Author: Diana Paul

“Flesh and Blood”–Deadly Sins

Written by Diana Paul on October 18, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews.

Don’t be fooled. This dysfunctional family gives the appearance of happiness and love, but Flesh and Blood disguises a murder. This mystery-thriller set in the sunshine and warm beaches of West Sussex is a multigenerational psychodrama. The gentle surf and sunny skies can lull the residents...

“Ratched”–Ratcheting Up the Tension

Written by Diana Paul on October 12, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 1 Comment on “Ratched”–Ratcheting Up the Tension

This Netflix quasi-horror thriller creates a backstory for Nurse Ratched, the heartless villain in the 1975 Academy-Award winning classic “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”. “What made Ratched so vile and so unimaginably cruel and unempathetic?” The answer, of course, has roots in...

“Van der Valk”– Going Dutch

Written by Diana Paul on October 5, 2020. Posted in Television reviews. 2 Comments on “Van der Valk”– Going Dutch

This quirky three-episode police procedural on Masterpiece Theater follows a sullen, street-smart Dutch detective, Piet Van der Valk (Marc Warner), who navigates the seedier side of lively Amsterdam. Each two-hour episode of Van der Valk involves a distinct crime that can...

“Them That Follow”–Faith, Interrupted

Written by Diana Paul on September 28, 2020. Posted in Unhealed Wound.

Them That Follow (2019) is an odd American indie thriller about an Appalachian, Pentecostal, Charismatic snake-handling Christian cult. A close-knit community with extremely strong beliefs, it exists on the far-fringe of mainstream society. This is the backdrop for a love story between the...

“The Hater”–Social Media Run Amok

Written by Diana Paul on September 22, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound.

The Hater, a Polish thriller, captivates with its young nerd culture gone awry on social media. The movie is intelligent, never simplifying the internecine competition between the elite college professional and those who yearn for that life. The Hater reveals a cold, ruthless world of postmodern haves...

“The Goldfinch”–Art and Loss

Written by Diana Paul on September 15, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on “The Goldfinch”–Art and Loss

Goldfinch (2020), based upon Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, tells the story of a young boy, Theo ( the astonishing Oakes Fegley), who is walking through galleries with his beloved mother at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They gaze at a Dutch Master painting of a chained...