Category Archives: Apple TV

Apple TV Cowboy Cartel

“Cowboy Cartel” Trailer

Apple TV, crime, documentary, true stories
Cowboy Cartel documentary

Cowboy Cartel is a four-part documentary series featuring the remarkable story of a rookie FBI agent. Scott Lawson cracked the case of one of Mexico’s most ruthless cartels, Los Zetas and the multimillion-dollar money laundering operation they ran through the heart of the American Quarter Horse racing industry.

The documentary is an unbelievable true story of an unlikely hero from rural Tennessee. Lawson’s investigation took down the Treviño brothers, the leaders of Los Zetas, one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico. While the Treviños terrorized thousands in their pursuit of power, money and influence, Lawson risked his life on a hunch.

He tracked the brother’s racehorse transactions in the United States, infiltrating the deadly cartel and uncovering their international money laundering operations.

Cowboy Cartel features first-time interviews with FBI agent Scott Lawson, who broke the case; IRS agent Steve Pennington; Irving police officers Steve Junker, Brian Schutt and Kim Williams; Assistant United States Attorney Doug Gardner; Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Ginger Thompson; and Joe Tone, the author of “Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream,” among many others. 

Clearly, Apple TV continues to expand its nonfiction programming, adding Cowboy Cartel to the list, which includes The Dynasty New England Patriots, Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend and Stephen Curry: Underrated.

Pachinko Season 2

“Pachinko” Season 2 Storyline and Images

Apple TV, drama, episodic, foreign, , ,

The upcoming second season of Pachinko is the award-winning, globally acclaimed sweeping drama series created and executive-produced by Soo Hugh. The eight-episode series plays to the audience in three languages—Korean, Japanese, and English.

Pachinko Season 2

The trailer debuts a new moving cover of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida by global superstar Rosé of the record-breaking K-pop group BlackPink. In addition to debuting as the series’ trailer anthem, Rosé’s cover is also featured in the Pachinko season two finale. 

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, Pachinko is a sweeping and deeply moving story of love and survival across four generations, told through the eyes of a remarkable matriarch, Sunja.

In season two, the parallel stories pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja is forced to make dangerous decisions for her family’s survival during World War II, and in Tokyo in 1989, where Solomon explores new, humble beginnings. 

The first season received 11 international awards, including a Peabody Award, an American Film Institute Award, a Critics Choice Award and a Gotham Independent Film Award. Season two stars Lee Minho, Yuh-Jung Youn, Minha Kim, Jin Ha, Anna Sawai, Eunchae Jung, Soji Arai, Junwoo Han, and Sungkyu Kim.

Brad Pitt in F1

“F1” Storyline

Apple TV, drama, sports, true stories, ,
FI starring Brad Pitt

Joseph Kosinski directs F1 based on a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. The story follows the auto racing championship. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film stars Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon, Damson Idris, Tobias Menzies, Lewis Hamilton, Javier Bardem and Sarah Niles.

Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s. He has a life-changing, horrible crash that forces him to retire from Formula One. He turns to other racing disciplines.

Bardem plays a Formula One team owner and friend who convinces Hayes to come out of retirement to mentor a rookie prodigy, Joshua Pearce, played by Idris, on the Apex Grand Prix team.

Other films directed by Kosinski:

Tron: Legacy

Oblivion

Only the Brave

Top Gun: Maverick

Spiderhead

fly me to the moon

“Fly Me to the Moon” Poster

Apple TV, comedy, drama,

Greg Berlant directs Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon, a comedy-drama set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing.

The story follows marketing maven Kelly Jones, played by Johansson. She’s brought in to fix NASA’s public image and wreak havoc on launch director Cole Davis, played by Tatum, who already has a difficult task.

When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.

The film rounds out with a delightful cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Chris Evans, Ray Romano and Anna Garcia.

“Lady in the Lake” on Apple TV

Apple TV, episodic, mystery,

When the disappearance of a young girl grips the city of Baltimore on Thanksgiving 1966, the lives of two women converge on a fatal collision course.

Maddie Schwartz, played by Natalie Portman, is a Jewish housewife seeking to shed a secret past and reinvent herself as an investigative journalist, and Cleo Johnson, played by Moses Ingram, is a mother navigating the political underbelly of Black Baltimore while struggling to provide for her family.

Their disparate lives seem parallel at first, but when Maddie becomes fixated on Cleo’s mystifying death, a chasm opens that puts everyone around them in danger. From visionary director Alma Har’el, Lady in the Lake emerges as a feverish noir thriller and an unexpected tale of the price women pay for their dreams.

“Presumed Innocent” Images

Apple TV, based on a book, drama, suspense
Apple TV presumed innocent

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Scott Turow, the gripping series takes viewers on a journey through the horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office when one of its own is suspected of a crime.

The series explores obsession, sex, politics, and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.

Women in Blue

“Women in Blue” (“Las Azules”) Images

Apple TV
women in blue

Set in 1970 and inspired by true events, “Women in Blue” (“Las Azules”) tells the story of four women who defy the ultraconservative norms of the time and join Mexico’s first female police force. Only they discovered their squad was a publicity stunt to distract the media from a brutal serial killer.

As the body count grows, María (Bárbara Mori), whose determination to catch the killer becomes an obsession. Gabina is played by Amorita Rasgado, whose father is a renowned cop. Ángeles, played by Ximena Sariñana, a brilliant fingerprint analyst, and Valentina, played by Natalia Téllez, a young rebel, set up a secret investigation to achieve what no male officer has done and bring the serial killer to justice.

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck

“The Instigators” Poster and Trailer

Apple TV, comedy, crime, , ,

Doug Liman directed The Instigators. The story follows Rory, played by Matt Damon, and Cobby, played by Casey Affleck, who are reluctant partners. One is a desperate father, and the other is an ex-con thrown together to pull off a robbery of the ill-gained earnings of a corrupt politician.

But when the heist goes wrong, the two find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by police but also by backward bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses. Completely out of their depth, they convince Rory’s therapist, played by Hong Chau, to join their riotous getaway through the city, where they must put aside their differences and work together to evade capture—or worse.

Written by Chuck MacLean and Casey Affleck, The Instigators also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina, and Toby Jones, with Jack Harlow and Ron Perlman.

Other films directed by Doug Liman:

Road House

Edge of Tomorrow

The Bourne Identity

American Made

Chaos Walking

Wolfs with Pitt and Clooney

“Wolfs” Image

Apple TV, comedy, drama, , ,

Jon Watts wrote and directed Wolfs, starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney. The story follows two professional fixers, played by Pitt and Clooney.

Though they consider themselves lone wolves, they are forced to work together. One night, their ideologies of working alone and fixing the situation spiral out of control, hopefully making the film entertaining.

It’s good to see Amy Ryan in the trailer. She’s great in Sugar, opposite Colin Farrell, which also plays on Apple TV. Austin Abrams is also in the film and seems poised to be hilarious.

Other movies directed by Jon Watts:

Spiderman No Way Home

Spiderman Far From Home

Spiderman

Cop Car

Clown