Category Archives: Film

Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald

In 1955, Marilyn Monroe learned the Mocambo, a popular Hollywood nightclub, would not book Ella Fitzgerald because she was black. Monroe phoned the manager and told him she would reserve a front row table every night Ella performed there, knowing … Continue reading

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Film Review: The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch (NetFlix) (2018) (Jewish Swiss comedy – subtitles)

This Jewish comedy piles cliché on to cliché, which should ruin the film. It doesn’t. It is a clever well-balanced comedy where the principal characters hang together and form a coherent whole. The storyline is basic Jewish humour. An over-bearing … Continue reading

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Film Review: Bank of Dave (NetFlix) (Rory Kinnear) (2023)

This is the biopic of Dave Fishwick, a self-made millionaire, from Burnley, Lancashire. He lives and works there and is grounded in the community. As a wealthy man he was often asked for loans. No paperwork just a handshake. None … Continue reading

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Godfather Wisdom for everyone

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Film Review: Bullet Train (Brad Pitt) (2022)

If you work very hard it’s possible to find out what’s happening but it probably isn’t worth the effort. This gore-fest has a body count going into three figures. Being set in Japan there are more than the usual gun … Continue reading

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The Godfather’s Diplomatic Advice

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Film Review: Elvis (Austin Butler and Tom Hanks) (2022)

At 2 hours 40 this film had to be brilliant, otherwise it would have been a nasty self-indulgent mess. Director Baz Luhrmann is notorious for long films, which can be flabby. This isn’t one of them. 2 hours 40 wasn’t … Continue reading

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Film Review: The Godfather (1972) (Marlon Brando and Al Pacino)

This is the 50th anniversary of the Godfather. Needless to relate I saw it in 1972 along with millions of others. I was thrilled at the announcement of its re-release. But my local multiplex only allocated three nights. And there … Continue reading

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Film Review: Scarface (Al Pacino) (1983) (Netflix)

This is one of the few pre-1990 films on NetFlix, which guarantees it’s brilliance. Tony Montano (Pacino) is a Cuban gangster and assassin. He’s a beneficiary of Fidel Castro’s cynical ploy to empty Cuban jails and send them to the … Continue reading

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‘Greed is Good’ Speech

“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed … Continue reading

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