movie reviews – Page 33 – Unhealed Wound

“Three Identical Strangers”–Triplets and Eugenics

Written by diana on July 29, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “Three Identical Strangers”–Triplets and Eugenics

Three Identical Strangers raises difficult questions about how a 1950’s and 60’s psychological study was never made public, even to this day. Much of the data and conclusions remain unclear. In this study by respected psychologist Peter Neubauer, unsuspecting subjects were parents and their adopted sons who were systematically studied and tested. The abuse of power, lasting two decades in the name of science, is the underlying theme of Three Identical Strangers. Neubauer himself died in 2008 and bequeathed over sixty boxes of interviews, film footage and other raw data to Yale...

La Mante–The Praying Mantis

Written by diana on July 24, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on La Mante–The Praying Mantis

This must-see French suspense thriller focuses on an imprisoned female serial killer, recruited to help solve a string of copycat murders, but only if her son, Damien, now a policeman, works with her on the case. The mother is nicknamed “La Mante”, the praying mantis. First, it may be helpful to understand the biological nature of the praying mantis: the female camouflages herself and often ambushes the males and eats them live. The levels of tension just increase from the beginning till the end as the viewer watches the stalking and the violent killing. All victims in La Mante...

“Man in an Orange Shirt”–Thwarted Love

Written by diana on July 2, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Man in an Orange Shirt”–Thwarted Love

Man in an Orange Shirt, commissioned by BBC to celebrate the 50th anniversary of partial decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967, depicts with a modicum of success two love stories spanning seventy years. The first between two gay men hiding their passion and the second involving a duplicitous marriage of one-sided passion. Scripted by novelist Patrick Gale and partly autobiographical, Man in an Orange Shirt revisits prejudice and its impact on all. Spanning three generations in one family, –from wartime Great Britain to the present day,– Man in an Orange Shirt uncovers...

“The Gift”–Nothing is Free

Written by diana on June 25, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “The Gift”–Nothing is Free

The Gift is a 2015 American-Australian psychological thriller written, co-produced, and directed by Joel Edgerton (Academy Award nominated for his role in “Loving”). This is his directorial debut, and it is a winner! Darkly unnerving, The Gift first conveys a vibe of horror, but then the narrative moves in the direction of “Fatal Attraction”, with a deft maneuvering of plot, character, style, and tone. No blood or gore, but a heart-pounding series of scenes without a stewed rabbit. The film stars Jason Bateman (of “Ozark” and “Arrested Development”...

An Inspector Calls–Nothing Will Ever Be the Same

Written by diana on June 17, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 5 Comments on An Inspector Calls–Nothing Will Ever Be the Same

The BBC mystery An Inspector Calls (2015), based upon the 1947 J.B. Priestley play by the same name, is a morality tale for our time. Set in 1912 Arthur Birling, a wealthy self-made industrialist, has hopes of a knighthood and implicit social elevation through the engagement of his daughter to an aristocrat. Inspector Goole (the superlative David Thewlis) brusquely arrives, announcing he is there to investigate the suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith. At first the Birling family claims not to know anything about her but Inspector Goole begins revealing that they do. As the Inspector...

“The Look of Silence”–Beyond Words to Forgive

Written by diana on June 5, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on “The Look of Silence”–Beyond Words to Forgive

This film (2015) is a companion piece and powerful account of the 1960’s genocide in Indonesia, a follow-up to Joshua Oppenheimer’s debut and Oscar-nominated documentary “The Act of Killing” (2012). Less horrific but more emotionally compelling, “The Look of Silence” is a haunting revisiting of the killing fields of Indonesia and the US’s role in the carnage. (The US purportedly promised gifts to those who rid the country of “communist resisters”.) More than a million people were slaughtered. An Indonesian eyeglass salesman named Adi Runkun...