Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX

Based on the novel “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery. Some are stirred by words, others oratory; many by both. “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” struck a fine and rusty cord in my spirit and finely tuned this solitary string until a symphony of such purity and magnitude, spurred  me to purchase 25 copies of this splendid story ... Read More »

Bogus title, absolutely bereft of elitism; flagrant waste of talent (Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro) in a supposed true tale involving a Sheik, seeking revenge for the death of his three sons; the one remaining, short-changed in the gene pool. British Secret Service, Special Ops, Mercenaries: rogues refining their slaying skills. The film is so convoluted, confusing, lacking ... Read More »

There have been approximately seventy-five movies revolving around this popular and addictive sport; I have seen at least half ( “A League of Their Own”, “The Natural”, “Bull Durham”, “Field of Dreams”) and ashamed to admit my limited grasp of the intricacies, nuances of the game. “Moneyball” is a film about statistics, odds, a “team” being more than the sum ... Read More »

There are a plethora of apocalyptic, epidemic films  ( “Andromeda Strain”, “Outbreak”, “White Blindness”);  “Contagion” garnishes the prize for the most terrifying;  it shrieks with viability and realism. Thomas Friedman expounds on the flatness of the globe; information spreads in a nanosecond; no filters, time to intellectualize events, robbed by electronics; like lemmings we devour the pulp that is ceaselessly ... Read More »

Venice September, 2011, the 54TH International Art Exhibition. To be alive and showered in the garden of artistic delights; Biennale, Arsenal, Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Pinault Foundation, Prada Foundation, surrounded by the canals and operatic voices of the gondoliers; paradise at its pinnacle; electrifying stimulation, nerves and senses paralyzed with wonderment. This was not my first foray into the palatial magnificence ... Read More »

“Peneflix” will be on vacation for two weeks. Please give me your suggestions of films to review upon my return. I appreciate your readership and comments. Thank you and continue to go the the movies. Peneflix Read More »

This sensationalized, quasi-fictional, pseudo-documentary account of the 2008 brutal and unnecessary invasion of Georgia by Russia’s Vladimir Putin; claiming Georgian atrocities perpetrated against minority separatists. “5 Days of War” strives  and accomplishes in presenting  Georgia’s rendition and sentiments regarding the devastation and destruction it suffered in this minimal but horrific five days. The film commences with a gory ambush in ... Read More »

Based on Carolyn Briggs’ 2002 nonfictional book,  “This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost”. This is a story of religious indoctrination so intransigent so indivisible that individuality is squelched in the name of God. Vera Farmiga (also directs) is the adult “Corinne” who as a teenage ( Taissa Farmiga) wife and mother suffers a religious epiphany when ... Read More »

Loosely based on the 2007 Israeli film with the same title.(“Ha,Hov”)   This wonderfully cast film might not rank as the best movie of the summer but is terrifically entertaining; a unique story spanning over thirty years, (1966-1997) three people constituting a ménage a trois; members of Israel’s Mossad, searching for a diabolical physician who experimented on concentration camp inmates. ... Read More »