Year: 2018

“My Top 22 Movies and TV Series for 2018”

Written by diana on December 28, 2018. Posted in movie reviews.

Here are the reviews I wrote this year with the criteria that they were available online or were at local movie theaters, although not necessarily under broad distribution nor widely distributed through move theaters. Of the 43 reviews, here are my favorites. Another difficult year to make my listicle. As in past years, 2018 was...

First Man–Not Over the Moon

Written by diana on December 14, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on First Man–Not Over the Moon

First Man is a movie biopic about the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, in the years 1961 to 1969 . We are introduced to Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his days before being selected for the dangerous mission of first “Man on the Moon.” Armstrong is involved in a series of errors while flying experimental missions, in training...

“Green Book”–Required Reading

Written by diana on December 5, 2018. Posted in movie reviews.

It’s 1962, you are African American and you don’t travel in the US without the Green Book, an unofficial domestic passport (for Jim Crow laws). The Green Book is an indispensable guide for African Americans looking for accommodations while traveling. (Similar guides existed for Jewish and gay travelers.) Inspired by a true story,...

The Final Year–The End of a Term

Written by diana on November 28, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on The Final Year–The End of a Term

The Final Year, Greg Barker’s HBO documentary, covers January 2016 to January 2017 of the Barack Obama administration . It is quietly devastating and demoralizing footage of the last twelve months of foreign statesmanship before the Trump administration. Don’t expect that The Final Year will give you a portrait of the 44th...

“House of Cards” (Final Season)–A Different Shuffle

Written by diana on November 20, 2018. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 3 Comments on “House of Cards” (Final Season)–A Different Shuffle

In the earlier five seasons of House of Cards, Frank Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey) represented the Machiavellian Chief Whip then Vice President, and then President. As he manipulated his fellow party colleagues, foreign prime ministers (principally Russia), we witnessed the dark truths of American politics by a despotic megalomaniac....

“Queen of Katwe”–Queen of Chess

Written by diana on November 13, 2018. Posted in movie reviews.

Queen of Katwe, an indie film based on a true story, features 10-year-old newcomer Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) living in the shanty town of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda. She is an impoverished little girl who is in a constant struggle to survive along with her mother Harriet (the extraordinary Academy-Award-winning Lupita Nyong’o of “12...