Television reviews – Unhealed Wound

Five Days at Memorial—No Emergency Exit

Written by Diana Paul on September 18, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment

Five Days at Memorial is an Apple TV+ eight-episode miniseries that premiered on August 22 of this year. Based on the multiple-award winning 2013 book by journalist Sheri Fink, this series revisits the tragic and hellish events that occurred at Memorial Medical Center over five days: August 28 – September 1, 2005—during Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, Louisiana. As floodwaters begin threatening the lower hospital floors at Memorial Medical, electricity is cut off and backup generators fail, temperatures soar to over 100 degrees and food...

The Discovery of Witches—An Entertaining Coven

Written by Diana Paul on September 6, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. Leave a Comment

In this Sundance three-season series, we see a time-travel saga of witches and magic that is part Harry Potter and part Lord of the Rings. A tale of intense rivalry between different magical beings unfolds: Witches, vampires, and demons are pitted against each other not only to uncover the sacred magical primer, but also to find the genetic code by which powerful witches have dominated the force field of magic. The dangers cross several millennia, from the 1590s when witches are being hunted and religious extremists commit unspeakable crimes to the present day...

Queen—A Regal Redemption

Written by Diana Paul on August 24, 2022. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 3 Comments

In this French/Polish miniseries of four episodes, Queen is a highly unexpected feel-good story of a sought-after Parisian bespoke tailor who, in the evenings, is a celebrated drag queen known as “Loretta”. Long absent from his wife and daughter’s lives back in the small Polish village of his childhood, Silvestre Bork (Andrzej Seweryn), now living in Paris, is reluctantly preparing for retirement and the pleasure of being himself with his coterie of friends. He fits perfectly with a sophisticated life on the French Riviera. Silvestre’s closest friend, Corentin (Kova Réa),...

Ten Series/ Movies to Avoid—Meh!

Written by Diana Paul on August 4, 2022. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 4 Comments

As we become more committed to watching and bingeing shows on Netflix and a myriad of streaming platforms, I find an evening can be entirely wasted viewing disappointing shows, some of which are highly praised by others. I am willing to risk viewing an idiosyncratic film or series now and then, one that flies under the radar and defies categorization as well. Much to my dismay, some of these choices (listed below) have few negative reviews. Others are just—IMHO—poorly written, lack character development, substitute long action sequences for much needed dialogue, or have...

El Marginal—No Boundaries

Written by Diana Paul on July 26, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment

A tortuous viscous and extremely violent Argentine prison drama: well-crafted and attention-getting.

“Shining Girls”—A Time Machine

Written by Diana Paul on July 18, 2022. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 1 Comment

Shining Girls, an Apple TV+ thriller series, is based on the 2013 novel The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes. Totaling eight episodes, Shining Girls (released on April 29 of this year) also can be classified under the science-fiction genre. In the opening scene a little girl, sitting on the front stoop of her house, is approached by a twenty-something adult male — a bit sinister and suspicious-looking — who engages in conversation. A beady-eyed cocky man with an easy slouch and a bloodless dead gaze, he leaves her with a small painted...