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Reviews - page 29

Servant unleashes a bed bug blitz [Apple TV+ recap]

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Servant cast members in hazmat suits and gas masks.
Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse ... bed bugs!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewDorothy is back in the bizarre Turner household this week on Apple TV+ thriller Servant — and she’s not happy to be home. Leanne insists on normalcy, but considering the things that have happened, that’s asking a lot.

To make matters worse, Tobe and Julian are stuck in the house together. Plus, the Turners have a big bug problem, Sean can’t stand up for either Leanne or Dorothy, and Dorothy keeps throwing a monkey wrench in Leanne’s plans.

In Truth Be Told season 3, podcaster Poppy tackles sex trafficking [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Podcaster Poppy Scoville-Parnell (played by Olivia Spencer, left) jumps on a kidnapping case in season three of Truth Be Told on Apple TV+.★★★
Podcaster Poppy Scoville-Parnell (played by Olivia Spencer, left) jumps on a kidnapping case in season three of Truth Be Told.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewTruth Be Told, the Apple TV+ drama created by Nichelle D. Tramble about a true crime podcaster, returns for its third season this week. This season, Poppy Scoville-Parnell — the intrepid reporter played by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer — must blow the lid off a sex-trafficking ring that resulted in at least one kidnapping, maybe more.

Politics, tech money, school board in-fighting, and police reform are all tied up in this case — and our podcasting hero Poppy is at the center of the swirl, as usual.

Shape Island squares the circle: It’s stop-motion perfection for kids and parents [Apple TV+ review] ★★★★★

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Circle, Square and Triangle from stop-motion animation show ★★★★★
Minor problems deliver major entertainment in excellent new stop-motion animation series Shape Island. on Apple TV+.
Image: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewShape Island arrives on Apple TV+ today to teach kids about social interactions and to help them ward off the anxiety inherent in such things. Based on the critically acclaimed books by illustrator Jon Klassen and author Mac Barnett, this charming stop-motion show is as cute as it is thoughtful — a good way to make kids laugh while slyly making them learn.

This is one of the first Apple TV+ kids’ shows with enough joyous anarchy for parents as well as children.

Dump your bulky wallet for this slim MagSafe alternative [Review] ★★★★

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SwitchEasy MagWallet Leather Card Holder★★★★
You don't need an old-fashioned wallet when MagWallet can do the job better.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

SwitchEasy’s MagWallet carries a pair of credit cards and snaps onto the back of your iPhone so it’s easy to keep with you. It’s much less bulky than a traditional wallet, and is just right for someone whose New Year’s resolution is to simplify their life.

I tried the leather MagWallet with my iPhone 14 Plus. It’s simply convenient.

The new Model F Keyboard is the best Mac keyboard I’ve tried [Review] ★★★★☆

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Straight-down shot of the Model F on a desk.★★★★☆
It’s a dramatic and radical keyboard that feels right at home with a Mac.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

I’ve been on a quest to discover the perfect Mac keyboard. I’m looking for a compact keyboard with modern Mac styling — and the best key switches money can buy.

That’s when I discovered Model F Labs, whose keyboards are truly one-of-a-kind. They offer plenty of normal designs — but I ordered one in silver with blank unprinted keys. Keep reading to find out why I ordered what I did, why I love it and why I’ll be keeping it on my desk.

Super League: The War for Football details a sordid cash grab [Apple TV+ review] ★★☆☆

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Aleksander Čeferin, president of the Union of European Football Associations, in a still from four-part Apple TV+ docuseries ★★☆☆
Aleksander Čeferin, president of the Union of European Football Associations, faces a major battle in Super League: The War for Football.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ documentary series Super League: The War for Football examines a dark and very recent chapter in the beloved sport’s history when the bubble threatened to burst.

Capitalism’s slowly tightening stranglehold over the sport meant that some owners saw the potential for growth that meant cutting off not just more than half of the European teams, but the thousands of fans of those teams. This is the story of the people who saved football … for now.

