Netflix and Beyond

A film of such exuberant wonderment, I never wanted it to end; a dream actualized by the power of an artist to inspire; similar to Stockholm Syndrome, kidnaps and converts one to its cause; Bruce Springsteen, approaching seventy, has to be kvelling with this homage. Directed by Gurinder Chadha (“Bend it Like Beckham”), starring Viveik Kalra, as “Javed”  (memoir of …

Australia’s Jennifer Kent exceeds brutal boundaries in her latest petrifying revenge movie; those of a squeamish nature will be tested in the initial scenes; set in 1825 Tasmania, a British colony off the southeast corner of Australia; Kent owns the film as its writer, director and producer, and is fearless in her representation of genocide, colonial abuse and sexual sadism. …

Transformation. In recent years actors have gone to remarkable lengths to completely mask their persona, conforming to the physicality of their role; unimaginable dedication and pain, resulting in stunning, award-winning performances: Charlize Theron, “Monster”; Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”; Christian Bale, “The Machinist”, “Vice”; Patricia Arquette, “Escape at Dannemora”; Michael Fassbender, “Hunger.” Russell Crowe, “The Loudest Voice” tips …

“The brighter the “light” the darker the shadow”. “Luce” (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is dazzling, beyond charismatic, he is seventeen, an orator, athlete, class valedictorian; he is also a rescued victim of war-ravaged Eritrea, where at seven, he was a trained killer; his adoptive parents “Amy and Peter Edgar” (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) have dedicated ten years to his rehabilitation …

An incendiary title that is anything but; director/writer Sameh Zoabi (a Palestinian raised in Israel) with fellow writer Dan Kleinman create a silly, “soapish” scenario that deliciously delights with its blend of the pungent political milieu hibernating at the core of Israeli-Palestinian tensions preceding the 1967 war; a flimsy plot focusing on a Palestinian spy “Tala” (quirky, enigmatic Lubna Azabel) …

Jamie Bell is convincingly compelling as Neo-Nazi, Byron Widner; he is a totem, poster boy for every racist, anti-Semitic, white supremacist, mendacious nitwit poisoning the disenfranchised, marginalized, those terrified of anyone who is not colorless, of pure Aryan stock; ironically, their corps is tattooed, unshaven, filthy icons of hate. Widner is a real life paradigm of miraculous upheaval; his catalyst …

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” Argentina. 1975. A home is stripped of its accessories, by disparate individuals; a metaphor for the ultimate disappearance of Argentines with left wing political ideals, leading to the “Dirty War” (1976-1983) a United States-backed military coup d’état, (overthrew Isabel Peron) clandestinely supporting state terrorism; a murky blot …

Quentin Tarantino’s mellowest, most nostalgic, tempered film to date; bludgeoning bloodshed of “Inglorious Basterds”, “Django Unchained”, “The Hateful Eight”, replaced by an homage to 1969 Hollywood; filmed in 35-millimeter celluloid, focusing on the waning stardom of “Rick Dalton” a nascent cowboy and his stunt man “Cliff Booth”; Leonardo DiCaprio as “Rick” and Brad Pitt, “Cliff”, are at their classic, professional …

Rarely does a film generate benevolent happiness, sweetness, witnessing a family’s love and concern for a precious matriarch; Zaho Shuhzen is dazzling as “Nai Nai” (grandmother), unaware of her fatal stage 4 lung cancer, she devours life and living with staggering, stunning greed; she is an extraordinary tonic, a canyon of care; her granddaughter, “Billi” (Awkwafina, “Crazy Rich Asians”) an …

Do not give this film short shrift because of its Bollywood genre. Here is a movie for whoever has been electrified, inspired, challenged, encouraged by an instructor, educator; a teacher whose magnetism moves mountains, drives one to excel, explore unknown, untethered avenues, resulting in lifelong quests in fertile fields,  perpetually nourishing the brain, beyond boundaries, beyond one’s own expectations; its …