Month: May 2023
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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an extravaganza of a final season
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, season 5, took an “everything including the kitchen sink” approach to wrapping up this funny series. There were flashbacks and flash forwards, there were musical episodes, there was a roast, there were shows within shows, there were jokes on top of jokes. The love affair this show had with 1960s fashion,…
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Love and Death: Elizabeth Olsen is extraordinary
Love and Death stars Elizabeth Olsen in a brilliant performance as Candy Montgomery, the Texas housewife who admitting killing her neighbor and friend with an axe.
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Missing: a computer screen thriller
Storm Reid stars in Missing, a sequel to the John Cho thriller Searching. In this fast-paced computer screen mystery, a young woman and digital native named June is searching for her missing mother.
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Faithfully Yours, a twisty mystery from the Netherlands
Faithfully Yours is an engaging mystery. This Dutch language film uses plot twists and surprises to keep you interested as the story unrolls. There are some very good liars in the film among a group of untrustworthy characters. Thematically, the film is saying that a liar never can believe anything anyone else says.
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Leanne Morgan: I’m Every Woman brings the laughs
Leanne Morgan: I’m Every Woman brings a little over an hour of stand up comedy to Netflix. Leanne Morgan is a very funny woman. She uses a low key delivery and her Southern upbringing to tell the truth in a hilarious way.
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Call Me Kate: Katharine Hepburn biopic disappoints
Call Me Kate, directed by Lorna Tucker, used some audio tapes of Katharine Hepburn in various conversations to build up a story about her life and loves.
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The Last Thing He Told Me: Jennifer Garner stars
The Last Thing He Told Me with Jennifer Garner as stepmother to a teen whose dad disappears is based on a novel of the same name by Laura Dave. This story about doing what’s best for your kids is women powered: writers, directors, producers, and actors all bring the feminist vibes.
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Hawa, no challenge is too daunting for this girl
Hawa, from French director Maïmouna Doucouré, tells the story of a young girl who decides Michelle Obama should be the one to adopt her. She pursues this goal with intrepid determination.
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Dating Amber: lovely coming of age & coming out story
Dating Amber features two LGBTQ+ high school students in 1995 Ireland. Both were in denial about their sexuality and struggling to survive high school and appear “normal.”
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On the Fringe, evictions and losses galore
On the Fringe (En los márgenes) takes place on a single day in Madrid, Spain. Interconnected stories about people facing eviction or losing their children all come to a head on this day. Evictions are common in modern day Spain, carried out by police in riot gear. People on the margins, especially immigrants, can have…