Echo 3 comes to a miserable, maddening end [Apple TV+ recap] ☆☆☆☆

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Jessica Ann Collins as Amber in a still from Apple TV+ series Echo 3.☆☆☆☆
At least Amber (played by Jessica Ann Collins) made it out alive.

TV+ ReviewEnervating Apple TV+ series Echo 3 comes to a close this week. The show finally springs kidnapped CIA plant Amber from her prison, but there’s a lot more to freedom than no longer seeing the same four walls.

This bizarro, jingoistic wife-guy fantasy comes to a screeching halt with a conclusion preordained from its first incredibly strange seconds. Come for the last gunfight, stay for the most risible attitude toward human life I’ve yet encountered on scripted television.

Servant returns with one hell of a season 4 opener [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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The Turners' witchy nanny Leanne (played by Nell Tiger Free) in a still from Apple TV+ psychological thriller ★★★★
It's time for a homecoming as Servant begins its final season.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewServant, the most joyous and unhinged show on Apple TV+, returns for its fourth and final season this week. The saga of the Turner family and their live-in nanny can’t help but disappoint, just because it’s going away. Never mind whether it wraps up its plot threads or not.

A show unbound from ordinary televisual constraints, both dramatically and visually, Servant serves as a vivid representation of its creators’ raging id. As such, its first three seasons became one of the most wonderful pleasures on television. Let’s see how M. Night Shyamalan and Co. are set to send off this family of arch-weirdos.

Easily share a screen between 2 Macs with this clever KVM switch [Review] ★★★★

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IOGear 2-Port 4K USB-C KVM Switch with DisplayPort Output review★★★★
Multiple Macs can share a 4K screen with IOGear's new USB-C/DisplayPort switch.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Your Mac and MacBook can easily share a monitor, and quickly flip between them, with the IOGear 2-Port 4K USB-C KVM Switch with DisplayPort Output.

I tested it in my home office, and it really reduces the hassle of switching between two computers. And it lets the computers easily share a wired mouse and keyboard.

Looking back on our top apps of 2022

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Text reading “Best Apps 2022” in front of image of app icons
After careful consideration and a lengthy review of all the apps we use on a regular basis, these are some of our favorites from the year.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Awesome AppsWith 2022 officially and fully in the rear-view, we’re all looking at how 2023 will be different. But some things don’t need to change. With that, it seemed only fair that we look back at some of the apps that made the biggest difference this past year. With so many apps to choose from, knowing the ones we (the Cult of Mac team) actually used and loved this last year may even help you nail that New Year’s resolution.

Mythic Quest makes all the right moves in uproarious season three finale [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Poppy (played by actress Charlotte Nicdao) gets a big surprise in the Mythic Quest season three finale.★★★★
Poppy (played by Charlotte Nicdao) gets a big surprise in the Mythic Quest season three finale.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest hits the end of season three this week with a bittersweet and very funny episode. Ian must fix the rift between himself and Poppy. David must regroup from a loss, and Jo’s got just the ticket (though maybe so do Ian and Poppy). Plus, Dana, Brad and Jo need a new challenge.

I cannot stress how much I need this show’s creative team to crank out new seasons more quickly. I do not want to go another two years without checking back in with the Mystic Quest crew. A fine season comes to a very lovely ending.

For Echo 3, ‘mission accomplished’ means sickening scorched earth [Apple TV+ recap] ☆☆☆☆

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Actor Luke Evans holds a rifle in ☆☆☆☆
Echo 3 was always about military mayhem, but this week's raid is off the charts.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewIt’s finally go time on Echo 3, the Apple TV+ show about rescuing a CIA operative with a brother and a husband in the military. Prince and Bambi have cleared the runway for their secret invasion of the prison where sister/wife Amber is being held captive.

But big questions remain: Can they get in without getting killed? Is Amber actually there? Can they avoid a large-scale incursion with massive casualties? Can they flee the country to safety once they’re done? Is this at all a proportionate response?

Find out on this week’s installment of the most ideologically confused show on Apple TV+.

