1,350 words
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which was released on Netflix on Friday, is the sequel to Rian Johnson’s 2019 mystery film Knives Out (reviewed by the author here). It is even worse than its overhyped predecessor: predictable, unfunny, and not nearly as clever as Johnson wants it to be.
The film is set on the private island of tech billionaire Miles Bron, who co-founded the company Alpha. Miles invites five friends to a murder mystery-themed party: (more…)
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1,222 words
Netflix thinks pimping preteens is a great way to market its new movie Cuties. The French film follows a dance troupe of 11-year-old girls who discover their “femininity.” Netflix advertised the film with images of the girls in suggestive outfits, which inevitably drew a public backlash. The streaming giant apologized for the advertisements (more…)
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If the title of this review surprises you, it shouldn’t. Do not be disillusioned — this multi-part spy saga is transparent propaganda, promoted (if not partly financed, I suspect) by Israel. It’s as Kosher as Rosenfeld’s bagels.
But first, the story. It concerns a Sephardic Jewish man, Eli Cohen, born in Alexandria, Egypt. By posing as an importer of Argentinian products into Syria, he manages to ingratiate himself into Syrian political society. Using the name Kamel Thaabet, he befriends members of the Ba’ath political party, including Colonel Amin al-Hafez who would later become Syria’s president (more…)
1,170 words
Bird Box (2018)
Directed by Susanne Bier
Starring Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, & John Malkovich
Netflix’s 2018 movie Bird Box is a hit. The movie has had more than forty million viewers in its first weeks, and its images have led to a host of Internet memes from clever keyboard jokers. The movie is a standard apocalypse film – man versus the supernatural – but there are some twists. (more…)
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Struggle: The Life & Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Directed by Ireneusz Dobrowolski
Written by Stephen Cooper & Ireneusz Dobrowolski