"Green Book" can't avoid "Driving Miss Daisy" comparisons, and probably doesn't want to, as the film -- amid unease about political polarization and racial division -- conspicuously strives to be uplifting and bridge building. To the extent it achieves those objectives credit Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, whose performances bring humanity and dimension to this fact-based road movie, despite the predictable nature of its narrative journey.
The very busy Alex Gibney has two documentary series premiering Sunday night, and in a way, they're complementary: "The Clinton Affair" looks at events leading to President Clinton's impeachment -- featuring an extensive interview with Monica Lewinsky -- while "Enemies: The President, Justice & the FBI" explores a history of such clashes, with an eye very much on the White House's current occupant.
Traditional print outlets are understandably starry-eyed about finding new ways to cash in on their content, compensating for a dwindling business model. Enter "Dirty John," a Bravo event series adapted from the salacious multi-part Los Angeles Times articles and podcast, which -- the classy underpinnings notwithstanding -- basically plays like an old-school Lifetime movie, just stretched into episodic form.
More workmanlike than magical, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" nevertheless feels like an upgrade from its predecessor, one that adds star power, introduces key characters and lays the foundation for a genuine "Wizarding World" franchise. To call J.K. Rowling's mythology-heavy plot dense would be an understatement, but the film has enough epic heft to feel like a genuine blockbuster.
"The Kominsky Method" is ostensibly one of those Hollywood productions about Hollywood, but really, this Netflix comedy -- starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin, from "The Big Bang Theory" co-creator Chuck Lorre -- is about two more universal themes: friendship, and getting older. On those levels, the show proves breezy and likable, and about as far from the ad-supported pressure to reach "younger demos" as a TV show can get.
"Widows" is a wildly uneven crime caper, one with more valleys than peaks. Juggling too many threads, the film delivers strong and twisty moments -- and a feminist hook -- but largely squanders its impressive array of talent, headed by Viola Davis.
Netflix has flashier shows, but none better than "Narcos," which moves to a new chapter in its fourth season, titled "Narcos: Mexico." Sweeping in scope, the series remains as addictive as ever in chronicling the bleak history of the drug war, delivering a drama so crisp and smartly executed as to provide its own kind of high.
Country legend Garth Brooks started the County Music Awards on Wednesday night by paying respects to the 12 people killed at the Borderline Bar & Grill last week.
