Saturnine self-mastery is never easy. The challenge becomes even more formidable when one’s values and integrity are tied up with the political well being of a people. In Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay, the Rev. Martin Luther King finds himself in exactly this position as he straddles being true to his core beliefs while creating […]
Astrology: Fashion: Emma Stone’s Red Sailor Suit in ‘Magic in the Moonlight’
July 27, 2014 by
It’s tough to resist a gal in uniform, and that goes for Emma Stone’s character Sophie Baker in Magic in the Moonlight. Although Sophie’s fame is as a mystic – she’s communing with the spirits in France when we meet her – she’s also meant to be seen as a regular gal. The contrast between […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Filth’ (2014)
May 26, 2014 by
The Mars archetype works overtime in Filth, directed and written by Jon S. Baird, and based on Irvine Welsh’s book. While over the top aggression, anger, abuse, sexual addiction and the infliction of pain of every sort dominate the life of Scottish detective sergeant Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy), the red planet that rules weaponry is […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Neighbors’ (2014)
May 5, 2014 by
Wordsworth is no doubt turning over in his grave, knowing that his staid, elegant adage – “the child is father of the man” – has just gotten a 21st-century, frat-boy comedy makeover. Directed by Nicholas Stoller, Neighbors sledgehammers home the point that people’s adult actions are greatly imbued with their childhood behaviors. And because the […]
Astrology: Fashion: Peggy Olson’s Beret in ‘Mad Men’
April 14, 2014 by
Just about anyone who’s ever worn a beret – okay, berét for you purists – has all but marked their foreheads with the words “I Am An Artist.” It’s head gear quirkily worn at an angle, as if proclaiming that one’s thought processes and self-expression are delightfully skewed off center. Which makes Peggy Olson’s (Elisabeth […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Joe’ (2014)
April 7, 2014 by
Fighting for and protecting another person usually mean one thing. You’re already pretty good at wielding your fists on your own behalf. That’s an apt description of Joe Ransom (Nicolas Cage), the titular character of the movie Joe, directed by David Gordon Green and based on a book by Gary Brown. Toiling in an impoverished […]
Astrology: Television: Review: ‘True Detective’ Finale Goes into the Void with Neptune
March 10, 2014 by
It’s not always just the hero and the villain whose morals and world views are diametrically opposed. “Buddy” protagonists, whether male or female, are typically at loggerheads. And in the eight-episode series “True Detective,” whose finale aired last night, the operative word to describe the huge character differences between Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Stranger by the Lake’ (2014)
January 20, 2014 by
There’s something extraordinarily self-contained about the non-descript, scrawny-pined beach and parking lot in Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake. The area’s caché – it’s an enclave for gay-cruising – is revealed quickly. However, this French lakeside enclosure also evokes a mythical subterranean realm with a strong Hades-Plutonic overtone. Men of all ages, shapes and sophistication […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013)
December 26, 2013 by
Based on the true story of crooked broker Jordan Belfort, Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street is a three-hour evocation of the revelry-filled Roman festival known as the Saturnalia. At some point during that ancient manic carnival, the head reveler was put to death. This mythology-as-art winds up imitating life as Belfort’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) […]
Astrology: Fashion: Katniss Everdeen’s Epaulets
December 3, 2013 by
They look feathery feminine and flower-petal sleek. But make no mistake about it. Those shoulder-level adornments worn by Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire are epaulets. Also known as epaulettes – the singular means “little shoulder,” derived from the French word épaule; the feminine “ette” has très appeal – these devices clearly […]
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