In Practical Magic 2, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as two witch sisters cursed with never finding lasting love.
This long-awaited sequel to Practical Magic (1998) has the sisters on a mission to confront dark secrets and sacrifice for each other in an attempt to change their fates.
Directed by Susanne Bier, additional key cast includes Dianne Wiest, Maisie Williams, Stockard Channing and Liz Kingsman.
I don’t remember whether or not I’ve watched Practical Magic, the original film, but I’ll happily do it so I can take in the fun that this new sequel seems to promise.
The premise is quite compelling. Naturally, I’ll be wanting to see the curse lifted and to watch Bullock and Kidman have fun performing together.
Have you seen the 1998 Practical Magic?
Xolo Maridueña, Solly McLeod, John Polivka, Daniel Eghan, Tammy Appenzellar, Christopher Moore and Matthew Charlery-Smith also star.
Scarpetta, a new eight-part crime thriller, stars Nicole Kidman as Kay Scarpetta, a formidable forensic pathologist drawn into the hunt for a serial killer.
Created by Elizabeth Sarnoff, the series also features Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana DeBose, Simon Baker and Bobby Cannavale.
As is often the case with serial-killer films and series released after 1995, Scarpetta will inevitably be compared (admittedly by me) to Se7en, David Fincher’s delightfully grim benchmark for the serial killer genre.
Unlike the key protagonists in Se7en, Kidman isn’t playing a detective, at least not in the traditional sense of the word, and the story appears to operate in a different lane altogether.
Ideally, I’ll forget about Se7en once the series begins. That shouldn’t be difficult, provided the storytelling is compelling enough to hold my attention. Fingers, toes and everything crossed for a good result.
Are you curious about Scarpetta?
Simon Baker, Deja Dee, Tyler Merritt, Chiketa Madu, Nahzah Blair, Stanley Aughtry, Janet Montgomery, Mount, Alejandro Barrios, Alanna Giuliani, Paul Bishop and Ashley Shelton also star.
I had certain expectations about what The Perfect Couple, creator Jenna Lami’s six-part crime/drama/mystery series starring Nicole Kidman, Dakota Fanning and Liev Schreiber would be like. Especially after enjoying the trailer several times over.
However, outside of the polished surroundings, sunny days, understated luxury fashion and some interrogation scenes, The Perfect Couple proved to be largely slow and boring.
I’d hoped for a somewhat sophisticated story execution in a series about a wedding gathering gone wrong – thanks to a murder at a rich family’s Nantucket Harbour estate. Unfortunately, the result felt more comparable to a dull soap opera than a well-written and engaging series starring Kidman and Schreiber.
The Perfect Couple (2024), Nicole Kidman, Netflix
Worst of all, I certainly didn’t expect to have to watch The Perfect Couple the way I ‘watch’ some reality TV shows, but I was left with no choice.
Just like much of reality TV, which has a habit of barely moving the story forward in each episode, Lami’s show had this issue. To the point where, after sitting through the first two episodes of The Perfect Couple, I could then only watch the last ten minutes of episodes three, four, and five – before skipping forward to watch the final sixth episode. Believe me when I say that I missed next to nothing by skipping almost half the episodes.
When I watch reality shows, once the key characters are established in the first couple of episodes, I’ll only watch the first few minutes of the start of the following episodes, where they recap what happened previously. Brilliant time saver, if I say so myself.
Back to The Perfect Couple, I always had the option to stop watching altogether, but, the acting wasn’t terrible. Plus, I wanted to see the mystery solved. I only wish it had felt less tedious overall.
Lastly, as always, if you’re curious enough, give The Perfect Couple a chance. You may have a better time than I did.
A wedding gathering gone wrong in Nantucket Harbour is what’s happening in The Perfect Couple. A new Netflix crime/drama/mystery mini-series starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson and Jack Reynor.
How lovely. I just happened to be in the mood for a good mystery about the shenanigans of the super-rich. I’m also always open to vicariously ‘living’ that sunny climate/beach lifestyle through film, while I work hard elsewhere.
Bring on the interrogations, and all that expensive style of home, surroundings and fashion, of course.
Meghann Fahy, Billy Howle, Michael Beach, Nick Searcy, Dendrie Taylor, Ishaan Khattar, Michael McGrady, Donna Lynne Champlin and Adina Porter also star.
