A Small Light Review

It takes a brave person to stand up and do what is right, especially when doing so puts your life in danger.

The DisneyPlus/National Geographic miniseries A Small Light is the story of Miep Gies (Bel Powley). It starts in 1933. Miep is a shiftless young woman who has no direction. This changes when she is employed by Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber). This job will forever change her life.

When the Nazis invade the Netherlands and start to impose anti-Jewish laws, Miep knows she cannot just sit by and do nothing. The only way to save Otto, Anne (Billie Boullet), Margot (Ashley Brooke), and Edith Frank (Amira Casar), in addition to the other inhabitants of the annex, is to go into hiding.

With the help of her husband Jan (Joe Cole) and the rest of Otto’s staff, they are doing everything they can to save the lives of the eight people in hiding.

Wow. For obvious reasons, I thought I knew everything about this story. I was wrong. Miep’s narrative is powerful, emotional, and is a reminder that there are still good people in this world.

“I keep my ideals because in spite of everything I still believe that people are good at heart.”

Powley blew me away. Her growth from a girl who takes nothing seriously to a woman who knows that she could very well be killed for her actions is simply amazing. Balanced by the cool head of Schreiber’s Otto Frank, this program cannot be missed.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. I would even state that it is one of my best shows of the year so far. If Powley does not win any award for her role, there is something wrong with Hollywood.

The first two episodes of A Small Light are available for streaming on DisneyPlus. The rest will be released every Tuesday for the next few weeks.

P.S. May is both AAPI and Jewish American heritage month. I wish that both were unnecessary. But given the state of our world and that the Holocaust was only 80 years ago, this is a necessity.

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Tom Jones Review

When a writer is looking for inspiration, they often look to works from the past. The issue is that some of these stories may contain characters or narratives that are archaic, outdated, or just plain offensive.

The new 4 part Masterpiece/PBS miniseries, Tom Jones, is based on the 1749 novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, by Henry Fielding. The title character, Tom Jones (Solly McLeod) was found as a newborn by Squire Allworthy (James Fleet). A widower without children, he raises Tom as if they were flesh and blood.

When we meet Tom at the age of twenty, he is like most of us at that age. He wants to do the right thing, but his efforts don’t always go as planned. He is also not anti-social when it comes to the opposite sex.

Nearby, Sophia Western (Sophie Wilde) is an heiress and the bi-racial granddaughter of a local landowner, Squire Western (Alun Armstrong). She is expected to walk in the footsteps of previous generations of women and “marry well”.

Their childhood friendship turns into adult affection and love. But he is considered unworthy of her. The only way to reach their happy ending is to fight for it.

I have to admit that I have never read the original text. This review is solely based on the television adaptation.

I enjoyed the first episode. The tale is compelling and the characters are fully drawn. I like that Sophia was reimagined as bi-racial. It highlights the issues that are still not fully dealt with. It also creates a bond between our young lovers while adding layers of conflict. Both are key to keeping the audience engaged and hanging on until the (hopeful) happy ending.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Tom Jones airs on PBS on Sunday night at 9pm.

Tiny Beautiful Things Mini-Series Review

There are times in life when everything spirals out of control. As much as we try to control or stop the spiral, the only thing we can do is wait for it to stop.

The new Hulu mini-series, Tiny Beautiful Things, is based on the book of the same name by Cheryl Strayed. Clare Pierce’s (Kathryn Hahn) life is nothing short of a dumpster fire. Her relationship with her husband, Danny (Quentin Plair) has fallen apart. Her teenage daughter Rae (Tanzyn Crawford) hates her. As she tries and fails to put the pieces back together, Clare starts writing an advice column. She is also dealing with the still lingering loss of her mother Frankie (Merritt Wever) to cancer decades ago.

I loved the series. Hahn blew me away. Her emotional chaos was a whirlwind in the best way possible. I was drawn in immediately and taken on a journey that proves that we can heal, even when the darkness seems to swallow us whole.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Tiny Beautiful Things is currently streaming on Hulu.

