Netflix and Beyond

Musical styles fade in and out of vogue: jazz, big bands of the 30’s and 40’s, rock and roll, rap, hip- hop. Electronics has changed the temperament of contemporary music. “A Tribe Called Quest” is an intriguing and in depth documentary by Michael Rapaport concentrating on the twenty year run of the ground breaking musical skills of Phife Dawg, Ali …

The United States has millions of residents living illegally within its borders; you have had to be entombed not to realize the epidemic of concerns, both political and humane this has caused the government in recent years. Approximately 55% of illegal’s come from Mexico ( numbers vary between 6 and 7 million in residence at this time) a vast majority …

This has been a lean summer movie season. In desperation, craving a darkened theatre, avoiding the sizzling heat, I ventured into the fantastical world of “Harry Potter” and was surprisingly entertained. I saw the first and now the last (think there are six others) of the enchanted boy’s tale written by the sensationally imaginative J.K. Rowling. I am a neophyte …

Our first sojourn into the state of the fleeced and furred; shunning the traditional cruises chosen by our contemporaries, opting for an adventure into the landscape, the wildly wonderful, virginal terrain of the 49th state. Arriving at  Denali Backcountry Lodge, buried, far from the maddening crowd, cauterized from all communication (internet, TV, radio, telephone,); the droning, daily, orality, confounding and …

This documentary written and produced by Andrew Rossi is like all documentaries, slanted. I read the New York Times and being one of those guileless souls who would like to believe all that I read, but wisely inflicted with the obligation of deciphering, masticating, searching for the reasonable, believable, finding the middle road between fact and fiction. The main premise  …

Skip this movie. Skippable is the essence of this supercilious, trite, minimally amusing story of a man in his early fifties, fired from a position he excelled in, loved, creating profits for a company that decided because he did not have a college degree, he must go. What a ridiculous assault to “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” , …

  This is the smartest movie of the season (albeit a dull season). I loved every second watching these two mid-life friends driving, eating and performing through the lustrous landscape of Northern England; it a tour de force; dialogue brilliantly written (Michael Winterbottom, “Tristram Shandy”) and delivered by Steve Coogan (playing himself) and Rob Brydon (playing himself). Steve, an actor …

A few months ago I eulogized the passing of Elizabeth Taylor now I must do the same for a neighborhood theatre that was courageous in showing first run Bollywood films. For five years I diligently strove to increase the viewership of this fascinating, complex, and vastly entertaining, joyous genre. Alas I must admit, begrudenly, defeat.  This is a personal loss …

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you; but my choices were: “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”, “Green Lantern”, “Kung Fu Panda”.  I was ultimately satisfied with my decision. This collaboration between J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg is terrific; their imaginative powers whip up a perfect concoction of magic, mayhem and genuine believability. It is 1979 and a group of adolescents, filming their …

If you were fortunate to have seen the trailers; choose another flick to visit. There were no secrets to discover nor surprises to behold; boredom prevailed. You have a father/ son team; Hal, (Christopher Plummer) and Oliver, (Ewan McGregor); Hal at seventy-five has rambunctiously exited the “closet” and now romping in an alternate lifestyle, denied in his prime; Plummer is …