Television reviews – Page 17

“Little Fires Everywhere”–Incendiary at Its Best

Written by Diana Paul on April 27, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 3 Comments on “Little Fires Everywhere”–Incendiary at Its Best

Set in Shaker Heights, Ohio during the late 1990s, Little Fires Everywhere is based on Celeste Ng’s best-selling novel by the same name. Reese Witherspoon (Elena)and Kerry Washington (Mia) steal the show as mothers from vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds. This is a suburban saga with a painfully close lens focused on the income gap, class, and racial divide we know only so well. In the opening scene a house in Shaker Heights is engulfed in an inferno. Is it the target of arson? We will find out. The year is 1997. Shaker...

“Ozark” (Season 3): Narcos in Missouri

Written by Diana Paul on April 6, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 1 Comment on “Ozark” (Season 3): Narcos in Missouri

Ozark has set itself apart as one of Netflix’s most popular original series, and this season, in my humble opinion, is the best. (See my reviews of Season 1 -September 2017) and Season 2-October 2018) In this third season, Ozark has book-ended the journey that began with Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) inventing a plan to launder the Navarro cartel’s drug money in the Ozarks and evolves into the journey of Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) inventing a plan to create legitimate businesses. The Byrdes have finally broken bad. In Season One Wendy Byrde is primarily...

“Valhalla Murders”—The House of the Dead

Written by Diana Paul on March 30, 2020. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 2 Comments on “Valhalla Murders”—The House of the Dead

Kudos to Netflix for another great Nordic noir production. In this eight-episode series, Netflix’s first Icelandic co-production, we have a crime thriller about a gruesome serial killer whose murders go back over thirty-five years. Valhalla Murders is actually based upon a series of murders that took place in Reykjavik. There is some uneven pacing, but it is over shadowed by the unexpected twists and turns of this Nordic murder mystery. In the opening scene the main character, Detective Kata, is severely wounded and on the verge of death. Immediately Valhalla Murders flashes...

Queen of the South (La Reina del Sur)–Reigning Supreme

Written by diana on October 20, 2019. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on Queen of the South (La Reina del Sur)–Reigning Supreme

Based on the global best-selling novel “La Reina Del Sur,” by internationally-acclaimed author Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Queen of the South, a bilingual telenovela crime drama, has become one of the most popular series of all time for USA and its sister network, Telemundo. Queen of the South, now in its fifth season, is a winner. Thank you, USA, for continuing to add gritty, noir-ish series to your program roster! A “Narcos” or “El Chapo”-style drama about the rise of drug lord Teresa Mendoza (played by the exceptional Alice...

Infamy–The Terror (Season 2)

Written by diana on September 24, 2019. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on Infamy–The Terror (Season 2)

The Terror: Infamy is the second and current season (ten episodes) of AMC’s historical drama/horror series. Infamy takes a dark and infamous chapter in US history and attempts to give this shameful period both a humanizing and ghostly touch. The often overlooked or little-known story of Japanese American internment is the historical centerpiece of Infamy and asks the question: What does it truly mean to identify as an American? From 1942 to 1945, more than 145,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians were forced from their homes by presidential...

Chernobyl–An Ignominious Reaction

Written by diana on July 16, 2019. Posted in Television reviews. 2 Comments on Chernobyl–An Ignominious Reaction

Chernobyl is an HBO historical drama miniseries depicting the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the unprecedented coverup that followed. The flawed reactor design operated by inadequately trained technicians is jaw-clenching and chilling. That lack of transparency and flagrant disregard for human life depicts greed, lack of moral integrity, and political corruption. Chernobyl is a cautionary tale for today's political climate.