Best New Television Shows of 2022

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi: The DisneyPlus series answers the question of what happened to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in between the events of Revenge of the Sith (2005) and A New Hope (1977). My favorite part of the series was the introduction of Reva Sevander (Moses Ingram).
2. Anatomy of a Scandal: Based on the Sarah Vaughan book of the same name, this Netflix miniseries follows the investigation of a politician accused of rape.
3. The US and the Holocaust: This Ken Burns multi-part PBS documentary exposes how the United States failed to help the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust.
4. Ridley Road: This PBS/Masterpiece program is based on the book of the same name by Jo Bloom. It tells the story of a young woman of Jewish descent in the 1960s who goes undercover to stop a Neo-Nazi group from destroying the UK.
5. Gaslit: Julia Roberts plays Martha Mitchell in this Starz production that tells the tale of Watergate from Martha’s perspective.
6. Dangerous Liaisons: A sort of prelude Les Liaisons Dangereuses, it started off a bit slow and took a few episodes to get interesting. Unfortunately, Starz canceled it at the end of the first season.
7. The Serpent Queen: Samantha Morton plays the title character in this Starz series about Catherine de Medici. Wow, that is all I have to say.
8. Women of the Movement: This ABC/Hulu miniseries told of the murder of Emmett Till and his mother Mamie’s journey to get justice for her son.
9. Ms. Marvel: A young woman goes from an ordinary teenager to a superhero who saves the world.
10. Andor: The prequel to Rogue One, the series explains how Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) became the rebel leader who led the fight against the Empire.

This will be my last post for 2022. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for taking time out of your day to read this humble writer’s work. I’ll see you in 2023.

Kindred Mini-Series Review

Family history, as lovely as it is, can be complicated. This complication gets worse when it comes to America’s past and the sin of slavery.

The new Hulu miniseries, Kindred, is based on the book by Octavia E. Butler. Dana James (Mallori James) is a twenty-something writer who has recently moved from New York City to Los Angeles. After getting settled, she starts a friend-with-benefits relationship with Kevin Franklin (Micah Stock).

Somehow, she keeps getting pulled back to the past and 19th-century plantation. After saving Rufus Weylin (David Alexander Kaplan), Dana’s involvement in the lives of her slave ancestors and their masters becomes more entangled. When Kevin starts traveling back with her, the level of danger rises.

Dana is determined to figure out the connections between the past and the present, but at what cost to her and Kevin?

I remember reading the novel years ago and being blown away by it. It was one of those narratives that after all of the years, is powerful and relevant. Combining science fiction with history and our problematic past is an impossible to ignore literary melting pot.

Obviously, the series has been updated to our time. Though the first episodes kept me hooked, the story lagged toward the end. By the time the final credit rolled, I was underwhelmed. I wanted more, but something more was missing.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

Kindred is available for streaming on Hulu.

The Serpent Queen Review

It is a truth universally acknowledged that for most of human history a woman in a seat of power has had a precarious position. She is either beloved (i.e. the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth II) or reviled as a temptress and viewed as unworthy of the title (i.e. Cleopatra).

The new Starz eight-episode miniseries, The Serpent Queen, tells the story of Catherine de Medici. Based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France, by Leonie Frieda, the first episode tells the story of the French Queen. Played by Samantha Morton, she tells her story to Rahima (Sennia Nanua), a servant girl who has been sent to bring the Queen her dinner. Through backstory, we learn about the young Catherine (Liv Hill) and her traumatic path to the throne.

What I like is that so far, is the younger Catherine breaks the fourth wall. She is also cheeky, intelligent, and driven. As an adult, she is also not above using underhanded methods to retain power.

So far, I have mixed feelings about the series. It’s compelling but has yet to completely suck me in as a viewer. As a character, Catherine breaks the mold in an unsettling way that makes me curious, but also sends warning signs to my brain. This woman is not one to be ignored to taken lightly.

Do I recommend it? I am leaning toward yes.

The Serpent Queen airs on Starz on Sunday at 9PM.

Flashback Friday: Feud (2017)

For every great movie, there is a great behind-the-scenes story.

The F/X 2017 miniseries Feud tells the story of the making of the 1962 movie, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. Playing the film’s leads are Susan Sarandon (Bette Davis) and Jessica Lange (Joan Crawford). Manipulating the actors while directing the film is Robert Aldrich (Alfred Molina).

As the series goes on, it becomes more apparent that the feud between Davis and Crawford has been partially manufactured by the press and the male heads of the movie studio as they play the aging actresses against one another.

