Netflix and Beyond

This film is so good that even after hours of mental marinating it is impossible to escape the aura of its mastery. Lee Daniels (“Precious”) is fearless and at times controversial in his selection process. “The Paperboy” based on the novel by Pete Dexter is brutally raw and unflinchingly honest, never shying  from the taboo. The film commences with “Anita” …

A great looking cast cannot save this action flick from resonating as one of the top “bombs” of the year; nonsensical, implausible, laughably ridiculous. Liam Nesson, ageing nicely, is again recreating the role of “Bryan Mills” an ex -CIA operative; “Taken” revolved around the kidnapping of his daughter “Kim” (Maggie Grace) by an Albanian sex trafficking cabal; titillating, spine-tingling scenario …

Alert: these “oranges’ instead of being beneficial are a detriment to one’s health. Skip this supercilious, embarrassing diatribe about a failed marriage, doomed affair; worst flaw: painfully uninteresting  people; barely a nutrient worth imbibing, a calorie- less, bland, boring one hour and thirty two minutes! Hugh Laurie, the paradigm of brilliant, caustic wit in the seven- year -role of Doctor …

Viola Davis. Robbed of last year’s Academy Award for best actress, is reason enough to see this highly manipulative film about two women who fight the entrenched bureaucracy of the teachers union in Baltimore. The film is fraught with fallacies, and living in a city where the teachers went on strike for a week and a half this past September, …

What is it about time travel that is so hypnotic, magnetic, romantic? The possibility of rectifying past errors? Reclaiming the “one who got away”? Or just the supernatural, infallible power of “knowing”, and possibly “altering” destiny? Time travel has been a pervasive genre, informing contemporary film and literature: “Time After Time”, “Terminator”, “Donnie Darko”, “Groundhog Day” (crippling, anesthetizing redundancy), “Back …

But, if you are an advocate of guts and gore, police and perpetrators galore “End of Watch” will satiate your craving, and more! Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena are partners, patrolling the crime-infested neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Terrific acting combined with the intimacy of the hand- held camera lends pivotal and realistic credence to a world that exists, but one …

Whether an expert or a neophyte, lover or neutral on the sport of baseball “Trouble with the Curve” has no trouble pleasing all audiences. Clint Eastwood, the constant curmudgeon, once again hits it out of the ball park. Eastwood’s “Gus” is an ageing, almost sightless scout for the Atlanta Braves; unlike his vision his instincts for the trade are 20/20; …

Masterful, brilliant performances imbue this torturous saga of self-discovery; a struggle to chastise demons, doubts,  destroying one’s mental, psychological, physical path to health and inner peace. Joaquin Phoenix, in a role, likely never to be repeated, is “Freddie Quell” suffering from post- traumatic –stress -disorder, largely undiagnosed after World War II; a veteran of the Pacific front, he is a …

Bollywood is still grasping, fighting for a piece of the Western film pie and this enchanting tale should garnish its fair share; if only audiences did not shun this genre that has captivated Eastern viewers for decades. “Barfi” is a deaf/mute who listens and hears only the sound of his pure spirit, eliminating the cacophony of noisy nothingness; his love …

Never enamored with the sobriquet “chick flick”; admittedly there are films that fall into that genre. “Beloved” garnishes a slot. It is French Marshmallow Fluff; vanilla, sickeningly saccharine, sentimental, sensational and I could not wait for it to be over. Spanning decades, Ludivine Sagnier  as “Madeleine”: young, vivacious prostitute who marries a “John” has a daughter, divorces; ingénue “Madeleine” matures …