movie reviews – Page 55 – Unhealed Wound

“Spotlight” –Illuminating Corruption and Cover-up

Written by diana on January 10, 2016. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on “Spotlight” –Illuminating Corruption and Cover-up

In this Academy Award-nominated film, Spotlight (on my Top Ten Films for 2015) reveals the 2002 exposé into the Catholic Church’s cover-up of child molestation and rape by priests taking place over two decades. Unflinching in its focus, “Spotlight” underscores a subtle outrage and sense of resignation about the power of institutions. We watch as...

“Bridge of Spies”—Channeling the Cold War

Written by diana on January 4, 2016. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on “Bridge of Spies”—Channeling the Cold War

The second collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Joel and Ethan Coen, who co-wrote the script with Matt Charman, “Bridge of Spies” lands a place in my “Top 10 Films of 2015” list. In this historical drama, “Bridge of Spies” takes place during the heat of the Cold War—1957–Tom Hanks stars as the American attorney, James...

“My Top 10 Movies for 2015”

Written by diana on December 28, 2015. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on “My Top 10 Movies for 2015”

With 2015 coming to an end, I wanted to take a look back at the movie reviews I wrote this year. When I counted the reviews I have written this year (=24), I wanted to see what would be my top ten favorites. It was a bit easier to make a “listicle” than in past years, since I did not think this year’s output was as stunning. No...

“Trouble with the Curve”—Catching the Unexpected

Written by diana on December 7, 2015. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “Trouble with the Curve”—Catching the Unexpected

Trouble with the Curve This 2012 film is another Clint Eastwood sports movie. That being said, “Trouble with the Curve” is not so much about sports as it is about a father-daughter relationship. It also touches on how the human element (and an “old-school” methodology) cannot be discounted in favor of technology. (Think: “Money Ball” as its...

“Mr. Holmes”—Not the Sherlock We All Know

Written by diana on December 1, 2015. Posted in movie reviews. 5 Comments on “Mr. Holmes”—Not the Sherlock We All Know

“Mr. Holmes” is an imaginary and revisionist take on Sherlock Holmes as a 93-year old dispirited and retired detective, featuring the incomparable Ian McKellen in the title role. This 2015 British-American film , based on Mitch Cullin’s 2005 novel A Slight Trick of the Mind, takes place in Sussex two years after the end of the...

The House of Eliott –Fashion Haute Couture

Written by diana on September 30, 2015. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 2 Comments on The House of Eliott –Fashion Haute Couture

House of Eliott This BBC television series broadcast between 1991 and 1994 is a sleeper, dramatizing feminism immediately after the First World War. A consistent theme throughout “The House of Eliott” is the struggle of women in the 1920s to live fulfilling and independent lives. Created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, who had previously...