Netflix and Beyond

An oxymoron; there are no “perks” to being a “wallflower”; many a wall was stained with my youthful DNA, some memories time does not erase;  watching “Charlie” dealing with his disturbing visions, paranoia and primarily crippling shyness; hoping for the balm of friendship to sooth his painful vulnerabilities. Logan Lerman’s performance as Charlie is skillful, lacking cloying sensationalism; as a …

Never, is one reminded more,  that life is a series of transitions, than in Yaron Zilberman’s “A Late Quartet”; four supremely talented musicians, after twenty-five years of performing together have reached a nadir in their professional and personal lives. Every actor brilliantly imbues their character with profound dignity. Philip Seymour Hoffman (2012 is his year) is second violinist, “Robert Gelbart”, …

What a remarkable surprise, entering with massive trepidation, realizing after fifteen minutes that “I really liked it”. “Cloud Atlas”, (referring to a symphony composed as the film progresses ) is based upon the novel by David Mitchell, directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski (“The Matrix”); it is elegant, beautiful, lyrical, metaphorical, comical, confusing and confounding;  a feast for the imagination; …

A tiresome, true tale of an Israeli man, after the death of his 98 –year- old grandmother, discovering correspondence, photographs and empirical evidence of a lifelong relationship between his Jewish grandparents and a German family, ranking high in Nazi echelons; their friendship commenced  before the second world war and lasted well into the sixties with repeated trips to post-war Germany …

For those with the “cut to the chase syndrome”, this line should suffice: I did not care for “Flight”! Admittedly, Denzel Washington is a terrific actor, even a great one, but he cannot save this tiresome, plummeting plot revolving around an alcoholic, cocaine-addicted airline pilot. From the onset we watch as he sniffs and drinks with a fellow airline employee …

French director Lorraine Levy has created a nightmarish scenario that evolves into a unique and quite beautiful movie. Imagine living harmoniously for eighteen years, cradled in a niche of comfort, love, security; your solitary concern is how to fill the hours before entering military service or medical school when the apocalypse strikes and reveals that you were switched at birth; …

One of the finest films of 2012 based upon the real life story of Mark O’Brien, stricken with polio at the age of six, confined to an iron lung for the entirety of his life. “The Sessions” is based on O’Brien’s article “On Seeing a Sex Therapist”. A therapy brought to the forefront by Masters and Johnson in the 1970, …

In actuality, I attended the last week of an intense, innovative selection of films from around the world; here is a minimal synopsis of the ones I viewed, in the order in which I saw them: “The Scapegoat”, UK. Stunning, scintillating tale of mistaken identity. Hard core entertainment from commencement to conclusion. An unforgettable performance by Andrew Scott. Based upon …

In the midst of the Chicago Film Festival I squeezed in the highly touted and commercially successful “Argo”, a film that captures the explosive and traumatic events revolving around the Iran hostage crisis; November 4,1979, the American embassy in Tehran, was stormed by Iranians, posing as students, the saga lasted 444 days; six escaped and found refuge in the Canadian …

What is truly remarkable and compelling about this Documentary is where it takes place and the principals involved. Israel, a slice of democracy in a hostile milieu has gifted movie goers outstanding films in recent years; films dealing intrepidly with controversial topics:  religion, politics, families in crisis. “Lebanon”, “Lemon Tree”, “Restoration” and the superb Academy Award nominee “Waltz with Bashir” …