Chris Vognar

The series digs deep into poisonous power dynamics and the lengths to which those in authority will go to preserve them, and it does so with an instinct for suspense that never really falters. It’s one of the best shows of the year.

It’s a lean, fast ride that still offers plenty of opportunity to stop and appreciate the human moments wedged in between the thrills.

There’s nothing very sophisticated about “The Westies,” few pretensions of prestige. And that’s part of why it works. It’s a well-executed, pulpy crime drama, and in Eamon it delivers a convincingly divided antihero.

Some of it is pretty, pretty, pretty good. And some of it plays like a group of friends getting together to do interminable improv bits keyed to the stubbornly broad and diffuse subject of U.S. history.

Sugar’s secret is out, to viewers anyway, but we can still enjoy his quirks, including a poker face that breaks into an easy grin; a capacity for lethal force that he’d rather not use; and an insatiable lust for the movies.

“Alice and Steve,” snappily written, subversive, but deceptively sweet, is a worthy addition to the import roster.

At the series’ core is a deeply felt performance from Rebecca Hall. .... “The Listeners” is more cinematically expressive than most television fare; it creates a mood as much as it tells a story, and finds creative ways to depict characters losing contact with external reality.

Pretty good, provided you can roll with the kind of story padding and zeitgeist stew that Apple TV seems especially fond of. .... At times I longed for the pure, undiluted sadism of the old-time Max Cady, a character conceived as an embodiment of implacable, almost cosmic evil. Bardem gets there eventually, but he takes his sweet time — and has a lot of fun on the journey.

You can excuse the anachronism, largely because Cage channels his inner Bogie with such gusto. .... “Spider-Noir” can be funny and fun. And yet, as the name suggests, it comes in a shade of darkness.

It’s a raunchy, smart sex comedy that happens to feature forest animals.