Month: November 2020

“Richard Jewell”–A Hidden Gem

Written by Diana Paul on November 30, 2020. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Richard Jewell”–A Hidden Gem

In Richard Jewell, a 2019 Clint Eastwood docudrama, Richard Jewell (played by relative unknown Paul Walter Hauser) , is first adored as a hero for thwarting the bombing of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. But “alternative facts” and frenzied media coverage turn against him. His daily life is turned upside down when he is considered the principal suspect in the bombing by FBI and local police. Jewell is almost a caricature of the lonely white male, living with his mother (Kathy Bates, in an Academy Awards-nominated performance). Deeply proud of his...

“The Comey Rule”–Inner Conflict

Written by Diana Paul on November 23, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. No Comments on “The Comey Rule”–Inner Conflict

In this two-part Hulu and Showtime series, FBI Director James Comey (Jeff Daniels) begins a collision course against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (Brendan Gleeson). Based on Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty”, the first part of The Comey Rule follows the investigation into Hillary’s email and its impact on the 2016 election. Part Two follows the aftermath of the election on Comey’s career and on his family, together with his investigation into Russia, code-named “Crossfire Hurricane”. This is not...

The Queen’s Gambit–A Passion for Winning

Written by Diana Paul on November 16, 2020. Posted in movie reviews. 7 Comments on The Queen’s Gambit–A Passion for Winning

The Queen’s Gambit is a fictional story based upon the 1983 Walter Tevis novel by the same name. A Netflix original series released October 30 of this year, the drama opens with a scene of an eight-year old girl, Beth Harmon (newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy), soon to become an orphan residing at a bleak orphanage, Methuen, under a severe headmistress. It is the mid-1950s and there are few options for an orphan, especially a little girl. Struggling with loneliness, adoption and being a social misfit, Beth finds solace through learning...

“Hinterland” —The Remote Interior of the Mind

Written by Diana Paul on November 1, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on “Hinterland” —The Remote Interior of the Mind

An original Welsh-noir murder series on Netflix (in three seasons, 13 total episodes), Hinterland is for those who love this genre. The main character, DCI Tom Mathias, is a deeply troubled unsympathetic detective who, together with his more mature and brilliant partner Mared Rhys, travels around a small hamlet in Wales solving at least one murder per episode. The dark, forboding, and gloomy landscape rivals that of the best Nordic noir raising the same question: how can there be so many murders in such a small...

Month: November 2020

“Richard Jewell”–A Hidden Gem

“The Comey Rule”–Inner Conflict

The Queen’s Gambit–A Passion for Winning

“The Social Dilemma”– Addiction or Threat?

“Hinterland” —The Remote Interior of the Mind

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