Unhealed Wound – Page 44 – Passion for Art, Movies, and Culture

“Green Book”–Required Reading

Written by diana on December 5, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on “Green Book”–Required Reading

It’s 1962, you are African American and you don’t travel in the US without the Green Book, an unofficial domestic passport (for Jim Crow laws). The Green Book is an indispensable guide for African Americans looking for accommodations while traveling. (Similar guides existed for Jewish and gay travelers.) Inspired by a true story, we see Dr. Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali of “Moonlight”), a renowned pianist, about to embark on a concert tour throughout the US. Shirley hires Tony Valleylonga –“the Lip”–(played by Viggo Mortensen of “Lord...

The Final Year–The End of a Term

Written by diana on November 28, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 4 Comments on The Final Year–The End of a Term

The Final Year, Greg Barker’s HBO documentary, covers January 2016 to January 2017 of the Barack Obama administration . It is quietly devastating and demoralizing footage of the last twelve months of foreign statesmanship before the Trump administration. Don’t expect that The Final Year will give you a portrait of the 44th president in the looming shadow of what was to come. The Final Year actually follows Samantha Power, U.N. Ambassador and Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, as they almost inexhaustibly pursue Obama’s foreign policy agenda with heart and...

“House of Cards” (Final Season)–A Different Shuffle

Written by diana on November 20, 2018. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 3 Comments on “House of Cards” (Final Season)–A Different Shuffle

In the earlier five seasons of House of Cards, Frank Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey) represented the Machiavellian Chief Whip then Vice President, and then President. As he manipulated his fellow party colleagues, foreign prime ministers (principally Russia), we witnessed the dark truths of American politics by a despotic megalomaniac. Now, in Season 6, Frank Underwood is dead, but we don’t know how. His widow, Claire Underwood (the phenomenal Robin Wright) is President and has inherited her dead husband’s enemies. Dealing with the aftermath of her husband’s death, and...

“Queen of Katwe”–Queen of Chess

Written by diana on November 13, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on “Queen of Katwe”–Queen of Chess

Queen of Katwe, an indie film based on a true story, features 10-year-old newcomer Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) living in the shanty town of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda. She is an impoverished little girl who is in a constant struggle to survive along with her mother Harriet (the extraordinary Academy-Award-winning Lupita Nyong’o of “12 Years a Slave” and “Black Panther) and younger brothers. After Phiona meets Robert Katende (David Oyelowo of “Selma”), a missionary who teaches children how to play chess, her outlook becomes more aspirational than selling...

“The Invisible Guest”–What You See is Not What You Guess

Written by diana on October 26, 2018. Posted in movie reviews, Unhealed Wound. 4 Comments on “The Invisible Guest”–What You See is Not What You Guess

The Invisible Guest (2016) (Spanish: Contratiempo) is a 2016 Spanish crime thriller by director and writer Oriol Paulo. The intricate plot will leave the viewer spellbound . Adrián Doria, a successful business entrepreneur, husband and father, is knocked unconscious, and wakes up in a locked hotel room to find the dead body of Laura Vidal, his married lover. Charged with murder but wealthy enough to be out on bail, Adrian soon learns that his lawyer, Félix Leiva, has hired the renowned defense attorney, Virginia Goodman, to represent him. She visits him late one evening to inform him...

“Colette”–A Woman Ahead of Her Time

Written by diana on October 22, 2018. Posted in movie reviews. 3 Comments on “Colette”–A Woman Ahead of Her Time

Guest reviewer: Barbara Donsky, author of the memoir, Veronica’s Grave “Colette,” opens in the countryside of rural France as we meet the young Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) at home in Burgundy. In short order, a successful Parisian writer known as “Willy” (Dominic West) pays a visit to Saint-Saveur-en-Puisaye, and before long he and Sidonie are enjoying an energetic romp in the hayloft. Soon after, Sidonie (destined to be known simply as ‘Colette’) is installed as his wife in Paris. But when Willy begins having problems with creditors, he convinces...