Hollywood

Ellen DeGeneres set the tone; the evening shimmered with grace, style, levity, raucous hilarity and sizzling spontaneity. Stunning acceptance speeches coated with humility, pride; resonating with class and respect: Lupita Nyong’o eloquence, Matthew McConaughey’s uniqueness, Jared Leto’s poignancy, Cate Blanchett’s, aplomb, Steve McQueen’s tribute to historical heroes. No one topped Darlene Love’s musical acceptance of her award for “20 Feet …

Weathered, whiskered Liam Neeson is the archetype of a disillusioned, alcoholic Federal air marshal; “Bill Marks”, running on empty, neurotic about flying, shortly after take off on a New York/London flight, receives a “text”, on a secure line, demanding 150 million dollars be transferred to a numbered  account or someone will die every twenty minutes. Hence the flight takes off …

PENEFLIX  5th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARD CONTEST It is that time of year, when once again I prove incapable of separating my mind and heart; they are so entwined that an autopsy would prove inconclusive. I vote for the film and nominees that I consider the best in their category. I do not play the odds; so many “winners” do, regardless …

Written, directed and starring George Clooney  as  “Fred Stokes” (George L. Stout), Harvard art conservationist, commissioned by the US Army in 1943 to lead “The Monuments Men”; a team of seasoned curators, architects, historians recruited to capture Nazi- looted masterpieces and return them to their rightful owners. A compelling story based on the 2009, “The Monuments Men” by Robert M. …

PENEFLIX  5th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARD CONTEST It is that time of year, when once again I prove incapable of separating my mind and heart; they are so entwined that an autopsy would prove inconclusive. I vote for the film and nominees that I consider the best in their category. I do not play the odds; so many “winners” do, regardless …

Laborious. Talented Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin cannot salvage this poorly written, tremendously tedious tale of star- crossed lovers, “Adele” and “Frank”, bonding over a sweltering Labor Day weekend in 1987; narrated by Adele’s  adult son “Henry” (Tobey Maguire), (child, Gattlin Griffith) approximately twelve years old, at the time. Adele, a depressed, barely functioning agoraphobic, with formidable trepidation, takes Henry …

PENEFLIX  5th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARD CONTEST It is that time of year, when once again I prove incapable of separating my mind and heart; they are so entwined that an autopsy would prove inconclusive. I vote for the film and nominees that I consider the best in their category. I do not play the odds; so many “winners” do, regardless …

Luxuriating in the quiet, comfortably dull zone between the Academy Award nominations and the unveiling of the champions (Sunday, March 2nd) lurks the placating, coddling, mindless two and three star action flicks; knowing beforehand that the hero lives, enjoying the thrill of the chase; lusting for the inevitable demise of the nefarious antagonist; herein lies “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”. Chris …

If Sunday night’s telecast of the Golden Globe Awards was sequestered in a time capsule and viewed a hundred years from now, people would be dumbfounded; these are actors?  Stuttering, shaking, stammering their inane acceptance speeches; surprised? They have known for months that they have a 20% chance of winning; hire a speech writer, be prepared NOT to make a …

Knowing the tragic, disastrous outcome of the 2005 Navy Seal team 10’s  mission in the unforgiving mountains of Afghanistan, made the film even more daunting and traumatic. Writer/director Peter Berg creates a beautifully filmed, brilliantly acted scenario based on Marcus Luttrell’s book “Lone Survivor:The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10”. Mark Walberg as …