PENEFLIX  5th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARD CONTEST It is that time of year, when once again I prove incapable of separating my mind and heart; they are so entwined that an autopsy would prove inconclusive. I vote for the film and nominees that I consider the best in their category. I do not play the odds; so many “winners” do, regardless …

This provocative, unlikely Bollywood flick revolves around the bombardment of the norm, society’s dictates and  breathtaking freedom gained from being involuntarily ripped from one’s comfort zone; a kidnapping releases the chained, frustrated spirit of a traditional, wealthy, urban, spoiled sophisticate, engaged to the perfect prospect (cad of a man), “arranged” by the families of the mismatched pair. Alia Bhatt (daughter …

Written, directed and starring George Clooney  as  “Fred Stokes” (George L. Stout), Harvard art conservationist, commissioned by the US Army in 1943 to lead “The Monuments Men”; a team of seasoned curators, architects, historians recruited to capture Nazi- looted masterpieces and return them to their rightful owners. A compelling story based on the 2009, “The Monuments Men” by Robert M. …

Two enchanting and mystical weeks of temple -trekking through ancient, sacred monuments: iconic reminders of a people’s dedication and love for their gods; the might of their of their dynasties (Chola in particular): Shiva, Vishnu and Buddha, their avatars, miracles, mysteries laid bare by the inimitable scholar, Dr. Maduvanti Ghose, Alsdorf curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan, Islamic art at …

PENEFLIX  5th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARD CONTEST It is that time of year, when once again I prove incapable of separating my mind and heart; they are so entwined that an autopsy would prove inconclusive. I vote for the film and nominees that I consider the best in their category. I do not play the odds; so many “winners” do, regardless …

My seventh excursion to India; a country and its people that refuse to relinquish its magnetic hold on my heart and spirit. AVOID “AT MIDDLETON”. It is an embarrassing, sophomoric “soap” about a love connection between two adults (Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga) who take their college -age children on an introductory tour of “Middleton”; behaving like juveniles , getting …

Laborious. Talented Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin cannot salvage this poorly written, tremendously tedious tale of star- crossed lovers, “Adele” and “Frank”, bonding over a sweltering Labor Day weekend in 1987; narrated by Adele’s  adult son “Henry” (Tobey Maguire), (child, Gattlin Griffith) approximately twelve years old, at the time. Adele, a depressed, barely functioning agoraphobic, with formidable trepidation, takes Henry …