872 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2023 (Page 44)

Based on the first three episodes watched for this review, Club Hooligans (titled onscreen as Barrabrava) is at its best when it illustrates how disorganized the gang at the center of the narrative really is, especially when their leader's position is threatened. This inherent lack of loyalty and structure contrasts nicely with the stricter culture of family obligation for its lead characters—even though the gang is still where these men find greater meaning. Unfortunately, the show can't quite build as strong a sense of urgency as it thinks, with far too little development happening for both plot and character in the first three episodes. And while the series clearly has production value to spare, its overly familiar gritty style ultimately does Club Hooligans no favors, as it struggles to come up with its own voice and identity.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Gastón Pauls, Gustavo Garzón, Liz Solari, Matías Mayer, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Mónica Gonzaga, Pablo Alarcón

Rating: TV-MA

Agent Elvis is the latest reimagining of the King, this time as a cool and collected James Bond-esque spy in a 60s neon-lit world. The adult animation series takes fun and unserious turns, in 1960s world history and also in Elvis’ life. The show turns faulty on-stage shows into recollecting spy trauma, poor film performances into body doubles that step in during his missions, and pins known financial troubles to a cartoon monkey. It’s an interesting approach from co-creators John Eddie and ex-wife Priscilla, along with some cool animated sequences. It would have been successful in reimagining Elvis at his best, if the comedy was funny enough to match.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy

Actor: Don Cheadle, Johnny Knoxville, Kaitlin Olson, Matthew McConaughey, Niecy Nash, Tom Kenny

Rating: TV-MA

While the identity of the post-Daniel Craig James Bond hangs in limbo, the franchise is branching out into TV with this mid-octane game show, which riffs on tried-and-tested reality TV competitions: its multiple choice questions and climb-the-ladder approach to prize money are evidently borrowed from Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, while its globetrotting recalls The Amazing Race.

For all its snazzy backdrops, though, this still feels like a half-hearted effort. The editing is partly to blame: in the first two episodes, for example, we only meet four of the nine pairs, and we’re constantly jumping back to the opening challenge in the Scottish Highlands for their introductions. There’s also zero interaction between any of the duos: they never meet or even acknowledge each other's existence, which dulls the drama and leaves you to suspect their scenes were all shot entirely in isolation. (You get the same impression from Brian Cox, who plays the mysterious mastermind behind the challenges and whose vague commentary is clearly designed so editors can slot it in wherever.) While there are plenty of Easter eggs for eagle-eyed Bond fans to spot, the show is definitively of the background-watch kind of TV: moderately interesting, but never as gripping as the movies whose coattails it’s plainly riding.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Reality

Actor: Brian Cox

As impressive as Vasco Rossi’s life was, it’s hard to connect to someone you haven’t heard of, which is probably why this docuseries is best seen by die-hard music fans alone. The series takes its time to introduce Rossi and explain his impact on Italian music, but even then, it can seem like something you’ve seen before. The documentary shies away from the cultural specificities and nuances that make Rossi the singular musician that he is, attempting instead to generalize his life into clear-cut sections as if it were a book. Even with Rossi present and narrating many parts of the series, it still lacks the ruggedness and spikiness that made Rossi’s music burst with relevance in the late 20th century. There is a sense that the filmmakers created this series with an international audience in mind, but by making his story as general and universal as possible, they might have inadvertently diluted Rossi’s power.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Vasco Rossi

Rating: TV-MA

Starting off as the 24th(!) overall season of this long-running TV franchise at the time of its release, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon understandably treads very familiar ground: general paranoia and distrust, humanity divided into survivalist factions, a search for a cure. In its early episodes, though, this series gets a boost from its uniquely historical setting—which creates a feeling of these characters stuck in a previous century—as well as a strong focus on religious faith in the time of the apocalypse. Still, this spin-off continues to go through the same action-horror motions, sticking to what's expected at the expense of any suspense or meaningful development for its stoic title character.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Adam Nagaitis, Anne Charrier, Clémence Poésy, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, Norman Reedus, Romain Levi

Rating: TV-MA