Unhealed Wound – Page 40 – Passion for Art, Movies, and Culture

Wild Rose–Mothers and Daughters with Impossible Choices

Written by diana on August 12, 2019. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on 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? ...

The Farewell–Family Matters

Written by diana on August 5, 2019. Posted in movie reviews, Uncategorized, Unhealed Wound. 1 Comment on The Farewell–Family Matters

In the opening scene of The Farewell, taking place in a local hospital in China, the winsome and irrepressible grandmother, Nai Nai, has a complete physical, but has no idea of what it portends. Her sister and doctor tell Nai Nai everything is fine, she need not worry. She has stage 4 lung cancer. Determined to spare Nai Nai bad news, her adult children, under the pretext of planning a wedding for one of the grandsons, gather the family for what is to be presented as a family reunion. The granddaughter, Billi, a young millennial living in New York City (played by...

Rocketman –Seeing the Light through the Darkness

Written by diana on July 28, 2019. Posted in Unhealed Wound. 3 Comments on Rocketman –Seeing the Light through the Darkness

Rocketman , the recently released biopic of the music superstar, Elton John, will inevitably be compared to last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody. The two movies are portraits of flamboyantly-dressed gay rock stars from relatively the same era (1970’s and 1980’s) but they also shared the same manager and had the same director, Dexter Fletcher. (Ironically, music manager John Reid was played by two actors from “Games of Thrones” fame). In the opening scene, Elton John emerges, dressed in a satanic red “Hell Boy”-like costume with devil...

Victoria and Abdul (2017)–An Imperial Friendship

Written by diana on July 21, 2019. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on Victoria and Abdul (2017)–An Imperial Friendship

In Victoria and Abdul the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria (the majestic Judi Dench) is about to be celebrated in all its pomp and circumstance. The year is 1887 and Queen Victoria is sixty-eight years old. An honorary gold coin– a Mohur– has been minted as a token of appreciation from British-ruled India recognizing Victoria as the Empress of India. Two Indians are conscripted to deliver the Mohur: Abdul (Ali Fazal) and Mohammed (Adeel Akhtar). The early comedic scenes tease with the warm-hearted, kind and generous nature of an elderly...

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.

The Commuter –Train to Hell

Written by diana on July 8, 2019. Posted in movie reviews. 1 Comment on The Commuter –Train to Hell

The Commuter Action thrillers are not a staple in my movie-going diet. Nonetheless, I like the ones Liam Neeson stars in , and The Commuter fits his murder conspiracy/ abduction genre. Insurance salesman Michael MacCauley (Liam Neeson’s character) is a 60-year-old ex-cop turned insurance salesman who commutes to midtown Manhattan every day, familiar with almost all of the other passengers. On the train home, Michael meets a mysterious woman named Joanna (the always-excellent Vera Farmiga), who claims to be a psychologist researching distinct classifications of personality...