The Mosquito Coast leaves a trail of bodies in explosive season two finale [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Melissa George and Justin Theroux in ★★★★☆
Will we get another season of The Mosquito Coast?
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast kisses its second season — and a number of its characters — goodbye in this week’s show. The season two finale skids into a violent confrontation that leaves many dead, but answers a lot of important questions in the process.

The Fox family — Dina, Charlie, Margot and Allie — is still on the run. And they all know they want different things out of life. Can they work it out in time to escape the repercussions of the sundry terrorist events that have been escalating all season? This frankly shocking episode of The Mosquito Coast looks at all that and more.

Raise your MacBook to its proper level with this nifty foldable stand [Review] ★★★★

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Lululook Foldable Laptop Stand review★★★★
Lululook Foldable Laptop Stand could be the MacBook stand you've been looking for.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The new Lululook Foldable Laptop Stand props up your MacBook at a range of angles, and can also lift the computer to a variety of heights. As a bonus, it also rotates so the notebook can be easily spun around.

I tested Lululook’s latest stand in my home office, and it’s an outstanding addition to a MacBook-centered setup.

It’s a topsy-turvy week of fun, games and neurosis on Mythic Quest [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Mythic Quest recap: You never know what's going to happen on Mythic Quest.★★★★
You never know what's going to happen on Mythic Quest.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+’s Mythic Quest finds the crew on the cusp of something great this week, but that’s usually when you fall on your face.

David, forced to work with a prima donna actor to develop the Mythic Quest movie, receives a confidence boost from Jo. Poppy and Dana set out to boost Poppy’s confidence before a big, expensive presentation. Ian feels lost now that he’s admitted he and Poppy aren’t working anymore. And Phil finally finds a way to feel important.

It’s another stellar outing with the amazing cast of this fantastic Apple TV+ comedy.

Who can you trust on The Mosquito Coast? Basically nobody. [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap. Who's using who?★★★★☆
Who's using who? It's another week of blackmail and backstabbing on The Mosquito Coast.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewDina’s gone on this week’s episode of The Mosquito Coast, the Apple TV+ show about environmental terrorists on the run from Big Brother abroad. She decides to take a walk on the wild side in the company of rich and fatuous tourists and doesn’t exactly love what she sees.

Allie and Margot have to think on their feet if their schemes to buy the other freedom are going to work out. Charlie finally gets the kick out the door he needs — but at what cost? It’s a thought-provoking chapter of the saga of the Fox family.

Echo 3 preps for a bloody jailbreak [Apple TV+ recap] ☆☆☆

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Apple TV+ recap: It's almost ☆☆☆
It's almost "go time" on Echo 3.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewEcho 3, writer Mark Boal’s fundamentalist patriotism slash fic about two men who will stop at nothing to rescue the woman they share, gears up for a very illegal raid on the prison holding her this week.

The two mercenaries tie up loose ends before their mission to save their wife/sister/CIA agent Amber Chesborough Haas. Plus, Amber and Prince’s parents kibbutz about the next best step to take for their kids. And an old foe is finally taken out of commission.

Slow Horses settles old scores in thrilling season 2 finale [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Slow Horses season two finale recap Apple TV+: Everyone's got their secrets, including Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman).★★★★
Everyone's got their secrets, including Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman).
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewSlow Horses‘ magnificent second season comes to its excellent, exciting conclusion this week on Apple TV+.

Louisa’s revenge is at hand. Jackson discovers why the Russians have it in for him. River, Roddy, Shirley and Kelly are headed for a showdown with Chernitsky. And Standish is close to the truth. A season of intrigue explodes into armed combat and tough talk as the spy thriller wraps up season two and prepares for its next outing — which can’t come soon enough.

Add 6 ports to your iPad with this tiny, clip-on hub [Review] ★★★★☆

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Add 6 ports to your iPad with this tiny, clip-on hub [Review]★★★★☆
Transform your iPad into a mobile office with this very portable clip-on hub from Satechi.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Satechi USB-C Mobile Pro Hub SD is designed to look and act like it’s part of an iPad. It attaches directly to the side of the tablet and adds an HDMI video port, a USB-A port plus a headphone plug, SD card reader and more.

