Hollywood

Once again a performance transcends the film (“Jackie”, “The Founder”). If you are a fan of director/writer Olivier Assayas (“Clouds of Sils Maria”) the leap of faith required in “Personal Shopper” might be of no consequence but for others, the chasm is too vast to even consider; I fall into the latter category.  Kristen Stewart is marvelous in the challenging …

2017’s “Kong” calls the shots; no longer shackled, beleaguered, more than a chest-thumping, roaring primate, he is “King” of this feral, enigmatic island; residents/tourists abide by his rules. It is 1973, and a myriad of agencies, government/civilian are behind a secretive, clandestine expedition to unearth the mysteries/monsters of Skull Island. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts scores with a formidable cast: Tom Hiddleston, …

Writer/director Jordan Peele climbs into a black man’s psyche and capitalizes on his worst fears; “Chris Washington” (phenomenal portrayal by Daniel Kaluuya) is going to “meet the parents” of his ever-so-white girlfriend, “Rose Armitage” (Allison Williams well-matched with Kaluuya), at their even whiter bastion of bland, homogeneous suburbia; Rose repetitiously refers to her family’s lack of racial bias, claiming they …

Three profoundly poignant, powerful films that idiosyncratically adhere, to one’s memory; permanent, lifelong residents, quiet reminders of youth’s surging, electrifying passion; a love never experienced in the history of mankind; convinced of its uniqueness, permanence, consuming every waking moment, dominating dreams, allowing nothing, or no one, to trespass on its sublimity; its redolence lies in its universality; life’s serendipitous, karmic …

1932-33, between seven and ten million Ukrainians were systematically starved to death because they refused to be part of Josef Stalin’s collectivization; resisting forced relinquishment of their land to state- owned collective farms. “Holodomor” (death by forced starvation), cancerous as the “Holocaust”;  Stalin and Hitler, bunk-mates in Dante’s ninth circle of Hell. “Bitter Harvest” directed by George Mendeluk tackles this …

For a meager twenty seconds, there were two winners in the Peneflix contest; those twenty seconds destroyed the Academy’s legitimacy for years to come. How can viewers trust the sealed envelope? In retrospect, I bleed for Warren Beatty, lacking the prescience, when he realized the error, to speak out, he was rendered comatose, and poor Faye, spoke too soon. In …

To enter: 1)   You must be a subscriber to Peneflix.com 2)   You may only enter once. 3)   ALL  ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH, MIDNIGHT. $150.00 TO THE WINNER. HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS CORRECTLY. *PENEFLIX PICKS* marked in the form below (PLUS THE WINNER HAS TO GET CORRECT NUMBER AWARDS FOR BEST PICTURE)

Director Amma Asante (“Belle”), British filmmaker of Ghanaian ancestry has masterfully crafted a dramatic, true love story around a political quest for autonomy; 1947, London, heir apparent to the Bechuanaland (present day Botswana) protectorate, Seneste Khama (polished performance by David Oyelowo), his studies complete, meets and plummets precipitously in love with typist Ruth Williams (enchanting portrayal by Rosamund Pike) whose blind …

To enter: 1)   You must be a subscriber to Peneflix.com 2)   You may only enter once. 3)   ALL  ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH, MIDNIGHT. $150.00 TO THE WINNER. HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS CORRECTLY. *PENEFLIX PICKS* marked in the form below (PLUS THE WINNER HAS TO GET CORRECT NUMBER AWARDS FOR BEST PICTURE)

To enter: 1)   You must be a subscriber to Peneflix.com 2)   You may only enter once. 3)   ALL  ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH, MIDNIGHT. $150.00 TO THE WINNER. HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS CORRECTLY. *PENEFLIX PICKS* marked in the form below (PLUS THE WINNER HAS TO GET CORRECT NUMBER AWARDS FOR BEST PICTURE)