Unhealed Wound – Page 30

Happy New Year! –The Year of the Dragon

Written by diana on January 2, 2012. Posted in Lunar New Year, New Year, Unhealed Wound. 9 Comments on Happy New Year! –The Year of the Dragon

Happy New Year, everyone, and may some fire be breathed into your lives with good fortune, excitement, and the acceptance of transition and change! I always like to look up the feng-shui and Chinese New Year after toasting with champagne a few days earlier. I found out that 2012 is the first black water dragon year in 60 years. (The other dragon years were not water dragon years.) The dragon is considered unpredictable and untouchable. Its mystery is never completely known. People cannot see its head and tail at the same time. The dragon is the most powerful, revered symbol in ancient...

My Top Ten Movies for 2011–Reviewed, Not Necessarily New

Written by diana on December 28, 2011. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. 3 Comments on My Top Ten Movies for 2011–Reviewed, Not Necessarily New

Happy New Year–the Year of the Dragon in 2012! Most of all, I want to thank all of you for your comments and email! With 2011 coming to an end, I wanted to take a look back at the movie reviews I wrote this year. I am an unabashed cinephile– 500 films (maximum allowed) in my Netflix queue with another 88 in my Instant Queue. So, when I counted the reviews I have written this year (=26), I wanted to see what would be my top ten favorites. It wasn’t easy! This list is not ranked –only my top ten for 2011, grouped by genre. INDIES: 1) Restrepo (January 24...

“Becoming Santa”–Home for the Holidays

Written by diana on December 19, 2011. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. No Comments on “Becoming Santa”–Home for the Holidays

I saw this delectable morsel of an indie film at the Napa Valley Film Festival last month and had a chance to talk with Jeff Myers, the director, for a few moments afterwards. The backstory is fascinating but the movie stands on its own. “Becoming Santa,” reveals a lot more about the human spirit and generosity towards the tiniest among us than any Christmas tale or Christmas carol out there. ‘Becoming Santa’ is the story of Jack Sanderson, whose father has just passed away, leaving him with no family members to celebrate Christmas. He is a forty-four year old bachelor...

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers–The Most Famous Whistleblower of Our Time?

Written by diana on December 15, 2011. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. 5 Comments on The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers–The Most Famous Whistleblower of Our Time?

Nominated for a 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary, this past June marks the fortieth anniversary of the release of the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times, which was forced to stop publishing by a cease-and-desist order mandated by the Nixon administration. “The Most Dangerous Man in America” tells the inside story through the narration of Daniel Ellsberg himself, of this game-changing event that ended the Vietnam war and transformed our nation’s political discourse. This documentary is riveting because of the historic footage of Ellsberg, his colleagues, family...

“J. Edgar”—Investigating the Investigator

Written by diana on November 20, 2011. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. 4 Comments on “J. Edgar”—Investigating the Investigator

Based upon a script by “Milk” screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, and directed by Clint Eastwood, “J. Edgar” is a biopic of the controversial FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover. In this spellbinding movie, Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Hoover, ages five decades, as he grows from an ambitious young law enforcer to the most powerful, controversial, and intimidating FBI director the US has ever known. Even presidents feared him. “J. Edgar” depicts Hoover’s early career (the 1930’s), including raids on Communist “radicals” and organized...

Napa Valley Film Festival–Is this the next Sundance?

Written by diana on November 15, 2011. Posted in Film Festivals, Local travel, Unhealed Wound. 2 Comments on Napa Valley Film Festival–Is this the next Sundance?

Last week (November 9-13) I attended the inaugural Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF) with a friend who lives in Calistoga and has volunteered in the festival’s planning. Over 100 films were presented, many for the first time at any film festival, in 12 screening locations from Napa to Calistoga. Along with viewing films we had the pleasure of tasting fine wines from local wineries and delicious food at the welcome party (for holders of Pass Plus and patrons). In the next two or three posts, I will be reviewing several of my favorite movies from NVFF. While this year marks the 30th...