Hollywood

Director Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” is terrifying; every scene reminiscent of history’s horrific dossier of those who perished because of their faith, or refusal to acquiesce, convert to the dictates of the conquerors, church or crown; Roman Emperor Nero, slaughtered Christians, 37-68 AD; Jews have been persecuted from the Hellenistic period (323BCE) through 20th century’s Holocaust; Muslims, targets of the Crusade …

An animated romp focusing on every cliché known to man: “follow your dreams” no matter the challenges; once you hit “rock bottom” only way is up; never too old to give life’s expectations another shot. But every one of these aphorisms “sings” with originality in director Garth Jennings “Sing” an anthropomorphic jaunt that resonates demographically; the voices of Matthew McConaughey, …

Being somewhat selective, many films are beyond my pay grade: neck- slurping horror genre, hibernation/rejuvenation sagas, tales from the crypt. Here are the highlights and no lights of 2016. WINNERS:"EYE IN THE SKY""ZOOTOPIA""MIDNIGHT SPECIAL""KRISHA""THE JUNGLE BOOK""SING STREET""THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY""HELL OR HIGH WATER""KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS""LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP""CIEN ANOS DE PERDON""SULLY""A MAN CALLED OVE""M. S. DHONI: THE UNTOLD …

Never having seen the video game (nor will, after wallowing in bewilderment for two hours) I was intrigued because historically The Knight Templers and The Assassins were organizations that were informed and grew exponentially around the Crusades (1095-1291); a war for the Holy Land fought by Christians and Muslims; The Knight Templers led by French nobleman Hughes de Payens, consisted …

Director Damien Chazelle’s contemporary musical, with an archival reference to the past, proves on its second viewing, more deliciously palatable than the first; “Mia” and “Sebastian” are pungently poignant, naïve, fanciful starry-eyed lovers; their youthful, optimistic dreams may be realized; they have yet to be stunted by life’s wrenches; they dance, sing, captivating one’s sensitivities. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone …

Jessica Chastain’s commanding and compelling performance as a cutthroat, ruthless, “take no prisoners” lobbyist is astoundingly admirable; with “Zorro’s” deftness, she lunges, parries with alarming precision, eliminating harbingers of irrelevancy with nary a scratch;  “Miss Sloane’s” mantra is to win at any cost, always being a move ahead, anticipating her adversary’s strategy, never revealing her trump card; a master, genius …

Natalie Portman is eerily exhilarating as former first lady Jackie Kennedy (1929-1994) in the aftermath of the horrific, surreal days after President John F. Kennedy’s (1917) assassination in 1963; director Pablo Larrain’s intense, compelling biopic will profoundly resonate with those who remember this nadir in American history and prove immensely educational for those who did not experience first hand, the …

Flirting with sensationalism, reminiscent of archival WWII movies (“Casablanca”, “From Here to Eternity”), a blend of politics, mystery and romance, “Allied” (Directed by Robert Zemeckis) is, in the words of A.O. Scott “elegant escapism”; from its luminous commencement, with the parachuting of Royal Air Force intelligence officer “Max”, (Brad Pitt) on the undulating dunes of Nazi-occupied French Morocco, 1942; part …

If only there were rules to keep this disappointing drivel from being distributed. From its inception to its finished embarrassment “Rules Don’t Apply” is Warren Beatty’s pejorative perspective on Howard Hughes’s diminished decline into his shameful dotage; harrowingly horrible, even if somewhat viable. Aldren Ehrenreich as “Frank Forbes”, is young enough to erase this from his filmography; Frank is part …

Casey Affleck is grippingly profound as “Lee Chandler” a man whose spirit is fractured beyond redemption, no emotional, psychological surgery can mend him, damaged irrevocably, feeling alive when he instigates fights, beaten bloody, a temporal penance worthy of his egregiousness;  a handyman, fixing the pipes, toilets, electricity of meaningless urban occupants, living in a squalid, solitary room, is named the …