Marlow Stern

The frustrating thing about Chappelle’s preoccupation with the trans community is that he’s still capable of spinning a devilishly funny, layered yarn when he wants to that will have you in stitches. But he just can’t help himself.

Forget any fly-on-the-wall scenes, mic'd-up moments, or amusing B-roll. And all of Messi and his merry men's observations mostly boil down to how happy he is to be there, and how happy his young teammates are to be mentored by soccer studs like Messi, his former Barça teammate Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. The docuseries does a decent job of capturing the excitement surrounding Messi's Miami arrival.

While it doesn’t come close to those lofty heights [the Hoop Dreams of hip-hop docs], Jeen-yuhs does contain plenty of inspiring and heartfelt moments. ... By [2017], however, the arrangement has changed. Instead of trailing West wherever he went, filming is mostly limited to the occasional party and/or recording session. ... At various points, the filmmakers even opt to stop filming West as he starts to spiral in order to preserve their friend’s reputation.

The new four-part documentary series Allen v. Farrow makes a thoroughly convincing argument that Allen indeed molested his 7-year-old daughter, Dylan Farrow, that fateful day in their Connecticut home.

Given that it hits all the familiar Law & Order beats, the success of FBI is contingent on the charisma of its two leads, and the first episode does little to convince that Maggie Bell is even playing the same sport as Olivia Benson.

While Baldwin proves a competent enough interviewer, having honed his technique on his WNYC podcast Here’s the Thing, the conversations remained surface-level due to his guests’ proximity to the host. And his exchange with Seinfeld concerning the #MeToo movement was pretty unsettling.

Stone not only fails to challenge Putin, but essentially cedes him the floor, allowing the cunning ex-KGB operative to spin more than the president’s toupee in a tornado. ... The Putin Interviews offer, first and foremost, a staggering display of mendacity on the part of both interviewer and interviewee.

Though its title screams Christmas flick, HBO’s absorbing new miniseries is a pitch-black procedural that combines the system-is-broken outrage of Making a Murderer, the menacing atmosphere of Oz, and the shameless topicality and plot twists of Law & Order: SVU. And the first of its eight hour-long chapters plays like an elegant, extended version of the first three minutes of SVU.

Season 2 of HBO's True Detective is almost entirely devoid of the lyrical dialogue, nonlinear storytelling, and treasure trove of literary references that crashed servers and launched a thousand subreddits (for the former, you’ll have to turn to the Lincoln commercials). It’s a straightforward pulpy neo-noir.... The performances are all top-notch and the pacing is brisk.

Claire, whether she’s riding an inebriated Frank like Seabiscuit or throwing down in a game of beer pong, does exhibit some of that killer instinct we’ve come to know and love.... Given that House of Cards is a series designed to be binge-watched in its entirety, it’s too early to tell whether or not it too has fallen victim to the third season curse.