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Silo trailer delves into a deep mystery coming to Apple TV+

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Explore the deep mystery of the 'Silo'
In Silo, if the lies don't kill you, the truth will.
Photo: Apple TV+

Silo premieres in May, and Apple TV+ just released the full trailer for the upcoming drama series based on a bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels.

In the series, a few thousand people are left on earth hiding in a mile-deep silo. But what if everything they’ve ever been told about the outside world is a lie?

New Tom Holland thriller hits Apple TV+ in June

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'The Crowded Room' stars Tom Holland in a thriller with a surprise ending.
The Crowded Room stars Tom Holland in a thriller with a surprise ending.
Photo: Apple TV+

Tom Holland is coming back to Apple TV+ with The Crowded Room, a 10-part limited series about a very unusual murder investigation.

It was created and written by Akiva Goldsman, best known as the screenwriter of A Beautiful Mind.

Liaison finale brings nasty spy biz to a thrilling end [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Eva Green and Vincent Cassel in ★★★★☆
It's all going down this week on Liaison.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ espionage thriller Liaison comes to its breakneck conclusion this week. Alison and Gabriel get Samir and his information to England, but can they make it to the right authorities in time to save the continent from terrorism and extortion? And just who is the right authority, anyway?

Samir and Sabine have an appointment with Antropa, Bob and Didier must pay the piper, and Gabriel has one last trial in which to prove himself. All things considered, the Liaison finale brings a pretty decent conclusion to a star-studded limited series.

Tetris movie squanders a story to focus on deals [Apple TV+ review] ★★☆☆☆

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Togo Igawa, Nino Furuhata and Taron Egerton in ★★☆☆☆
The hunt for international rights fuels new Apple TV+ movie Tetris.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ movie Tetris is part of a trend I hope goes away — making movies about advances in capitalist innovation. Perhaps the least-interesting subject possible, it’s been done justice precisely once in David Fincher’s The Social Network, because it understood that behind every “genius” is a shell game played by a feckless coward. And trust me, Tetris never reaches the highs of that particular example.

A movie too interested in the destination to enjoy the journey, Tetris tells the tale of the sale of the world’s most ubiquitous video game. The movie, which premieres today on Apple’s streaming service, possesses some small virtues but suffers from big problems.

Liaison’s spy-versus-spy story gets extra-twisty this week [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Eva Green in ★★★
Things get ugly this week on Liaison.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ spy thriller Liaison hits a few snags this week on its way to justice and catharsis. A mostly great episode finds Alison, Gabriel, Dumas and Sophie Saint Roche making deals with unlikely allies on their mad scramble to prevent a private war against the whole of Europe.

Didier is desperate, Sabine is growing hopeless, Alison’s father is in critical condition, and Dumas grows a conscience. There’s blood in the water in this episode, entitled “Family Album.” Who will make it out alive?

Liaison unleashes some carnage this week [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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Connor Mills, Nikolai Kinski and Eva Green in ★★★☆☆
Ulterior motives abound on Liaison.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review Apple TV+ international espionage thriller Liaison recovers from a few body blows this week, in an episode appropriately entitled “Carnage.”

Mark Bolton is dead and Alison might be next, but she won’t roll over for anyone, even with boyfriend and mercenary Gabriel trying to get her to see sense. Sabine wants out, Didier’s in the hot seat, Dumas is getting nervous, and London is still in danger. Liaisons pleasures are major even if it does feel deliberately minor in a lot of important ways.

Servant goes out in a blaze of glory [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Nell Tiger Free and Lauren Ambrose in ★★★★☆
It's showdown time on Servant.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewServant, the stellar Apple TV+ show about a supernatural nanny and the Philadelphia family that plays unwitting and unwilling host to her journey, comes to its fiery finale this week.

Leanne must decide who she’s going to serve, and Dorothy decides what her family and life will be from now on. The episode, entitled “Fallen,” serves up a mostly perfect ending to a mostly perfect show.

Who’s manipulating who on Liaison? [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Lyna Dubarry in ★★★★☆
You know you're in trouble when ...
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ thriller Liaison gets down to the dirty business of statecraft this week as Alison and Gabriel head to Brussels for different reasons. A daring refugee camp breakout leads to almosts and what-ifs that drive Alison mad.

Plus, a couple of unfortunate lackeys get put through the ringer — and Britain is still under attack. The episode, entitled “Manipulations,” delivers another solid hour from a team with enough star power to light up London.

