Cinemax

CHICAGO – The stylings of author Zane, who has dominated the best seller list and pay cable networks for several years with her steamy and sensually oriented stories, gets to the big screen with the recently released “Addicted.” Actors Boris Kodjoe and Tyson Beckford are part of the ensemble cast.

CHICAGO – Cinemax’s ominous new series “The Knick” is a hospital drama that’s very much in the voice of its director, Steven Soderbergh. Set in New York City at the turn of the 20th century, the series presents the medical world as it inches closer and closer to modernity, while making contemporary parallels to the desperate hustle by surgery room clients and their doctors alike regarding treatment of the human body. What has changed in the politics of medicine? What hasn’t?

CHICAGO – The creative impetus behind Cinemax shows “Banshee” & “Strike Back,” which just saw their first and second seasons released on Blu-ray, respectively, is clear — dirtier, nastier, more violent versions of shows you already know and love. “Banshee” has echoes of “Sons of Anarchy” in its power struggle in a small town saga while “Strike Back” is not unlike “The Unit” or “24” with no restrictions on violence on nudity. “Banshee” is the superior show by some margin but fans of both programs will be happy with their home releases.