Author: Virginia DeBolt
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Review: The South Westerlies
The South Westerlies is an Irish production streaming on Acorn TV. It’s about a small town on the Irish coast scheduled for offshore wind turbine development and a single mom sent there to make sure it happens. The folks in town can’t agree on whether it is a good idea to go green with a…
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Review: Social Distance
Social Distance sets episode 1 in April 2020 and ends the series in late May 2020 with graduation and the killing of George Floyd. Even such a tiny slice of pandemic quarantine provided eight powerful and meaningful episodes in this anthology series on Netflix.
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Review: Hala
Hala is a coming of age story about a Pakistani-American girl in a Chicago high school. It’s a different perspective (with a powerful female gaze) on the usual coming of age story. Hala was written and directed by Minhal Baig. The film is currently streaming on Apple TV+.
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Review: The Act
The Act is based on a true story about a woman who suffers from Munchausen by proxy and the damage she does to her daughter because of it. The full series is available on Hulu.
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Review: Someone Has to Die (Alguien tiene que morir)
Someone has to Die (Alguien tiene que morir) brings a mere 3 episode series from Spain. Set in Franco’s repressive era when homosexuality was a crime, the story looks into the tragedy surrounding a dysfunctional family. The series is on Netflix.
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Review: Tehran
Tehran is an Israeli series. A Mossad agent on her first spy assignment is sent undercover into Tehran. She’s a hacker. Her goal is to disable the military’s radar temporarily so Israeli planes can bomb a nuclear plant without being shot out of the sky.
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Review: The Hummingbird Project
The Hummingbird Project, now available on Netflix, showcases the need for speed on Wall Street. Mere milliseconds can make the difference between profit and loss in a high speed world where algorithms and machines make all the buying and selling decisions.
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Review: On the Rocks
On the Rocks on Apple TV+ stars Bill Murray and Rashida Jones in a father/daughter story about marriage, monogamy, parenting, and lost trust. The film was written and directed by Sofia Coppola.
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Review: Over the Moon
Over the Moon is an animated musical fantasy from Netflix. We’re used to seeing this sort of thing from Disney. While I don’t think the Netflix animation equaled the splendor of, say, Coco, the look and colorful cheer of Over the Moon is enough to make you happy.
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Review: The Queen’s Gambit
The Queen’s Gambit, as is obvious from the title, is a chess story. Stuck in a children’s home by age 5, young Beth Harmon was sullen and undemanding until she discovered chess. Within a few short years, she was a champion player.