The HBO six-part series, Years and Years, is a dystopian drama of the near future that rivals “The Handmaid’s Tale” but with a focus on technology and financial crisis.
In Years and Years the
viewer witnesses a 15-year projection of nuclear strikes, technology that
allows sulky teens to project Snapchat-style filters over their faces, and
concentration camps for refugees and dissidents in Great Britain.
The harrowing image of Vivienne Rook MP (Emma
Thompson), as an outspoken celebrity business woman turned political figure à la
Trump, divides the...
Locked Up–Spain’s “Orange Is the New Black”
In this riveting Netflix series, we see a psychological drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat.. A combination of “Dexter”, “Breaking Bad”, and “Orange Is the New Black” (OITNB), Locked Up is darker, more sinister, and more brutal and violent. [Alex Pina is the creator of both this 2015 television series and 2017’s Casa de Papel. ] Complete with extraordinary writing and plotting, Locked Up‘s main theme is unexpected consequences: the turmoil of events that turn everything upside down.
Every episode will keep you wanting more. ...
La Casa de Papel –“Ocean’s Eleven” on Steroids
La Casa de Papel (“Money Heist”)
La Casa de Papel (Netflix English title: “Money Heist“) was the most-watched non-English language series of 2018 and one of the most-watched series overall on Netflix. This is a Spanish “Ocean’s Eleven” on steroids.
A criminal mastermind, calling himself “The Professor,” plans the biggest heist in Spain’s history: to storm the Royal Mint and print billions of euros. He recruits eight people who have the criminal talents he needs, knowing they have nothing to lose.
Named after...
Lizzie–Quiet Desperation
Lizzie— a psychological thriller– is a reinterpretation of the story of Lizzie Borden, the accused murderer of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1892. Starring and produced by Chloe Sevigny and premiering at Sundance Film Festival last year, the viewer sees the highly restrictive circumstances of women in a patriarchal society and what happens to them when they actively fight against a lifetime of subjugation.
Lizzie Borden, a thirty-two year old single woman, has very few options other than residing with...
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood–A Lackluster Fairy Tale
Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to movie buffs. And Once Upon a Time in Hollywood continues to feature the themes Tarantino cherishes. With a fully-loaded cast of A-list actors, especially Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, what we witness is more a “buddy film” than the advertised “tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s Golden Age”. But for the audience who does not know the story of Charles Manson and his grasp on the American collective psyche, the film needs more backstory to fill in plot holes. On the plus side, Tarantino...
Wild Rose–Mothers and Daughters with Impossible Choices
Wild Rose centers on a young single mother and ex-con who dreams of moving from Scotland to Nashville to become a country singer. This indie is currently in theaters.
Rose-Lynn Harlan (newcomer Jessie Buckley) dreams of becoming a country music star, while grappling with the regaining the trust of her two school-age children who have been cared for by her mother (the always remarkable Julie Walters) during her incarceration for drug dealing.
Why should she give up something she knows she is so good at? On the other hand, is success worth sacrificing her relationship with her children? ...