Unhealed Wound – Page 3 – Passion for Art, Movies, and Culture

A Small Light–In a Very Dark World

Written by Diana Paul on January 29, 2024. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on A Small Light–In a Very Dark World

A Small Light, a National Geographic eight-episode miniseries, chronicles the life of a young German woman in her twenties, Miep Gies (Bel Powley). Sent as a little girl by her mother to a more safe environment in Amsterdam, unaware that Amsterdam is on the verge of being overtaken by Fascism. Miep, emotionally abandoned by her family, begins work for Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) in his pectin factory, manufacturing the essential ingredient for making jam and jelly. Soon, however, her boss will be forced to take his family into hiding from the Nazis. Bravely, Miep and her husband...

My Top 12 Movies and Series for 2023

Written by diana on January 14, 2024. Posted in Unhealed Wound. 2 Comments on My Top 12 Movies and Series for 2023

While we are all going into our fourth year of Covid, many of us craved new content to watch, and felt like there weren’t as many good movies and series to choose from. Certainly, the screenwriters’ strike contributed to the dearth of content. Well, this year I still have twelve 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 48 reviews I posted...

Hunger (2023)–Parasite Anyone?

Written by Diana Paul on January 1, 2024. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. No Comments on Hunger (2023)–Parasite Anyone?

This Thai thriller features a beautiful young woman, Aoy, and a terrifying megalomaniac celebrity chef Paul. Aoy stir-fries noodles in her family’s noodle shop as a fast-food cook alongside her brother and her parents. In contrast, Chef Paul berates his staff mercilessly. In an upscale restaurant environment, Chef Paul is a culinary darling among the very wealthy. Invited to join Chef Paul, the perfectionist, Aoy is thrilled at the opportunity. Hunger soon reveals sadism and disturbing egomania in the rarified and unsavory restaurant industry. But the young noodle-fryer refuses...

Black Cake–Crumbs from the Past or Just Desserts?

Written by Diana Paul on December 24, 2023. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on Black Cake–Crumbs from the Past or Just Desserts?

In this haunting story of a young girl’s treacherous journey from Jamaica to England and then to California, we see the erasing of her past in order to survive. Black Cake is a Hulu eight-episode miniseries based on the titular best-selling novel by the Jamaican American author, Charmaine Wilkerson. Opening in the late 1960’s with a beautiful young Jamaican teenager, Covey Lyncook (Mia Isaac) is practicing swimming in order to compete competitively. Her mother left when she was a young child, and her father, a debt-ridden gambler, does the unforgivable: trade his debts for his...

May-December–Mirror, MIrror on the Wall

Written by Diana Paul on December 18, 2023. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on May-December–Mirror, MIrror on the Wall

Loosely based on the tabloid-heavy coverage of a scandalous sexual affair by a 36-year-old teacher, Mary Kay Leourneau, perpetrated on her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau, Todd Haynes’ May December continues the story over twenty years later. The couple, Joe (Charles Melton) and Gracie (Julianne Moore) are a picture-perfect married couple with two children, (born while Gracie was serving her prison sentence). Currently, the family is ensconced in a waterfront mansion in Savannah, Georgia, blissfully ignoring their past. In walks a B-list actress, Elizabeth (Natalie Portman),...

Queen Charlotte–A Royal Prequel

Written by Diana Paul on December 11, 2023. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on Queen Charlotte–A Royal Prequel

Some may dislike misconstruing the history of great female leaders–or any history, for that matter, for the sake of entertainment. Queen Charlotte, the newly created Netflix series by Shonda Rhimes, is a rollicking reimagining of the Regency period of King George III and Queen Charlotte. It follows from the three-seasons’ blockbuster series. Bridgerton. Since watching the opening episode of Bridgerton in which the magnetic Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) presides over a competition to select the most eligible maidens for courting marriage proposals, Queen Charlotte has become...