Brian Lowry
CNN
Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Past articles by Brian:
‘The Nun II’ conjures enough spooky scares to become a habit
When it comes to horror, there’s really no substitute for atmosphere, and the murky doorways and long dark hallways that come with old European buildings in the 1950s. Enter “The Nun II,” a slick if familiar addition to the very fertile “Conjuring” universe that, by deftly expanding on the 2018 hit, appears destined to become another cinematic habit. → Read More
‘Queen Charlotte’ spins ‘Bridgerton’ into franchise territory with a regal origin story
"Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" is a cleverly constructed prequel to producer Shonda Rhimes' media darling, "Bridgerton." Reaching back to the origins of supporting players, the limited series offers additional insight to how this sumptuous society came to be. → Read More
'White House Plumbers' and beyond: A viewers' guide to the Watergate scandal
With the premiere of HBO's "White House Plumbers," the Watergate scandal is having yet another moment, 51 years after the original break-in that ultimately led to Richard Nixon's resignation. → Read More
‘A Small Light’ puts a heartbreaking spotlight on Anne Frank’s protectors
The greatest heroism often resides in the actions of ordinary people in extraordinary situations and times, and so it is with "A Small Light," which tells the story of Anne Frank through the eyes of Miep Gies, the woman who helped hide her and her family. Slow starting at eight parts, the National Geographic/Disney+ miniseries builds steadily, in a fashion that's ultimately both stirring and… → Read More
‘White House Plumbers’ wrings satire from the oddball characters behind Watergate
Watergate meets "Veep" in "White House Plumbers," an at-times-surreal HBO limited series that occasionally feels a little too over the top, mostly because the real-life characters actually were. → Read More
‘Succession’ turns the Roy boys from princes into power-mad kings
There was so much to love about the sixth episode of "Succession," in the most cringe-worthy of ways. The most indelible image, though, with apologies to "Game of Thrones," was one of the Roy boys becoming power-mad kings in the wake of their father's death, yet somehow snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. → Read More
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ closes the book on Marvel’s unlikeliest family
In hindsight, the most unlikely hit among Marvel's parade of them was all about the unlikeliest of families. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" drives home that point, with a boisterous and often emotional sequel that feels very much like a true conclusion, fueled in no small part by writer-director James Gunn having migrated his talents over to rival DC. → Read More
‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ is a heaven-sent version of Judy Blume’s book
"Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" is a classic coming-of-age tale, but the Judy Blume book receives the ageless treatment it deserves in a movie that captures the 1970 vibe (starting with the soundtrack) while completely transcending it. → Read More
‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ lacks enough magic to truly take flight
"Peter Pan & Wendy" wants to conjure magic but turns out to be low on fairy dust, yielding a dreary live-action adaptation of the 1953 movie that transforms Neverland into what vaguely feels like a discount version of Pandora. Modest narrative upgrades help lift the Disney+ film above the service's recent "Pinocchio," but clearing that very low bar amounts to damnation with faint praise. → Read More
TV paid a price for the legacy of ‘The Jerry Springer Show’
In his heyday Jerry Springer consistently played down the significance of his talk show and its drift into what became known as "trash TV," dismissing the daytime program as "stupid" and basically a big joke that the audience was in on. Yet TV paid a price for the excesses "The Jerry Springer Show" helped usher in, with the advent of anything-goes reality television and a nastier mentality that… → Read More
‘Citadel’ dresses up an old-fashioned spy yarn with state-of-the-art action
"Citadel" has the feel of an old-fashioned spy show, dressed up with sleek leads ("Game of Thrones'" Richard Madden and "Quantico's" Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and state-of-the-art action. The time-bending plot certainly won't earn many points for originality, but it's the kind of meat-and-potatoes series that should find an attentive audience on Amazon, which has already tapped into a similar vein… → Read More
Five ways ‘Return of the Jedi’ messed up ‘Star Wars,’ from a certain point of view
When "Return of the Jedi" brought the original "Star Wars" trilogy to a close in 1983, expectations were unfairly elevated for the movie, and later tempered, by the recognition it had the misfortune to follow "The Empire Strikes Back," one of the best sequels ever. → Read More
‘Fatal Attraction’ doesn’t come close to the original with its series reboot
"Fatal Attraction" was very much a product of its time, so an attempt to cash in on the title -- as Paramount+ does with a new version -- absolutely needed to reconsider and reimagine the material. Yet the eight-part series awkwardly draped over its bones is a beyond-busy murder mystery, one that -- with apologies to one of the film's signature lines -- can easily be ignored. → Read More
‘Ghosted’ reunites Chris Evans and Ana de Armas in a spirited action comedy
"Chris Evans and Ana de Armas" is about all that's required to make the sales pitch for "Ghosted," a spirited if familiar action-based romantic comedy, where the sparring banter generally outshines the muscular stunts. Throw in clever cameos and this Apple TV+ movie delivers on its promise of unpretentious fun. → Read More
‘Dead Ringers’ doesn’t make the most of twice the Rachel Weisz
Twice the Rachel Weisz is a pretty good sales pitch, but it's about all that "Dead Ringers" -- a gory gender-flip reimagining of David Cronenberg's even gorier 1988 movie -- has going for it. Turned into a limited series for Amazon's Prime Video, the show never overcomes the "Why" factor, other than the allure of seeing its star inhabit a dual role as eccentric twins. → Read More
‘The Diplomat’ can’t negotiate its tone, while ‘Mrs. Davis’ is a too-weird construct
If their streaming homes were flipped, "Mrs. Davis" would likely be a big deal, and "The Diplomat" would come and go with little notice. As is, the latter -- a vehicle for Keri Russell -- will probably get attention despite its inability to negotiate a consistent tone because it's on Netflix, while the former -- perhaps the year's weirdest TV construct, with Betty Gilpin as a warrior nun -- will… → Read More
‘The Mandalorian’ finale hits the reset button while setting up an Imperial problem
To borrow a line from another Disney+ series, it's been the Empire all along. → Read More
With ‘Love is Blind’ misstep, Netflix inadvertently makes a case for old-fashioned TV
In a bit of irony, "Love is Blind," the popular Netflix dating show, has inadvertently made streaming's growing pains crystal clear, while reinforcing some of the advantages that linear and traditional TV networks still enjoy. → Read More
After the shock, ‘Succession’ finds dark humor in the aftershocks
After the shock came the aftershocks, the power vacuum, and perhaps most significantly and impressively, the laughs, as "Succession" moves into its last few episodes. → Read More
Jennifer Garner marries a guy with a doozy of a secret in ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’
Add "The Last Thing He Told Me" to the list of what once would have been Lifetime movies expanded (or simply stretched) to become limited series. The main selling point here is Jennifer Garner as the wife who, "Dateline"-like, discovers her husband is not what he seems, in an efficient adaptation of Laura Dave's novel that doesn't rise much above that description. → Read More