Foreign

Inadvertently, I visited “Kneecap” without even a whiff of its content. I do not care, another whiff, for rap! If it’s generational, I missed it by decades and did not mourn its loss. So, sitting with an audience of prepubescent attendees, I found myself laughing, with requited glee, bouncing in my seat to its iconoclastic rhythm, lyrics and high-fiving its …

RTA, Rehabilitation Through the Arts. It works miraculously and its redolent power surges through the backbone of this remarkable film. Incarcerated inmates, serving interminable, hopeless sentences; real men rising above their crimes, circumstances, reveling in the vicissitudes of Shakespearian fictional and non-fictional characters, historical heroes and villains; unbridled talent oozing from their core, dormant since birth but flaming in a …

At times compelling, oftentimes confusing, generally entertaining if you put history aside and just go for theatricality, drama and scintillating intrigue. With an ending of outrageous possibilities. Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz tests his proficiency with a foreign scenario; the terminal days of Tudor King Henry VIII (1491-1547) and his sixth and final wife Katherine Parr (1512-1548). Acting transcends a vague …

Director Guy Ritchie has been on a media roll: “The Gentlemen”, Netflix and his latest bombastic extravaganza “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” both stylistically captivating; an exercise in camp, for the sole and unmitigated purpose of entertainment; success is served in spades in duo endeavors. Loosely based on Operation Postmaster, Winston Churchill’s desperate design to cripple the Nazi war efforts, …

Liam Neeson shines like a well-polished antique, honed and seasoned, every wrinkle, a badge of glorification; with over a hundred films his 6’4 frame, and craggy countenance still kindle alarm in whomever he stalks; his presence, burnished style galvanized to impeccability in director Robert Lorenz’s “The Land of Saints and Sinners” as retired assassin “Finbar Murphy”, residing in a quiet …

In a century long ago, I attended a party, primarily of strangers; as we entered the venue, a person of renown was taped to our backs; we were required to give hints to other attendees as to the personage whose name they bore; it was a stunning way to make new comrades, but alas I never guessed who steadfastly remained …

Surpassing the previous years in spades! Flawlessly groomed, styled, coiffured and glamorous presenters, nominees; absolutely absent, fashion flubs; Emma Stone’s sliding dress served as “Bella’s” redundancy, revealing no surprises. Jimmy Kimmel, as host, perfected his timing, eliminating blatant, below the belt sarcasms; but struck a humorous jab to the inimitable, predictable, brassy belligerence of D.T.; adding only humor, not “greatness” …

2023 was a spectacular, banner year for films. Never have I given so many Five Star credits, or rarely have I visited movies more than once; 2023’s products were more than worthy of multiple exposures. Without listing all the choices in each category, I will gift you, faithful readers, my number one picks in the myriad of classifications: BEST PICTURE: …

2023 was a spectacular, banner year for films. Never have I given so many Five Star credits, or rarely have I visited movies more than once; 2023’s products were more than worthy of multiple exposures. Without listing all the choices in each category, I will gift you, faithful readers, my number one picks in the myriad of classifications: BEST PICTURE: …

Today’s internet is gorged with photographs, videos, of gastronomical feats, posted by the well-traveled bourgeois, those divorced from their kitchens, feel obliged to secure a memory of a dish whose remarkability is beyond their culinary comprehension.  “The Taste of Things” is a symphony, a harmonious composition of an art still vibratingly redolent, thriving, throbbing universally; we revere Escoffier, Robuchon, Ducasse, …