Month: March 2022

“The Gilded Age”—Greed and Betrayal

Written by Diana Paul on March 29, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on “The Gilded Age”—Greed and Betrayal

The Gilded Age (2022), created and produced by Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey fame) opens in 1882 in a small town in Pennsylvania. The penniless but “pedigreed” young Marian Brook (newcomer Louisa Jacobson has little recourse but to move to New York to live with her wealthy Aunt Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and her Aunt Ada (Cynthia Nixon). A young aspiring Black writer, Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), lends money to Marian for a train ticket to New York and their unlikely friendship begins. Across the street lives a spectacularly wealthier family,...

Line of Duty—A Killer of a Murder Mystery

Written by Diana Paul on March 21, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on Line of Duty—A Killer of a Murder Mystery

Line of Duty (2012-2021), a multiple-award winning BBC police procedural, is a gripping crime drama like no other, with a shocking death in episode one, series one (2012), the catalyst for all six seasons which build upon it. This is a killer of a murder mystery. Line of Duty is BBC’s most popular series outperforming both “Dr. Who” and “Downton Abbey.” Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) is transferred from the anti-terrorism unit to the internal affairs unit charged with uncovering police corruption—AC(=Anti-Corruption)-12. ...

“The Last Kingdom”—The Final Battle?

Written by Diana Paul on March 15, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on “The Last Kingdom”—The Final Battle?

This Netlix-distributed series (see my December 27, 2021 review of the first four seasons), ends with the fifth and final season, just released on March 9, 2022. The series is based on Bernard Cornwell’s first ten novels of the thirteen novels in the Saxon Stories series , There is no question of its popularity. The Last Kingdom almost crashed the servers streaming the fifth season. The last season finds Uhtred prepared to retake his homeland fortress and lands, Bebbanburg, Uhtred has dedicated twenty years of his life to leading...

“Pig”–Fatty with Little Meat

Written by Diana Paul on March 8, 2022. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Pig”–Fatty with Little Meat

Pig (2021) is an odd indie film about a truffle forager, Rob Feld (played by a mostly grunting Nicolas Cage), a former elite restaurateur who has fallen on hard times. In the middle of the night, his beloved truffle-finding pig has been stolen somewhere deep in the woods where he lives in a cabin far from Portland.

“The Last Duel”–A Fight to the End

Written by Diana Paul on March 1, 2022. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on “The Last Duel”–A Fight to the End

The Last Duel (2021) is based on Eric Jager’s nonfiction account of the late 14th-century French trial in which an alleged rape of the wife of one nobleman is committed by another of lesser rank. The Last Duel is part medieval saga and part female revenge drama. Set during the decade after the Black Death, and the calamitous Hundred Years’ War, social disturbances have ravaged France with debt and a reduced population to support the feckless aristocracy. Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) is one such landowning but illiterate nobleman deeply in debt. Forced to become...