Shows
A Dilettante TV & Film Review#114 50/50 Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. An otherwise healthy twentysomething has a comically early midlife crisis when he gets slapped with a cancer diagnosis -- and a 50-50 chance of survival.
Grade: C-
2016-02-0403 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#113 Before I Disappear Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. As he's about to commit suicide, downcast Richie is interrupted by his estranged sister asking him to babysit her daughter. When events force Richie to spend more time with his niece than expected, she prompts him to reassess his dark views of life.
Grade: A-
2016-01-3003 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#112 The Revenant Movie ReviewAvailable in Theatres. A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
Grade: A-
2016-01-2104 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#111 Sling Blade Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Simpleminded Karl has just been released from a psychiatric hospital, where he'd been confined since age 12 for murdering his mother and her lover. He lands a job at a garage fixing motors and befriends a young boy -- but can Karl outrun his past?
Grade: A
2016-01-1405 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#110 Steve Jobs Movie ReviewNow available in select theatres. Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.
Grade: A
2015-11-2605 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#109 Foxcatcher Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Preparing for the 1988 Olympics, two sibling wrestlers cross paths with a paranoid schizophrenic millionaire in this drama based on a true story. The competitive Schultz brothers soon learn their new acquaintance is a dangerous distraction.
Grade: A
2015-11-1205 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#108 Lincoln Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Director Steven Spielberg takes on the towering legacy of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on his stewardship of the Union during the Civil War years. The biographical saga also reveals the conflicts within Lincoln's cabinet regarding the war and abolition.
Grade: D
2015-10-2904 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#107 American Sniper Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Based on his memoir of the same name, this military biopic centers on legendary sniper Chris Kyle, who amassed a record number of kills on the battlefield during his 10-year career as a Navy SEAL.
Grade: A-
2015-10-2204 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#106 Red Flag Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. In Red Flag, a filmmaker takes hi independent film on tour hoping to escape the pain of his recent breakup.
Grade: A
2015-10-1703 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#105 To the Wonder Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Soon after returning to his native Oklahoma with a beautiful woman he met in Paris, Neil finds himself drifting toward an old friend. Meanwhile, the woman he brought back with him has unfinished business with her first husband.
Grade: A
2015-10-0104 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#104 Nightcrawler Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Eager for any work that will make ends meet, Lou Bloom joins the flock of camera crews prowling the nighttime streets of Los Angeles in search of scandal and crime. But before long, Lou finds himself caught in the tabloid limelight.
Grade: A
2015-09-2405 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#103 Blue Velvet Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. In this surreal independent thriller from writer-director David Lynch, an innocent man gets mixed up in a small-town murder mystery involving a kinky nightclub chanteuse and a kidnapper with a penchant for snorting helium.
Grade: B
2015-09-1804 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#102 They Came Together Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. In this semi-spoof of romantic comedies, candy company exec Joel falls for Molly, who owns a corner candy store he's tasked with closing. Their road to romance is filled with oddball obstacles, not the least of which is Molly's utter hatred for Joel.
Grade: A-
2015-09-1104 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#101 Castaway Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. After FedEx systems engineer Chuck Noland's (Tom Hanks) plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean, he finds himself fighting to survive on a deserted island with nothing but a painted volleyball -- a silent partner he names Wilson -- for company. An acting tour de force for Hanks (who received a Golden Globe Award for his performance), this drama from director Robert Zemeckis is a fascinating abstract about the indomitability of the human spirit.
Grade: B-
2015-09-0604 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#100 Nymphomaniac Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. A self-diagnosed nymphomaniac reveals a lifetime of sexual experiences to a man who saves her from being beaten in an alley. As the aging but charming bachelor tends to the woman, she shares erotic details of encounters from her youth to her present.
Grade: A
2015-09-0305 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#99 Togetherness TV ReviewAvailable on HBO. Togetherness follows two couples living under the same roof who struggle to keep their relationships alive while pursuing their individual dreams.
Grade: B
2015-08-3005 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#98 The Conversation Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Francis Ford Coppola follows The Godfather with this intimate film about an audio surveillance expert who faces a moral quandary when he suspects that a couple whose conversation he's been hired to record will be murdered.
