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RUMINATIONS FROM THE BUNKER

Most of us have had it with homeland incarceration; abiding by authoritative regulations, our relationship with the outside world, revolve around our television/computer. Here are a few to view or shun: “GRANDCHESTER”: a British detective series  (PBS, AMAZON PRIME) in its fifth season, surviving the loss of magnetic James Norton (does an about face, from saint to sinner in “Happy ... Read More »

HAMILTON DISNEY+

This, my third foray, into the legendary arena of the American Revolution (1775-1783), starring Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) was scintillatingly positive; first exposure was the play in New York City, at an obnoxious ticket price (my fault, no one held a pistol to my head) that actually had a negative effect on my entertainment scale; fortunately, I was one of the ... Read More »

THE TRUTH (FRENCH/ENGLISH) ON DEMAND

Unerringly poignant, sublimely sensitive, an exquisite story within a story directed by Hirokazu Koreeda (“The Shoplifters”); actors Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche, imposingly comfortable in their craft are commanding as a mother/daughter team, with unresolved issues; Deneuve, “Fabienne” at the nadir of her career as a scion of the film industry, struggling with memory deficiency, has written a fabricated autobiography; Binoche, is her daughter, “Lumir”, ... Read More »

YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT

And I suggest you do the same; a watery, nebulous copycat version of 1980’s “The Shining” (hard to top Jack Nicholson’s performance, scary scenario and the eerie, elegant, deserted hotel that haunts with impunity). Kevin Bacon (has many jewels in his filmic crown “You Should Have Left” is faux); “Theo Conroy” a wealthy man acquitted of the murder of his ... Read More »

SHIRLEY (AMAZON PRIME)

Elizabeth Moss at thirty-seven has penetrated and incarcerated “characters” of immense diversity: “Mad Men”, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, my personal favorite “The Square”, recently “The Invisible Man” and now the weirdest, most peculiar “Shirley” a brilliant writer of the horror genre, an agoraphobic, stymied, finding inspiration in a young, pregnant woman “Rose” (well-matched Odessa Young) and her husband, “Fred” (Logan Lerman); ... Read More »

JEFFREY EPSTEIN: FILTHY RICH (NETFLIX )

Based on the book by James Patterson, John Connolly and Tim Malloy. You had to inhabit another planet to be unaware of the salacious sensationalism dumped upon a universe that thrives on the felonies of the staggeringly wealthy; Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire bum, finally held libel for his egregious sex trafficking and personal gratification from underage girls. The mini series ... Read More »

INHERITANCE (ON DEMAND) & OTHER MUSINGS

At times, a pungently preposterous premise, can momentarily, erase the ennui of monotony; especially in the third month of Covid incarceration. Director Vaughn Stein’s “Inheritance”, despite minimal sense and maximum implausibility, held my interest; performances by Lily Collins and Simon Pegg save viewers from a quagmire of anesthetized boredom. Lily, District Attorney “Lauren Monroe”, inherits a skimpy portion of her ... Read More »

THE GREAT (HULU)

Here is a comedic jewel, poetic license on steroids; a contemporary interpretation of questionable historical veracity, creator Tony McNamara (co-wrote “The Favourite”) has the time of his life with Elle Fanning (also a producer) as the inimitable coup mistress, Catherine the Great (1729-1796); Fanning is stupendous as a naïve teenager, with fanciful romantic aspirations, bulldozed precipitously on her wedding night; ... Read More »

CAPONE (ON DEMAND)

Unquestionably, Tom Hardy is the quintessential method actor in contemporary film, rivaling, at times resembling, Marlon Brando; from his 2001 debut in “Black Hawk Down”, “The Dark Night Rises”, “Mad Max”, “The Revenant” (Academy Award Nominee), “Dunkirk”, “Legend” and my most preferred “Locke”, a tour de force, rarely and exquisitely witnessed. In this revolting, scatological, rendition of Al Capone’s (1899-1947) ... Read More »

PAIN & PLEASURE: “I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE”: HBO; “DEN OF THIEVES”: NETFLIX

Author Wally Lamb’s 1998, novel “I Know This Much is True” was so poetically profound that unlike most prominent best sellers, never becomes diaphanous, continues to resonate with the strength of a pen, perpetually pulsating with precociousness; distinctive, unrivaled characters, sear with extraordinary, painful authenticity; an unprecedented examination of the human condition; a soaring analysis, triumph of man’s capacity to ... Read More »

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