Netflix and Beyond

Ashton Kutcher’s portrayal of messianic, Steve Jobs (1955-2011), the guru of  “Apple” computer, is finer than anticipated: he masters the inimitable “walk”, “talk”, “physiognomy”. The difficulty of playing an icon; someone who has been lionized by humanity, is the level of his recognition; it is impossible not to compare the actor to the man, especially a person so recently, formidably …

Lee Daniels and Danny Strong gift audiences a comprehensive history lesson,  a portrait of the United States and its march from the 1950’s to the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Forest Whitaker, is magnificently remarkable as “Cecil Gaines” (the butler); a man who served, toiled in the hallowed, confined halls of the most renown home in the universe: the …

How much thought do we devote to “voice -over’s”; faceless individuals, using vocal skills to enhance, terrify, imbue a film with success or failure?  Miniscule, moments. Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to snippets of iconic radio shows; the mind paints, sculpts the portrait behind the voice; those voices determined the longevity of a program: archival programs: “Jack Benny” …

Shah Rukh Khan, the 47-year-old, engagingly talented,  Indian icon (affectionately referred to as “Baadshah of Bollywood”/ “King Khan”) starring in over 75 films, garnishing a myriad of awards; hopefully optimistic, wishing for the Western success of this movie, as it has championed the box office in the East. Unfortunately, the first half is preposterously,  irritatingly silly, topping the scale at …

Out of the exquisite archives of Greek poet/bard Homer’s   (approximately, 800 BC-701BC ) “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” and Roman poet, Virgil’s (70 BC-19 BC) “Aenied” sprung the myth of the Elysium Fields; a Shangri-La for the gifted, righteous souls, blessed dead: heroes, poets, philosophers living for eternity in blissful brilliance, ruled by the just and the wise, not the wicked. …

Recently, celebrating a friend’s birthday I was questioned about my reaction and review of “The Wolverine”; chagrined, I confessed to never having seen “X-Men” or the first rendition of this infamous  “Marvel” mutant. Rectifying my previous ignorance/arrogance, I swallowed my elitism and found, as a neophyte, a surprising and empathetic attraction to “Logan” aka “The Wolverine”, his gravitas and monumental …

Cate Blanchett is hypnotically astounding as a fallen icon of wealth, fashion and social standing; fleeing New York, the bastion of her halcyon days, to San Francisco, where she hibernates in a vodka, drug-induced fog with her good-hearted, unsophisticated sister (Sally Hawkins, as “Ginger”, is perfect as the selfless foil, rescuing her hapless sister, “Jasmine”, (Blanchette). Stunning portrayals by both …

A long time ago, in a millennium far removed, I enjoyed a good, titillating, hair- raising horror flick; that ceased to be when the genre sunk to the lowest level of sensationalism; when the protagonist never died (“Michael”, “Jason”) when massacres became nothing but a torturous homage to mutilation. The key to a successful, terrifying, flesh-tingling film lies in the …

Director Gabriella Cowperthwaite’s documentary about SeaWorld Orlando’s orcas (killer whales, “blackfish”) especially “Tilikum”, captured in 1983, is a transformative, illuminating expose; hauntingly embarrassing for all who have ever visited, thoroughly loved watching the amazing, propelling feats, performed by supposedly domesticated mammals, as they partner and interact with their trainers. February 24th, 2010, Dawn Brancheau a seasoned, vibrant, caring trainer was …

As of July 25th the worst movie of 2013!  Ryan Gosling must have had a petit mal seizure, (expressionless, he moves as if connected to a morphine drip) along with  Kristen Scott-Thomas to denigrate their skills portraying a mother/son wallowing in drug-infested Bangkok; revenging the death of an older son/brother, after he rapes and murders a sixteen-year-old girl. Every taboo …