movie reviews – Page 34 – Unhealed Wound

“In Secret”–Family Casualties

Written by diana on May 28, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on “In Secret”–Family Casualties

In Secret depicts the desperate life of an orphaned girl as she becomes a sexually repressed young woman. This 2013 American erotic thriller (previously titled Thérèse), is based on Émile Zola’s classic novel, Thérèse Raquin. In 1860s Paris, Thérèse Raquin (Elizabeth Olsen) is trapped in a loveless and sexless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille (Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” series). Thérèse is forced by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin (the extraordinary Jessica Lange), to accept his marriage proposal, which essentially binding her to...

RBG–Truth to Power

Written by diana on May 21, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on RBG–Truth to Power

RBG movie poster Regardless of your political tastes, the documentary RBG offers an insightful peek into the life and work of a lifelong advocate for equal rights for women and minorities. As one of three female Supreme Court justices serving on the nine-judge bench, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become a cultural icon and something of a “fan-girl” sensation. We are entertained by the T-shirts and costumes depicting RBG as a superhero. Early in her career as counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, Ginsburg argued more than 300 gender discrimination cases, including six in...

Seven Seconds–Black Lives Matter?

Written by diana on April 20, 2018. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 2 Comments on Seven Seconds–Black Lives Matter?

The Netflix Original series Seven Seconds (premiered February 23) is about race, corrupt police and unequal justice. In the opening scene a hit-and-run of an African-American teenager by a white Jersey City rookie cop (Beau Knapp) is covered up by three other members of the police force. The story is harrowing and complicated, with several subplots that are not resolved. But the seminal theme is clear: does a hit-and-run crime against a young black fifteen-year-old go unpunished, no matter what the evidence or the commitment of the prosecutor? In ten episodes, Seven Seconds gives us...

“The Internet’s Own Boy”: The Story of Aaron Swartz

Written by diana on April 16, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “The Internet’s Own Boy”: The Story of Aaron Swartz

Chronicling the life and tragic death of computer wunderkind Aaron Swartz (1986-2013), “The Internet’s Own Boy” is a documentary that pulls the viewer into a life too brief and incredibly brilliant as we witness a young boy’s intellectual development as well as his emotionally opaque inner life. The testimony of those who deeply loved him and grieved over his untimely death at the age of 25 is sensitively and truthfully conveyed. A master in software development (some would argue the computer programmer equivalent of the astrophysicist Stephen Hawking), Aaron...

Seeing Allred–A Hero Before #MeToo

Written by diana on March 26, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on Seeing Allred–A Hero Before #MeToo

Seeing Allred, which premiered at Sundance in January (and now available on Netflix,) gives us a new portrait of the revolutionary Gloria Allred, the feminist lawyer who singlehandedly took on legal cases including the Equal Rights Amendment (which failed to pass in Congress), and Roe vs. Wade. The list of men Gloria Allred has taken to court on violation of women’s rights reads like a Who’s Who of the not so great: Bill Cosby, Tiger Woods, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump. What propelled Gloria Allred to become the woman she is–an intrepid fighter for women’s rights,...

The Shape of Water–E.T. Meets Aqua Man

Written by diana on March 19, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on The Shape of Water–E.T. Meets Aqua Man

The Shape of Water (2018 Academy Award for Best Picture) is written and directed by the Mexican wunderkind, Guillermo del Toro (of “Pan’s Labyrinth”). Part-fantasy, part-political commentary, and part-love story, “The Shape of Water” is difficult to categorize. The Shape of Water, an adult fairy tale of sorts, is both deeply familiar and suggests magical realism. The opening scene, an aquatic beneath-the-sea dreamscape, leads us into a floating world of teal green water, gliding past chairs, lamps and tables, all swirling in the interior of the flooded...