Tag: Luke Evans

Anna–A Woman Warrior a la “La Femme Nikita”?

Written by Diana Paul on March 4, 2024. Posted in movie reviews.

This unexpectedly stylish action movie from French filmmaker Luc Besson opens in 1990 at a local Moscow market. Anna, a beautiful young Russian (Sasha Luss), is selling Matryoshka nesting dolls. A talent scout offers her work in a Paris modeling agency, a chance for her to leave a future of poverty in a relationship with an abusive, violent thief. As Anna progresses, Anna’s life improves: as a popular model in Paris–particularly with Russian oligarchs. A KGB agent (Luke Evans from The Alienist) recognizes her utility as a covert spy and she...

“Nine Perfect Strangers”–A Hot Mess

Written by Diana Paul on September 29, 2021. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on “Nine Perfect Strangers”–A Hot Mess

Nine Perfect Strangers is based on the Liane Moriarty novel by the same name. Starring Nicole Kidman as Masha, a spiritual therapist, she is reputed to heal all wounds of her wealthy clients at her wellness retreat, Tranquillum. Following closely after the release of White Lotus (see my August 17, 2021 review), the same territory is explored: why do uber-rich white people seem so unhappy? There is the damaged novelist (Melissa McCarthy) who just can’t trust anyone. Another has a virulent past of drug addiction (the superb Bobby Cannavale as a physically damaged...

“The Alienist”– Something Wicked This Way Comes

Written by diana on April 29, 2018. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on “The Alienist”– Something Wicked This Way Comes

“The Alienist”, a TNT psychological thriller set in 1896, is based on the novel by Caleb Carr. People with mental illness were once considered “alienated from society,” unfathomable to doctors and laymen alike. Those who thought they could treat them were referred to as alienists, pre-dating the Freudian psychiatric movement by more than a decade. The Alienist foreshadows the Freudian theory of the unconscious, and the incipient emergence of forensics (including the first attempts at fingerprinting). If that is not enough, the series also foreshadows the suffragist...

Tag: Luke Evans

Anna–A Woman Warrior a la “La Femme Nikita”?

“Nine Perfect Strangers”–A Hot Mess­­­­­­­

“The Alienist”– Something Wicked This Way Comes

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“Nine Perfect Strangers”–A Hot Mess