Netflix and Beyond

Director Eliza Hittman, tackles with unbiased honesty, the grey befuddled, muddled area between boyhood and manhood; painful indecisiveness of one’s sexuality, conforming or railing against society’s code of acceptance; nineteen-year-old “Frankie” (British actor Harris Dickinson, overwhelms in this poignant, heartbreaking role,  coming to terms with burgeoning homosexuality, a looming frightening future; beyond handsome, he is a magnet for women and …

At “times” movie titles make absolutely no sense, no segway into the scenario; the viewer, if unaware of the synopsis, is befuddled; “Clockwork Orange”,” Reservoir Dogs”, “Cloverfield” but “Good Time” written and directed by Benny and Josh Safdin, tips the scale in nonsensical, baffling titles; they have created another gritty crime caper in the bowels of New York City’s disenfranchised, …

Predictability can be totally refreshing especially with the “dog” films of summer; watching “A Gentleman”, tumultuous reality, gritty politics and crime were suspended in favor of a raucous romp through Miami, Mumbai and Goa; gorgeously-paired Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez, destined to bond, flirt, sing and dance, creating a sugary confection of romance and intrigue, ubiquitous on the Bollywood screen. …

To preserve your sensitives and sanity, with the exception of the ending, you’d be best served watching in “mute”; the luscious Spanish landscape (even in a deluge) and delectable cuisine, suffered with the innate, stale prattle of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on their third (hopefully final) traveling trilogy; so tiresome is the monotonous mimicking of Robert De Niro, Marlon …

By far the most terrifying film of 2017; “Annabelle” cannot touch the intrinsic terror of this film; “Ingrid” (Aubrey Plaza, dazzles) is overwhelming pathetic; her existence is defined by Instagram, Twitter, etc. highlighted by emoji’s; loneliness has plundered her reason, she suffers a psychotic fracture after destroying a wedding she wasn’t invited to; rehabilitation has honed her electronic stalking skills; …

Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen” soared, and anchored his place in the hierarchy of the heist genre; disappointingly “Logan Lucky” does not touch his former status. Well-acted but tediously long, pushing too hard the “Robin Hood” theme, challenging viewers investment, in the all too complex sting, executed by (looks can be deceiving) not-so-bright perpetrators. Channing Tatum has doffed …

For those who have read the book there is a bludgeoning redundancy throughout the film; pivotally performed by actors Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, Ella Anderson; frustration stroked by horrific circumstances; four children, if not physically abused were emotionally castrated by an inebriate of “air, whimsy and alcohol”; Harrelson plays Rex Walls,  the architect of the fantastical Glass Castle, …

This is a poetic, poignant, even painful portrait of a landscape so magnificent in its being, but ruthless in its demands; a landscape that celebrates its beauty but shuns man’s meddling; “Wind River” reveres, respects its isolation, segregation, its unwillingness to be part of the sphere; the vastness of the Wyoming, Native American reservation is the focus of Taylor Sheridan’s …

Far from the normal “kidnap” scenario, where sobbing, hysterical parents, etc., comply with the FBI, raping their bank accounts and 401K’s, leaving cash at the orchestrated location; Halle Barry as “Karla” is tenacious as a woman who pursues rapacious kidnappers (appropriate diabolical performances by Chris McGinn and Lew Temple) of her enchanting, six-year-old son “Frankie” (Sage Correa); preposterous and exhilarating …

How can an actor of superior renown, a winner of fifteen Filmfare Awards (Bollywood’s equivalent of the Academy Awards) willingly plummet, with a resounding thud, into such a deplorable scenario? Shah Rukh Khan has intrigued audiences with his stunning versatility, his fearless choice of roles: from inebriated Lothario (“Devdas”) to stalker (“Fan”); from antihero (“Baazigar”) to coach (“Chak De India”); …