If Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”, “Take Shelter”) has not registered on your film Richter scale, “The Iceman” should pole-vault him into the upper echelons; his brooding, intimidating intensity; lethal, black gaze nails the conscienceless killer “Richie Kuklinski” (1935-2006); Shannon is riveting in conveying a man whose decency was robbed by a father who beat and annihilated his moral compass. Yet …
Read More »Netflix and Beyond
IN THE HOUSE (FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
Director Francois Ozon (“The Swimming Pool”) serves arguably, one of the most intriguing, conversation-provoking films of the year; wickedly psychological, creepily voyeuristic “In The House” explores the relationship between a beleaguered, bored, high school English professor “Germain” (caustic, keen-witted performance by Fabrice Luchini) and his precocious student “Claude” (titillating portrayal by handsome newcomer, Ernst Umhauer). Lonely, manipulative Claude, writes about …
Read More »LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED (DANISH/ENGLISH)
From the first cords of Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore” I was bamboozled emotionally; tearfully -smiling, heart- swelling, loving the company of these compelling, real people: “Philip” (glorious performance by Pierce Brosnan, magnificently aged, even his wrinkles have integrity), a widower, stringent, workaholic, living in Denmark; collides with “Ida” (enchanting portrayal by Trine Dyrholm, her incandescent smile, defines “love”) a hairdresser …
Read More »IRON MAN 3
Once upon a time, in a century long gone bye, I was a feature writer; great, easy fun, face-to-face with press -worthy subjects; interesting, entertaining, some controversial, some fascinating individuals, but periodically I would meet, as I pejoratively referred to as “flatliners” , those I could not engage, waves of resentment, that a lifejacket could not ward off, buttressed me …
Read More »COMMENTS
Please know that I relish your comments. Those who agree, enhance my “ego”; those who disagree, keep my arteries unclogged! Either way, it makes my days and nights richer, knowing that you are reading “peneflix”. COMMENTS WILL EVENTUALLY BE ANSWERED ON THE SITE; YOU MUST GO BACK AND CHECK! THANK YOU! For Now……Peneflix
Read More »THE GREAT GATSBY
F. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1940, at the age of forty-four: impoverished, never to know the immensity of the literary legacy that continues to enthrall, captivate and hypnotize readers and movie audiences seventy-three -years after his premature passing. Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the iconic classic is a stylized, gaudy, formulaic extravaganza of mythic proportions; palaces of Disneyland size and style; …
Read More »KON –TIKI
This enthralling, riveting, compelling film is for anyone who has actualized their dreams, defied the “odds” and the “gods”, bulldozed antagonistic skeptics, spitting in the eye of the disbeliever; castrators of ingenuity, promise; and for all those who have yet to slay the cynics; give birth, sculpt their fantasies into reality. “Kon-Tiki” is filmmaking at its pinnacle; actors, especially Pal …
Read More »THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST (IN THEATRES AND ON DEMAND)
Based on the 2007 novel by Moshin Hamid, directed by Mira Nair, far exceeded the limited and problematic boundaries of the book; blatant honesty informs intelligent characters: flawed, wounded, irrevocably altered by heinous, untoward circumstances; Ms. Nair and fine acting gift viewers a raw, realistic, radical story of metamorphosis, indoctrination, transformation from the benign to “the reluctant fundamentalist” . Riz …
Read More »PAIN & GAIN
It will take years of the therapeutic process to conclude “why” , with knowledge and foresight, I went to see this terrifically awful film; questioning the soundness of my mind, the stability of of my judgment I can only surmise I suffered from a temporary loss of sanity or a petit mal seizure. Based on a true story which transpired …
Read More »RENOIR (FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), masterful champion of “Impressionism” is brilliantly depicted by Michel Bouquet in Gilles Bourdos film about the legendary painter at the conclusion of his life, in tandem with his second son “Jean” (1894-1979, destined to be the iconic filmmaker), at the commencement of his, (Vincent Rottiers); linked by “Andree” (Christa Theret) the luminous, endorphin-infused, final muse of Renoir …
Read More »