours and The Pacific, Peter Mensah (Avatar, Tears of the Sun) is trusted friend and former trainer of gladiators Oenomaus, Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica) is Lucretia Batiatus, widow of Quintus Batiatus who now hold a gift known as prophecy, and Dan Feuerriegel (Australian TV's McLeod's Daughters, Stupid Stupid Man) playing the part of Agron, German gladiator who was the first to join up with Spartacus and his revolt. Others in the cast include Manu Bennett as Crixus, Viva Bianca as Ilithyia, and as Gaius Claudius Glaber, Craig Parker. It's rousing and entertaining while not especially true to history.
Those who love to get that fuzzy and warm all over feeling while watching the Home Edition of Extreme Home Makeover will surely appreciate the latest concept in trivia game shows called You Deserve It! The show's premise is that the contestant is not trying to win big bucks or great prizes for themselves but rather for someone they care about, someone who deserves a reward. The true winners in this game show may well be us, the viewing audience! The Pay it Forward concept has become a movement lately with people paying off lay away bills for complete strangers and many more than usual buying gifts for children and adults who would otherwise have a bleak holiday season. This trivia game show finds one contestant per show answering trivial but challenging questions and their reward is making someone else happy. The contestant has chosen a recipient based on their needs. The first episode finds a young woman named Stacey who plays the game hoping to win money for her best friend. The friend, a mother of two, has recently lost her husband. This selfless act of kindness can bring us all to tears as we watch her win for her deserving friend. Not just another game show but rather an uplifting emotional study in human nature.
While on an excursion deep into the Amazon forests Dr Emmet Cole traveled along the Amazon River in search of magic held in the dark recesses of the Amazon. He turned up missing six months ago and now his locating beacon has turned up, giving off signals to help locate it. But when his wife Tess gathers together a crew to seek out the beacon and hopefully, her missing husband, they find their labors useless. Their son Lincoln has his own agenda and is ready to cross his father off as permanently gone. The crew, comprised of new acquaintances and old friends come to realize there is magic in this place and it comes alive when a ghost is unleashed, killing Jed and terrorizing the boat's crew. Starring Bruce Greenwood (Hollywood Homicide, Capote) is Dr. Emmet Cole, his wife Tess is played by Leslie Hope (Teri Bauer wife of Jack Bauer on 24), their son Lincoln is portrayed by Joseph Anderson (The Crazies, Love Happens), and Eloise Mumford previously seen on TV's Lone Star and Crash. Entertaining and filled with lush unfamiliar scenery.
