Mark Pleiss

Pontificating Drama: The Glory and Absurdity of HBO’s ‘The Young Pope’

Pontificating Drama: The Glory and Absurdity of HBO’s ‘The Young Pope’

HBO's The Young Pope is a fascinating and ambitious filmic endeavor that's remarkably unpredictable, conceited, and foreign to the North American eye.
Too Real for Reality Dating: ‘Coupled’ – Season 1

Too Real for Reality Dating: ‘Coupled’ – Season 1

Crystal blue waters, colorful drinks, and attractive bodies abound, but Coupled also delivers content that goes beyond the stock characters, conventions, and situations of other dating shows.
Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 9 – “Battle of the Bastards”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 9 – “Battle of the Bastards”

"Battle of the Bastards" may have satisfied the age-old bloodlust for war; unfortunately, it did so through the more recent tradition of dramatizing, aestheticizing, and making war cool.
Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 7 – “The Broken Man”

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episode 7 – “The Broken Man”

The seventh episode of Game of Thrones season six featured the return of two of the show's most curious and charismatic characters.

Game of Thrones: Season 6, Episodes 2 and 3 – “Home” and “Oathbreaker”