Hollywood

And I suggest you do the same; a watery, nebulous copycat version of 1980’s “The Shining” (hard to top Jack Nicholson’s performance, scary scenario and the eerie, elegant, deserted hotel that haunts with impunity). Kevin Bacon (has many jewels in his filmic crown “You Should Have Left” is faux); “Theo Conroy” a wealthy man acquitted of the murder of his …

Elizabeth Moss at thirty-seven has penetrated and incarcerated “characters” of immense diversity: “Mad Men”, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, my personal favorite “The Square”, recently “The Invisible Man” and now the weirdest, most peculiar “Shirley” a brilliant writer of the horror genre, an agoraphobic, stymied, finding inspiration in a young, pregnant woman “Rose” (well-matched Odessa Young) and her husband, “Fred” (Logan Lerman); …

Based on the book by James Patterson, John Connolly and Tim Malloy. You had to inhabit another planet to be unaware of the salacious sensationalism dumped upon a universe that thrives on the felonies of the staggeringly wealthy; Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire bum, finally held libel for his egregious sex trafficking and personal gratification from underage girls. The mini series …

At times, a pungently preposterous premise, can momentarily, erase the ennui of monotony; especially in the third month of Covid incarceration. Director Vaughn Stein’s “Inheritance”, despite minimal sense and maximum implausibility, held my interest; performances by Lily Collins and Simon Pegg save viewers from a quagmire of anesthetized boredom. Lily, District Attorney “Lauren Monroe”, inherits a skimpy portion of her …

Here is a comedic jewel, poetic license on steroids; a contemporary interpretation of questionable historical veracity, creator Tony McNamara (co-wrote “The Favourite”) has the time of his life with Elle Fanning (also a producer) as the inimitable coup mistress, Catherine the Great (1729-1796); Fanning is stupendous as a naïve teenager, with fanciful romantic aspirations, bulldozed precipitously on her wedding night; …

Unquestionably, Tom Hardy is the quintessential method actor in contemporary film, rivaling, at times resembling, Marlon Brando; from his 2001 debut in “Black Hawk Down”, “The Dark Night Rises”, “Mad Max”, “The Revenant” (Academy Award Nominee), “Dunkirk”, “Legend” and my most preferred “Locke”, a tour de force, rarely and exquisitely witnessed. In this revolting, scatological, rendition of Al Capone’s (1899-1947) …

Author Wally Lamb’s 1998, novel “I Know This Much is True” was so poetically profound that unlike most prominent best sellers, never becomes diaphanous, continues to resonate with the strength of a pen, perpetually pulsating with precociousness; distinctive, unrivaled characters, sear with extraordinary, painful authenticity; an unprecedented examination of the human condition; a soaring analysis, triumph of man’s capacity to …

“FORCE 2” is a limpid, crystalline, imitation of potent “Force One”; a second chance for hunky, handsome John Abraham to recreate his role of outlier, law enforcement officer, “Yash”, teamed with Captain KK (Sonakshi Sinha) to excavate a mole in India’s Budapest Embassy. Glorious glitz saves director Abhinay Deo’s film from placid anonymity; the action scenes fall into the “Kill …

 In its third season, falls into the “not” category; first season was creatively twisted to the point of guaranteeing a second scenario, but sunk precipitously into idiocy, and season three is worthy of assassination: “Eve” (Sandra Oh, Golden Globe Winner) a bored MI5 agent, and “Villanelle” kooky, inventive serial killer (Jodie Comer, Emmy Winner), are matched as pungently powerful protagonists …

Incredulous, that the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution has yet to be ratified, after decades of crusaders pulverized opponents, attaining notoriety on an unprecedented scale: “Mrs. America” focuses on feminine forces, both yeas and nays, in this fascinating dissection of the female arena, framework of women grabbing control of their lives, thus enabling gratification to those who …