Wow. Though I’ve never seen the film that the series is based on, I might be tempted to watch it. Lange, Sarandon, and Molina are fantastic in their roles. One of the points that were made was that while men are allowed to age, a woman has a shelf life. Once she is on the figurative shelf, she is automatically replaced by a younger model. The number of older women that are still allowed to be active is often limited and pitted against one another because G-d forbid a woman of a certain age is active and vital as her male counterpart.

Like other Ryan Murphy-headed projects, there is a message built into the story. There is also a subtle level of campiness that allows the audience to laugh while observing that the superficial bullshit that is the backbone of the narrative is still alive and well today.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Anatomy of a Scandal: A Novel Book Review

There is no such thing as a perfect life. There are ups and downs, good times, and bad times. What matters is that we appreciate the good times and weather the bad times.

Anatomy of a Scandal: A Novel, by Sarah Vaughan, was published in 2018. Sophie Whitehouse has it all: two healthy and happy children, a solid marriage, and a comfortable life. Everything she knows is shattered by two major revelations. The first is that her politician husband, James, has just confessed to having an affair with a younger female employee. The second is that he is accused of raping the woman whom he has been sleeping with. Sophie appears to be standing by her man, but she is quietly questioning if he is telling the truth.

Holy shit, this book is good. My first exposure to Anatomy of a Scandal was the Netflix miniseries that was released earlier this year. As expected, there are changes between the novel and the screenplay. What I loved about the narrative is that it is the women whose voices we hear. Though James is at the center of the scandal, his perspective is secondary. In another writer’s hands, James would be the main character and the women around him would be reduced to a stereotype. What Vaughan has wisely done is make all of her characters thoroughly human while giving a spotlight to those who have been ignored in the past.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Anatomy of a Scandal: A Novel is available wherever books are sold.

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey Review

For many of us, religion is a very important part of our daily lives. But there is a distinct line between believing in a higher power and using that belief to enrich your own needs.

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is a new Netflix four-part miniseries. It tells the story of the FLDS and the group’s infamous leader, Warren Jeffs. Known for being polygamous and practicing a strict adaptation of Mormonism, Jeff was arrested for marrying young, underage girls and having sexual relations with them. Interviewing former members of the FLDS, law enforcement, media, etc, a picture is painted of a man who instead of representing his heavenly creator, twisted religious doctrine to fit his own needs.

As I got further into this program, my stomach kept turning and I kept getting angrier. I am not a religious person, but I respect a lay leader who in turn respects their congregation and the doctrines of their faith. What I do not like is using their power and status to take advantage of those who trust them.

What struck me was the strength of the women who survived the ordeal and have thrived in what they would previously called the “gentile” world. It’s more than coming out of it and living a normal life, it’s having the strength to tell their story to strangers who might judge them in a negative manner.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is available for streaming on Netflix.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Review

When the original Star Wars film, A New Hope, premiered in 1977, no one could have foreseen the narrative junctions that have come out of this one movie.

The new DisneyPlus miniseries, Obi-Wan Kenobi, premiered on Friday. Ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith (2005) the Jedi appear to have been wiped out. But a few have survived in hiding. The Empire sends The Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) to find those that are still alive. One of the Inquisitor’s lieutenants, Inquisitor Reva, Third Sister (Moses Ingram) is intent on locating one Jedi in particular: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). His former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker (now known as Darth Vader) is eager to see his former master again

While living under another name, Obi-Wan is keeping an eye on Anakin’s son, Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely). But Luke’s Uncle and guardian, Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton) would prefer that his nephew remains in the dark. Meanwhile, on Alderaan, Princess Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) is kidnapped. Her parents turn to Obi-Wan to rescue their daughter.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is amazing. After watching both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, I thought nothing would top them. I was wrong. My eyes were glued to the screen the entire time. There were multiple easter eggs (if you know where to look), many mouth drops, and quite a few expletives. I am already hooked and ready for the rest of the series.

It would be easy to make another soulless sequel. But it is not. It is full of so much love and respect for the material that it radiates from the screen. McGregor is back in perfect form, with the obligatory changes since the last time we saw the character. He is starting to become the grizzled old man who has come to terms with what was and will never be again. But there is still a little bit of hope, just enough to inspire him to pick up the lightsaber one last time.

Do I recommend it? 100% yes. Don’t be surprised if the program makes the cut for “best of” lists in December.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is available for streaming on DisneyPlus. New episodes premiere on Friday.