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Monthly Archives: June 2017

TUBELIGHT (HINDI: ENGLISH SUBTITLES)

Despite the supercilious title and the lengthy prologue there are some fine moments in this rendition of Hollywood’s 2015, “Little Boy”; a young boy feels the power of faith can, in reality, “move mountains”; this Bollywood version, starring Salman Khan, as “Laxman” a simple-minded, but loveable man-child, follows Gandhian precepts to expedite the safe return of his brother “Bharat” (Sohail …

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THE BOOK OF HENRY

It can be just as much of an impediment to be at the pinnacle of the intelligence scale, as the nadir; trying to adjust to your peers averageness; suffocating arrogance, with limited minds; yearning for inclusion when your intellect portends isolation; “The Book of Henry” is an extraordinary story about a well-adjusted genius, “Henry” (brilliant and superb, Jaeden Lieberher), his …

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MAUDIE

There are performances, once seen, that take up permanent residency in one’s archival memory bank. Focusing on women actors: Luise Rainer (“The Great Ziegfeld”), Vivian Leigh (“Gone With the Wind”), Bette Davis (“All About Eve”), Meryl Streep (“Sophie’s Choice”), Kareena Kapoor (“Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon”), Maggie Smith (“The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”), Helen Mirren (“The Last Station”);  umpteen …

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MY COUSIN RACHEL

Intentionally ambiguous, Daphne du Maurier’s (1907-1989) novel, leaves readers musing, perplexed about the duplicitous widow, “Rachel”; portrayed marvelously by Olivia de Havilland in the 1952 film and equally exquisite, Rachel Weisz, in this year’s version. The sixty-five-year hiatus, with hindsight, enhances Rachel’s dilemma; the scenario evolves in the mid-1800’s on the Cornish coast of England; “Philip Ashley” (dashingly handsome Sam …

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THE EXCEPTION (ON DEMAND & IN THEATRES)

Christopher Plummer at 87, is at the pinnacle of his career; his performance as deposed Kaiser Wilhelm II is smashing; closeted in a mansion in the Netherlands, he longs to be reinstated in Hitler’s warped government; it is 1940 and Germany has pirated Holland. Plummer’s superior depiction of a man stripped of his birthright, wasting his days feeding swans, giving …

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MEGAN LEAVEY

Directed by Gabriella Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”) the unusual scenario focuses on Marine Corporal Megan Leavey and her K-9 bomb detecting canine, Sergeant Rex; their relationship fills a haunting void echoing in both.  Megan, at the nadir of her life, is aimless, depressed  (her best friend is dead), she enlists solely to avoid the bleakness, nothingness looming in her future. Kate Mara’s …

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WONDER WOMAN

“Wonder Woman”, officially banned in Lebanon, the lead is played by Israeli actor, Gal Gadot. Lebanon, a country whose religious groups are comprised of 54% Muslim, 40% Christian: Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox; Druze and approximately 200 Jews. It’s banning is the prime reason I saw the film; a plethora of surprises: physical, psychological and intellectual piqued, prodded and sealed my …

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FIVE CAME BACK: NETFLIX

My paygrade does not include the insipid escapism served in today’s theatres; I have vowed to shun any film with the word “Alien”, “Guardian”, “Pirates”,  and at the risk of anaphylactic shock “Captain Underpants”; Netflix offers a lifeline to those seeking entertainment that enlightens, educates; serving a myriad of genres, demographically designed to quench the cravings of all film buffs. …

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CHURCHILL

If you had never heard of the brilliant statesman Winston Churchill (1874-1965) you’d be hard pressed to reason why this lugubrious film was ever conceived or created; director Jonathan Teplitzky’s biopic is a dull, plodding scenario focusing on the darkest hours of Britain’s Prime Minister, at the conclusion of WWII  (aka D-Day); Brian Cox depicts Churchill as a bilious, cigar …

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