Netflix and Beyond

Abominable. Detestable.  Dismal.  Deleterious.  Humorless. Salacious. Scatological.  Revolting.  Ridiculous. Vile. Wretched. Only partially describes this disgusting movie, starring Mark Wahlberg  and his foul-mouthed,  bibulous , drug -addicted, good-for –nothing, copulating Teddy Bear. Teddy Bears of the universe unite, join in a class action suit; sue for defamation of character. No matter the monetary reward it will take generations to erase ... Read More »

Oliver Stone’s latest flick can be summed up in a brief sentence.  Good drug dealers versus bad drug dealers. It is engrossing, more than minimally entertaining; not as bludgeoning with the message as the usual Stone scenario; still in a month’s time will be a vague, shadowy memory of a mindless two hours spent in a refrigerated cocoon; a blessed ... Read More »

Achingly poignant, mythically powerful film, told from the perspective of six-year-old “Hushpuppy” (Quvenzhanem Wallis, a forceful sprite with a gift from the gods); living in the disastrously destitute Louisiana bayou; alone, she resides in a shack, next door to her abusive, alcoholic, terminally ill father, “Wink” (brilliant portrayal by Dwight Henry)  in an island of muck, detritus, prehistoric, called “The ... Read More »

Steven Soderbergh’s  intimate portrayal of the lives and performances of “male strippers’ was an enlightening, enticing slice of reality for this neophyte; knew they existed, gave them no thought;  realized for a certain segment of the female population they were a titillating source of entertainment. I was totally bamboozled, mesmerized and shamefully, overwhelmingly, enthralled with the scenario. Matthew McConaughey is ... Read More »

Is an abomination, travesty, an insult to the craft of filmmaking and a humiliating example of a auteur (Woody Allen) gone amuck. Out of respect for my, if at times limited, but still viable insights; I am composing this review in 15 minutes (which is approximately 14 more than it deserves.) 1) All the men in the film are clones ... Read More »

A supercilious, insignificant, “like-infested” film about 30 -something’s with too much time on their hands;  not enough intellectual substance, just aimless individuals who have reached a hiatus, a cavernous lacuna that overwhelms them, stymieing their decision -making process or powers. Loss, love, grief are experienced by all; how you deal with the vicissitudes in life make you the person you ... Read More »

The 2011 film “Like Crazy” starring Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin was a delightful slice of fluff that I saw with trepidation; because of the word “like”;  robbed of its legitimacy by contemporary vernacular; bastardized, used as a verbal pause, conversations lengthened 50% by its ubiquitous repetition; car alarms, nails on a blackboard, sleeplessness are preferable to its resounding, droning, ... Read More »

In today’s world, with the exception of a few pathetic,  Paleolithic countries, women are champions of their fate; “captains of their souls”.  Women shine as CEOs, CFOs, heads of state, professionals on equal plane with their male counterparts; gone are the shackles of prehistoric, nonsensical dictates; no longer confined to two rooms or behind a Purdah, women are free, free ... Read More »

This film tries desperately to find a balance between three generations and fails miserably. Jane Fonda is “Grace” a fossil of Woodstock (1969) with salt and peppered tresses flowing, like “Rapunzel”, down her back; garbed in kaftans of a bygone era; growing and selling marijuana; an embarrassingly, practicing, septuagenarian  “sex goddess”; spewing platitudinous drivel;  still protesting war, any war (most ... Read More »

Serendipity.  A phenomena  when it unexpectedly strikes can be quite magical or extremely problematic. I recently returned from an art excursion, a blitzkrieg of culture revolving around Document 13 (an art fair of monumental proportions occurring every five years in Kassel, Germany) with a prequel in Vienna, Austria where I had a face –to- face encounter with enigmatic “Wally” (Walburga ... Read More »