Netflix and Beyond

Summer selections in theaters have been puny at best; in desperation and fighting film withdrawal I have turned to Netflix for satisfaction. Director/writer Oriol Paulo’s (“The Body”) “The Invisible Guest” is stunning, riveting in gifting viewers another prescient take on the “Rashomon Effect”; identical scenario told from different perspectives. Brilliantly written and acted, there is a slick, balanced compilation between …

Recently, German films have brazenly analyzed their bleak accountability for WWII; “Labyrinth of Lies” (2014) was outstanding and “13 Minutes” directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel should be seen for a myriad of reasons: cinematography tightly, pristinely anchors the viewers attention to the plot; the acting is superb: Christian Friedel is haunting as young Georg Elser, an apolitical carpenter who devises a …

No medium does vigilante justice like Bollywood; overwhelming satisfying when women met out punishment, when accountability fails.  Two iconic films “Kahaani” and “Ek Hasina Thi”, are immensely creative in serving “revenge” frigidly calculated; “Mom” pulsates with premediated cunning, intelligence, verve and a performance of such heartfelt depth that a Filmfare Award should be in her future; Sridevi as “Devki Sabarwal” …

Focuses on the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement, a monumental step in the elimination of the bloody strife between The Democratic Unionist Party and the I. R. A./Sinn Fein; Ian Paisley(Timothy Spall) and Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) and the fictionalized, imagined version of how these mortal foes became “The Chuckle Brothers” eventually serving as First Minister and Deputy Minister of Northern …

Twenty-three-year-old Ansel Elgort has the balletic acuity of Tommy Tune; the countenance of a youthful Brad Pitt; a talent whose maturity is stunningly developed. He is mesmerizing as a getaway driver for a mélange of mendicants; his hearing was compromised in an automobile accident as a child; ear pods perpetually inserted, his every minute, rhythm is defined by music. Watching …

There is a pivotal scene in this autobiographical film that resonated with profound honesty; a confrontation between a contemporary American Muslim and his traditional parents; redolent with truth, pain; a chasm of misunderstanding exists between the generations, intransigence thrives on both sides. Anyone who has ever loved “outside the box” will relate to its relevance. Of particular charm is that …

Over a lifetime of movie going I have left approximately five films; Sofia Coppola’s 2010 “Somewhere” was one of the few; shamefully I stayed for the entirety of “The Beguiled”, a film so flavorless, dimensionless and hypnotically dull that disbelief outweighed enervation; why did this film not cease to be before dumping it on the unsuspecting public? The monotony commences …

Despite the supercilious title and the lengthy prologue there are some fine moments in this rendition of Hollywood’s 2015, “Little Boy”; a young boy feels the power of faith can, in reality, “move mountains”; this Bollywood version, starring Salman Khan, as “Laxman” a simple-minded, but loveable man-child, follows Gandhian precepts to expedite the safe return of his brother “Bharat” (Sohail …

It can be just as much of an impediment to be at the pinnacle of the intelligence scale, as the nadir; trying to adjust to your peers averageness; suffocating arrogance, with limited minds; yearning for inclusion when your intellect portends isolation; “The Book of Henry” is an extraordinary story about a well-adjusted genius, “Henry” (brilliant and superb, Jaeden Lieberher), his …