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Month: January 2015

“Headhunters” – Or, The Man Hunt

Headhunters Based on the  2008 bestseller by Scandinavian novelist Jo Nesbø, Headhunters  is a crime thriller with more twists and turns than any similar film I’ve seen in the last ten years. Nominated for the 2013 BAFTA Best Foreign Language Film  and directed by the remarkable Morten Tyldum (also director of The Imitation Game), Headhunters will not disappoint! The story opens with Roger, (Aksel Hennie), a successful headhunter, living a life of luxury far beyond his means. Never confident that his wife, a stunningly beautiful blonde, could really love his unremarkable self, Roger uses his...

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The Imitation Game—Breaking the Code Breaker

  Benedict Cumberbatch Alan Turing, a pivotal code breaker during World War II, was almost completely unknown until the release of this movie. A hero who contributed a master plan for breaking the German military codes, Turing ultimately sacrificed everything . He committed suicide in 1953 when his homosexuality was called out. Being gay was a crime punishable by imprisonment, not only in Great Britain but in most of the West. For many years, breaking Enigma—the Nazi code believed to be unbreakable—was considered a top security secret under the Official Secrecy Act. The Enigma machine,...

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Top Ten Movies of 2014

With the Golden Globe Awards now announced, I have taken a look back at the movie reviews I have written over the past year.  When I counted the reviews posted in 2014 (=28  this year about movies released in 2014), I wanted to see what would be my top ten favorites.  Again, it wasn’t easy, as both television and cinema have continued to produce phenomenal story-telling. This list is not ranked –only my top ten for 2014, grouped by genre. These are movies I saw in 2014, not necessarily ones released in 2014. [Full disclosure: I have not seen “Selma”, “Wild”, “Still Alice” or “Foxcatcher” yet...

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2015—Year of the Sheep, aka Year of the Goat or Ram (February 19, 2015—February 7, 2016) )

Happy New Year –Chinese Style! Although the Chinese New Year doesn’t officially begin until February 19, many people start thinking of the animal sign on the first of the New Year.  [And much of Asia, including Japan, does not wait until Feb 19. Many now celebrate during the first two weeks of January.] According to Chinese Buddhism, before the Buddha entered Nirvana only twelve animals came to pay homage. So, the Buddha honored them by naming a twelve-year cycle (=zodiac) after them. The sheep, the eighth animal in line to honor the Buddha, is recognized as a lucky animal with an artistic...

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