Netflix and Beyond

The name is the same, but not Georges Bizet’s (1838-1875) renowned Opera that premiered in 1875; instead, Benjamin Millepied (“The Black Swan”), dancer, choreographer, now director, presents his version of a woman who clandestinely steals into the United States from Mexico; Melissa Barrera (“Carmen”) is the heroine with a stricken past, captured by border patroller “Aidan” (Paul Mescal), suffering from …

Saturated with wholehearted poignancy we say goodbye to Mrs. Maisel; more than “marvelous” she possessed a flair for chicanery without guile, a vanity without pomposity, a wittiness without brutishness; Rachel Brosnahan (Miriam Maisel) along with the prescient writing of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, is the quintessential stand-up comedian: unblemished timing, impeccable judgment of her audience, a queen of self-depreciation …

The dashing, dimpled dandy with insouciant, uninhibited charm (Tomer Sisley) masking Shakespearian hubris, behind raffish, rascally wit; one dead wife who perpetually, deliciously, ghostly gives consul, another, a maniacal murderer, the mother of his baby daughter; his forensic genius, laced with aplomb, operates at the sharpest measure, with the aid of the murdered victims (whose dignification he champions) continuously titillating …

Doubtfully, has there been a more enchanting film based on a book; Judy Blume’s novels are icons of realism; she excavates the minds, psyches of pubescent children rarely depicted on the page, let alone soaring on the screen; this masterfully profound adaptation resonates with all viewers, regardless of age or demographics. I loved every magical, candid, forthright moment. “Margaret” portrayed …

Director Kelly Reichardt has made some compelling, transfixing films; “First Cow” and “Certain Women” passed the scrutiny test of most critics. Sadly “Showing Up’s” lethargy exponentially expands as sculptor “Lizzy” (Michelle Williams, in a thirty-three & 1/3 depiction of an artist whose work resembles that of German sculptor Stephan Balkenhol) plodding, comatosely moves through her days; she is more comfortable …

Electrifying and terrifying, sensationally realistic, here is fiction, whose genius lies in its documentary style; writer/director Daniel Goldhaber focuses on disillusioned, disenfranchised, environmental activists whose faith in the system has atrophied; their combined mission is to destroy a pipeline in Texas, alerting the populace to the toxic properties of “oil”, and the companies that deny their culpability and absence of …

A GOOD PERSON             (THEATRES, AMAZON PRIME) Not in the frame of mind to define “goodness” or its properties when it comes to an individual, but I know, without debate, a good film and “A Good Person” rocks with verisimilitude from the first scene to its quenching conclusion. Written and directed by Zach Braff, starring …

Three “letters” that defy categorization; one of the classical elements, essential for life; watching another pairing of two men destined to reign in the hierarchy of nascent filmmakers, pungently aware that “Air” is more than a component for living, it represents a man eluding nature’s laws, flying within the boundaries of a basketball court, securing an everlasting legacy of supremacy, …

Commencing with Covid cauterization, cultural sterilization, forced isolation, the film world refused to be stymied, fostering escapism, so divinely pristine, our sensibilities are satiated within the hallowed walls of our domiciles. Still frequenting theatres but gorging on the fodder bountifully served 24/7 on a myriad of streaming devices: NETFLIX: “WAR SAILOR“, depicts the lives, of two Norwegian merchant sailors, friends …

We are living in an age of divisiveness, cultural cauterization, we’ve erased the narrative between opposites, eliminating the hope of understanding the “other” or curiosity as to why the dialogue was eliminated? Harkening back to Nabis (1888-1900 art movement) when art still symbolized the power to heal, artists were “prophets”. “seers”: Paul Serusier, Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Paul …