Month: January 2022
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Review: Help, with Jodie Comer as a Care worker
Help is a film from the UK about the first few months of the COVID pandemic and how Care homes in Britain tried to deal with the situation. This Acorn TV import puts you right at the heart of how it felt to be hopelessly unprepared for the deaths of the people in your care.
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Review: The Fallout, power and impact
The Fallout tells about the lingering trauma affecting kids who lived through a school shooting. It’s visceral, emotional, and powerful. A brilliant performance from Jenna Ortega puts you right in her lived experience as a terrified teen. The film is on HBO Max.
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Review: Raazi, a true spy story
Raazi is a true story about an Indian woman who became a spy during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. It’s full of the action and excitement of spycraft with a sobering finale that looks at the effect of war on the human psyche. You’ll find it on Prime Video.
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Review: Definition Please
Definition Please begins with a Spelling Bee and uses words and the spelling of words throughout. Young Monica becomes the National Spelling Bee Champion in 2005. Jump ahead to 2020 and Monica is still living at home and working tutoring gigs as she cares for her mother. Everyone agrees she’s not living up to her…
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Review: Bergman Island, directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
Bergman Island is a story within a story set in the home of famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. A couple of writer/directors spend a summer in his home while creating new projects and soaking up the Bergman vibe. It’s streaming on Hulu.
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Review: Archive 81, mystery and horror
Archive 81, from Netflix, is a mix of mystery, horror, and sci-fi. It keeps you puzzled and guessing until the end. We visit three different time periods as the story explores the veil between our world and a demonic world of witchcraft.
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Review: Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, K-drama with heart
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha brings a mostly heartwarming series from South Korea to Netflix. It’s the story of a dentist who moves to a small town on the coast and finds a new family there.
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5 Things I Loved about Eternals
Eternals is just another Marvel superhero story. Except it isn’t. It’s a little different and some of those differences really landed well with me. Here’s what I like about this Disney+ streamer.
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Review: Spencer with a terrific Kristen Stewart
Spencer makes it plain from the start that it isn’t telling a true story. That’s the only reassuring thing about this tale of psychological horror featuring Kristen Stewart as Diana, Princess of Wales. I rented it on Apple+, but I think it’s available elsewhere, too.
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Review: Respect with Jennifer Hudson
Respect is the second Aretha Franklin biopic I’ve seen. Although both cover many of the same events, this film is darker and grittier and stars Aretha’s own pick to play her: Jennifer Hudson. It’s available on Prime Video.