Grade: B+
2015-08-2704 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#97 Frank Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. An aspiring musician joins a band of eccentrics led by an enigmatic singer -- who wears a fake head -- and his unstable girlfriend. Creative tension mounts as the group retreats to the woods to cut an album.
Grade: A-
2015-07-2305 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#96 The Two Faces of January Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. A tour guide and part-time con artist finds himself caught in a dangerous arrangement when he meets a wealthy couple sightseeing in Greece.
2015-07-1605 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#95 The Verdict Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. A washed-up, ambulance-chasing attorney gets a chance at redemption when his friend tosses him an open-and-shut medical malpractice case. But instead of accepting an easy cash settlement, he takes the powerful defendant to court.
Grade: A
2015-06-0404 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#94 It's Such a Beautiful Day Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Award-winning animator Don Hertzfeldt unites three short films about a hapless guy named Bill with new material to create this feature-length tale.
Grade: A+
2015-05-2104 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#93 Copenhagen Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Philandering his way across Europe to find the grandfather he's never met, William unexpectedly befriends a 14-year-old who changes how he sees women.
Grade: B
2015-05-1404 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#92 Bird People Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. When two strangers yearning to escape their discontented lives eventually cross paths in a Paris airport hotel, neither of them is prepared for the series of surprises that follow their chance meeting.
Grade: B
2015-04-1605 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#91 Wetlands Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. An unapologetically sexy and vulgar romantic comedy based on the best-selling novel by Charlotte Roche. When an embarrassing shaving accident lands rebellious teen Helen (Carla Juri) in the hospital, she develops an unlikely bond with her male nurse (Christoph Letkowski) who she seduces with stories of her sexual adventures while using her illness to reunite her divorced parents.
Grade: B-
2015-04-0904 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#90 Why Stop Now Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. On the day piano prodigy Eli is to audition for a famous conservatory, he gets sidetracked by an attempt to stash his cocaine-addled mother, Penny, in rehab. When Penny is denied admittance, Eli enters into a bizarre partnership with her dealers.
Grade: B+
2015-04-0304 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#89 A Coffee In Berlin Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Nothing seems to go right for Niko Fischer: His girlfriend dumps him, he loses his driver's license, and his father cuts him off financially. With nothing else to do, he wanders around Berlin, crossing paths with a slew of eccentric characters.
Grade: A
2015-03-2604 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#88 The Station Agent Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. When his only friend dies, a man with dwarfism relocates to an abandoned train station in rural New Jersey, intent on living the life of a hermit. But his solitude is interrupted by his colorful neighbors.
Grade: B+
2015-03-2004 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#87 Get Low Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Oscar winners Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek team up to tell the true story of irascible Felix Bush, a backwoods Tennessee loner who planned his funeral in 1938 while he was still around to attend -- and enjoy -- the proceedings.
Grade: A-
2015-03-1204 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#86 Snowpiercer Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. The Earth's remaining inhabitants are confined to a single train circling the globe as revolution brews among the class-divided cars. Based on a French graphic novel and set in a new ice age, this futuristic thriller stars a top-notch ensemble cast.
Grade: C
2015-03-0605 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#85 Election Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) appears to have the election for student council president sewn up until one of her teachers, Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick), rounds up a worthy opponent: a popular and naïve varsity football player (Chris Klein) whose knee injury has him sidelined for the season. Tracy is desperate to win the race at any cost. But Mr. McAllister is just as determined to see Tracy -- a textbook overachiever -- soundly defeated.
Grade: A+
2015-02-2704 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#84 The Immigrant Movie ReviewAfter arriving in New York, Polish immigrant Ewa must provide for her ill sister -- and soon falls under the thumb of charming thug Bruno, who forces her into a life of prostitution. But when she falls for a magician, her fortunes may turn.
Grade: B+
2015-02-1904 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#83 Blue Ruin Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. Bad news from the past unhinges vagabond Dwight Evans, sending him on a mission of bloody retribution that takes him to his boyhood hometown. After killing his quarry, Dwight holes up in a relative's house to await payback from his victim's family.
Grade: A
2015-02-0504 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#82 The One I Love Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Confronted with the potential end of their marriage, Ethan and Sophie take off for a weekend together, hoping to negotiate their future. When they reach their idyllic destination, however, the couple strolls into a bizarre new brand of trouble.
