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HISTORICAL. “The Choral.” / “In the Hand of Dante.” / “Munich – The Edge of War.” / “The Physician.”

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“The Choral” (2025, Netflix) British historical drama. Set in 1916, during World War I , in the fictional town of Ramsden, Yorkshire , the film follows the members of the local choral society which recruits a disparate group of townspeople for a performance of Edward Elgar 's “ The Dream of Gerontius ,” a work chosen because it was not written by a German.         Nicholas Hytner, who was an accomplished theater director, before he gained A-1 stature as a filmmaker, is enough reason to watch this movie. And who'd turn down a Ralph Fiennes-led movie? I won't.        “The Choral” glows with smart lines and sterling ensemble performance. The problem is the too-many characters with their respective side-stories. What ensued is a drama that splintered all over the place. Still, the show managed to entertain. 🎥💻📽 “In the Hand of Dante” (2025, Netflix) drama , directed by Julian Schnabel . The story follows a handwr...
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WATCHED THEM AGAIN. “The Hanoi Hilton.” / “Scarface.” / “The Deer Hunter.” / “Class of 1984.” / “Where the Red Fern Grows.”

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“The Hanoi Hilton” (1987, Pluto TV) war film which focuses on the experiences of U.S. prisoners of war who were held in the infamous Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi during the 1960s and 1970s.          I remember watching this movie in the big-screen moviehouse in Manila many years ago. I didn't know if I liked it then. Those were the years of kickass Vietnam War movies. Right off Francis Ford Coppola's “Apocalypse Now,” came Oliver Stone's “Platoon,” Stanley Kubrick's “Full Metal Jacket,” Barry Levinson's “Good Morning, Vietnam,” etcetera.        “The Hanoi Hilton” tried the dramatic path sans action sequences yet it came out as a melodramatic yarn. That's all. This movie was swallowed by the best of the genre in those years. 🎥💻📽 “Scarface” (1983, Amazon Prime) epic crime drama , directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone . Al Pacino stars as Cuban refugee Tony Montana , who arrives in Miami durin...
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TRUE to LIFE or BIO-FLICKS. “Dead Man's Wire.” / “Christy.” / “Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness.” / “Hatton Garden: the Heist.”

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“Dead Man's Wire” (2025, Netflix) crime thriller , directed by Gus Van Sant . Inspired by the 1977 hostage standoff involving Tony Kiritsis , who is played by Bill Skarsgård . With Cary Elwes , Colman Domingo , and Al Pacino .         Bill Skarsgård's intense but loose performance is both hilariously nerdy and fearlessly earnest. Comical but not really funny; humorous but serious. Bottomline, Bill embodied Tony Kiritsis’ dead-end desperation and focused intent to push his message across.        Mr Van Sant's mastery in infusing laughs in an authentic period piece. But who says the behaviour of the police, media, and the rest of the characters here are not true? 🎥💻📽 <>“Christy” (2025, HBO Max) biographical sports drama. The film chronicles the rise of former professional boxer Christy Martin to becoming America's best-known female boxer in the 1990s, and later her coach-turned-husband's 2010 attempted...
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GANGSTER MOVIES. “Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.” / “A New Breed of Criminal.” / “A Gang Story.”

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“Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man” (2026, Netflix) British crime drama. Set during World War II in 1940, the story follows an exiled Tommy Shelby as he is pulled back to a bombed-out Birmingham to thwart a Nazi plot to collapse the British economy using counterfeit money.         Stars Cillian Murphy, Sophie Rundle , Stephen Graham , Rebecca Ferguson , Tim Roth , and Barry Keoghan .         The production design is enthralling, the script is fleshed-out tight, the sound editing is gripping, and ensemble performance, A-1. But if you saw all six seasons of “Peaky Blinders,” this immortal man movie denouement is simply the end of the TV series. A fitting finale. Done. No more prequels or sequels or spinoffs, please! 🎥💻📽 “A New Breed of Criminal” (2023, Prime Amazon) British crime drama. Inspired by a true story, the 87-minute film follows the lives of the infamous Sayers brothers as they rise from a trouble...
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COMEDY DRAMA. “The Phoenician Scheme.” / “Murder at Hollow Creek.” / “Holmes & Watson.” / “Ingrid Goes West.” / “Black Dynamite.” / “Shaolin Soccer.” / “Room for Rent.”

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“The Phoenician Scheme” (2025, Amazon Prime) black comedy espionage thriller , written and directed by Wes Anderson . A ruthless businessman seeks to reconcile with his estranged daughter and complete an ambitious infrastructure project in Phoenicia .         This movie's feast of stars is nothing but tantalizingly delicious: Benicio del Toro , Riz Ahmed , Tom Hanks , Bryan Cranston , Mathieu Amalric , Jeffrey Wright , Scarlett Johansson , Benedict Cumberbatch , Rupert Friend , Hope Davis , F. Murray Abraham , Charlotte Gainsbourg , Willem Dafoe , and Bill Murray . (Forget Michael Cera, I never liked him.)        Wes Anderson's gaudy, pastel-hued sets are, of course, the centerpiece of this film. Benicio del Toro's Zsa-Zsa Korda is vintage Benicio but that is expected of him. The real enchantment here is Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl. Alluringly focused, she renders the wit and charm to a movie that is interes...
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CRIME DRAMA. “I Came By.” / “Emily the Criminal.” / “Out of the Blue.”

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“I Came By” (2022, Netflix) British crime thriller. An anarchist graffiti artist breaks into the homes of London’s wealthy elite. While targeting a retired, ostensibly progressive judge, he uncovers a hidden basement.         For sure, this crime thriller isn't cliche but not exactly Hitchcockian but still a couch glue. Credit goes to Hugh Bonneville's Sir Hector Blake, whose sinister ministrations can be a comic cool or deadpan macabre. Still, worth your while.         The deal with (writer/director) Babak Anvari's work? Kinda tricky. To like it or to not like it. I just saw his “Hallow Road” on Hulu, click it and see for yourself. 🎥💻📽 “Emily the Criminal” (2022, Tubi) crime thriller. A young woman saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a criminal record gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles. Stars Aubrey Plaza.   ...
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