Month: January 2025
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Asura review: this Japanese series is a gem
Asura comes from Japan. It’s beautiful, charming, full of drama, food, and traditional Japanese life. It’s set in 1979 and revolves around a family with four daughters.
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Look into My Eyes review, step inside the world of psychics
Look into My Eyes, from documentary director Lana Wilson, takes us on a visit to seven New York City psychics and the people who come to them for help. There’s no judgement in the film as to whether the people offering psychic services are “real” or not. Instead we get an empathetic look into their…
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Nightbitch review: Mother needs a little time to run
Nightbitch, written and directed by Marielle Heller, stars Amy Adams as Mother (just Mother, no other name). She’s a stay-at-home mom with a toddler and she’s not doing well.
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The Red Virgin review, the Hildegart Rodríguez story
The Red Virgin (La virgen roja), based on the true story of Spanish prodigy Hildegart Rodríguez, tells a story of genius and madness. It is directed by Paula Ortiz, who made this retelling into an artistic film of creation and destruction.
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Challengers review: the girl is the game
Challengers tells a sports story about tennis and a trio of people who live in that world. The tennis, the love, the competition, the ambition, and the sex all triangles around Zendaya as Tashi. Tashi is a tennis great who injures her knee and becomes a coach.
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Maternal review: 3 women doctors lead this series from the UK
Maternal, a medical series from the UK, is set not long after all the COVID lockdowns. The three women doctors who are returning to work after maternity leave are all close, loyal friends who help each other through their various struggles.
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Let Go review, Swedish family relationship story
Let Go (Släpp taget) brings a melancholy family relationship story to Netflix. This Swedish drama stars Josephine Bornebusch as Stella. Josephine Bornebusch also wrote and directed the film. It’s a finely wrought tale of a family in crisis.
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Get Millie Black review: police story from the UK
Get Millie Black tells the story of a dedicated detective in search of missing children who is also searching for part of her past. After 18 years in England, she returns to her home in Kingston, Jamaica where she is involved in an international crime drama full of excitement and danger.
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Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey review: a true crime story
Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey is a Lifetime movie from 2018 that my granddaughter wanted to me watch with her. It’s based on a true story of a kidnapping with an unusual result. There are huge spoilers ahead.
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Missing You review: a new mystery from Harlan Coben
Missing You stars Rosalind Eleazar as DI Kat Donovan, a missing persons detective in the UK. Her own fiancé, who has been missing for 11 years, turns up unexpectedly on a dating app just as Kat is looking for a missing man who used the same dating app.