Month: May 2021

“Official Secrets”–Blowing in the Wind

Written by Diana Paul on May 31, 2021. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. No Comments on “Official Secrets”–Blowing in the Wind

Based upon the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun (played by Keira Knightley) immediately before the planned 2003 Iraq invasion, Official Secrets exposes a joint US-UK illegal extortion plan [under President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair). Both governments colluded against members of the UN Security Council in order to obtain their votes for invasion. Gun, a minor functionary and translator of highly confidential documents, leaks a top secret NSA memo that proposes blackmailing...

“Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker”–First Female Millionaire in US

Written by Diana Paul on May 24, 2021. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker”–First Female Millionaire in US

This mini-series was inspired by a biography written by Madam CJ Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles (“On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker”). This Netflix four-episode mini-series highlights the extraordinary, –almost unbelievable– life of Sarah Breedlove (1867 –1919), an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. Sara Breedlove–soon to prefer the brand name Madam CJ Walker– is the first female self-made millionaire in America (regardless of ethnicity) in...

“Red Dot”(2021)– Laser Focused

Written by Diana Paul on May 17, 2021. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Red Dot”(2021)– Laser Focused

Trying to put more excitement into their marriage, Nadja and David, a young doctor and engineer, decide to go on a camping trip in a remote forest in Sweden, fantasizing that it will be romantic, gazing at the Northern Lights with their adorable dog. The impending “excitement” is not exactly what they bargained for, however. Stalked by an unseen enemy, they become the targets of a hellish nightmare. Red Dot is an intense psychological thriller. In a reversal of gender roles, frequently seen in Nordic Noir, Nadja is not in need of saving. A very competent...

“Palmer” (2021)–Second Chances

Written by Diana Paul on May 9, 2021. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Palmer” (2021)–Second Chances

In this little sleeper of a movie, Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) is released from prison after serving twelve years for attempted murder in a robbery gone wrong. With nowhere to live but at his beloved grandmother’s (June Squibb of Nebraska), Palmer soon is forced to reexamine his life and, in the process of learning to accept his past, finds ways of expressing his feelings. A bullied young non-binary child, Sam (Ryder Allen), lives with his drug addicted mother, Shelly (Juno Temple), in a trailer on the grandmother’s property. ...

“Ammonite”–Two Women Shedding Their Shell

Written by Diana Paul on May 3, 2021. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “Ammonite”–Two Women Shedding Their Shell

This highly original biopic of a little-known woman scientist highlights the obscurity in which women of renown nevertheless hid in plain sight. Ammonite, set in the coastal village of Lyme Regis, in 1840s England, chronicles the intense relationship between the acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter and paleontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and a young affluent woman, Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan). Their friendship transforms both of their lives. Charlotte Murchison visits Mary Anning’s fossil shop with her dilettante husband, Roderick (James...