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While most folks regard Christmas as a time for merriment and peace, the minds behind Inside No. 9 were more inclined to explore the dark side of the holidays. Back in 2016, multi-hyphenates Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith were running at full tilt as they pulled off their anthology’s first special, “The Devil of Christmas.” The creative pair’s well of imagination and craftsmanship was overflowing here, and to make this genre gift for the holiday season all the more memorable, Pemberton and Reece garnished their endeavor with what is arguably the most shocking ending in the show’s entire run.

Some knowledge of 1970s and 1980s British television is helpful — yet not required — when watching “The Devil of Christmas,” a conspicuous but adoring technical simulation of vintage anthologies like Thriller (1973) and Tales of the Unexpected (1979). Fans of those kinds of shows, however, may be more incentivized to watch. From production to atmosphere,...

'Henry V' Movie Actress Renée Asherson dead at 99: Laurence Olivier leading lady in acclaimed 1944 film (image: Renée Asherson and Laurence Olivier in 'Henry V') Renée Asherson, a British stage actress featured in London productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Three Sisters, but best known internationally as Laurence Olivier's leading lady in the 1944 film version of Henry V, died on October 30, 2014. Asherson was 99 years old. The exact cause of death hasn't been specified. She was born Dorothy Renée Ascherson (she would drop the "c" some time after becoming an actress) on May 19, 1915, in Kensington, London, to Jewish parents: businessman Charles Ascherson and his second wife, Dorothy Wiseman -- both of whom narrowly escaped spending their honeymoon aboard the Titanic. (Ascherson cancelled the voyage after suffering an attack of appendicitis.) According to Michael Coveney's The Guardian obit for the actress, Renée Asherson was "scantly...

DVD Playhouse—July 2009

By

Allen Gardner

Do The Right Thing: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Spike Lee’s groundbreaking fable about race relations in an ethnically mixed Brooklyn neighborhood during a sweltering New York summer remains as potent, timely and prescient as it was in 1989. Lee is among the cast, which also includes John Turturro, Danny Aiello, Samuel L. Jackson, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Rosie Perez (to name a few), that provide the tableaux-like framework for this stunning work. Criminally ignored by Oscar (it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, but did garner nods for Supporting Actor Danny Aiello and Lee’s screenplay), it endures as a timeless classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Wynn Thomas, Joie Lee; Documentary; Deleted and extended scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.

Coraline (Universal) A young girl moves into an old Victorian house with her parents...