I tested the six-port hub with my iPad Pro, and am quite pleased with it.

There’s more trouble in paradise on The Mosquito Coast [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap Apple TV+: Just a normal girl, taking a normal boat trip. (Yeah, right.)★★★★☆
Just a normal girl, taking a normal boat trip. (Yeah, right.)
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThis week’s episode of Apple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast finds every member of the Fox family on some sort of clandestine outing. On the run in South America after blowing up a lab and stealing security software, they’re all looking for a way out of their little corner of paradise.

Allie and Charlie scope out a new place to flee after they betray their hosts. Margot makes a shocking discovery in Richard’s cabinet. And Dina enjoys a day in the life of an ordinary girl.

Echo 3 takes crazy to bizarre and torturous new heights [Apple TV+ recap] ☆☆☆

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Echo 3 recap Apple TV+: Bambi means business.☆☆☆
Bambi means business.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ thriller Echo 3, about the kidnapping of a CIA plant and the truly bizarre array of personalities that accumulate in its aftermath, takes a trip to torture town this week.

Brothers-in-law Bambi and Prince get a visit from a familiar face, a journalist realizes she’s in over her head, and DJ Momo gets the business end of a car battery. As usual, this is the weirdest show on Apple TV+ — filled with casual sadism and murder — and things just keep getting more bizarre.

Russian plot threatens London in Slow Horses [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Slow Horses recap Apple TV+: Everything's falling into place as Slow Horses takes the tension up a few more notches.★★★★
Everything's falling into place as Slow Horses takes the tension up a few more notches.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThe second season of Apple TV+ spy drama Slow Horses is through warming up and starting to boil over. This week’s excellent installment has Lamb revisiting the past, Catherine playing a very important game of chess, River up a creek, Louisa and Marcus in the dark, and Roddy and Shirley on the run. Plus, the Tropper family is in trouble.

The whole episode, entitled “Boardroom Politics,” is about mounting tension and slow (but not too slow) reveals, as everyone races to either create or prevent a catastrophe.

Mythic Quest hunts for a mouse, strikes a nerve [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★★

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Mythic Quest recap: Sometimes a mouse is most definitely not just a mouse.★★★★★
Sometimes a mouse is most definitely not just a mouse.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThere’s a rat at the office on this week’s episode of Mythic Quest — and for once it’s not one of the employees. David sees a rodent and makes it Jo and Brad’s problem, which they immediately take too seriously.

Meanwhile, Poppy and Ian are having spatial issues, but those are a mask for something larger eating away at their partnership. And, as usual, Dana is caught in the middle.

A typically funny episode of the Apple TV+ workplace comedy, entitled “To Catch a Mouse,” becomes shockingly tense in its final minutes.

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is a perfect gift for the holidays [Apple TV+ review] ★★★★★

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The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse review on Apple TV+: This animated short film hits all the right notes.★★★★★
This animated short film hits all the right notes.
Image: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThe Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, a half-hour animated short based on the book by Charlie Mackesy, is a heartfelt and splendidly drawn detour into melancholy holiday cheer.

Beautifully drawn, sensitively acted by an all-star voice cast, and written to carefully corral the emotions of viewers young and old, this one is quite the Christmas miracle. Premiering December 25 on Apple TV+, it’s one of the best animated films the streaming service has yet produced.

Nyloon’s solid blue Durham band matches just about anything [Review] ★★★☆☆

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Silver aluminum Apple Watch Series 7 with the blue Durham band by Nyloon. Nyloon Durham band review: It is a straightforward watch band.★★★☆☆
Nyloon's Durham band looks and feels straightforward.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Do you find some of Cupertino’s more innovative Apple Watch bands a bit ridiculous? Well, feast your luddite eyes on the Durham band from Nyloon. It’s made of nylon and comes in exactly one color: navy blue.

It’s a very traditional Apple Watch band at a lower price than any of Apple’s offerings.