The Water Man, David Oyelowo’s first outing as a director, is a PG rated story for kids. It’s part fairy tale, part quest, part fantasy and 100% heartwarming. You can watch it on Netflix.
Continue reading “Review: The Water Man, beautiful tale for young people”Author: Virginia DeBolt
After many years as an educator and writer, Virginia retired from working life. She's always loved a good movie or TV show and wants to use her free time to talk about them with you now. She's Old Ain't Dead!
Review: Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi – Updated for the holidays
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi is a 10 episode wander through regional food in the United State with Padma Lakshmi. It’s on Hulu and is yummy delicious. Look for the update at the end about a holiday special for 2021.
Continue reading “Review: Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi – Updated for the holidays”Review: Ella Fitzgerald Just One of Those Things
Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things taught me so many things I didn’t know about the marvelous Ella Fitzgerald. I’m a lifelong fan of her music, but I didn’t know much about her personal life and struggles. This Netflix documentary fills in a lot of the details.
Continue reading “Review: Ella Fitzgerald Just One of Those Things”Luna Park, family drama from Italy
Luna Park is a Netflix series, a 6 part drama from Italy. I assume there will be more of this series, because the first season ends on a cliffhanger that leaves everything building up to it unresolved.
Continue reading “Luna Park, family drama from Italy”The L Word: Generation Q: yays and nays for season 2
The L Word: Generation Q ended season 2 with a cliffhanger – several actually – and left viewers rooting for their favorite relationships as always. There were parts of the season I loved (yay!) and parts I thought were a mess (nay!). Instead of a general season review, let’s just look at those two things.
Continue reading “The L Word: Generation Q: yays and nays for season 2”Review: The Chestnut Man, Danish noir mystery
The Chestnut Man is an excellent Danish noir suspense and mystery series streaming on Netflix. A great length for binge watching with 6 episodes, the series takes the lead character, a woman police detective, through several crimes in the chase for a serial killer.
Continue reading “Review: The Chestnut Man, Danish noir mystery”Review: Maid, layered and outstanding
Maid is a layered and nuanced look at poverty, domestic violence, mental health, and American laws and systems that both help and hurt people struggling with these problems. A brilliant performance from Margaret Qualley takes the material to a level that will make the series an awards contender for 2021. The series is on Netflix.
Continue reading “Review: Maid, layered and outstanding”Review: Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It puts the decades in perspective in the documentary story of Rita Moreno. From her humble beginnings in Puerto Rico to her legendary and iconic status now, her life unfolds with love and affection in this documentary.
Continue reading “Review: Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It”Review: The Starling, in which Melissa McCarthy gets serious
The Starling needs a pro vs. con scoresheet for its uneven story. The pros come in the form of a really lovely cast who make the material as good as possible. The cons are that the story is overly sentimental and employs knock-you-over-the-head symbolism to tell the tale. It’s streaming on Netflix. There is a big spoiler ahead.
Continue reading “Review: The Starling, in which Melissa McCarthy gets serious”Two interesting short films: Rosa and Beef
HBO Max is showing a variety of short films directed by women now. I want to share two of them. Rosa is the longer at about 30 minutes. Beef is a mere 11 minutes. These films give you a preview of interesting women directors to watch for.
Continue reading “Two interesting short films: Rosa and Beef”