Netflix and Beyond

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings.”  William Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar”. John Green’s novel, “The Fault in Our Stars”, takes issue with Caesar’s prescient statement; one’s destiny can be  blighted, crippled, uncontrolled by one’s actions, desires, gifts; fate can curse or bless at whim; our stars, be they crossed or like ... Read More »

Glumly, I waddled out of director Stephanie Soechtig’s (produced and narrated by Katie Couric) prescient documentary about the perils of sugar; determined not to write about it, but after two weeks of it creepily, crawling around in my conscience, bit the bagel and sallied forth to my trusty “live writer”. Commencing with the utmost truth: I love anything sweet, as ... Read More »

Periodically, expecting nothing, a film excels in dissipating ennui, gifting audiences a solid, interesting scenario; captivating one’s attention for its entirety; “Cold in July” is such a film. Superb acting inform a fascinating story of a burglary gone awry. Michael C. Hall of “Dexter” notoriety is “Richard Dane”, a laconic, ordinary guy: solid marriage, adorable son, picture framer who slays ... Read More »

Angelina Jolie is marvelous as malevolent “Maleficent”; a refreshing spin on the fiendish fairy in the ageless tale of “Sleeping Beauty”; like the play “Wicked” (“Elphaba” the Wicked Witch from the “Wizard of Oz”) it forces audiences to cast aside preconceived ideas of good and evil; concentrate on the cause of their transformation from the best to the bitter. The ... Read More »

Frequently writers rely on “Webster or Oxford” to crush the roadblocks stymieing mental acuity, a cowardly crutch; but as I watched “Chinese Puzzle” laughing uproariously, surrounded by a modestly mute audience, surreptitiously looking at me, questioning my tenuous grip on reality; it struck me with tsunami velocity that “humor” is profoundly subjective.  So,  like a multitude before me, I checked ... Read More »

Approximately ten years ago I saw artist Gregg Bordowitz (1964-) give a lecture, after a minimal audience, viewed his ripping film “Fast Trip, Long Drop”. Gregg was diagnosed H.I.V. positive in 1988; he was twenty-four years old. His brutally authentic, autobiographical film, savagely addresses his life before he became ill;  halcyon, fast, fun days of irresponsible youthful hedonism,  versus the ... Read More »

Reminiscent of “Back to the Future”, but infused with tremendous angst and a monumental desire to stop the vicissitudes of the future by “adventuring” back to 1973; Director Bryan Singer’s worthy quest to protect the “mutants” (a metaphor for society’s outcasts, with extra-terrestrial gifts) is successful in its legitimate depiction of those outside the traditional genetic composition. Virginal, somehow “Marvel” ... Read More »

It is inconceivable that the profession you have yearned for, trained for, is in a moment, catastrophically revealed to be anathema to your origins.  Director Pawel Pawlikowski’s profoundly poignant and grippingly realistic portrait of two women, bound by blood, but living diametrically opposite, disparate existences; testifies to the monumental atrocities, residual effects perpetrated upon the blameless by the Nazi regime. ... Read More »

“The Immigrant” opened Chicago’s 49th International Film Festival last October. Marion Cotillard, with a face to launch a thousand films, could not salvage “The Immigrant” a movie with a big heart, and inconsequential spine; Ellis Island, 1921; “Ewa” (Cotillard) a Polish immigrant (dazzling command of the Polish language) is separated from her sister, rescued by “Bruno Weiss” (implausible Joaquin Phoenix) ... Read More »

Do not be misled by the title. “Million Dollar Arm” is so much more than a “sport” film; it is a human interest, accurate depiction of greatness springing forth from desperation. JB Bernstein, down on his fortune, sports agent (Jon Hamm hammers the role) and his partner Aash (terrific Aasif Mandvi) unorthodoxly decide to pluck their recruits, pitchers from India; ... Read More »