Unhealed Wound – Page 2 – Passion for Art, Movies, and Culture

Emilia Pérez–A Gender Bender

Written by Diana Paul on February 10, 2025. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on Emilia Pérez–A Gender Bender

Emilia Perez was Inspired by both Boris Razon’s 2018 novel Écoute and by the opera libretto written by French director Jacques Audiard. The movie also won the 2024 Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and multiple Golden Globes for a musical drama. Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón of Mexican telenovela fame) is a former Mexican cartel leader. Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, who fakes Manitas’s death in order to become her true self as a woman. Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldaña) primarily defends drug lords, those guilty of domestic violence, and murderers. Drug lord...

Year of the Snake 2025–January 29-February 12, 2025

Written by Diana Paul on February 2, 2025. Posted in Lunar New Year. 2 Comments on Year of the Snake 2025–January 29-February 12, 2025

The Year of the Wood Snake is a period of transformation, wisdom, and adaptability. According to Chinese Buddhism, before the Buddha entered Nirvana only twelve animals came to pay homage. So the Buddha honored them by naming a twelve-year cycle after them. The Snake, the most complex and “unsettling” force among the twelve, was the sixth animal to pay its respect to the Buddha. This year is the Year of the Wood Snake, which officially began when the new moon entered Aquarius at 4:36 a.m. PT on Jan. 29, 2025. More than two weeks of parties, customs and banquets will...

Juror #2–Trial by Fire or Twelve Angry Men?

Written by Diana Paul on January 27, 2025. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on Juror #2–Trial by Fire or Twelve Angry Men?

In this latest Clint Eastwood movie (2024), we see the jury selection process for the trial of a brutal murder of an abused young woman, Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood). After an odious fight with her abusive boyfriend, James Sythe (Gabriel Basso of “The Night Agent”) in a local bar, Kendall is found dead, bloodied and battered in a ravine. The pending trial in Juror #2 seems likely to result in a predictable verdict of guilty for the former drug-addicted abuser. Enter Justin Kemp (a remarkable Nicolas Hoult of “The Great” and “The Menu”), a freelance journalist...

Man on the Inside–Outside In

Written by Diana Paul on January 21, 2025. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on Man on the Inside–Outside In

In this Netflix crowd-pleaser, Man on the Inside opens with a retired curmudgeonly college professor, Charles (Ted Danson) who has recently lost his wife to dementia. Out of boredom and grief, he responds to an ad from a private investigator, (Lilah Richcreek Estrada). Someone in an upscale San Francisco retirement home has had a valuable necklace stolen and her son wants the necklace back. The PI decides to hire Charles not only because he’ll fit in well as one of the few older male residents but also because he just may have the skills needed to identify the...

My Top 17 Movies and Series for 2024

Written by Diana Paul on January 12, 2025. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. No Comments on My Top 17 Movies and Series for 2024

This year I have seventeen films and series to recommend. Some are less well-known and under-the-radar. Also, there seemed to be more selections from DEI producers and writers, for a welcomed change! Here are the reviews I wrote this past year with the criteria that they were available online. Of the 45 reviews I posted this year, these are my favorites, my “listicle”. As in past years, both television and cinema have continued to produce phenomenal story-telling and intriguing characters. And this year many of the indie/foreign films could...

Conclave–A Sinful Synod

Written by Diana Paul on January 6, 2025. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on Conclave–A Sinful Synod

Based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, Conclave opens with the death of the current pope and the mandate to appoint a successor through the conclave or synod of over one hundred cardinals from all over the globe. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the right-hand Brit who is the dean, must supervise the synod. As the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders gather to vote, Cardinal Aldo Bellini (Stanley Tucci) argues that he is best positioned to be pope, although he protests that he has no ambition to be the Holy Pontiff. Tormented by his own crisis in faith and...