Year: 2018

An Inspector Calls–Nothing Will Ever Be the Same

Written by diana on June 17, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 5 Comments on An Inspector Calls–Nothing Will Ever Be the Same

The BBC mystery An Inspector Calls (2015), based upon the 1947 J.B. Priestley play by the same name, is a morality tale for our time. Set in 1912 Arthur Birling, a wealthy self-made industrialist, has hopes of a knighthood and implicit social elevation through the engagement of his daughter to an aristocrat. Inspector Goole (the superlative David Thewlis) brusquely arrives, announcing he is there to investigate the suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith. At first the Birling family claims not to know anything about her but Inspector Goole begins revealing that they do. As the Inspector...

“Unforgotten”–The Power to Recall

Written by diana on June 11, 2018. Posted in Television reviews. 4 Comments on “Unforgotten”–The Power to Recall

This British crime drama (PBS Masterpiece Mystery), comprised of three episodes in two seasons, focuses on one stone-cold case per season. Each involves a murder at least three decades old. The detective team– Cassie Stuart (the wonderful Nicola Walker of “Last Tango in Halifax” and Sunny Khan (the perfectly cast Sanjeev Bhaskar of “Indian Summers”)–solve each cold case in a delicate balancing of tension with hints of romance. In Season 1 of Unforgotten the detectives discover the 1976 remains of a teenage boy found in the sub-basement of an apartment...

“The Look of Silence”–Beyond Words to Forgive

Written by diana on June 5, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on “The Look of Silence”–Beyond Words to Forgive

This film (2015) is a companion piece and powerful account of the 1960’s genocide in Indonesia, a follow-up to Joshua Oppenheimer’s debut and Oscar-nominated documentary “The Act of Killing” (2012). Less horrific but more emotionally compelling, “The Look of Silence” is a haunting revisiting of the killing fields of Indonesia and the US’s role in the carnage. (The US purportedly promised gifts to those who rid the country of “communist resisters”.) More than a million people were slaughtered. An Indonesian eyeglass salesman named Adi Runkun...

“In Secret”–Family Casualties

Written by diana on May 28, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on “In Secret”–Family Casualties

In Secret depicts the desperate life of an orphaned girl as she becomes a sexually repressed young woman. This 2013 American erotic thriller (previously titled Thérèse), is based on Émile Zola’s classic novel, Thérèse Raquin. In 1860s Paris, Thérèse Raquin (Elizabeth Olsen) is trapped in a loveless and sexless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille (Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” series). Thérèse is forced by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin (the extraordinary Jessica Lange), to accept his marriage proposal, which essentially binding her to...

RBG–Truth to Power

Written by diana on May 21, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on RBG–Truth to Power

RBG movie poster Regardless of your political tastes, the documentary RBG offers an insightful peek into the life and work of a lifelong advocate for equal rights for women and minorities. As one of three female Supreme Court justices serving on the nine-judge bench, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become a cultural icon and something of a “fan-girl” sensation. We are entertained by the T-shirts and costumes depicting RBG as a superhero. Early in her career as counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, Ginsburg argued more than 300 gender discrimination cases, including six in...

The Terror–A Chilling Northwest Passage Nightmare

Written by diana on May 13, 2018. Posted in Television reviews. 3 Comments on The Terror–A Chilling Northwest Passage Nightmare

Inspired by a true story and the novel by Dan Simmons, The Terror, a new AMC television series, takes the viewer into perilous territory as a 19th century Royal Navy crew attempts to discover the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Circle. A holy grail for intrepid explorers dating back to the 1700’s, the Northwest Passage is now open to cargo ships, oil tankers, and cruise ships because of climate change. That wasn’t always the case. The Terror opens in 1846, with two crews–the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror on a tandem quest to open the treacherous Northwest Passage...