The Crown Season 5 Review

For four seasons, Netflix‘s The Crown has pulled back the curtain to tell the story of the Windsors.

Season five premiered last weekend. Taking place in the 1990s, it dives into the personal and professional troubles of the late Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) and her family. Standing stalwart beside her is her now-late husband, Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce), and late sister Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville).

Among the issues that the Windsors are dealing with are the failing marriages of three of the Queen’s four children. As we all know now, the “happy” union of the former Prince Charles (Dominic West) and the late Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) has reached its breaking point. Returning to the arms of his ex, the former Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams), he is torn between duty and love.

This season is amazing. Among the main cast, Staunton and Debicki are the standouts. Staunton perfectly follows in the footsteps of her predecessors, Claire Foy and Olivia Coleman. Debicki’s performance as Diana is award-worthy. If I close my eyes and just listen to her, I almost expect that it is the real person, not an actor playing a part.

The only thing that we have to remember is that this is not a documentary. The show is fiction. Some of what we are watching has been made up and not based on actual events.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

The Crown is available for viewing on Netflix.

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Throwback Thursday: Finding Your Feet (2017)

Life has a way of throwing curveballs at us when we least expect it. What matters is how we respond to that curveball.

In the 2017 movie Finding Your Feet, Sandra Abbott (Imelda Staunton) has just been given the shock of a lifetime. Her husband has been sleeping with her best friend for the last five years. Leaving her upper middle class, bourgeoisie life behind, she goes to the only person she can: her older sister Bif (Celia Imrie). Bif is a free spirit who could not care less what others think. It has been ten years since the women have seen one another. What starts out as an exit from heartbreak turns into the experience of a lifetime and a bonding experience that neither sister anticipated.

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I really like this film. I like its message that you can start over again and happiness is still possible. I also love that the main characters are women of a certain age. Even in 2022, there is still a dearth of older female characters who are not limited to the role of mother or grandmother.

What I get from the narrative is that making lemonade, even when you are given figurative lemons, can happen. It just takes nerve and trust that everything will turn out ok.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Flesh and Blood Review

After the death of one parent, hearing that your living parent is dating again can create one of two reactions. The first is joy or relief that the parent who is still alive is getting back into the world. The second is concern about the new boyfriend or girlfriend.

The new four part miniseries, Flesh and Blood, premiered last night on PBS. A little more than a year after Vivian’s (Francesca Annis) husband passed away, she has starting seeing Mark (Stephen Rea). It looks like they are happy together, but only two of her three adult children trust the new man in their mom’s life. Youngest daughter Natalie (Lydia Leonard) is happy that Vivian is moving on. But her older siblings, Helen (Claudie Blakley) and Jake (Russell Tovey) believe that Mark has ulterior motives.

Then there is a murder on Vivian’s property. The first person the police talk to is Vivian’s neighbor, Mary (Imelda Staunton). If that was not enough, Helen, Jake, and Natalie are all dealing with problems in their own lives.

I really enjoyed the first episode. There is a nice mix of family drama and mystery, keeping the audience engaged and asking questions.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Flesh and Blood airs on PBS at 9:00 PM on Sunday.

Maleficent The Magnificent: Maleficent Movie Review

*-This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk if you have not seen the movie.

Maleficent is magnificent.

The 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty movie, the source material from which the screen play is taken from is twisted in a delightful and intricate manner.

Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is a fairy, who develops a friendship and then a teenage romance with a human called Stefan (Sharlto Copley). But Stefan is ambitious. The dying king announces that the man who kills Maleficent will crowned king upon his death.  Using their relationship to his advantage, Stefan cuts off Maleficent’s wings to gain the throne.

Years later, Stefan is now king and parent to a brand new baby girl. At her christening, she is being blessed by the three fairies Flittle (Lesley Manvile), Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton) and Thistlewit (Juno Temple). Seeking revenge, Maleficent curses the new princess. After the curse, the princess (played as a teenager by Elle Fanning) is taken away from the castle, Maleficent watches over the child with a strange maternal instinct with the help of her servant Diaval (Sam Riley).

I loved this movie.  While I find the Disney princess movies from that era of Sleeping Beauty to be one note, black and white and not how I want to spend my movie watching time, this movie takes these characters from one dimension to three dimensions.  Maleficent is not just a villain just to be a villain, she is hurting from Stefan’s betrayal and uses that hurt to justify her actions. I’m not normally a fan of Angelina Jolie, but she is magnificent and perfectly cast in this role. The special effects were just enough to enhance the story, not used to cover up a hole in the screenplay.

I highly recommend this movie.