Netflix and Beyond

William Shakespeare, a bard for all millenniums , wrote in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” that “the course of true love, never did run smooth”. In “The Adjustment Bureau” Matt Damon as “David Norris” and Emily Blount as “Elise Sellas” prove worth the ripples or emotional rapids. It is a perfect pairing and a surprisingly entertaining film, especially for those capable …

South Korea has inundated the Western film market with a blitzkrieg of effulgent flicks: “The Housemaid”, “Breath” and now “Poetry” all comprehensively stunning, thought- provoking and captivating to behold. Yun Jung-hee stars in “Poetry” a film by Lee Chang-dong. She is Mija, a beauty at 66, effervescent, joyous struggling with a surly, indolent, obstreperous grandson, Wook, (played sourly, glumly by …

Watching the 83rd Academy Awards, pageantry at its pinnacle, Mark Antony’s diatribe in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” marched through my mind: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. I pledged not to bury, bash or verbally malign the production, hence brevity prevails: a respite from repetitious fashion gravitas, sedative- inducing  acceptances; …

There is nothing more gratifying and satiatingly satisfying than witnessing an original and brilliantly executed film. On every level Iciar Bollain’s “Even the Rain” is saturated with ingenuity, creativity, historical and religious accuracies and ambiguities . It is inventive, titillating, stimulating; the bombardment of complexities,  witnessing the “filming” of a film, every thought kidnapped and held breathlessly and explosively captive, …

It is mystifying when checking out the film section and major headlines scream: “the perfect film to ignite 2011”, “the best action thriller in years”, ‘a mesmerizing mind-bender”. I am a glutton for action and mind-benders but exiting these two films, shaking my head in bewilderment at the lack of veracity in these advertisements, I questioned my own judgment, but …

Vic Muniz, the Brazilian artist and director Lucy Walker have produced an inspiring documentary pivotally engulfing the leitmotif, “to whom much is given, much is expected”. Mr. Muniz, a photographer, born into a financially depressed family in Brazil has experienced a meteoric rise in the contemporary art scene; he relishes his fame while totally embracing his heritage, his levity and …

As I sat watching “The Eagle”, questioning the scarcity of my sanity, rationing of my reason, recognizing that once again my love of the spectacle, untreatable addiction to any historical or fictional references whether biblical: “The Ten Commandments”, “The Robe”,”Quo Vadis”, “The Last Temptation of Christ”, gladiatorial: “Ben Hur”, “The Gladiator” , “Spartacus”, roundtable: “Camelot”, “Excalibur”, “Knights of the Round …

This spectacular visually titillating film from South Korea (written and directed by Im Sang-soo) is comparable to being a resident, for a brief hiatus, in a Richard Artschwager, Louise Lawler or Henri Rousseau painting. The setting, perfection in its pristine grandeur, frozen in immutable designer decor; a domicile of extreme wealth and galvanizing glory masking a black and insalubrious disease. …

Aamir Khan Productions, directed by Kiran Rao; wife of Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan has accomplished what other Bollywood producers and directors have been questing, striving to achieve for at least a decade. “Dohbi Ghat” is a story that could have been filmed anywhere; it is universal in theme and content. Gone are the gyrating, aerobic Bollywood dances, fragile chaste women, …

Thank you for entering and playing the game! My synopsis of the evening will be posted later in the day; fortunately I do not have posting deadlines looming on the horizon which allows the experience to marinate and eventually solidify into a legitimate evaluation.   Since I never win, Going out a a limb, There is talent galore, Excitement, boredom, …