Servant drops a major revelation this week [Apple TV+ recap]

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Lauren Ambrose in
Dorothy (played by Lauren Ambrose) learns the horrifying truth about her baby Jericho this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewM. Night Shyamalan returns to the director’s chair for the penultimate episode of Apple TV+’s Servant, his show about a nanny terrorizing a Philadelphia family in their brownstone.

Leanne has Dorothy all to herself — and Dorothy can’t help but notice. A last-ditch rescue attempt is scuttled after Dorothy insists on hearing some hard truths from Sean and Julian, who may not have the upper hand when they’re done.

Though unnerving and quite upsetting, “Awake” stands tall as one of the greatest episodes yet of this outstanding show.

Leanne strikes back this week on Servant [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Nell Tiger Free in ★★★★
Leanne (played by Nell Tiger Free) gets ruthless this week on Servant.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewBad weather, bad omens and bad timing collide on this week’s installment of Apple TV+ thriller Servant.

Sean and Julian attempt a Hail Mary to wrest control of the Turner house away from evil nanny Leanne. And Dorothy’s about to realize there are worse things than being loved too much.

The episode, entitled “Tunnels,” is a sharply directed half-hour of the horror/mystery series, which is the best show on Apple TV+ — and indeed one of the finest things on TV, full stop. It points the way to darker things coming in Servant’s final two episodes.

The hunt for international terrorists heats up on Liaison [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Vincent Cassel in ★★★★☆
An espionage thriller starring Vincent Cassel? Yes, please.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewIn the explosive second episode of Apple TV+ thriller Liaison, Richard, Albert and Alison find common ground over a crash, while Gabriel flits around London trying to recapture the missing Syrian hacker he lost.

The French government is being kneecapped by secrets and hidden ambitions, while the British haven’t a clue what’s happening or why. The gripping Stephen Hopkins-directed series continues to make for a pleasant (if upsetting) watch.

Hackers threaten Europe in smart new thriller Liaison [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Eva Green in ★★★★☆
Eva Green plays Alison, aide to a British cabinet minister, in new international espionage thriller Liaison.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ thriller Liaison is a highly ambitious series about sex, espionage and state secrets. It’s positively studded with international talent, and has a veteran action director at the helm.

The six-episode miniseries, which premiered Friday, stars bona fide French film icons Vincent Cassel and Eva Green. It was created by prolific French TV writer Virginie Brac, who’s attempting to cross over to the American market.

It’s a handsomely mounted and well-performed tale of a hacker who throws a monkey wrench in the geopolitical works as cyberterrorists threaten the safety of Europe.

Servant mixes horror, humor and a dubious myth [Apple TV+ recap]

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Toby Kebbell and Rupert Grint looks for clues in
Sean (played by Toby Kebbell, left) and Julian (Rupert Grint) looks for clues about Leanne's true nature.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ thriller Servant heads toward mutually assured destruction this week. Sean and Julian start believing in angels and demons. Dorothy chases down a lead. Leanne is becoming too powerful to even speak to. And a stranger from the past shows up to tell a story that the Turner family does — and does not — want to hear.

It’s a conflicting, confounding and con … ehh very good episode of the show created by M. Night Shyamalan and Tony Basgallop.

Servant pulls out all the stops in its most unhinged episode yet [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Rupert Grint and Nell Tiger Free face chaos in a great episode of ★★★★
Things go all kinds of crazy this week on Servant ... and then there's the vengeful goat!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+’s Servant takes a trip to a backyard zoo this week. The show about the world’s scariest nanny and her burgeoning mystical powers finds the Turner family in the middle of a circus of violence, vomit and vengeance.

The cult members haven’t run out of ideas about ways to get Leanne back, even if Dorothy has. Plus, Sean and Julian have a brutal heart-to-heart. And Bev has a bone to pick with Leanne.

The episode, entitled “Zoo,” is another marvelously unhinged half-hour of television from the best crew in the biz.

Sharper spins out a web of power and deceit [Apple TV+ review] ★★★☆☆

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Justice Smith and Briana Middleton in a scene from Sharper, a neo-noir thriller on Apple TV+.★★★☆☆
Tom (played by Justice Smith, left) and Sandra (Briana Middleton) find they have something in common.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ neo-noir thriller Sharper centers on a circle of power players and would-be moguls scattered across New York City. The film adopts a La Ronde structure in tracing the malice and greed that motivates the con artists. And its sleek, Instagram-inspired look, as well as its ’80s-style score, make the ill-gotten gains shine all the brighter.

Premiering today, Sharper is a perfectly fine movie. But unfortunately, it’s designed to be forgotten the day after it’s been seen.

