For many athletes, winning an Olympic gold medal opens countless doors, leading to personal growth, financial security, and a validation that all their hard work has value in a post-Olympics existence. As explored in Foxcatcher, this scenario was not the fate of the Schultz brothers, both wrestling gold medalists in the 1984 Olympics, in Los […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Nightcrawler’ (2014)
October 28, 2014 by
In the business world, adding value is the name of the game. In Nightcrawler, this type of proactive goal-setting is the mantra of Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), the amoral, manipulative, lying, eruptive sleazebag of an entrepreneur whose behavior is, in equal measure, both horrifying and fascinating. Written and directed by Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler introduces Lou […]
Archetypes: Television: Review: ‘Manhattan’ Season 1 Finale: Death, Pluto and the Bomb
October 26, 2014 by
Pluto was first spotted in the sky in early 1930, three years before Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. And this planet’s archetypal energies – death, destruction, power, transformation, secrecy, spying, obsession and control – shatter every frame of “Manhattan,” WGN America’s smart, riveting drama series which broadcast its first-season finale last week. Created by […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Citizenfour’ (2014)
October 25, 2014 by
The most vibrant movie characters, fictional or biographical, tend to carry the most riveting archetypes. Citizenfour, Laura Poitras’ documentary about Edward J. Snowden, falls – rather, bursts – into that category of memorable players. And, like most of the U.S. population unaware of how its government was massively breaching citizens’ privacy, Poitras begins her project […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Force Majeure’ (2014)
October 24, 2014 by
Blindingly white and light-reflective, snow shows a surprisingly dark side in Force Majeure, which abruptly detours from its seeming family-vacation premise to one family member’s full-blown side trip to a hell of his own making. Written and directed by Ruben Östlund, the movie is set in a postcard-perfect ski resort in the French Alps, with […]
Astrology: Television: ‘The Knick’: The Mercurial Bridge between Life and Death
August 11, 2014 by
Mythological Mercury was the god who, at the behest of the deities, winged his way back and forth from Olympus to the Underworld. In Cinemax’s “The Knick,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, New York City’s Knickerbocker Hospital, at the turn of the 20th century, metaphorically and efficiently does duty as both locations. The hospital’s residential Mercurial […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘A Most Wanted Man’ (2014)
July 20, 2014 by
The grim espionage business relies, for its success, on Neptunian deception and Plutonic penetration of secrets. The most clever master spies throw a third archetype into the mix: the Saturnine User, who’ll exploit the captured by making them spy on their own people and then feed information back to their new handlers. In A Most […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Magic in the Moonlight’ (2014)
July 18, 2014 by
If art is the beautiful lie, can love also be ushered into existence by duplicity? That’s the question at the center of Magic in the Moonlight, a movie inspired by early 20th century Europe’s fascination with spiritualism, seances and communicating with the dead. Directed and written by Woody Allen, Magic in the Moonlight is set […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Night Moves’ (2014)
May 27, 2014 by
You cannot, as the saying goes, make a profit off a dead planet, and the three radical environmentalists who are the key players in Night Moves intend to ensure the earth’s survival in any manner possible. Directed and co-written by Kelly Reichardt, Night Moves revels in the trio’s low-key demeanor, their ease with silence and […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ (2014)
May 2, 2014 by
Spider-Man may soar through the air but what gives The Amazing Spider-Man 2 its lifeblood is the Underworld, a realm ruled by Pluto, the archetype that rules not only death but also healing, as well as the incisive, fearless research that set this mythic story rolling in the first place. Directed by Marc Webb, the […]
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