Grade: A-
2015-01-2903 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#81 The Hustler Movie ReviewPaul Newman scores as pool shark "Fast Eddie" Felson, who tours the country hustling games -- even challenging reigning champion Minnesota Fats -- in this brooding drama that explores the synergies between good and evil, love and desperation.
Grade: B+
2015-01-2304 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#80 Frequencies Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. In an alternate reality where "frequencies" determine one's level of success in life, low-end Zak falls for Marie, who's much farther up the scale. Complicating things further, their difference means Zak can only see Marie one minute a year.
Grade: B+
2015-01-1704 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#79 Venus in Fur Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. After a long search, a Parisian writer-director has found the perfect woman to play the lead in a provocative play about masochistic relationships.
Grade: A-
2015-01-0804 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#78 Somewhere Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. This atmospheric dramedy centers on hard-living actor Johnny, whose life is thrown for a loop when his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo, pays him a surprise visit. As the two become better acquainted, Johnny realizes he needs to make changes.
Grade: A
2014-12-1803 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#77 Antichrist Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. After their child dies, a therapist and his wife flee to their cabin in the woods, where they hope to mend their emotional wounds. But the grief-stricken couple watches their troubles multiply when very strange things begin to happen.
Grade: A-
2014-12-1103 min
A Dilettante TV & Film Review#76 Beginners Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. Oliver, a graphic artist, is coming to grips with the imminent death of his father, who, at 75, has one last secret: He's gay. Inspired and confused by his father's determination to find true love at last, Oliver tentatively pursues his own romance.
Grade: F
2014-12-0404 min
A Dilettante TV & Film Review#75 The Virgin Suicides Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. Ronald and Sara Lisbon are raising five alluring, adolescent daughters on a short leash in 1970s suburbia. When the youngest, Cecilia, kills herself, Sara attempts to shelter the rest of them from intrigued neighborhood boys.
Grade: A
2014-11-2704 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#74 Venus Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming.This romantic dark comedy stars film legend Peter O'Toole (who earned an Oscar nod for his performance) as veteran actor Maurice, a man whose quiet golden years turn topsy-turvy when he falls for a young and brash nude model.
Grade: A+
2014-11-2004 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#73 A Long Way Down Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. When faded TV personality Martin Sharp decides to end his life on New Year's Eve by jumping off a London skyscraper, he meets three strangers who had the exact same plan. But instead of taking the leap, the four lost souls vow to stick together.
Grade: C+
2014-11-1303 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#72 Interstellar Movie ReviewAvailable in Theatres. A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in an attempt to find a potentially habitable planet that will sustain humanity.
Grade: A+
2014-11-1305 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#71 How to Be a Man Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. Believing he's dying, former comedian Mark hires a young cameraman to capture important life lessons for his unborn son on video.
Grade: C+
2014-10-3003 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#70 Killing Them Softly Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. When a couple low-level crooks make a dumb move by robbing a Mob-protected poker game and unwittingly bringing a recession to the area's criminal economy, a slick enforcer is hired to track down the offenders and take care of business.
Grade: A-
2014-10-3004 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#69 Drinking Buddies Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Workmates at a small Chicago brewery, Luke and Kate are romantically involved with others but also the best of friends -- on and off the clock. Things get complicated, however, when the couples spend a weekend together at a lakeside retreat.
Grade: A
2014-10-2304 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#68 The Walking Dead TV ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. In the wake of a zombie apocalypse that desolates the world as we know it, a group of survivors led by police officer Rick Grimes holds on to the hope of humanity by banding together to wage a never-ending fight for their own survival.
Grade: A
2014-10-2307 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#67 The Master Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.
Grade: A-
2014-10-1605 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#66 Good Morning, Vietnam Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. When his manic radio show proves a huge morale-booster, Armed Forces Radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer gets sent to Vietnam, where his monkeyshines -- lampooning any and all sacred cows -- tickle the troops but land him in trouble with his superiors.
Grade: B+
2014-10-0907 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#65 Short Term 12 Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, works with her boyfriend and colleague, Mason, to help at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
Grade: B
2014-10-0904 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#64 The Double Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. Jesse Eisenberg plays the dual roles of a timid office worker and his charismatic doppelganger in this cinematic adaptation of a Dostoevsky tale. First spotted on the bus, then at work, Simon's double may share his looks, but he's no carbon copy.
