Her-An Emotional Crutch for Life is Brief

Make Believe Hybrid Love Affair

Spike Jonze's movie," Her" have drawn raves from all around movie-land.

Captivating Roony Mara as Catherine

An arty film with a fantastic soundtrack and songs, it is actually a roller-coaster ride of one lonely man as he left the human touch to relate to a computer operating system.

Olivia as Sammantha's  Blind Date Surrogate

Thought the ending could seem predictable,Amy Adams, Olvia Wilde, Rooney Mara and Kristin Wiig  did their part to add emotions as they intersect with the life of the protagonist, Theodore, played a manic-depressive Joachim Phoenix..

Playing Amy, another OS Lover

The main attraction was obviosly the unseen person, Scarlett Johansson who lend her voice as the beguiling perating system, Sammantha.

Voice allure Sammantha played by Scarlett

Not a movie for those who want too much plot  twists and action.

Floor Dancer Kristen Wiig

The Inventive Dallas Buyers Club

AIDS-Early Challenges

If you think that this is going to buy another medical drama -think again.

There's more than meet the eye in this early war against HIV Aids.

The intensity of this medical condition in the early years sparked furious testing of new drugs where most were not approved by the FDA while AZT was on human trials and dosage issues made it toxic resulting in high mortality rates.

Dealing with non-FDA Approved AIDS drugs

One man's fight against the FDA and the other regulatory agencies including the Internal Revenue makes this movie one that is worth spending time to watch.

Dr. Eve and Her Sampling Patients

Matthew McConaughey stars as the inventive AIDS patient Ron Woodroof while Jared Leto played the transsexual role of fellow victim Rayon while Jennifer Gardner is Dr. Eve a co-doctor testing AZT on sampling patients.

Jared Leto as Rayon

Given only 30 days to live, the movie traces the exploits of Woodroof to save himself and fellow victims by circumventing US laws that forbid sales of non-FDA approved drugs. To do so, he started the Dallas Buyers Club where only memberships are sold and drugs are given free to all members that required it. This unrestricted manner of drug delivery showed immeasurable success when only 10% of victims had died.

A Gaunt looking Woodroof

Great movie.

See it to perceive the suffering that AIDS victims undergo to seek treatment in the early years of the onslaught of the disease.

The Glorious Butler of the White House

It's impossible to read all the printed word churned out by authors.

Long Butlership in the White House

A good filter would be when they are transferred into the film medium for a wider audience.

The Butler Ensemble

Serving Eisenhower

 The Butler is one of these.

The Arrival of the  Ill-Fated Kennedys

It chronicles the life and times of a share-cropper son who started life in a lawless cotton plantation who worked himself into a exclusive hotel butler position and finally landed in the White House to serve  US Presidents ranging from Eisenhower right up to Ronald Reagan.

It also sub-plots his family from his hard-drinking wife played by Oprah Winfrey to his two sons.

The Kennedys

As a true testimony of life in America, it chronicles the segregationist era, the Southern state violence culminating in the death of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King , the rise of the Black Panthers, the Watergate scandal and the heralding of an Afro African Barack Obama into the White House.

Living in Troubled Times

Forest Whitaker was awesome in his role as Cecil. Winfrey played her role well too.

Yaya Decosta the Eye Candy

Interesting to watch are the stars who played the Presidents and First Ladies such as Robin Williams as Eisenhower, James Marsden as John Kennedy, Minka Kelly as Jackie,Jane Fonda as Nancy, Liev Schreiber as Johnson, John Cusack as Nixon and Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan.

For me, it a good movie even though it did not get support for the Academy Awards this year

Secrets of Top of the Lake

This mini-series of six parts features Elizabeth Moss as Detective Robin Givens in a small New Zealand lake town.

A Detective with a history

A suicidal bid by Tui, a 12 year old half Thai girl to drown herself in the lake because of an impending pregnancy set the stage for a twist and turn tale of a "village bully" called Matt Mitcham who had the small rural town in tenterhooks because of his violent ways.

Tui-half Thai descent suicide attempt

The fact that the town detective sergeant is also involved in murders of woman campers as well as the revelation that robin is also the daughter of the bully provide the suspense into this mini-series.

The Village Bully 

Elizabeth Moss playing the protagonist role deserves the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama series.

Top Lake

Moss in a sexy attire

On the Romp

Trigger Happy

Comtemplative

The Paradise Sanctuary run by GJ

A New Sting

Has Its Twists and Turns

The benchmark for a sting operation has been the masterpiece,"The Sting" which starred Redford and Newman.

The Sting and the Stung

The new take for 2013 for conmanship has to be American Hustle, a take down of crime lords and corrupted Congressmen by the FBI.

The Players

Even though it make feel a bit long, the music and songs reminiscent of the 1980s such as the Bee Gee's How do you Mend a Broken Heart, Live and Let Die and other hot favorites will put you at ease.

Angelic Amy

This star-studded movie featuring Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams , Jeremy Renner and Bradley Cooper will possibly make it for Best Film this year as it leaves a good taste in the mouth as the movie ends.

Delectable Jennifer Lawrence

Another Sordid Tale of Slavery

An Autobiography

While the classic Roots TV series still rule the roost, 12 Years a Slave brings back the bitter nostalgia of what slavery truly is and the atrocities and sheer brutality  done unto man by his fellow man because of the color of their skin.

Kidnapped and Enslaved from New York

In this 2013 rendition of the slave tale, Chiwetel Ejiofor played the protagonist, Solomon Northup. He put on a brilliant performance that evokes both bitterness and sadness as he tells us what he encountered in his enforced slavery from freeman to slave.

Lupita Nongo plays the Female Lead

Though some may lament that it drags on a little bit, I think we need this pace just to get the true graphic feel of the issues of slavery from the mental and physical torture that the slaves went through.

Lupita Nongo played the female lead with a cameo role from Brad Pitt as Solomon's benefactor.

Threat of Death under Salvery

I wonder whether this movie will take the Best film at both the BAFTA and the forthcoming Academy Awards.

It is certainly more arty that the comedic Wolf of Wall Street.

The Cotton Fields

Sound of Music 2013

Do not compare this live presentation to the 1965 Julie Andrew film version. That was the masterpiece!

Do it and you will feel disappointed as Underwood is no Andrews.

Look at it on its own value and you will see that it can hold very well on its own.

While the stage presentation took liberty to depart from the film, it still manages to draw the emotive element in us.

The casting of Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp is good  though not as taciturn as Christopher Plummer in the movie version. And he sings well too!

We will say nothing of Carrie Underwood as she is a songbird in her own right.

As for the children, this is also one great bunch; and so are the nuns of the Abbey.

As for the songs, they have shifted some around particularly Lonely Goat-herd which now goes into the thunder and lightning scene in Maria's room and My Favourite Things which is also sung by the Mother Abbess.

Yes there are additional numbers too; possibly from the Broadway play.

I did enjoy this outing.

I am sure you will apart from looking at the differences between this live show and the film version of 1965!