THE GILDED AGE – Think Downton Abbey meets obscenely rich late-1800s Manhattanites and you have a complete picture of this new Julian Fellowes drama on HBO. In fact, there’s no need to watch it. It’s a rehash of Downton Abbey set in a new location with a slight variation of snobbery, class and scandal. IContinue reading
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THE FATHER – Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his heartbreaking portrayal of an elderly man sinking into the dark abyss of dementia. His performance is brilliant. Olivia Colman is equally superb as his daughter. I had to be in the right frame of mind to finally watch this film because I knew it wasContinue reading
RED JOAN – Judi Dench stars in this film based on the book which is loosely based on the story of Melitta Norwood. Norwood became known as the granny spy when she was arrested in her English garden at the age of 87 for smuggling information to the Russians forty years earlier during World WarContinue reading
AMERICAN NIGHT – Violent film (think Quentin Tarantino) starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Emile Hirsch and Paz Vega. It’s not my kind of film, but I am a Jonathan fan, so when the screener arrived, I watched it. Jonathan delivers his usual intense, stellar performance. The rest of the cast is also quite good. But, alas, notContinue reading
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING – Geena Davis produced this documentary revealing the long-standing gender bias in Hollywood. It’s probably only of interest to those of us in the entertainment industry, but it was quite informative. I was surprised at the meager number of women, especially women of color, studios employ both in front of and behindContinue reading
A LITTLE CHAOS – A piece of historical fiction from 2014 directed by Alan Rickman (who also plays King Louis) and starring Kate Winslet and a dreamy leading man, Matthias Schoenaerts. It also features Helen McCrory, one of my favorites as most of you know. Stanley Tucci sparkles in a delightful turn as the king’sContinue reading
A GHOST STORY – aptly named and misleading at the same time, this piece is not what the title suggests. It’s not a ghost story, it’s a ghost’s story. One which poignantly asks us to consider the meaning of life and death. At times achingly slow, and yet somehow appropriately paced, I was often thinking,Continue reading
DEATH TO 2021 – Some funny bits in this parody of the past year in the same format as its predecessor, Death to 2020. Actual footage of news events and actors portraying journalists or interviewees are woven together in an entertaining retrospective of the year we just endured….and don’t want to endure again. Of course,Continue reading
GREATEST EVENTS OF WWII IN COLOR – I’m a history buff, and this is a decent documentary using actual footage and revealing little known facts about the war and our involvement in it. I was shocked to learn how many American soldiers lost their lives fighting the Nazis and the Japanese. The numbers are staggering.Continue reading
BEING THE RICARDOS – Having read several books and seen as many documentaries about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, I already knew their personal story. What was a complete surprise was Lucy’s curt interactions with everyone, even those closest to her. I’d always heard she was one tough broad, but I was taken aback atContinue reading
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