Grade: A
2014-10-0304 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#63 A Single Man Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. Set in 1962 Los Angeles, this stream-of-consciousness drama centers on a day in the life of George Falconer, a gay college professor who plans to commit suicide in the wake of his longtime lover's recent death.
Grade: B+
2014-10-0204 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#62 Dealin' with Idiots Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Faced with the absurd competitiveness surrounding his son's youth league baseball team, Max Morris, a famous comedian, decides to get to know the colorful parents and coaches of the team better in an effort to find the inspiration for his next movie.
Grade: B
2014-09-2503 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#61 Robot & Frank Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. Worried about their aging father living alone, Frank's kids give him a humanoid robot that's programmed to be his caretaker. Reluctant Frank -- a retired cat burglar -- soon warms up to his new helper and begins to treat it as a partner in crime.
Grade: A-
2014-09-2504 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#60 Silver Linings Playbook Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. After a stint in a psychiatric hospital, bipolar Pat has no choice but to move back in with his football-obsessed parents. While he tries in vain to reconcile with his wife, Pat meets a woman who's as unstable as he is -- and she changes his life.
Grade: B+
2014-09-1904 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#59 Mr. Nobody Movie ReviewThe last mortal in a world of immortals, Nemo Nobody begins reviewing his life at the age of 120, trying to determine if he made the right decisions. Potential choices during a pivotal moment on a train platform lead to several possible lives.
Grade: A-
2014-09-1804 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#58 A Short History of Decay Movie ReviewWith his future as a writer in ruins and his girlfriend gone, Nathan Fisher travels to Florida to help take care of his ailing parents. There, Nathan meets a manicurist who may be able to help him put things in perspective and step up to the plate.
Grade: B+
2014-09-1103 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#57 The English Teacher Movie ReviewDevoted small-town English teacher Linda yearns for love. Enter Jason, a former student whose career as a Broadway playwright didn't pan out. When she persuades him to stage his play at the school before giving up, love -- and controversy -- arises.
Grade: B
2014-09-1104 min
A Dilettante TV & Film Review#56 I Give It a Year Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. In this romantic comedy, newlyweds Nat and Josh find their marriage beginning to fall apart almost immediately after their fairy tale wedding. The couple seeks the advice of a counselor, but both are also tempted by old and new lovers.
Grade: C
2014-09-0404 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#55 Frozen Ground Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. In this fact-based thriller starring Nicolas Cage, an Alaska state trooper looking to bring a notorious serial killer to justice teams with a 17-year-old prostitute who escaped the predator's clutches.
Grade: B
2014-09-0404 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#54 Goodbye World Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. After the world's energy grid suddenly fails, some longtime friends find their way to a self-sufficient compound in Northern California. As their sanctuary comes under threat from desperate outsiders, the group's unity begins to dissolve.
Grade: B-
2014-08-2904 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#53 Out of the Furnace Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Working-class siblings Russell and Rodney Baze are desperate to flee the Rust Belt and find better lives. But when a twist of fate lands Russell in jail, Rodney gets mixed up with a crime syndicate -- and their brotherly bond is soon put to the test.
Grade: B
2014-08-2803 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#52 Last Love Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. A widowed professor living alone in Paris sees no meaningful future for himself until he meets a free-spirited young dance instructor.
Grade: B-
2014-08-2103 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#51 House of Cards TV ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. A ruthless politician will stop at nothing to conquer Washington D.C. in this Emmy and Golden Globe winning political drama.
Grade: B+
2014-08-2105 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#50 Inside Llewyn Davis Movie ReviewAvailable at Redbox. Llewyn Davis is at a crossroads. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles - some of them of his own making. Living at the mercy of both friends and strangers, scaring up what work he can find, Llewyn's misadventures take him from the baskethouses of the Village to an empty Chicago club - on an odyssey to audition for a music mogul - and back again.
Grade: B+
2014-08-1404 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#49 C.O.G. Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Based on a short story by David Sedaris, this comedy follows the brash young author as he travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. The journey exposes him to all sorts of culture clashes, but what awaits him at the farm is far worse.
Grade: B+
2014-08-1304 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#48 Stuck in Love Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix Streaming. This quirky tale follows a year in the lives of the Borgens clan, which is in a tailspin thanks to the family patriarch's obsession with his ex-wife.
