Year: 2015

“House of Cards” –On the verge of collapse

Written by diana on March 16, 2015. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “House of Cards” –On the verge of collapse

In Season 3 of Netflix’s award-winning series, “House of Cards”, the Beltway game is passing Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) by and only he seems not to know it. This season is wife Claire Underwood’s story. Whatever the subplots and character arcs, this series continues to hinge upon the tortuous dynamics between Frank and...

“Life Itself”—A Beautiful Mind

Written by diana on March 9, 2015. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on “Life Itself”—A Beautiful Mind

Roger Ebert 2013 Based upon the memoir by the same name, “Life Itself” is the autobiography of movie critic extraordinaire, Roger Ebert. This documentary is as much about courage and loyalty as it is about the life of the most famous and brilliant movie critic we have known. Tremendously life-affirming and soul-stirring, “Life Itself” is a...

“Wild Tales”—Nothing Tame About This

Written by diana on March 2, 2015. Posted in movie reviews.

Wild Tales Nominated for the 2015 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film (unfortunately losing to “Ida”), “Wild Tales” is like no other film I have seen in recent years. This dark series of six vignettes channeling “Twilight Zone” and “Black Mirror” is the surreal creation of Argentine writer-director Damián Szifrón and produced by Pedro Almodóvar...

“Apparitions: Frottage and Rubbings from 1860 to Now” @ Hammer Museum (UCLA)

Written by diana on February 21, 2015. Posted in Art, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on “Apparitions: Frottage and Rubbings from 1860 to Now” @ Hammer Museum (UCLA)

Dominick Di Meo– “Untitled (numbers creatures)” This pioneering exhibit—the first to focus on frottage as an art technique– currently ongoing until May 31, is a scintillating, deceptively simple display of approximately 100 artworks by fifty artists using the technique known as frottage (French: “to rub”). ...

“Salamander”—Hiding Under a Rock

Written by diana on February 17, 2015. Posted in Television reviews. 2 Comments on “Salamander”—Hiding Under a Rock

“Salamander” the movie This Belgian drama twelve-part TV miniseries, released through Netflix and BBC in 2014, is a crime thriller in the same league as the edge-of-the-seat series Wallander, Bridge, and The Killing. A small private bank in Brussels, is robbed of 66 safe deposit boxes belonging to some of the most prominent...

“Still Alice”—Unforgettable

Written by diana on February 8, 2015. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “Still Alice”—Unforgettable

Adapted from neuroscientist Lisa Genova’s novel, “Still Alice” takes a straightforward look at the sad, terrifying and difficult-to-bear illness of Alzheimer’s. But bear it we must. The story of Alice Howland (the remarkable Julianne Moore), a fifty-something linguistics professor happily married to a fellow intellectual (Alec Baldwin)...