Year: 2018

“My Top 22 Movies and TV Series for 2018”

Written by diana on December 28, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on “My Top 22 Movies and TV Series for 2018”

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 absolutely stunning. Both television and cinema have continued to produce phenomenal story-telling and intriguing characters. The following list is not ranked, only grouped by genre. I could not limit my choices to only 10 or 20. INDIES and FOREIGN CINEMA 1)...

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 for the NASA moon landing. While he is undergoing the rigors of flight simulation, his two-and-a half-year-old daughter is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Despite the couple’s best efforts, the child dies, leaving the parents and their...

“Green Book”–Required Reading

Written by diana on December 5, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on “Green Book”–Required Reading

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, we see Dr. Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali of “Moonlight”), a renowned pianist, about to embark on a concert tour throughout the US. Shirley hires Tony Valleylonga –“the Lip”–(played by Viggo Mortensen of “Lord...

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 president in the looming shadow of what was to come. The Final Year actually follows Samantha Power, U.N. Ambassador and Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, as they almost inexhaustibly pursue Obama’s foreign policy agenda with heart and...

“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. Now, in Season 6, Frank Underwood is dead, but we don’t know how. His widow, Claire Underwood (the phenomenal Robin Wright) is President and has inherited her dead husband’s enemies. Dealing with the aftermath of her husband’s death, and...

“Queen of Katwe”–Queen of Chess

Written by diana on November 13, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on “Queen of Katwe”–Queen of Chess

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 Years a Slave” and “Black Panther) and younger brothers. After Phiona meets Robert Katende (David Oyelowo of “Selma”), a missionary who teaches children how to play chess, her outlook becomes more aspirational than selling...