Skipping platitudes, metaphors; distractions are of extreme importance; many of you have requested suggestions of what to view, as an escape from an uninvited reality. In calmer times I have written posts on the plethora of choices gifted to viewers with streaming capabilities. Reducing redundancy, you may check the past, before investing in future enticements: “Potpourri of What to See ... Read More »
“Dr. Shaun Murphy” (“The Good Doctor”) depicted with inimitable skill by Freddie Highmore, is outrageously wonderful, a one-of-a-kind character, functioning brilliantly with autism; his diagnostic acuity, unparalleled; hilariously unfiltered, personally and professionally. Rarely can I state that I love a character unconditionally; Dr. Murphy, claims that ardor. Director Simon Fellows in “A Dark Place” gifts actor Andrew Scott the license ... Read More »
I have an innate prejudice when it comes to dystopian, apocalyptic films; acknowledging their technological wizardry, the aftermath leaves me in a queasy, dissatisfied, jetlagged fug: “The Road”, “Total Recall”, “Mad Max”, “Oblivion”, “Children of Men” and in particular “The Lobster”, were so systemically oppressive, depressive; no matter the ills of the twenty-first century, it is a “far better world” than these futurist prognoses; ... Read More »
The narrowing of boundaries between theatre and home viewing is a positive controversy; nothing beats the darkened, enclosed enchantment of the theatre, but television affords exposure and participation by those whose time, lives might be stymied by uncontrolled situations; choice breeds inclusiveness; entertainment touching vast numbers in universal spheres. Here are, not just films, but a streaming series, available to ... Read More »
Without the quilt of a quisling, or Judas Iscariot, I imbibed for three and a half hours in Martin Scorsese’s epic narrative of mob culture, in the comforting confines of my home; instead of feeling cheated of the darkened theatre, I felt a surprising intimacy with the characters; up close and personal, aided by digital age-erasure technology, the major protagonists ... Read More »
Four seasons worthy of “Beneficial Binging”; “Line of Duty” is a BBC television series that has seared the imaginations of all who have ventured into its corridors of crime, circling around “bent” coppers and their manipulation of police procedures; beyond thrilling, writer Jed Mercurio, weaves a network of nefarious deeds with immaculate intelligence and scrupulous attention to detail, confounding those ... Read More »
There is not a doubt that “Marian “Midge”Maisel” (irreverently dazzling, Rachel Brosnahan) is adorably “marvelous”; I had avoided meeting her, until a week ago, and now after 18 episodes, we have irrevocably bonded, puzzling as to why? I respect the skill but have never been a devotee of “stand-up” comedians; usually left with an uncomfortable, cringing embarrassment for the performer, ... Read More »
For those living in unfriendly weather environments, to those with physical challenges and the multitudes who lovingly lounge, cling on long, lazy weekends to their couches, here are some films to fill the hours: “The Kindergarten Teacher” Netflix. Maggie Gyllenhaal enthralls in a remake of 2014’s Israeli film of the same title. A frustrated, mediocre poet, discovers a poetic prodigy ... Read More »
Brothers Ethan and Joel Coen once again cull from their scholarly Western aesthetic, (“No Country for Old Men”, “True Grit”) gifting movie lovers another blend of imaginative, macabre brutality with skilled dialogue, hilarity and blazingly terrific performances; six vignettes, tales of post Civil War lawlessness, commencing with songster “Buster Scruggs” Tim Blake bedazzles as an innovative, erudite slayer of the ... Read More »
Never have I encountered a more compelling, fascinating, enchanting character than “Doctor Shaun Murphy”, played sensationally, inimitably by Freddie Highmore; afflicted with autism/savant syndrome, his diagnostic dexterity matches iconoclastic “House” (Hugh Laurie); Dr. Murphy is filter-less, caustically correct, not only with a patient’s illness but imperfections in his/her deductive reasoning; his brilliance is tempered by loneliness, isolation, fear of friendship ... Read More »
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