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Showing posts from November, 2024

THE MERRY GENTLEMEN – FILM REVIEW

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The story tells of Ashley, a Broadway dancer in a slump in her career. When she returns to her quaint hometown for the holidays, she discovers that her parents' theater will soon close. To save it, Ashley organizes an all-male Christmas revue, hoping to raise enough funds to keep the lights on. Along the way, she meets Luke, a carpenter and a reluctant participant in the show, whose unassuming demeanor hides problems of his own. You can watch this movie on M yflixer movies .  At first glance, the premise seems promising. The small-town charm and unique setting of a male revue against the backdrop of Christmas festivities could have been a recipe for offbeat fun. But Merry Gentlemen lacks focus and doesn't effectively balance its comedic and romantic elements. The revue itself becomes a subplot, undermining the very premise that should have driven the story. Britt Robertson, known for her charisma in projects like Tomorrowland, struggles to give Ashley the energy and drive she n...

‘The Piano Lesson’ 2024 Review

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In addition to the strong supernatural elements, the film also has beautiful, realistic character moments that show the pain nearly every character carries with them on a daily basis and their desire to grow beyond their position and towards something bigger. This is not just what Boy Willie wants, but also Lymon, Berniece, his uncle Winning Boy (Michael Potts), and Avery Brown (Corey Hawkins), a friend of the Charles family who had his eye on Berniece. Almost every actor has a scene or two to make it easier, embellishing Wilson's original through impressive adaptations by Virgil Williams and Malcolm Washington.  John David Washington takes advantage of this moment to take Boy Willie off the stage (where he co-starred with Jackson) and is the only one who doesn't really feel his situation beyond his difficult pleas and his consultation with Berenice. But his co-star, Ray Fisher, gives the film's astonishing performance, giving Lymon the grace and kindness of a simple man wh...

REVIEW: RUMOURS 2024 MOVIE

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Every year, the heads of state and government of the world's richest democracies gather at the G7 summit to discuss current world situations and crises. But this year, the heads of state and government find themselves caught in a mix of cosmic and apocalyptic situations. Director Guy Maddin, along with Galen and Evan Johnson, brings us "Rumours," a political satire that examines the sincerity and competence of our leaders and questions whether they will really help us when we need them most. The cast includes Cate Blanchett as the German President, Charles Dance as the US President, Roy Dupuis as the Canadian Prime Minister, and many others in unexpected roles. There's a lot to like and appreciate about Rumours, but unfortunately the film has just as many flaws. He's hilarious and charming, but he's also extremely unfocused and confusing. The actors have good chemistry, but the film fails to focus on that and get them into really interesting conflicts. Once th...

Review: Small Things Like These-Cillian Murphy Versus the Horrid Nuns of Ireland

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Oppenheimer has recently taken up weightlifting, switching from the mentally taxing secrets of the atomic machine to the more physically demanding sacks of coal. Recipient: Resident of New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. Year: 1985. Yes, in Cillian Murphy's first post-bomb film, Small Things, the Oscar winner's sad eyes struggle to convey the tortured inner life of Billy Furlong, a coal merchant who sells his wares to the financially well-off and the poor. Unfortunately, this "happily" married father of five daughters inevitably passes city dwellers on his daily route in his trusty truck, daring enough not to hang on, even if ailing. A Dickensian troupe, you might say. Yes, 1985 was a tough time for many in Ireland... and elsewhere too. Why would Billy come across a barefoot boy, on a cold night, desperately drinking milk from a bowl left outside for his cat? The ragged brat glances up for a second, catches a witness to his lactose theft, but Billy concludes he is no t...

The Penguin’ Finale Episode 8 Recap: Did Oz Kill Sofia?

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 In episode 7 of Penguins, we learn in a flashback the reason for Jack and Benny Cobb's death. Apparently, Oz was jealous of his mother Frances having to divide her attention between his job, his brother and him, and he wanted her all to himself. When Jack and Benny mocked Oz's disability, intentionally or not, while playing hide-and-seek in the sewers, Oz locked them both in an overflow tunnel and left them in the rainwater. Both Francis and Oz knew the truth, but never spoke about it. When Sofia found out the lie on which Francis and Oz's relationship was built, she decided to use it to really destroy him from the inside. Salvatore Maroni kidnapped Oz and tried to seize control of Bliss' business, but failed miserably and died of cardiac arrest. It seemed like a victory for Oz, but shortly after, Sofia sent a car full of explosives to the headquarters and had Detective Marcus Wise help him kidnap Oz to punish him. Did Sofia's plan succeed? Let's find out. Fran...

REVIEW: Conclave 2024 Theflixtor

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The Catholic Church is full of mysteries, from the virgin birth to transubstantiation, but few witness the mysteries it can solve. Conclave 2024 Theflixtor is a thriller about a fictional papal election that reveals more about the ambitions of the "papabili" than about dogma. The Papacy, inhabited by cardinals, is a strange place where ambition is as rampant as vice, jealousy, prejudice and lies. Dean Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) has very little ambition (see Plato's aphorism above). As a result, rumors of ambition reach him, and by extension us. At times the plot seems straight out of the current presidential election, but as November approaches, we hear even more rumors and outright malice. A dignified man with a self-imposed sense of remorse, Lawrence explains why his own doubts are the hallmark of the new wisdom: "We need no faith, indeed," he preaches. "Let us elect a pope who doubts. For Lawrence, a candidate for the papacy who has only certainty would s...