Catherine the Great (TV 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Catherine the Great (TV 2019): Hellen Mirren's turn as The Great. 4-part series covers only the last half of Catherine's life, which is the less interesting part. Mirren plays her as needy, which undercuts her greatness. Helen and Catherine both deserve more. B-

The Great - S01 (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Great - S01 (TV 2020): Over-the-top parody of Catherine the Great's early years. It helps to know the real history to appreciate some of the jokes, which tend to be explicitly sexual. Everyone plays it straight but obviously all are having great fun. B-

#VeryTardyReview

The Worst Person in the World (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

The Worst Person in the World (2021): Norway. Not a plot, but a slice of life. Julie changes majors, falls in and out of love, struggles to figure out who she should be in life. Contrary to the title, a normal young woman. Acting so good, the movie feels like cinema verité. A-

There's a True-Crime TV Drama in This

Former Richardson Mayor Laura (Maczka) Jordan was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday for bribery and tax fraud. The government's story has all the ingredients of compelling drama, if it's a bit dry. I'm sure Hollywood can spice it up to make it a bingeable true-crime TV drama. I wouldn't be surprised if screenwriters were already shopping treatments of this story to Hollywood producers. The headline on The Dallas Morning News's story even suggests a title for the TV drama: "Not a 'Love Story'". Do you have a better suggestion?

POTD: Succession of Civilizations

From 2019 11 23 Luxor

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Luxor Temple in Luxor, Egypt. It shows a mural that stands out from the rest of the temple. It looks more like something you'd see in ancient Rome. That's because the portraits in the mural are indeed Roman, not Egyptian. They date from the time of the Emperor Diocletian in the late third century CE.

Bonus photo (and civilization) after the jump.