Author: diana

Velvet Buzzsaw–Art Can Be Dangerous

Written by diana on February 12, 2019. Posted in Unhealed Wound. No Comments on Velvet Buzzsaw–Art Can Be Dangerous

In this grisly art-world satire, Velvet Buzzsaw opens with a renowned art critic, Morf Vandewalt (the sensational Jake Gyllenhaal), in his designer sunglasses, turning his pompous, gimlet eye on artwork at the highly hyped Art Basel Miami show. Pontificating about what he considers worthy or unworthy, Morf has the power to punish or reward. Everything starts conventionally with the cocktail circuit of groveling artists’ representatives, but soon it turns grisly. Velvet Buzzsaw relishes in satirizing the pompous art-world, blending horror inside an artist’s...

The Favourite–A Compelling Menage à Trois

Written by diana on February 4, 2019. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on The Favourite–A Compelling Menage à Trois

Nominated for ten Academy Awards including best picture, The Favourite is perhaps one of the best revenge thrillers of 2018. Reminiscent of Downton Abbey with its opulent settings and costumes, The Favourite is also an historical drama. In the early 18th century court of Queen Anne, we see a mentally fragile and damaged queen (the sublime Olivia Colman), facing the usual suspects vying to seize the growing power of an emerging empire. The queen’s closest advisor and friend, Lady Sarah Marlborough (Rachel Weisz), governs the country behind the scenes through manipulating...

IndigNation–Jim Carrey’s Political Cartoons

Written by diana on January 28, 2019. Posted in Art, Unhealed Wound. No Comments on IndigNation–Jim Carrey’s Political Cartoons

Squeeze. Mueller. Squeeze Every time I think I know what Jim Carrey will do next as a comedian the actor throws me off balance. Think of his new HBO series Kidding. But most of all, his evolution as a no-holds-barred political artist just blows me away. I recently was privileged to see more than 80 of his sketches at the Maccarone Gallery in Los Angeles, “IndigNation: Political Cartoons by Jim Carrey, 2016–2018.” This Canadian actor is fearless in attacking the dysfunction of Trump’s presidency. The intensity of his aversion for Trump is felt pulsating through the 8 1/2 x...

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World

Written by diana on January 13, 2019. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World

Filmmaker Werner Herzog, in this tech-retrospective of the history of the internet and the convoluted relationship between humans and computers, examines the past, present and future of the internet. His easily recognizable gravelled-voice of the narrator is both ominous and puzzling. Lo and Behold gives the viewer a spellbinding, lesser-known walk back in time through the birth of the computer and its subsequent impact on our daily lives. Some of the segments are dazzling glimpses of the brilliance of discovering this way of communication(with a few academic and boring bits of calculus),...

Happy New Year Chinese Style –Year of the Brown Earth Pig or Wild Boar (February 5, 2019–January 24, 2020)

Written by diana on January 7, 2019. Posted in Lunar New Year. No Comments on Happy New Year Chinese Style –Year of the Brown Earth Pig or Wild Boar (February 5, 2019–January 24, 2020)

The Year of the Wild Boar (in the Japanese and Tibetan zodiac systems) or the Pig in the Chinese Zodiac: the Buddha called a meeting of his monks, the townspeople, and the animals before entering Nirvana. The Pig was late to the sermon because he ate too much and overslept. Year of the Pig 2019 The fat, happy Pig’s nature is to be naturally pleased with himself or herself, no matter what he or she does. The Pig likes creature comforts and is sensual in everything. Tolerant, compassionate, generous, he or she nonetheless has difficulty controlling passions but hides neither...

“My Top 22 Movies and TV Series for 2018”

Written by diana on December 28, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on “My Top 22 Movies and TV Series for 2018”

Here are the reviews I wrote this year with the criteria that they were available online or were at local movie theaters, although not necessarily under broad distribution nor widely distributed through move theaters. Of the 43 reviews, here are my favorites. Another difficult year to make my listicle. As in past years, 2018 was absolutely stunning. Both television and cinema have continued to produce phenomenal story-telling and intriguing characters. The following list is not ranked, only grouped by genre. I could not limit my choices to only 10 or 20. INDIES and FOREIGN CINEMA 1)...