Netflix and Beyond

Here is a series where the refined performances transcend the subject matter: Chris Evans is spectacular as assistant district attorney “Andy Barber” fighting to clear his fourteen-year-old son “Jacob” (prodigious Jaeden Martell) of murdering his classmate; Michelle Dockery as Jacob’s mother “Laurie” is categorically impressive as she analyzes her son’s behavior from infancy to the present; Cherry Jones, as Jacob’s …

Karmically, randomly one stumbles, without intent or purpose, upon a series so deliciously, devastatingly dynamic, one questions how/why it escaped one’s filmic radar screen; writer/director Dana Fox’s ardent, innovative, interpretation of real life, nine-year-old journalist, crime solver, Hilde Lysiac is worthy binging for all ages.  “Home Before Dark” soars with the magical, mesmerizing, spellbinding Brooklynn Prince as “Hilde Lisko” solving …

Dated. Was the only word that resonated throughout the entirety of this sad and beleaguered tale of injustice in the 1960’s wildwest; archival actors Diane Lane and Kevin Costner give seasoned depictions of grandparents traveling across country to retrieve their grandson from the miscreant members of the lawless “Weboy” family (their son has died and his widow remarries into this felonious clan; reasoning behind …

Directors Gerald Bush and Christopher Renz place their directorial debut “Antebellum” in the “horror” genre; in actuality, it is simply, salaciously horrible; a film of such preposterous, ludicrous, inciteful intentions, disgust is the only legitimate reaction to this swill.  Commencing with a focus on the inhumane institution of slavery, the egregious behavior of the Southern populace, dehumanization and savagery perpetrated …

THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT  (NETFLIX): is a soaring series, devoted to the intricacies of chess, and the fragility of human nature; orphaned at the age of nine, “Beth Harmon” (Isla Johnston/Anya Taylor-Joy) discovers in the bowels of the orphanage a maintenance man (“Mr. Shaibel”, depicted brilliantly by Bill Camp) whose dedication to the game of chess, ignites a passion that steers …

Liam Neeson, softens his edges in, by far, the quirkiest love story of the current century; as the “in and out” bank bandit “Tom Cooper” he has slithered from one institution to another, undetected, accumulating millions, housed at a storage facility; an instant sighting proves fatal, he succumbs to the scintillating magnetism of “Annie” (Kate Walsh) manager of the warehouse, …

Because of the advantage of screening from home I was able to pass the 40 plus mark; the last two days were a blitzkrieg : SHORTS: STEP INTO THE RIVER (CHINA/FRANCE). An animated film beautifully conveying acceptance, bullying, sending a strong message to children and adults.  FOUR STARS!!!! COMRADS (CHINA). Hong Kong uprising of 2019 is an intimate portrayal of …

This film would not have been my choice, “New Order” or “Tomorrow, the World!” were far superior; but “Sweat”, which also took the award for Best Art Direction, spoke to the pervasive narcissism saturating social media in today’s milieu: ubiquitous sharing, from morning through evening, following gorgeous exercise guru “Sylvia Zajac” (Magdalena Kolesnik) motivating her fitness fans, walking her dog, visiting family, shaming her stalker, culminating in her …

MEMORY HOUSE (BRAZIL). Haunting in its meanness, baseness, ugliness, the purist depiction of “man’s inhumanity to man” splayed upon the screen, in recent “memory”. There is not one redeeming characterization in its entirety; evil blooms exponentially with each generation. TWO STARS!! KUBRICK BY KUBRICK (FRANCE, POLAND) ( ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN). By watching this insightful documentary, director Gregory Monro’s unveiling of …

Soars in intelligence, intrigue and imagination: GAZA MON AMOUR (ARABIC). Two beautiful, simple souls shimmer with goodness, kindness; destined to be united, rising above the restrictiveness of their state.  Ending, romantically with Puccini’s, Musetta’s Waltz from La Boheme. THREE STARS!!! NIGHT OF THE KINGS (FRENCH). Hypnotic, mystical, magical film, focusing on one night, in a prison, run by inmates; the …