Eclectic Pop

Young people, alcohol, deceit, and bad ideas. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, that’s right…everything. Even with its fantastical bent of horror, “Truth or Dare” can be viewed as a cautionary tale with an honest narrative on the real cost of those forces colliding. As is the case in “Final Destination,” young people in “Truth or Dare” try to escape their deadly fate, as some are more successful than others.

When a teenager goes missing, her worried father and his best friend work to find her. “Safe” is that simple on the surface and all the more complicated underneath. Dr. Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall) lost his wife to cancer a year ago. Now a single father, he is not-so-secretly hooking up with his neighbor, Sophie (Amanda Abbington). Sophie also happens to be Tom’s wife's best friend since their school days, as well as the Detective Sergeant of the local PD. If you love tangled webs, “Safe” is the show for you.

A complex thriller with more going on than could ever meet the eye, “In Darkness” is about the things that go on below the surface. Our story centers on Sofia (Natalie Dormer), a blind pianist, who plays as part of an orchestra on a movie or television score. From there we retreat back to her apartment and a burgeoning mystery.

When you think of the color red, many emotions spring to mind and passion is chief among them. Unfortunately for “Red Sparrow,” it is unable to portray that kind of power at any point. Set in an undefined period of time, Dominika (Jennifer Lawrence) is a promising ballerina in Russia when her dreams of greatness are literally crushed under the ballet slipper of her male counterpart.

Weird events are happening in the small fictional town of Villefranche. The murder rate has been escalating, eclipsing the national average. Determined to get to the bottom of that and other mysteries is a prosecutor with a firm grip on justice.

Caution: Mild spoilers for “Silver Spoon” (originally titled “Mazhor”) Season 1 are below.

Another spoonful of this delectable series is exactly what every television fan needs. Igor and company are back for a second season of the crime thriller that keeps impressive pace with the exquisite quality of Season 1. Picking up not too long after the previous installment left off, viewers catch up with an imprisoned Igor. Don’t worry though. Unlike most shows that would sit on that plot for a multi-episode arc, “Silver Spoon” finds a way to move past it in slick and believable fashion.

What makes a good action drama great is when it emphasizes its dramatic side, and that is something that “Braven” marvelously excels at. Joe Braven (Jason Momoa) is a hard-working guy with a loving family. The owner of a logging company, he has to spend a lot of time away from his wife and daughter. Meanwhile, his father is dealing with the onsets of dementia, the result of a head injury from a bad fall he took during his own logging work.

The life of Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) only gets more complicated in “Fifty Shades Freed,” and the movie is kind enough to bring viewers along for the exotic, erotic ride. The third installment in the sexy trilogy brings the story of Anastasia Steele and her devoted beau Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) to a surprisingly sweet and wistful finish.