Netflix and Beyond

Religiously faithful to Gillian Flynn’s stunningly successful novel; an unmatched character study of an initially enviable relationship gone haywire; succinctly directed and cast, even those familiar with the book will be drawn into the labyrinth of irreducible intrigue. David Fincher scores again (“The Social Network”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) with a scenario, pervasively known, blessing it with layers …

Accidentally, I ventured into this enchanting fantasy about a disillusioned psychiatrist, confronting the monotony of his everyday, vacuous  existence; compulsively organized, his home and patients, robotically relegated into slots of predictability. Simon Pegg is marvelous as the befuddled “shrink”; he exits his formal, prestigious English domain, travels the globe on an amorphous expedition, looking for answers to the elusive, inconclusive …

This outstanding, beautifully acted and directed film based on the true trek Robyn Davidson (b.1950) accomplished in 1977; 1,700 miles, nine months, through the treacherous, torturous, glorious landscape of Australia’s western desert to the Indian Ocean; Ms. Davidson wrote about her excursion in a 1980 memoir; Mia Wasikowska is remarkable as the recalcitrant, intrepid, fearless young woman whose intransigence led …

Based on the play by Israel Horovitz (also his directorial debut) is uneven in execution but stunningly acted by Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas. Penniless, “Mathias (Jim) Gold” (Kline) arrives in Paris to collect his inheritance from his deceased father; an apartment inhabited by ninety-two-year-old “Madame Girard” (Smith); discovering the incomprehensible French law of “viager” which allows …

My fervent regret is that I did not LEAVE after the first twenty minutes, when I realized that the entire “Altman” family was catastrophically boring, self-absorbed, inconsequential; their common denominator, an obsessive, insatiable,  all-consuming focus on their libido. With the exception of a charming child (whose parentage was vague) I woefully sat through the entire dull scenario, which disintegrated scene …

Earlier this year the film “Locke” exploded on the screen; Tom Hardy, the tragic protagonist, is monumentally overwhelming as the unfortunate, but accountable “Ivan Locke’; an isolated, solitary tour de force, rarely seen by movie- goers. Hardy’s scope as an actor has yet to be realized; but once again he excavates his treasure-trove of talent and blesses audiences with “Bob”, …

Earlier this week I viewed an abysmal film about a dysfunctional family in distress (“This is Where I Leave You”: to be reviewed 9/18/14); so it was with minor trepidation that I willingly subjected myself to another family in the throes of a crisis; the difference is remarkable. Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader give performances, resonating with greatness, especially Hader …

  The sport of boxing has never appealed to me: cauliflower ears, brain damage, even death, resulting from the brutality of the game; but I rarely miss a boxing flick; they resonate with profound pathos, the quintessential joy when the underdog champions; possibly because of the agony, the ecstasy of victory is even sweeter. Some of the greats: “The Champ”, …

The film commences in the doldrums and never climbs out of its murky morass; Errol Flynn’s (1909-1950) last salacious affair with fifteen-year-old nymphet, Beverly Aadland, “Woodsey”(1942-2010) monopolized the tabloids when he supposedly died in her arms. Kevin Kline bears a strong resemblance to the iconic raconteur and depicts Flynn’s insouciant charm, dashing flamboyance with aplomb and savoir faire. Unfortunately, Kline …

The only thing “strange” about this film is the title; profoundly realistic, poignantly, plaintively acted by John Lithgow and Alfred Molina; two men, after decades together “tie the knot”; instead of “happily ever after” sink precipitously into dependency, not to each other but family and friends. “Ben” (Lithgow) a painter of little distinction has relied on “George’s” (Molina) paycheck and …