Reviews - page 28

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, a half-hour animated short based on the book by Charlie Mackesy, is a heartfelt and splendidly drawn detour into melancholy holiday cheer.

Beautifully drawn, sensitively acted by an all-star voice cast, and written to carefully corral the emotions of viewers young and old, this one is quite the Christmas miracle. Premiering December 25 on Apple TV+, it’s one of the best animated films the streaming service has yet produced.

Do you find some of Cupertino’s more innovative Apple Watch bands a bit ridiculous? Well, feast your luddite eyes on the Durham band from Nyloon. It’s made of nylon and comes in exactly one color: navy blue.

It’s a very traditional Apple Watch band at a lower price than any of Apple’s offerings.

Apple TV+ spy thriller Slow Horses nears its bogey this week, in an excellent episode full of richly drawn character detail from the show’s charismatic cast.

Lamb is on the hunt for more evidence, Louisa’s giving in to her grief over Min, River’s getting lost down a rabbit hole of suspicions, Catherine relives a bad moment from her past, and the Russians are cleaning house.

The episode, entitled “Cicada,” stands as a fine and compelling exercise in tension and unspoken personal development.

Acapulco, the bilingual Apple TV+ comedy about the staff at a high-end Mexican resort, reaches the end of its wildly uneven second season this week. Maximo and Hugo make it to the former’s childhood home. Nora and Esteban are getting married. Julia and Maximo need to make a choice about the future. Memo gets what he wants in life. And Diane gets her resort back in order.

Indeed, everyone gets exactly what they want. What a very, very pat ending for a show that promised to tackle more real-life issues.

Echo 3‘s gung-ho warriors spring back into action after weeks of repose and dissolution. Prince decides he’s had enough of a glimpse into a life without his kidnapped wife, Amber, and he’s ready to become part of the rescue operation again. But he’s going to need to get back into her brother Bambi’s good graces if he wants to make any semblance of a clean getaway.

Their next best hope is a DJ with bad security and bad habits — but getting him is going to be a chore and a half. It’s another baffling episode of the really odd Apple TV+ action thriller.

I’ve reviewed quite a few active noise-canceling wireless earbuds for Cult of Mac, including the magnificent new second-gen AirPods Pro. And while the high quality and excellent features of Apple’s updated ANC buds make them a favorite as well as a benchmark, there are great alternative earbuds that do a nice job for a much lower cost.

What follows isn’t a “top 5 in the world” list, which would be an assortment of mostly super-pricey earbuds. It’s my favorite earbuds among those I’ve reviewed in the past year or so, mostly focused on high-value products, considering the quality you get for the cost.

Looking for some sweet holiday gifts that won’t break the bank? The Cult of Mac Store has a massive collection of affordable stocking stuffers, sure to put a smile on the face of any Apple fan, for less than $20 each.

You’ll find cases, screen protectors, bands, stands and more from our most popular vendors. And every product has been used and approved by us, so you can be confident you’re spending your hard-earned cash on great products.

Apple TV+’s Mosquito Coast, about a family uneasily fleeing terrorism charges by hiding in the jungle, is all about betrayal this week. Dina comes clean with Allie — and he almost ruins their relationship in return. Margot starts trying to get her family back to the states, but she’s going to need Richard to do it.

Meanwhile, Allie and William are back on a job. And every minute Charlie spends in the jungle makes him like the idea of returning to America a little less. It’s going to be a long Good Friday.

Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest takes its annual journey to the past with a stunning episode about the origins of game designers Poppy Li and Ian Grim. We meet the geniuses when they were petulant kids who’d rather dream in nonexistent worlds than pay attention to the one they’re in.

Mythic Quest fans are in for a treat this week. This is a superb episode of this consistently well-played comedy series.

Apple TV+ limited series Shantaram comes to a thunderous close this week. The series, based on the novel by Gregory David Roberts about the travails of Aussie escaped convict Lindsay Ford, sees its hero making one last-ditch escape attempt while casting about for his last remaining friends in Bombay.

The Shantaram finale is riddled with questions. Will Abdullah, Prabhu, Lisa, Modena and Khan get out alive? Can Nightingale finally get his man? Will Shah win the war for the streets? And will Apple TV+ try to stretch Shantaram into a second season? We get answers to most of them.

Victrola Music Edition 1 is ready to go into a backpack to liven up a study session or even a small get together. Or just use it in your home for better quality music or podcasts than an iPhone alone can provide. And it’s ready to be used indoors or out.

I tested the portable Bluetooth speaker in my house and at a gathering of friends. Here’s why I like it.

Daily practicality is often at odd ends with whimsy. A Nissan Pao will not carry your lumber back from Home Depot. A big, wacky phone case will not fit in your pocket or purse. No matter how much I desperately want one, I know that a plastic trumpet will sound terrible (even if it’s in gorgeous white). But you can have both practicality and whimsy with Nyloon’s Stark Apple Watch band.

Each one of these ballistic-grade nylon bands comes with a unique black-and-white pattern (with seemingly random splashes of red). And they feel soft enough for comfort, but rugged enough to take some abuse.

There’s a man down this week on Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ show about underdog British spies and their disheveled bureau chief. The horses say goodbye to one of their own, but they don’t get much time to grieve.

Peter Judd’s giving everyone grief again, the Russians are in town doing damage, Lamb’s off the radar conducting his own investigation, and River’s in deep cover … though not that deep.

