[NOTE: This material does not represent investment advice in any way. It is for educational purposes only. Investing is personal. See your investment guru before making decisions.]   ABOUT 40 YEARS AGO, while spending time in France after college, I hitchhiked south to Madrid to visit my Aunt and cousins.  While I did experience the Prado and the Guernica there, I also attended a bullfight at the Plaza del Toros.  I bring this up because a bullfight, while arguably brutal,  is a pageant and there is a process about it. A matador does not enter the ring prepared to face a fresh fighting bull. The bull is systematically weakened by picadors on horseback who spear the animal’s neck and shoulder muscles to reduce its ability

THIS FILM CONTAINS A NUMBER OF INGREDIENTS that make a film work for me. I can’t promise they will work for you with this movie, but here goes: It has a director with a solid track record It’s British–I tend to think the Brits often make great films because the director has more artistic license; the arts get some public funding so you don’t get movies managed largely for profit or by “a committee” There are members of the cast I enjoy: one or two good performances can save or make a movie The plot and the cinematography are compelling enough to enjoy without having to suspend disbelief unreasonably much or often Guy Ritchie has made some very good films in this genre–which is usually

  THIS SERIES HAS A GOOD CAST (though the best performances might not come from the ones you expect) and offers new and sometimes sordidly funny insights into the events leading up to the Nixon re-election campaign, the Watergate break-in(s), and the onset of scandal. The two best performances came from Justin Theroux as Gordon Liddy, and Lena Headey as Dorothy Hunt. I have enjoyed Woody Harrelson in many past efforts, but in this role as Howard Hunt,  I quickly tired of his habit of thrusting his jaw forward to indicate some inner conflict. Theroux as Liddy was superb and may get nominated for it. Lena Headey was fantastic as the spouse of Howard Hunt. The cast contained other familiar faces amid solid performances. I 

THIS MOVIE HAS the distinction of being completely unpredictable almost from the very beginning. Because the theme is metaphysical or “multi-versal,” it draws from the infinite to introduce many zany, funny, curious or compelling alternate worlds in a two hour timeframe. There is martial arts fighting; it never seemed gratuitous, however, and at times it provided some fun. The film features a number of veteran Asian actors who now, finally, get the recognition they have deserved and been denied: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and James Hong, have acted for decades each. Hong, for example, is 94 and acted with Clark Gable. At least two members of the cast have already won awards for best actor or best supporting actor, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan.