Is every critter, human or otherwise, trainable? And, because training elevates the game and aptitude of the instructed, does the core essence of tutored trainees remain the same? Those questions – as well as Saturnine boundary issues about whether to label entities purely good or evil – are at the core of the How to […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘The Rover’ (2014)
June 12, 2014 by
Set in a post-apocalyptic world in the Australian Outback, The Rover is a Saturnine story about two archetypal loners, each having suffered a huge personal loss that needs to be rectified in a land where procedural justice is a thing of the past. Written and directed by David Michôd, the movie takes place after what’s […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘22 Jump Street’ (2014)
June 12, 2014 by
Sequels are a dicey business, where a flavor too similar to the original can breed audience contempt. But in 22 Jump Street, co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller playfully make replication their creative launching pad. Lovable cops Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill), following the make-it-up-as-we-go-along style of law enforcement, are still basking in […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ (2014)
June 5, 2014 by
The teen protagonists who fall in love in The Fault in Our Stars, based on John Green’s megahit book, are just like most adolescents, except for one huge difference. They’re cancer survivors, who somehow opt to weather their days with as much normalcy as they can muster, despite knowing how limited their remaining time is […]
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: ‘Cuban Fury’ (2014)
April 6, 2014 by
Bullies will stop at nothing to brutalize their victims. But making a male teen eat the sequins from his salsa dance costume is one for the books. It’s also a critical plot point in Cuban Fury, an appealing tale of a sad sack who pulls himself up by his bootstraps – make that dancing shoes […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘Grand Piano’ (2014)
March 4, 2014 by
A person whose promising career is suddenly sidelined invariably winds up wallowing in self-doubt and embracing cautionary, risk-free measures. In Grand Piano, directed by Eugenio Mira, Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood) knows that feeling well. A young pianist, who once enjoyed the reputation of having the fastest fingers in the business, Tom’s been immobilized on a […]
Astrology: Film: Review: ‘The Lunchbox’ (2014)
February 25, 2014 by
Neither Mumbai’s human congestion nor vehicular gridlock hinders the dedicated guys – the dabbawallahs – who transport thousands of wives’ lovingly cooked hot lunches to their office-worker husbands. These delivery mens’ blemish-free accuracy – documented by a Harvard study! – is jaw-dropping, considering the volume of goods shuttled back and forth. Until one day, there’s […]
Astrology: Fashion: The High-Waisted Trousers in ‘Her’
January 4, 2014 by
Nothing says from-another-generation faster than trousers that climb to the height of one’s armpits. Although they don’t quite reach the torso, the trousers worn by Joaquin Phoenix’s character Theodore Twombly in Her do reveal a lot about him. Like those overly-protective Saturnine pans of his, Theodore is rather self-contained, covering up his feelings even when […]
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) […]
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