Year: 2020

Queen & Slim–Majestic Yet Thin

Written by Diana Paul on July 13, 2020. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on Queen & Slim–Majestic Yet Thin

Queen & Slim, directed by Melina Matsoukas (“Insecure”) and written by Lena Waithe (“Master of None”), was influenced by the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. A story about police brutality and the stress and horror of daily life for a black person in America, Queen & Slim is a gripping fictional film that feels all too real. A first Tinder date– mediocre and uneventful– takes an unexpected turn. On their way home in a blustery winter night in Cleveland, a young couple are pulled over for a minor traffic incident....

“The Restaurant”–A Banquet of Plots

Written by Diana Paul on July 6, 2020. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “The Restaurant”–A Banquet of Plots

This Sundance Now series from Sweden begins in May 1945 in celebration of the end of World War II. Calle Svensson, a young working class aspiring chef, plants an impulsive kiss on a pretty young stranger, Nina Löwander. Her family owns a traditional, if old-fashioned, restaurant in Stockholm. Although officially neutral during the war, Sweden had both Nazi supporters and resisters. The first of three seasons in The Restaurant grapples with the war’s aftermath. While peace is proclaimed all over Europe, a family battle begins to rage among Löwander...

“The Aftermath” (2019) — Unforeseen Consequences

Written by Diana Paul on June 29, 2020. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “The Aftermath” (2019) — Unforeseen Consequences

Hamburg is in ruins five months after Germany surrenders in 1946. The Aftermath opens with scenes of German residents starving and displaced in bombed-out neighborhoods. Now, they must face Brits and Americans bossing them around their native land, requisitioning their most luxurious homes for their own use during the occupation. Some Germans are so resentful they’re still willing to die defiantly in the name of Hitler. We don’t often see a film centered on the immediate aftermath of World War II from a German perspective. Yet The Aftermath is not...

“Mrs. America”–A Closet Feminist?

Written by Diana Paul on June 23, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 1 Comment on “Mrs. America”–A Closet Feminist?

Mrs. America is the history-packed and binge-worthy nine-episode Hulu series created by Dahvi Waller (of “Mad Men”). We see a dazzling sweep of history from the early 1970s to 1982 as the fight against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment unfolds. Still unpassed, the ERA would create a constitutional ban on discrimination against women. Its failure to win approval was due in large measure to the brilliant political strategist Phyllis Schlafly. Cate Blanchett embodies captivating contradictions as Schlafly, the antiheroine in Mrs. America. The...

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Written by Diana Paul on June 15, 2020. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a dramatization of the real-life friendship between the beloved Fred Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) and the investigative reporter, Lloyd Vogel (a pseudonym for Tom Junod.). Vogel (played by Emmy winner Matthew Rhys of “The Americans”), is a journalist known for being cynical and abrasive. He is given the assignment to profile the beloved PBS television host of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood: Fred Rogers (the incomparable Tom Hanks), But he is determined to reveal that no one can have such a good and warm-hearted...

“Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich”–Obscene Power

Written by Diana Paul on June 8, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich”–Obscene Power

Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is an explosive and deeply disturbing four-part Netflix Original documentary, that spotlights a dark international web of underage sex trafficking. Billionaire playboy and financier Jeffrey Epstein operated his sick obsession in plain sight. In Filthy Rich we watch this wealthy predator cultivate links to extraordinarily powerful people including current and former presidents and a British prince. In 2019 Epstein was finally convicted of sex trafficking and associated crimes after similar charges ended in a widely-criticized plea deal. Released...