Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX

In the midst of the Chicago Film Festival I squeezed in the highly touted and commercially successful “Argo”, a film that captures the explosive and traumatic events revolving around the Iran hostage crisis; November 4,1979, the American embassy in Tehran, was stormed by Iranians, posing as students, the saga lasted 444 days; six escaped and found refuge in the Canadian ... Read More »

What is truly remarkable and compelling about this Documentary is where it takes place and the principals involved. Israel, a slice of democracy in a hostile milieu has gifted movie goers outstanding films in recent years; films dealing intrepidly with controversial topics:  religion, politics, families in crisis. “Lebanon”, “Lemon Tree”, “Restoration” and the superb Academy Award nominee “Waltz with Bashir” ... Read More »

Gluttonous, art-infused junket in the city that is paradigmatic in the world of art, opera, ballet and film; Paris, gloriously, luminously ravishing, glamorous even in an ark-level deluge; imminently, anticipated Noah and his fleet to be docked on the Champs-Elysees. The film gods blessed us with a stunning, nostalgic “Paris Seen by Hollywood” exposition at the Hotel De Ville; over ... Read More »

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This film is so good that even after hours of mental marinating it is impossible to escape the aura of its mastery. Lee Daniels (“Precious”) is fearless and at times controversial in his selection process. “The Paperboy” based on the novel by Pete Dexter is brutally raw and unflinchingly honest, never shying  from the taboo. The film commences with “Anita” ... Read More »

A great looking cast cannot save this action flick from resonating as one of the top “bombs” of the year; nonsensical, implausible, laughably ridiculous. Liam Nesson, ageing nicely, is again recreating the role of “Bryan Mills” an ex -CIA operative; “Taken” revolved around the kidnapping of his daughter “Kim” (Maggie Grace) by an Albanian sex trafficking cabal; titillating, spine-tingling scenario ... Read More »

Alert: these “oranges’ instead of being beneficial are a detriment to one’s health. Skip this supercilious, embarrassing diatribe about a failed marriage, doomed affair; worst flaw: painfully uninteresting  people; barely a nutrient worth imbibing, a calorie- less, bland, boring one hour and thirty two minutes! Hugh Laurie, the paradigm of brilliant, caustic wit in the seven- year -role of Doctor ... Read More »

Viola Davis. Robbed of last year’s Academy Award for best actress, is reason enough to see this highly manipulative film about two women who fight the entrenched bureaucracy of the teachers union in Baltimore. The film is fraught with fallacies, and living in a city where the teachers went on strike for a week and a half this past September, ... Read More »

What is it about time travel that is so hypnotic, magnetic, romantic? The possibility of rectifying past errors? Reclaiming the “one who got away”? Or just the supernatural, infallible power of “knowing”, and possibly “altering” destiny? Time travel has been a pervasive genre, informing contemporary film and literature: “Time After Time”, “Terminator”, “Donnie Darko”, “Groundhog Day” (crippling, anesthetizing redundancy), “Back ... Read More »

But, if you are an advocate of guts and gore, police and perpetrators galore “End of Watch” will satiate your craving, and more! Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are partners, patrolling the crime-infested neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Terrific acting combined with the intimacy of the hand- held camera lends pivotal and realistic credence to a world that exists, but one ... Read More »