It’s Leanne against the world in a shockingly good episode of Servant [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Leanne (played by Nell Tiger Free) shows off a chef's knife in a particularly arty scene from Apple TV+ horror series ★★★★
Let's cut to the chase: This is a very sharp episode of Servant.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewSean and Dorothy throw a party this week on Servant, the Apple TV+ show about a nanny who is more than she seems and the family harboring her. Leanne is starting to notice that her adopted family isn’t being quite as familial and loving as she’d like. And she decides something must be done about it.

As the neighborhood gathers in the Turner household, Leanne plots her own pincer maneuver in a brilliantly directed installment of the best series on Apple TV+.

Love and terrorism tangle in French-English Liaison trailer

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In the Apple TV+ trailer for the thriller
In the Apple TV+ trailer for the thriller Liaison, Vincent Cassel and Eva Green gaze into each other's eyes a lot.
Photo: Apple

If there’s one thing you can tell from the trailer Apple TV+ dropped Tuesday for its first French- and English-language series — the thriller Liaison — it’s that a shadowy Frenchman (Vincent Cassel) and an English operative (Eva Green) have a thing for each other.

Almost every time you see the international stars onscreen, both of whom are actually French, they’re staring into each other’s eyes. Meanwhile, London endures assault after assault, and it’s only getting worse.

Servant dishes out a delightfully scary Halloween treat [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) wears a Halloween costume in an this week's episode of ★★★★
You've heard of Christmas in July. What about Halloween in February?
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewHalloween comes early this week on Servant, the Apple TV+ saga of a family increasingly held prisoner by the mystic nanny who once threatened to save them from themselves.

On the prowl for zealots, Leanne discovers that the violence inside her can be used for more than necessary evil. Julian and Sean are starting to lose the illusion that they have any kind of control over her, and are beginning to agree with Dorothy that it’s time for the nanny to go. It’s another excellently creepy outing for the Turner family.

Servant shakes things up with a séance [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Leanne (played by Nell Tiger Free) in a seance scene from Apple TV+ chiller ★★★★
Just light the candles and let 'er rip!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewWe’re having a séance this week on Apple TV+ chiller Servant, the wonderfully cracked show about a magical nanny who uses murder and mayhem to maintain her grip on the Philadelphia family who summoned her.

Leanne hates the two new nurses Dorothy hired to look after her during her recovery, but she’s losing her favor with Sean and Julian by acting so suspicious. Sean desperately wants Dorothy to go back to her old self, and is realizing Leanne might be the problem.

It’s a tense and sharply directed episode of the best show on Apple TV+.

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.

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.

Apple TV+ Sharper trailer spins a web of secrets and lies

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Veteran actors John Lithgow and Julianne Moore star in the new film.
Veteran actors John Lithgow and Julianne Moore star in the new film.
Photo: Apple

“Sharper” is old slang for a con artist or swindler. And in the trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday for its first film of 2023, a “neo-noir thriller” that shares the slang term as a title, it’s not easy to tell the con artist from the conned.

But it looks like it’ll be fun guessing which rich Manhattan people will lose their shirts in the film, starring Julianne Moore and John Lithgow.

It comes out in theaters February 10 and streams February 17, Apple TV+ said.

Black Bird’s prime directive: Giving serial killers the finger

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Paul Walter Hauser playing serial killer Larry Hall in Black Bird on Apple TV+.
Paul Walter Hauser lit up Black Bird with his depiction of suspected serial killer Larry Hall.
Photo: Apple TV+

BOSTON — Before he put pen to paper and gave us violent sagas of lowlife P.I.s and desperate criminals, Dennis Lehane used to deliver flowers to a hospital next door to the Liberty Hotel. Now the novelist, who acted as writer and showrunner for the brilliant Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird, is sitting here in the Liberty, so named because of its former vocation: a prison.

It’s an appropriate setting. Black Bird tells the true story of Jimmy Keene, a prison informant who risked his life to nail a serial killer. (The series is based on Keene’s autobiographical novel, In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption.)

Lehane and his chilling Black Bird star Paul Walter Hauser sat down with Cult of Mac and other journalists recently to discuss their critically acclaimed Apple TV+ show, which is racking up nominations as awards season gets underway. If Black Bird’s outstanding cast and crew receive the recognition they deserve, the show stands a good chance of picking up a handful of awards — and adding to the growing glow of prestige programming on Apple TV+. (Update: Hauser won the Golden Globe on Tuesday night for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.)

In the group interview, Lehane and Hauser talked motivation, working conditions and seeing into the mind of a psychopath, among other things.

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+.