Grade: C
2014-08-0604 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#47 Albert Nobbs Movie ReviewHaving for decades disguised herself as a man while working as a butler in a posh 19th-century Dublin hotel, a woman calling herself Albert Nobbs reconsiders her charade when a handsome painter arrives on the scene.
2014-07-1803 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#46 Blue Jasmine Movie ReviewThe high life leads to high anxiety for a fashionable New York City homemaker in crisis who finds herself forced to live a more modest lifestyle in San Francisco. Woody Allen directs an ensemble cast that includes Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin.
2014-07-1802 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#45 Annie Hall Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix streaming. Winner of four Oscars -- including Best Picture and Best Actress -- director Woody Allen's iconic romantic comedy charts the relationship between neurotic writer Alvy Singer and quirky aspiring singer Annie Hall.
2014-07-1803 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#44 Louie TV ReviewWritten and directed by comic Louis C.K. -- who plays a fictionalized version of himself -- this FX series eschews sitcom structure for a loose format that lets single dad Louie be his irascible self -- through vignettes, club performances and more.
2014-07-1804 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#43 Natural Selection Movie ReviewAsked by her dying husband to locate a boy he fathered through a sperm donation decades ago, a repressed housewife sets out on a wild road trip, shedding her strict morals and making an unlikely connection with her husband's troubled son.
2014-07-1803 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#42 Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus Movie ReviewA self-absorbed young American traveling in Chile plans a journey with his pals to find a legendary hallucinogenic cactus. But when he invites the free-spirited Crystal Fairy along, they find themselves locked in a battle of wills.
2014-07-1803 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#41 Punching the Clown Movie ReviewIn a bid to jump-start his flagging career, a hapless songwriter (Henry Phillips) moves to L.A., where through a stroke of dumb luck, he lands a record deal. But show biz is a fickle mistress, and that luck soon turns when he becomes the victim of a vicious rumor. Winner of the Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival, this indie comedy -- directed by Gregori Viens -- co-stars Ellen Ratner and Matthew Walker.
2014-07-1802 minA Dilettante TV & Film ReviewProgramming UpdateThe rate of Netflix streaming churn is very high, to the point where I will be focusing the show exclusively on exploring new releases on Netflix streaming, versus exploring film & shows available on the entire Netflix streaming platform to find gems.
2014-07-1702 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#40 American Psycho Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. With a chiseled chin and physique, Patrick Bateman's looks make him the ideal yuppie -- and the ideal serial killer. Bateman takes pathological pride in his business card and his CD collection, all while plotting his next victim's vivisection.
Grade: A-
2014-06-2703 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#39 Capote Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. The toast of New York City society after penning "Breakfast at Tiffany's," flamboyant writer Truman Capote finds himself in a dance with the devil while researching the Clutter family murders for his masterwork, "In Cold Blood."
Grade: B+
2014-06-1803 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#38 Dogtooth Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. Homeschooled siblings who grow up cut off from society create an idyllic alternate universe, which is shattered when their father lets in an outsider -- a female security officer brought home to satisfy his son's libido.
Grade: B+
2014-05-2904 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#37 Young Adult Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. Taken aback when she receives a letter from an old boyfriend announcing that he's just had a baby with his wife, divorced fiction writer Mavis Gary decides to return to her small hometown and reconnect with her former lover.
Grade: A-
2014-05-1603 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#36 Miller's Crossing Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. Trusted adviser to 1920s Irish crime boss Lee O'Bannon, Tom Reagan's loyalty is tested when he takes up with O'Bannon's gal pal, Verna Bernbaum. Meanwhile, rivals Johnny Caspar and Eddie Dane threaten O'Bannon's racket.
Grade: A-
2014-04-1704 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#35 Midnight Cowboy Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. To earn cash as a freelance sex stud and work toward his dream of becoming a kept man, hayseed hustler Joe Buck heads to New York City, where an improbable friendship blossoms when he meets seedy con man Ratso Rizzo.
Grade: A
2014-04-1103 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#34 The Hope for a Black RenaissanceThe most startling thing about the emergence of 12 Years a Slave is its undeniable dominant casting performance. In particular, the flawless drama created by its black actors. In an almost humiliating manner, these actors flawlessly displayed the blemishes of Hollywood and Tinsel Town’s incapability to cast black talent. Sweepingly, this drama proved the talent is there, in overflowing abundance.
