Tag: Netflix

Luther: The Fallen Sun

Written by Diana Paul on April 2, 2023. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on Luther: The Fallen Sun

For fans of the BBC series, Luther (2010-2019), there is now a movie, “Luther: The Fallen Sun”, which continues the crime-solving by a London cop–John Luther (the magnetic Idris Elba) who is more troubled and morally conflicted than anyone else on the police force. Needless to say, he is also a genius in comprehending the most heinous of psychopaths in spite of his aversion to rules and legal procedures. The movie opens where Season Five of the Netflix series left off with Luther behind bars for failing to indict suspected murders he was investigating, one of whom was a lover, Alice...

The King’s Affection–”Romeo & Juliet” Meets “As You Like It”

Written by Diana Paul on March 13, 2023. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. No Comments on The King’s Affection–”Romeo & Juliet” Meets “As You Like It”

In this Korean historical romance, The King’s Affection is part Shakespeare and part soap opera. Twins are born to the royal family: a baby boy and a baby girl. Having a crown prince share his mother’s womb with a girl is culturally unacceptable for the future heir to the throne. As a result, when the Crown Princess gives birth to twins, the grandfather orders the murder of the baby girl. Unknown to him the twins’ mother has her baby girl sent away with a trusted bodyguard in a Moses Biblical fashion. No one knows of her existence except for the mother, the bodyguard...

Elvis–Rocket Man of the 60’s?

Written by Diana Paul on March 8, 2023. Posted in Unhealed Wound. No Comments on Elvis–Rocket Man of the 60’s?

In Baz Luhrmann’s Academy-award nominated 2022 biopic of Elvis Presley (an extraordinary performance by newcomer Austin Butler), we see the journey back in time to the 1940’s through 70’s with historically accurate fashions, scenes, and most of all, politics through the civil rights movement. Elvis’s life is told from the perspective of his manager Colonel Tom Parker (played solidly by Tom Hanks). Portraying the King is not an easy road to travel. The memories and hagiography of perhaps the first white rock star before the advent of the Beatles who stole much of Elvis’s...

The Pale Blue Eye–A Second Look

Written by Diana Paul on February 27, 2023. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on The Pale Blue Eye–A Second Look

“The boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and where the other begins?” Based upon Louis Bayard’s novel by the same name, The Pale Blue Eye is a murder mystery thriller that intersects with horror. Opening with renowned detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) being hired by West Point to investigate the hanging of a young cadet, Landor’s duties also include protecting the reputation of the newly established military academy. A reformed alcoholic who agonizes over his lost...

The Recruit–Not Your Ordinary Nube

Written by Diana Paul on February 19, 2023. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. No Comments on The Recruit–Not Your Ordinary Nube

Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo of “All the Boys I Loved Before”), a newly minted lawyer hired by the CIA, is drafted into an investigation of a Russian double-agent, Max (Laura Haddock of “Downton Abbey: A New Era“). She is an invaluable asset who can air the dirty laundry of both the CIA and Russian intelligence. A brilliant survivor who has to please two masters, Max soon manipulates Owen into negotiating her release from prison, implying she will blackmail the CIA if he fails. Will Max reveal the CIA’s most heinous secrets? A subplot of The Recruit (Netflix 2022 mini-series)...

Emily the Criminal–The Making of a Criminal Mind

Written by Diana Paul on February 11, 2023. Posted in movie reviews. No Comments on Emily the Criminal–The Making of a Criminal Mind

In this amoral thriller, anti-hero Emily (Aubrey Plaza of “White Lotus”, season 2 and “Parks and Recreations”) is interviewing for a job in a medical office. Problem is she has a felony on her record for aggravated assault. This fact will be crucial for the ongoing plot in Emily the Criminal. Angry and desperate with $70 thousand dollars in student loan debt, Emily is in a physically exhausting, mind-numbing job delivering catered lunches to businesses. Both highly motivated as an artist wanting to have a career and handicapped by her criminal record,...