Monthly Archives: March 2017

An Actress as Chameleon (But Never in the Girlfriend’s Skin)

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Mark Stern

There’s tension in the Therrian’s perfect Hollywood Hills Neutra house (please, let that real estate be mine in my next life). Sally (Jennifer Jason Leigh), an actress, is futilely fighting age-induced obsolescence, as Joe (Alan Cumming), her novelist husband, is enthusiastically … Continue reading →

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“Dark, Deep Darkness and Splendor”

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Mark Stern

New 4K restorations of two David Lynch masterpieces, his influential debut feature, “Eraserhead” (1977), which he has called “a dream of dark and troubling things,” and “Mulholland Dr.” (2001), a peerless thriller of confused identities, which often tops critics’ polls, are … Continue reading →

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A Woman, Putting It Back Together

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Mark Stern

Successful network TV actress, Anna Baskin (Maggie Siff), 44, has recently regained her health after suffering from an unspecified autoimmune disease. But the recovery is only partial–while her body has healed, she’s flailing emotionally, and exhausted, questioning her career and other life … Continue reading →

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Spring Training: Catch

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Mark Stern

Labradors have excellent senses of humor. To make Leo and Ryder laugh, I packed a medium-sized snowball and tossed it in their direction, with the suggestion, “Catch.” In on the joke, they then insisted on playing only with snowballs, rejecting Maggie’s tennis balls, sticks … Continue reading →

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“Stella for Snow!”* (Stillwater Diary)

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Mark Stern

Nor’easter Stella (I remember when big winter storms were anonymous) covered Stone Ridge with nearly two feet of snow. Here, although shrinking, it remains mostly pristine, marked only by tracks made by deer, foxes and birds. With just a bit of a crunchy crust, it’s … Continue reading →

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War Ends but Peace Is Elusive

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Mark Stern

In a provincial German town, in the immediate aftermath of World War I, a lovely young woman (Paula Beer, perfect), deep in mourning for her fiancé, Frantz, killed in the trenches, encounters a well-dressed, melancholy French stranger at her beloved’s grave. Director and writer … Continue reading →

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This Is What A Women’s Movement Looks Like

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Mark Stern

Any doubts that the strength demonstrated by the record number of women in the streets on January 21 signaled the beginning of a new movement for equality and social justice, were fading in the weeks since and were totally demolished yesterday, International Women’s Day. … Continue reading →

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Manifest Destiny, Israeli Style

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Mark Stern

In his powerful, exhaustive new documentary, “The Settlers,” writer and director Shimon Dotan traces the 50-year movement, begun by deeply religious Israelis after the Yom Kippur war, to fulfill Biblical prophecy by reclaiming/”redeeming” all of the land they believed was given to … Continue reading →

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