2006 witnessed the debut of Twitter, the birth of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt; highest grossing movie of the year was “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest at $1.06 billion; execution of Saddam Hussein.  It was the reality television show “To Catch a Predator” that confiscated American viewers from 2004-2007. Admittedly, I had never seen or known of its existence, nor its …

Two engaging films, likely destined for major streaming platforms, are especially rewarding when seen in a traditional movie theater. In director Paul Greengrass’s dramatization of England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, Andrew Garfield shifts from a superhero role into the vivid character of a peasant “Ploughman.” The Black Plague (1346–1353) had killed an estimated 25 to 50 million people across Europe and …

The fifth season of this most compelling, compassionate close to “documentary” style series, screams with realism, almost beyond comprehension, but truthful, lived by the actors; suffering, grief and pain sears viewers to the core; brutally beautiful, undeniable unpreparedness of Israel on October 7th, 2023. Painfully strenuous to watch, but necessary, primarily, respectfully, for the creators: Lior Raz a former commando …

Reminiscent of a bleak and dreary period in our mid-twentieth century historical fight for racial equality: 1964, Mississippi where 3 civil rights workers were murdered; the film commences in 1966 with black FBI agent Wayne Strider (excellent Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) paired with legendary mafia maniac Greg Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg, cloned for the role); the value of the film lies in …