Pomona Rewind

During the second season of 'Ted Lasso,' there's one big question for fans of the beautiful game. Can AFC Richmond gain promotion to the Premier League or will they remain stuck in the Championship? For those only interested in the comedy and drama, there are two questions. How will the characters navigate the ups and downs of their lives? Will 'Ted Lasso' continue to make us laugh? © Apple TV+ During season one, Jason Sudeikis' character came across like a modern day twist on a Jimmy Stewart character. Amiable and relentlessly optimistic even when things were not going his team's way, the US college football coach turned Premier League soccer manager was hard not to love. Season two, though, demands more than amiable comedy and so Sudeikis and the other principal actors dig much deeper into their characters. SPOILERS ALERT!!! At the end of season one, Ted was left nursing a broken heart as his marriage buckled under the strain of a long distance relationshi

It all began  as a character in some tongue in cheek promos for live English Premier League soccer matches on NBC  in the United States. Now 'Ted Lasso' is an international phenomenon, thanks to Apple TV+ and a staggering 20 Emmy nominations for its first season. Such has been its impact it has worked its way into the football lexicon. Any American linked to the game in Britain, like former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch, is inevitably compared to Ted. © Apple TV+ The Canadian and US Hollywood partnership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have found their FX docuseries about the Welsh football club they own ' Welcome to Wrexham ' being compared to the Apple TV+ show. In fact, when it comes to British football, it seems there's no escaping comparisons to 'Ted Lasso'. What is also not in doubt is that it is Jason Sudeikis' best loved comic character. For the uninitiated, Ted is one of those relentless optimists you might see in a Frank Capra movie. ©

One of the most delightful things about the Oscars is working your way around the Best Documentary Feature nominees. The quality of nominated features is almost always high. The stories they tell are fascinating. The images assembled and the editing are often stunning. This is certainly true of Sara Dosa's 'Fire of Love,' a National Geographic and Neon documentary about two French volcanologists, their relationship and their zeal for understanding volcanos. © Sandbox Films & National Geographic Katia and Maurice Krafft were passionate about studying volcanos. They were celebrated volcanologists - the toast of the lecture circuit and French media, thanks to their pioneering work chronicling volcanic eruptions through photography, film and recording. The Kraffts' daring as they filmed volcanoes was notorious. But their deaths during the June 1991 Mount Unzen eruption in Japan only added to their lore in the volcanology community. The stunning images of lava flows and

This is a pretty hard thing for any critic to admit but I've reached a place where I'm really struggling to summon up any enthusiasm to review Marvel or DC Comics' films and TV shows. This isn't just because there's so much of the damn stuff. It's just most of what they produce is so dull, smug and formulaic. If the movies and series they have a bit more ambition, if they are willing to break new ground and plumb deeper themes, they have the ability to float my boat. © Marvel  Studios That's why I've rushed to review 'Joker' or 'The Batman'. But most of the time I find myself dragging my heels at the prospect of having to review 'Doctor Strange,' 'Black Adam' or 'Ant Man and the Wasp' - that is, if I review them at all. That weariness doesn't sit comfortably with me, though. Marvel movies and to a lesser extent DC Comics' output are incredibly popular. © Marvel  Studios They put bums on seats which is a ver

What is it about Scandinavian filmmakers and their desire to provoke? Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg and Joachim Trier have all made confrontational films that tackle difficult subjects. Their films tend to be stylistically daring, eschewing traditional narrative structures set by Hollywood. And the same is true about Sweden's Reuben Ostlund into that category. © Lionsgate UK, ZDF/ARTE, ARTE France, BBC Film, Sveriges Television Known internationally for his 2014 and 2017 satirical black comedies, 'Force Majeure' and 'The Square,' he isn't afraid to poke and prod his audiences, often taking them out of their comfort zones. 'The Square,' after all, featured a performance artist roaming around a fancy dinner and humiliating guests by pretending to be an ape. His sixth feature is 'Triangle of Sadness' - a withering look at the super wealthy and the 21st Century fixation with image over substance. And for its troubles, Ostlund's movie has land