Month: July 2022
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Anything’s Possible, trans positive teen romance
Anything’s Possible is Billy Porter’s first directing gig. The film is a mostly upbeat teen romance between a trans girl and the boy who likes her. Not everything is perfect, there are issues, but they are presented in an understanding and trans positive way.
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Happening (L’événement), relevant and topical
Happening (L’événement)is set in 1960s France when abortion was illegal. It shows the dangerous ordeal one young woman went through to get an abortion. It’s relevant in so many ways to what is happening in the United States now.
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The Last Movie Stars, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
The Last Movie Stars from director Ethan Hawke is a love letter to two Hollywood icons, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. But it’s more than an exploration of this famous couple and their lives together. It’s a look at Hollywood history for the last 60 or 70 years, crammed with stars from both then and…
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Place of Execution, an older series based on a novel by Val McDermid
Place of Execution is a three part mini-series from the UK. It’s a 2008 series that recently became available on Acorn TV. You may have seen it on PBS Masterpiece in the past. This interesting mystery is based on a novel by Val McDermid.
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Umma, talk about mommy issues!
Umma stars Sandra Oh in a story haunted by intergenerational family issues. A film with Sandra Oh should have been better than this one is. I thought perhaps she was interested in acting (and producing) this story because it featured Korean culture and language.
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Review: Virgin River, season 4
Virgin River just released season 4 on Netflix. Season 5 is on the way. As I watched season 4, I pondered the question, “Why is this show so popular?” I decided it was because it’s about real people living real lives with drama coming from situations that feel real. The characters fall in love, argue,…
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Maggie, sitcom about a misfit psychic
Maggie received so much hype, I took a look to see what it was all about. The Hulu series stars Rebecca Rittenhouse, a woman who sees the future. It’s a 30 minute sitcom with tired jokes and trite situations. But Rebecca Rittenhouse is charming and the psychic idea is somewhat different.
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Persuasion, modern sense and sensibility applied to Austen
Persuasion, based on the 1818 novel by Jane Austen, is a treatment of this tale made modern with techniques such as Bridgerton style characters of color, Fleabag style breaking of the fourth wall, and dialog straight out of pop culture.
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Pretty Hard Cases, cop dramedy with two women in the lead, season 1
Pretty Hard Cases is a blend of cop drama and laughs in this Canadian series running as an original on Freevee. This review is about season 1. Season 2 is already available and season 3 is in the making.