Netflix and Beyond

My entire life I have been a “sucker” for anything revolving around Greek and Roman mythology; instead of the fairy tales, bedtime stories most children heard, my father regaled me with the exploits of the Trojan War: Helen of Troy, Paris, Ulysses, Penelope; Zeus, his brother Poseidon, rulers of the sky and the sea. I  savored  these  mythological figures, gods, ... Read More »

No matter what is darkening your thoughts, clouding your innate glee, pulling you into a morass of gloom; “The Women on the 6th Floor” is a guaranteed elevator ride, scaling the tallest building, bypassing the minutia of the minute, leaving you on top of the world, flying to the moon, laughing, feeling your heart is fatter, fuller, richer for the ... Read More »

Phenomenal acting graces this rich, insightful, intelligent portrait of an icon of the 20th century. Enigmatic, insular, brilliant, J. Edgar Hoover (1895- 1972). Ambition to rival “Caesar”, a tortured soul encased in designer suits, perfect appearances masking a bifurcated psyche.  Leonardo DiCaprio is “J. Edgar”; his archival, resounding portrayal from youth to old age deserves an Oscar. At 36, DiCaprio ... Read More »

This year I was intimately involved with the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema, conducting the question and answer session after the sold out performance of “Restoration” on October 29th (I had previously reviewed and gave FOUR STARS to this dark,  mesmerizing production, you may access it on peneflix.com); the insightful audience was so engaged our time was truncated because of ... Read More »

To paraphrase Edmund Burke in order for evil to triumph, good men do nothing. “Le Havre”  revolves around a good man doing something. Elegant, dignified shoeshine charmer “Marcel” (beautifully and poignantly depicted by Andre Wilms) discovers an undocumented boy, “Idrissa” (Blondin Miguel) and without equivocation decides to devote his time to rescuing and sending him to London where his mother ... Read More »

Once in a decade a film appears that throws you back in time; a time of first love; you remember why it is called “first love” and why you never forget it: you know with ever fiber of your being, from the deepest essence of your soul that no one in the history of civilization, from the Paleolithic age to ... Read More »

“What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” (“Romeo and Juliet” William Shakespeare, 1564-1616) There was a time in my life where every breath, every test I took revolved around the King, Pope of all Bards; I could have written a dissertation of praise on his erudite histories and ... Read More »

All three had potential but like champagne, left in the refrigerator too long,  lost its fizz,  leaving pleasant packaging, but little tangible substance, only flatness. A margin call occurs ( from your broker) when securities bought with borrowed money, decline in value, beyond a certain point; time to “pay the piper” by selling assets or “coughing” up more cash to ... Read More »

Pedro Almodovar’s newest film is a sickeningly, sensational, stunning masterpiece of “weird”; so repulsive and yet so compelling that it has haunted, lingered like a bad dream in my consciousness for days. Almodovar’s imagination is still pumping at the hydraulic level; effulgent, challenging and flirting with medical possibilities. Antonio Banderas, in his greatest performance to date, is rivetingly handsome and ... Read More »

“Restoration” is dark, plodding, lugubrious, but ceaselessly overwhelming in its myriad of messages. Commencing with a death and concluding with a birth this tense, tightly -wrought slice of life rejuvenates and transforms all the principals. “Yakov Fidelman” (succinctly depicted by veteran actor Sasson Gabai) has lost his lifelong business partner, Max; they specialize in restoring the depleted beauty of antique ... Read More »