Category Archives: movies

‘boring and watchable’ (Film: The Infiltrator – Brad Furman, 2016)

I could not avoid borrowing the qualifications used by a Web site from Toronto when writing about this film. It’s ‘boring and watchable’. An unusual combination indeed. And yet, this is exactly how I feel about ‘The Infiltrator’ directed by … Continue reading

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beauty and gore (Film: The Neon Demon – Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016)

I liked director Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Drive. I read it as a love story disguised in a violent action movie, an uneasy combination that worked perfectly, to a large extent thanks to the presence in the lead role of Ryan … Continue reading

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efficient crime schmaltz (3 Days to Kill – Kevin Costner, 2014)

Sometimes melodrama works. Then the reviewer in me faces a dilemma. I know that you need to buy into the story in order to feel anything in a melodrama, but who does not buy into it if they are parents, … Continue reading

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family troubles (Film: The Snake Brothers – Jan Prusinovský, 2015)

This may be the first Czech film that I see in 40 years. The occasion is the Czech film festival hold in my city (and several other Cinematheques) in Israel. The good news are that the Czech cinema seems to … Continue reading

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La Belle et Malade Epoque (Film: Ma Loute – Bruno Dumont, 2016)

The centennial anniversary of the breaking of WWI was an opportunity for several books to be written and films to be made (most of them documentaries) not only about the war itself, but also about the years that preceded it. … Continue reading

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action … action … action (Film: Jason Bourne – Matt Damon, 2016)

Each summer brings to the screens a fair amount of films which aim pleasing especially the family crowds but never or seldom make it to the list of awards of the year or just to the list of the films … Continue reading

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two wonderful actors looking for a better film (Film: Mortdecai – Gwyneth Paltrow, Johnny Depp, 2015)

Sometimes I am wondering what do these actors think, or maybe better said what do their agents think. Johnny Depp and Gwyneth Paltrow are two of the most gifted actors of their generation, blessed not only by success and awards, … Continue reading

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‘Youth’ is about being Old (Film: Youth – Paolo Sorrentino, 2015)

Is the fact that I immensely liked ‘Youth’ a sign that I am getting old? I can tell you (and I will tell you) a few good reasons ‘Youth’ is not a masterpiece, and yet, I resonated and was really … Continue reading

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dresses and deaths down-under (Film: The Dressmaker – Kate Winslet, 2015)

The Dressmaker brings to screen a successful Australian novel by Rosalie Ham who sets her 1950s story in a small dessert town in the middle of the big Nowhere which is the Australian wilderness. It’s one of these ‘out-of-the-track’ films … Continue reading

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this tree is barren, pretentious and boring (Film: The Tree of Life: Terrence Malick, 2011)

I had this film recorded on my cable TV memory device for quite a while. I was quite curious now to see it with my own eyes, after the dust of the extreme reception it enjoyed settled. Some of the … Continue reading

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