Hollywood

“VORTEX”  Dedicated “To all those whose brains will decompose before their hearts”; directed by Gasper Noe, “Vortex”, filmed as a diptych, a metaphor for the bifurcation of two lives, once entwined, now irrevocably fractured by age and its devastating vicissitudes; a husband and wife, “Liu” and “Elle” (incomparable Dario Argento and Francoise Lebrun) navigating the once familiar, now foreign, unknown ... Read More »

Magic percolates within the carnage of director Robert Eggers (“The Lighthouse”) “The Northman;” seething with Norse mythology, witchcraft, vengeful promises; audiences are submerged in Viking lore, reminiscent of the hierarchy in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and King Arthur’s legendary sword Excalibur; a murdered King, kidnapped mother/wife and a son predestined to repeat the legacy. Alexander Skarsgard with heft and bravado depicts the ... Read More »

“THE ANDY WARHOL DIARIES”     (NETFLIX)  Excellent, introspective, comprehensive study of a man who changed the medium, meaning of what constitutes “art”; Andy Warhol bulldozed the “pedestal”, “frame”, “vitrine”; rising above traditional “cross & crown”, the angst of Abstract Expressionism, focusing on contemporary, every day, and universal fascination with fame: television junkies, voyeuristic tabloids, shocking sensationalism of untimely demises, race riots, ... Read More »

A film with enough cacophonous hilarity, reminiscent of horror, science fiction (died & revived) frenzy and “Kill Bill” chorography, a myriad of universes; the Alphaverse, the connective tissue, observing the others; premature outcomes; if it escaped your understanding the first go-round, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert visually bludgeon viewers repeatedly with metaphors “never trust the obvious, the brighter the ... Read More »

Brash, bold, colorful couture bombarded the red carpet; I never realized that would be the highlight of the evening; an evening that suffered a low never experienced in Academy Award history; dignity destroyed on an altar of self-righteousness; no rebound, no “win” can ever erase or reward egregious behavior, witnessed worldwide. The actor should pray for paltry ratings.  As in ... Read More »

Testament to the magnetic power of film, its accessibility, universal appeal, regardless of age, gender, heritage it has generated almost as many critics as imbibers; periodically you experience a critic, a devotee of the genre that soars above the flock, a person with an inimitable command of the English language; vocabulary alone paints a filmic scene, in no need of ... Read More »

Two young women of extraordinary intelligence, drive, vision, whose hubris is of such magnitude that it transcends their mission, blinding them to the reality of their divergent decisions, comprising their journey to greatness, worthy of approbation. Theirs’ is a contemporary Shakespearian tragedy of overwhelming proportions.  Anna Sorokin (1991-) aka “Anna Delvey” the daughter of middle-class Russian parents, created a fictional ... Read More »

Filmic whiplash has never been more exhilarating, intoxicating; once you feel surefooted, writer/director Graham Moore (“The Imitation Game”) has you spinning out of control, flying out of your seat, knowing you are experiencing the best film of 2022; viewers are incarcerated, on a snowy evening in 1956, Chicago; a tailor’s shop whose proprietor, an expat from London’s Saville Row, “Leonard” ... Read More »

THE BATMAN  (in theatres) If you have indulged in “Batman” mania this is one for the archives; he debuted in the March 30th 1939 issue of Detective Comics and has been portrayed on the screen by actors: Lewis G. Wilson, Robert Lowery, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Bruce Thomas, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, plus a few fringe ... Read More »

One of the cruelest, heart-wrenching, valid portraits of grief, loss of a loved one, on today’s screen; it is the future and the family of three is suffering from the disintegration of a fourth member, of what was a nuclear brood; “Yang” (Justin H. Nin) an android, constant companion of “Mika” (Malea Emma Tajandrawidjaja) is loved and held dear by ... Read More »