SOME FRIENDS TOLD ME it was great and gave me the book that provides the basis for the show. It was great.  So imagine my delight when I saw Ewan McGregor, a favored actor of mine, cast as Count Alexander Rostov, who survived the purges of the aristos by the Bolsheviks only to be confined for life within the walls of a fine Moscow hotel–and not in his formerly capacious suite, rather in a dusty space just below the roof. This show–and the other series I  review this month, Sugar–sustain me with a total of 90 minutes of viewing ecstasy each week. I am no longer surprised at how the British can play Russian elites without adopting a Slavic accent. After Sean Connery as

  I HAVE ALWAYS enjoyed watching Colin Farrell act. Favorite movies of his come to mind such as In Bruges, Minority Report, and Banshees of Inisherin. Apple created an original  noir detective series called “Sugar,” after the main character: John Sugar, private investigator and played by Farrell. It is set in present-day LA and after four episodes, I am dazzled. There are other mysteries beyond the driving theme: the missing granddaughter to an ultra-famous movie producer.  He’s part of a larger service, but it’s not clear how that works (at least not to me, yet). He’s also got some personal psychological/physical symptoms that are starting to get more attention as the series progresses; all which build the tension and make it more compelling. The style,

[Author’s Note: Mom went to her rest on Dec. 14th 2022 at 90 years of age. I composed a tribute to her shortly after that; here’s the link: https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/paean-for-a-country-girl-or-faith-family-community-learning-and-little-baseball/ This piece, Mercy, is one of my favorites and Mom was the main character and the inspiration. Early this month and inspired by her example, I went to the nursery, inexpertly selected flowers,  drove to the cemetery and planted them  behind the stone for my parents’ grave. My grandmother and grandfather got some, too. At the time, her date of death was yet unmarked.  It wouldn’t bother me if it stayed as it is] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IN MY MOTHER’S kitchen, and taped to the door of a cabinet where cups and plates are kept, is a laminated

[Note: This material is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It does not recommend investments of any kind. Use a professional and licensed advisor or broker when making investment decisions]   In the last few days, I have read articles on marketwatch.com, a Wall Street Journal site, that have done well to explain why stocks are where they are. We are into uncharted territory again–well it can’t be “again” and “uncharted territory” at the same time, but it’s new so perhaps “everything old is new again.”In order to make sense of the current market environment, I have to reflect back on the environment of the Tech Bubble in 2000. I was working a trade desk and right in the middle of the mania—the insanity of

True Detective Season Four: Night Country  I haven’t watched Jody Foster in a movie or series since perhaps Safe Room and certainly before that in Silence of the Lambs.As part of the True Detective series, this time the story is set in a remote part of Alaska where it’s dark for an entire month during winter. It’s also in a small coastal town where many of the townsfolk represent First Peoples. When mystery and mayhem visit a group of researchers who sequester themselves in a nearby compound, Foster plays local law enforcement, and compares notes on the case with a native American woman, a state trooper.At first, this  one reminded me strongly of Dark Winds, a series I reviewed that took place on reservation  land

I haven’t seen all of the nominated films–there are too many (ten) nominated films this year anyway. But I can talk about what I have seen. The Holdovers This one could also have been titled “The Throwback” in the sense that it’s an old-fashioned dramatic film: no CGI, no crazy special effects, no aliens, ghosts, monsters or supernatural beings, etc. It’s simply about a handful of people who encounter one another more acutely because they’re tossed together almost randomly like “leftovers “ that result in a surprisingly good goulash.  Like most good films, it’s unpredictable but credible. As a teacher, I was a little more engaged, perhaps, because the setting is the holiday break at a New England boarding school where the main character (Paul