Netflix and Beyond

It is easy to compete. Just submit your answers on this site. The prize will be movie passes at the theatre of your choice. In choosing, go with your instincts; you ALWAYS fare better than I.  All entries must be submitted by midnight February 24th. AGAIN, ON THIS SITE. You must correctly choose the Best Movie, Best Director, Best Female ... Read More »

Sometimes a movie is just a movie: mindless escapism,  a joyous romp through reality and or fantasy, a “gloom” chaser and mood- mender, mind- bender; the medicine that eliminates angst, removes ‘”ego” from the pedestal; a window into the inexperienced, unknown circumstances, an awakening that leaves a residue, an unveiling of life and lives of those whose paths, destined never ... Read More »

Glenn Close and Janet McTeer give vastly credible performances as women disguised as men. The novel “The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs” by George Moore has been a project of Ms. Close since she played the lost but dignified “Mr. Nobbs” off Broadway almost thirty years ago; she should be applauded for her tenacity and the actualization of her mission. ... Read More »

Every year at the end of August, the Tomatina Festival is celebrated in Bunol, Valencia (Spain); approximately 15 tons of tomatoes are hurled, squashed, plummeted on thousands of willing participants, joyously sacrificing their inhibitions on the altar of gooey, glorious fun. This vibrantly red scene in “We need to Talk About Kevin” serves as the metaphor for the gruesome, horrific, ... Read More »

Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film and my guess the “Oscar” in the same category. This disturbing and thought-provoking movie from Iran gifts the viewer a realistic and insightful look into ordinary life of a culture anathema to those who live in the West; it it difficult to rise above your own freedoms and prejudices to ... Read More »

The 2005 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer was a compelling and excellent read. The movie version is immaculately filmed, directed and graced with fine, sensitive performances. Thomas Horn is a genius in depicting “Oscar Schell”, an 11- year -old gifted loner, trying to cope with the loss of his father (Tom Hanks). Then why was I bored, uninterested and capable ... Read More »

  Many of you have expressed concern over my new FACEBOOK page. There is no need; you will still receive the reviews and be able to comment, as before (“Pina”). I am still wandering, blindly in the labyrinth of the Facebook maze, but through trial and error and the guidance of my muse “Vishal” and son “Robert” the path will ... Read More »

Dance. Has a “dance” ever changed your life? Were you born to dance? Is it part of your DNA?  Dancing has the power to transcend every feeling: heartbreak, loss, meaningless migraines of minutia. Dance can free one of tireless shackles that dampen spirits, cloud vision, bulldoze barriers clutching, smothering youthful vibrancy. Nothing screams love, passion, unlimited joy more than a ... Read More »

Dear Subscribers, It is with some trepidation but more glee and excitement that I am plunging into the ubiquitous world of Facebook. Thank your for forwarding Peneflix Movie Reviews to your friends, it is greatly appreciated. In the future keep forwarding the reviews and encourage them to become Subscribers. For all my readers with Facebook accounts please visit by clicking ... Read More »

In 1991 a friend and I ,without children, went to see this Disney animated fairy tale;  twenty years later my experience and emotional reaction is even more profound. This captivating, irresistible  story seeks to elucidate beyond the epidermis; unpeel the obvious, unearth the “beauty” beneath the “beast” and the “beast’ beneath the “beauty” (“Gaston”). Walt Disney (1901-1966) was a visionary ... Read More »