Netflix and Beyond

Never have I fully understood the horror genre and its universal appeal: exhilarating, titillating, blood-pumping depravity erasing the mundanity of one’s everyday life?  Maybe the exploration of “man’s inhumanity to man”, when does cruelty, bullying expand into egregious, litigious behavior; when does moral turpitude usurp morality, leaving souls reveling in the demonization of mankind; chastity, decency, civility, undermined by pure …

Those weaned, gleaned on the poetic property of Jane Austen (1775-1817) will swoon over the enchanting, inappropriately titled “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life”; directed by Laura Piani it marvelously explores protagonist “Agathe Robinson” (insightfully wondrous Camille Rutherford)  a lonely, frustrated bookseller and romance novelist, through a contemporary lens, suffused with the late 18th, initial 19th century aesthetics: love, marriage, satirizing …

The final scenario commences with a recall of the previous Mission Impossible’s indomitable franchise; from 1996 to the present actor Tom Cruise as “Ethan Hunt” leader of the IMF (Impossible Mission Force) is the quintessential field agent, spy, solving missions, conquering wickedness that the government cannot openly acknowledge. He is a mega-man, a physical phenom, a runner of Jesse Owens …

After a brief hiatus, yearning for levity and laughter, heeding vocal praise for director Andrew DeYoung’s “Friendship”, I scurried to my local theatre to imbibe in fictional fluff; alas, what could/should have been a delightful jaunt into a male bonding scenario morphed into a “fatal attraction” dirge; a gloomy, predictable plot that sunk into derisory detritus. After a promising beginning …

“The course of true love never did run smooth” and director Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet” jumps on the Shakespearean bandwagon and drives it full speed into a realistic romp appealing to all. A foursome of credited actors depict two gay couples trying to make sense of their lives, disappointments, and future commitments: “Min” (Han Gi-chan) loves “Chris” (Bowen Yang) …

Director David Cronenberg’s imaginative fecundity never ceases to astound; his intelligence and heuristic vastness touches realms of horror, (The King of Venereal Horror) science fiction; blending transformation, both physical, psychological with wonders of technology; following addictively, his products from the 70’s until today (“Crimes of the Future”, “Shivers”, “The Brood”, “Scanners”, “The Fly”, “Dead Ringers. “Naked Lunch”, “Crash”, “History of …

Director James Hawes gifts viewers an intelligent vigilante scenario where revenge is not served cold but steaming hot and calculated by CIA decoder “Charlie Heller” (Rami Malek is at the top of his prodigious acuity); quiescent behavior not in his DNA, he brilliantly plots the demise of the murderers who stole his link to joy. Based on the 1981 novel …

Two exceedingly likable actors, Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar star in “Drop” an innovative scenario targeting the tech savvy viewer; those lacking in techie acuity will still unquestionably relish the ride. “Violet” (Fahy) has accepted an electronic date, her first since the death of her husband; leaving her five-year-old son “Toby” (Jacob Robinson) with her sister “Jen” (Violett Beane); she …

Directors/writers Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza create one of the most fermented, realistic films about experiences suffered in Iraq in 2006; Ray Mendoza a Navy Seal depicts, in real time, the hideous and brutally gory re-enactment of an ambush that indelibly, both physically and psychologically, maimed these stalwart soldiers.  Of the myriads of war movies, this film rips and shreds …

On a recent sojourn in the city of bemouth culture I experienced a film, never seen, ever heard of, with wonderment and enchantment, a love story, without salacious, physical intimacy, just poignant, heart encompassing devotion. A story of love at first glimpse, palpating with bona fide longing, yearning for requitement. Directed by Max Ophuls (1902-1957), based on a novella written …