The episode, entitled “Drinking Games,” is a rough and engaging chapter of the saga. Everyone plays their part beautifully, and the stakes continue to climb.

Our outlaw hero Lin is running out of road this week on Shantaram, and everyone wants him dead or simply out of the way. Karla is neck-deep in a desperate attempt to clear Lin’s name — and makes Bombay a war zone in the process.

Also in this week’s episode, entitled “Banquet of Consequences“: Lisa and Modena’s great escape turns into no such thing. Prabhu makes a promise he can’t keep. Wally Nightingale closes in on his prey. And Ravi decides he’d rather not change after all.

It’s a thrilling penultimate episode, as the Apple TV+ limited series finds all its bloody pieces falling into place.

This week on Echo 3, showrunner, writer and director Mark Boal — known for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty — gets lost upriver trying to graft some semblance of a worldview onto his hollow, sadistic Apple TV+ jungle adventure.

The kidnapped Amber’s captivity is explored, as is her captors’ thin psychology and political motivation. She tries to escape and everyone else suffers for it. It’s a boring and grim edition of Boal’s G.I. Joe fantasy.

Bilingual Apple TV+ comedy Acapulco goes to the edge of misfortune this week before pulling back. Maximo should be happy with his new life with Isabelle, but can’t help but feel like he’s missing out on something. And Julia and Chad must think about their futures now that they know neither of them will be a part of the other’s.

Meanwhile, Memo misses Maximo, Hector’s confused, Chad is lost, and Diane needs Don Pablo back in a hurry. All told, “The Power of Love” is a very convenient episode of the lightweight series.

Apple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast picks up its cliffhanger and heads into ever darker territory this week. Allie is caught between a rock and a harder place than usual. Dina takes her anger out on Margot, but Charlie would rather take it out on Richard.

Margot’s stuck between trying to win back her family’s approval and not caring enough to get it back. The Foxes may still be in hot water with the U.S. government after all, which means there’s a clock ticking faster than they imagined.

It all adds up to a white-knuckle episode of the drama about a family of terrorists on the lam in Central America.

Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest rings in the holiday season with a very special Christmas episode this week. The Mythic Quest offices are full of misery as David makes everyone stay and work through Christmas Eve. His attempts to cheer them up come to naught. And when Poppy and Ian try to salvage things at their old company, they go too far.

Meanwhile, Poppy and Rachel must learn what Jo’s definition of friendship is, and Rachel has her first brush with success. All in all, “The 12 Hours of Christmas” stands tall as a stellar episode of Apple TV+’s funniest show.

Little America, the easygoing Apple TV+ series about the immigrant experience in America, returns this week for a second season of predictably uplifting storytelling.

This parade of hard-luck stories features happy endings that range from gentle to ecstatic. Just like last season, the show is largely successful — if frequently too well-behaved for its own good.

Puppy Place returns to Apple TV+ this week with a second batch of adorable, low-stress hijinks centered on a family that fosters cute pooches.

The Petersons and their four-legged charges once again set out to teach us to love dogs — and ourselves in the process. The puppies are cute and plentiful, the lessons come hard and fast, and no problem is so difficult that it might stress out a child.

The show remains a pretty good afternoon time-waster for kids under 10.

Based on a true story about a slave’s quest for freedom during the Civil War, Apple TV+’s oddly positioned Oscar contender Emancipation pairs action with an unflinching look at slavery’s brutality.

It stars Will Smith, whose bizarre post-Slap apology tour makes for strange bedfellows with Emancipation’s stark subject matter and the film’s action-oriented director, Antoine Fuqua. But this cautiously made movie is probably the best possible film this team could have produced. And indeed, it’s quite a bit better than an Oscar-ready slavery drama made in today’s Hollywood has any right to be.

New episodes of Carpool Karaoke: The Series just popped up on Apple TV+, with zero fanfare or build-up or warning, because, well, who’s going to stop them? You? I didn’t think so.

Still, the showrunners did the one thing possible to entice me to review this new batch: They snagged some interesting guest stars. And you know what? A few actually charming moments emerge, despite the cringe-inducing artifice and sheer laziness of Carpool Karaoke’s premise and production.

Your iMac, MacBook and iPad can easily share the Zagg Pro Mouse. With the press of a button, the rugged Bluetooth mouse switches between multiple computers. As a bonus, the accessory supports wireless charging.

I tested it in my multicomputer office for a couple of weeks. Here’s what it’s like to use every day.

Victrola probably isn’t the first name that leaps to mind when you’re shopping for speakers – it’s a company that built its reputation on the phonograph. But great-grandpa would be amazed because the company is keeping up with the times and recently launched the Victrola Music Edition 2, a great-looking Bluetooth speaker suited for small parties or outdoor gatherings. Plus it has some nice extras, like a wireless charger.

I tested the speaker with my iPhone 13 Plus – here’s why I’m quite pleased with it.

If you ever work on the road, you know relying on your laptop for sound can be as disappointing as relying on it instead of an external display for visuals. Not every laptop has great — or even good — speakers.

Enter Edifier and its MF200 Portable Bluetooth Speaker. The company sent me one for review. The elegant little wedge-shaped soundbar can add plenty of power and clarity to “meh” laptop speakers.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the MF200 blows away all laptop speakers, as I’ll explain below.