Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX

Peneflix will be on a six-week hiatus. Look forward to posting again on our return! Read More »

Director Guy Ritchie has been on a media roll: “The Gentlemen”, Netflix and his latest bombastic extravaganza “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” both stylistically captivating; an exercise in camp, for the sole and unmitigated purpose of entertainment; success is served in spades in duo endeavors. Loosely based on Operation Postmaster, Winston Churchill’s desperate design to cripple the Nazi war efforts, ... Read More »

Actor Matthew Modine is stratospherically stunning as a social worker manufacturing a world of possibilities, a world where the disenfranchised, downtrodden, overlooked can soar, bad boys whose behavior has cornered them in an irredeemable state, with little hope of resurrection. Coach Greg Townsend (Modine) doffs platitudinous presumptions and trains four juveniles to quash the 760 miles between Denver and the ... Read More »

Dev Patel has accomplished the pristine blending of east and west films aka Bollywood and Hollywood, remarkable on a myriad of levels. The Bollywood genre has fast-tracked in mimicry, imitation of Hollywood’s 6 pack ab heroes, following the trope of: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise vs. Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan. Patel with keen ingenuity follows the ... Read More »

Over the weekend I binged watched a trio of Ripley movies  (skipping “Ripley’s Game” and “Ripley Under the Ground”) that novelist Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) wrote and lionized “Tom Ripley” a pernicious psychotic with a pleasant façade and amoral core. Commencing with Netflix’s “Ripley” starring Andrew Scott (“All of Us Strangers”), an eight- episode, compelling study of a man who looks ... Read More »

Liam Neeson shines like a well-polished antique, honed and seasoned, every wrinkle, a badge of glorification; with over a hundred films his 6’4 frame, and craggy countenance still kindle alarm in whomever he stalks; his presence, burnished style galvanized to impeccability in director Robert Lorenz’s “The Land of Saints and Sinners” as retired assassin “Finbar Murphy”, residing in a quiet ... Read More »

Of all the times I have visited these star-crossed lovers, this Metropolitan Opera version distances every performance I have ever seen; maybe a lifetime must disappear before perfection is granted, achieved. Sitting in the theatre, knowing the outcome, I found myself fervently praying that timing would fortuitously bless this couple, so worthy of togetherness, charmed liveliness, granted the grace to ... Read More »

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a): “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the world.” Director James Hawes introduces audiences to Sir Nicholas Winton (1909-2015), played with inimitable force by Anthony Hopkins, a man who saved 699 children from the incendiary clutches of the Holocaust. Johnny Flynn with iconic dignity depicts “Nicky” as a young stockbroker who ... Read More »

In a century long ago, I attended a party, primarily of strangers; as we entered the venue, a person of renown was taped to our backs; we were required to give hints to other attendees as to the personage whose name they bore; it was a stunning way to make new comrades, but alas I never guessed who steadfastly remained ... Read More »

Surpassing the previous years in spades! Flawlessly groomed, styled, coiffured and glamorous presenters, nominees; absolutely absent, fashion flubs; Emma Stone’s sliding dress served as “Bella’s” redundancy, revealing no surprises. Jimmy Kimmel, as host, perfected his timing, eliminating blatant, below the belt sarcasms; but struck a humorous jab to the inimitable, predictable, brassy belligerence of D.T.; adding only humor, not “greatness” ... Read More »