Hollywood

I knew a couple whose roles were similar to “Amy” and  “Aaron”; volatile, electrifying, boozy Amy versus staid, calm, reliable Aaron; their combustible relationship would have been ephemeral if Amy had not righted her ways; they are still together, contented and happy. Writer/actor Amy Schumer stars in this semi-autobiographical tale of her own dysfunctional formative years; her relationships with her …

Disturbing, creepy documentary by director Crystal Moselle, focuses on the Angulo family; seven children imprisoned in their Lower East Side Manhattan apartment, by their paranoid parents; Moselle sees the uniformly dressed brothers (6 boys and a girl) waist-length pony tails, dark suits, sunglasses; curiosity piqued, Moselle engages the boys and the result is one of the strangest urban, gothic tales …

Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix,  Jim Morrison, Jean-Michel Basquiat…..Amy Winehouse (1983-2011), all died at the age of 27; supernovas extinguished by their own manufactured flames. Asif Kapadia’s stunning, brutally honest documentary about the doomed talent resonates to the core with the unadulterated pain of an unprotected, over-exposed ego; Amy was a one-dimensional individual, supremely gifted with a voice to …

“Magic” has been replaced by nostalgia; longing for the vibrancy and electricity of 2012’s “Magic Mike” the sequel pales and is lame, “limp” in comparison. Yes, the physiques are flawless, honed to scintillating perfection, gyrating, double-jointed, slithering between fawning, manic maidens and matrons; still possessing the “moves” but the fire, passion has fizzled, leaving a placid, stale imitation of what …

Mark Ruffalo’s performance as bi-polar, Boston Brahmin, Cameron Stuart is “infinitely” sublime, magnetic, riveting; sabotages one’s sensitivities; long after the conclusion, credits expunged, still stunning, haunting.  His every motion, word resonates with the anguish and glory of a filter- less mind:  his children rile at his inept parenting skills, incompetent housekeeping; his beleaguered wife tolerates his mood swings, inimitable love; …

The “dogs of war” deserve lionization; seldom celebrated heroes; saviors of countless lives; devoid of a cowardly gene, their devotion unequaled, unparalleled in the throes of battle. “Max” (Belgian Malinois)  is such a beast and his story is one of gritty entertainment; you’ll root for Max as you did the “War Horse”; screen writer, Sheldon Lettich (first -hand knowledge as …

If you are in the mind-set to wallow in the drug-infested, suicidal, unsanitary world of mutant teenagers, ensconced in the dank corridors of New York City,  “Heaven Knows What” is the muck for you. Writer Arielle Holmes stars in this torrid, fictionalized, doomed portrait of herself; I sat through an hour of this “hellish” detritus (atoning for sins I’ve committed …

A sought-out movie at the Cannes Film Festival; knowing of its imminent release, waited to view it here; surprisingly, it surpassed my expectations; living in a metropolis of mixed hues, religions, disparate ethnicities, I have not been blinded by stereotypical taboos; crime, drugs, gangs, teenage murderers and victims are not exclusive to one race but there are poverty-stricken neighborhoods where …

The “trailers” for this film did zilch to ignite any interest; but the actual movie is a creative, energizing work, blossoming from a fecund imagination; a compelling story told by a nerdy high school student, hiding his piercing intelligence, insecurities by relegating his peers to categories,  slots unworthy of his commitment or admittance. “Greg” (realistically “uncool” depiction by Thomas Mann) …

There’s a plethora of books written about World War 1, stunning, devastating descriptions of war’s inimitable power to slay youth’s illusions: “All Quite on the Western Front” Erich Maria Remarque, “Guns of August”, Barbara Tuchman; my personal favorite, Mark Helprin’s “A Soldier of the Great War”; “Testament of Youth” is a profound portrait of war’s iconic ability to alter completely …