The Feminine unfolds and blossoms at a tempo unique to the individual who either embraces or grapples with the gifts of Aphrodite. Einar Wegener, a male, 20th-century, Danish artist, whose story is at the core of The Danish Girl, was unique in confronting this Venusian challenge. Directed by Tom Hooper, and based on David Ebershoff’s […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Janis: Little Girl Blue’ (2015)
Amy Berg’s documentary about Janis Joplin, Janis: Little Girl Blue, doesn’t tell us whether the ‘60s R&B rocker was a serious student of astrology. But twice in the film Joplin notes she’s a Capricorn. Turns out the girl knew enough about her sun sign to aim high and not take no for an answer. However, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Creed’ (2015)
What could be worse than being the son of an absentee father? Try being illegitimate, and having Dad – an iconic boxer – die before you were born. Those are the sizable issues gnawing at the soul of the protagonist of Creed, the sixth sequel in the Rocky franchise. Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler, […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Carol’ (2015)
Venus, the archetype signifying love and pleasure, is at the heart of most enduring relationships. Although same-sex unions are now increasingly embraced by the general population, they were at one time more than Venusian. They were non-mainstream-Venusian, and aligned with the Uranian archetype of uniqueness, rebellion and, for some, subversiveness. However, this notion of anarchy-in-love […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘The Night Before’ (2015)
If you’ve ever wondered how the Christmas film classic It’s a Wonderful Life might have turned out had it been heavily dosed with amphetamines, your wait is over. Co-written and directed by Jonathan Levine, The Night Before – an interdenominational tale of three 30-something lads who haven’t quite manned up – uses magic realism to […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Brooklyn’ (2015)
Robert Frost wrote that home was the place where, if you had to go there, they have to take you in. Whether the guest wants to stay permanently is another matter entirely, and it’s at the heart of Brooklyn, a lyrical film about a young Irish immigrant to that titular New York City borough, who […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Spectre’ (2015)
Like a sturdy shoe stomping cockroaches, James Bond, as British Agent 007, exists to exterminate cartoonish villains whose goal is to appropriate global power. Directed by Sam Mendes, Spectre, the latest offering in the franchise, gives us more of the same derring do, at a critical moment involving national security. The “007” program is likely […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘The Wonders’ (2015)
Wonder-inducing stuff – experiences, events and feelings – happens both externally, through our observations, and internally, through grace. In The Wonders, awe comes from both within and without. Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, the movie, set in rural Tuscany, centers on Gelsomina (Maria Alexandra Lungu), a pre-teen girl. She’s the oldest of four children […]
Archetypes: Film: Review: ‘Black Mass’ (2015)
Making a deal with one Satan whom you hope will decimate another devil is never a good idea. The maneuver, preposterous as it sounds, is at the heart of the appropriately named Black Mass, a liturgy that turns everything good and holy face down staring at the Underworld. Directed by Scott Cooper, Black Mass is […]










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