2014-03-0104 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#33 12 Years a Slave Movie ReviewAvailable in Theatres. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty at the hands of a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
Grade: A
2014-02-2705 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#32 The Puffy Chair Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. When Josh (Mark Duplass, whose brother Jay directs) finds the perfect birthday present for his father, he decides to deliver it in person. But with his high-maintenance girlfriend (Kathryn Aselton) and granola brother (Rhett Wilkins) along for the ride, Josh's road trip turns into a bigger journey than anyone anticipated.
Grade: A-
2014-02-2503 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#31 Lost in Translation Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.
Grade: B+
2014-02-2203 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#30 Broken Flowers Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. After being dumped by yet another girlfriend, serial bachelor Don vows he'll be alone forever. But when an anonymous letter informs him he has a 19-year-old son, Don sets out on a cross-country journey to confront his past -- and a few old flames.
Grade: B
2014-02-2004 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#29 The Hours Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. This gripping drama follows the parallel lives of three 20th-century women: incomparable writer Virginia Woolf, an unsatisfied 1950s housewife and a modern-day book editor who's losing her former lover to AIDS.
Grade: B
2014-02-1303 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#28 The Wolf of Wall Street Movie ReviewAvailable in theatres. Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Grade: A-
2014-02-1104 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#27 American Hustle Movie ReviewAvailable in Theatres. The film tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that's as dangerous as it is enchanting.
Grade: B+
2014-02-0504 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#26 I Love You Phillip Morris Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. When Texas cop Steven Russell realizes he's gay, he changes his life and pulls con jobs that land him jail, where he meets his one true love. When the man is transferred to another prison, lovesick Steven mounts a series of jailbreaks.
Grade: A-
2014-01-1403 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#25 Her Movie ReviewNow in Theatres. Set in the Los Angeles of the slight future, the story follows Theodore Twombly, a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive entity in its own right, individual to each user. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet "Samantha," a bright, female voice, who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into...
2014-01-0704 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#24 Winter's Bone Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. In this unflinching noir drama, resilient teen Ree Dolly goes on the trail of her missing, drug-dealing father when his absence jeopardizes the family's safety. Her deadbeat dad has a key court date pending -- and Ree is determined that he show up.
Grade: A
2014-01-0304 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#23 Crazy Eyes Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. Narcissistic Hollywood millionaire Zach spends his nights boozing and sleeping around until he begins to fall for Rebecca, a complicated woman he can't have. But his pursuit of her is sidetracked by increasing pressures from his beleaguered family.
Grade: B
2013-12-3103 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#22 Jesus Henry Christ Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Too-smart-for-his-own-good 10-year-old Henry James Herman sets out to locate his father, an anonymous sperm donor, in this quirky comedy. Along the way, Henry uncovers family secrets that only deepen his existential quandary.
Grade: D+
2013-12-2703 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#21 Bottle Rocket Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. In this offbeat comedy, a trio of Texas friends tries to embark on a life of crime. After knocking over a bookstore and going on the lam, they bungle their way into a huge heist engineered by a silver-tongued con artist.
Grade: B-
2013-12-2403 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#20 Philomena Movie ReviewAvailable in Theatres. A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
Grade: A
2013-12-2004 minA Dilettante TV & Film ReviewAddendum: Jeff Who Lives At Home Movie ReviewA revision to a concluding remark in the "Jeff Who Lives At Home" Review.
2013-12-1701 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#19 Jeff Who Lives At Home Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix. Siblings Jay and Mark Duplass direct this comedy focusing on two brothers -- one a moderate success, the other still living with Mom. A trip to the store for glue, however, turns into an encounter with destiny for the stay-at-home slacker.
Grade: A
2013-12-1704 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#18 Gravity Movie ReviewNow in theatres. Dr. Ryan Stone is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone - tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth...and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the...
2013-12-1205 minA Dilettante TV & Film Review#17 Django Unchained Movie ReviewAvailable on Netflix DVD. Accompanied by a German bounty hunter, a freed slave named Django travels across America to free his wife from a sadistic plantation owner. Quentin Tarantino directs this modern-day spaghetti Western.
Grade: B+
2013-12-1004 min