Netflix and Beyond

Director Mike Leigh has created a paradigm of an individual who makes the act of complaining into an art form; “Pansy” (inappropriately named; Shakespeare’s favorite flower; there is nothing favorable about this woman) depicted with poisonous angst by Marianne Jean-Baptiste; her pulverizing hatred for herself, spews forth from a mouth tainted with abhorrence for mankind; the world is her enemy …

Commencing immediately there is a poetic, romantic poignancy pulsating at its lyrical core; in a myriad of ways reminiscent of the golden years of the Ziegfeld Follies and the 1936 “The Great Ziegfeld”, a time of spectacle, grandeur, an age where a woman was sensationally adored for her beauty, poise and kickable acuity. Those were the days when the dreariest, …

Director/writer Brady Corbet gifts film/art/architecture/ history lovers more than one’s digestive system can masticate in almost four hours; it is an epic masterpiece worthy of intense analyzation; knowledge of the Holocaust and the detritus of its evil, shadowing, stalking survivors like Jewish emigree “Laszlo Toth” (incomparable Adrien Brody); the Bauhaus movement, a revolutionary school, founded in Germany (1919-1933) sought to …

“One Day in September” (1999) won the 2000 Academy Award for the Best Documentary; brilliantly brutal scenario of the horrific slaughter of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. More than the massacre of innocents it dismantled the intrinsic, iconic goal of the Olympics…peace and harmony between ideologies, cultures; cancelling differences, uniting in spirt, sharing the competitions between mutual skills; …

Movie attendees have been feted to a plethora of exciting biopics in recent years: “Bohemian Rapsody” (2018) Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, “Rocketman” (2019), Taron Egerton, is Elton John; “Judy” (2019) Renne Zellweger’s portrait of Judy Garland; “Elvis” (2022) Austin Butler, reigns as the “King”. Awards galore were showered upon these iconic performances. But in my experience, there has never …

This film, more than any in recent memory, testifies to the miraculous, transformative power of filmmaking and the unswerving tenacity of a writer/director, producer who prevailed in his pursuit to create a beautifully-crafted, viciously realistic political thriller based on the 2022 civil unrest blistering across Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini; she was imprisoned for “inappropriate dress”. Director …

Written and directed by Halina Reijn (“Bodies Bodies Bodies”); at forty-nine is well-studied on staving off aging formulas (Botox, Juvéderm, plastic surgery) and grappling to maintain an aura of youth; in “Babygirl” her weapon of choice is Nicole Kidman, who at fifty-seven, is as perfect a human specimen in existence; in “Babygirl” she is the quintessential contemporary woman: ivy league …

At times faithful to the horrifyingly sensational 1922 silent film “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror”, directed by F. W. Murnau (1888-1931), adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”; director Robert Eggers interaction seethes with titillation, tools of the contemporary and gorgeous, gory cinematography. German Expressionism pulsating at the core of 1922’s masterpiece is tempered with the six elements evident in the films …

In Saturday’s New York Times, columnist Michelle Goldberg address the “sexual politics” of the upcoming film “Babygirl” starring the ubiquitous actor, Nicole Kidman. I have not seen the film but have experienced the others mentioned: “Wicked”, “Nightbitch”, “The Substance”, “Anora”, all centering around female empowerment, control over the “male gaze” and the vicissitudes vanquished in their triumph. History, religion, culture …

Director Pablo Larrain’s third tribute to a feminine icon: “Jackie” 2016, starring Natalie Portman; “Spencer” 2021, gloomy actor, Kristin Stewart and the final film of the trilogy, “Maria” featuring the preeminent Diva, operatic legend, Maria Callas depicted by Angelina Jolie. In essence I found the trinity lacking in pungency, power and engrossment. Possibly Larrain’s awe of the protagonists clouded his …