Cinema Cat

The Mustang directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Matthias Schoenaerts Bruce Dern Gideon Adlon Occasionally, a movie will seize you.   That movie might bring life and immediacy to history, or maybe it’s epic in its scope.   Maybe that long-awaited kiss between two flawed-but-fated people will satisfy the universal yearning in us for love, true love. The Mustang isn’t like that.   It doesn’t exactly seize you.   More like it slips into a corner of your brain and settles in.   It sits in your peripheral vision not too heavily, but not lightly either.   After all, we know how this story goes before we buy the ticket, right?   The trailer tells us we will not be let down.   We will settle into our reserved seats, elevate our feet, and be treated to a story of the redemption of a man imprisoned.   And, a key factor in his salvation will be a horse.   A horse!   A magnificent animal with an unca...

Gloria Bell Directed by Sebastian Lelio Julianne Moore John Turturro Michael Cera Alanna Ubach We cannot help wondering where Gloria Bell will end up. Played by Julianne Moore with a big heart and a fragile edge, Gloria's been on her own since her divorce 15 years ago.   She’s not going to inherit from her mom who’s living long enough and well enough to exhaust her own retirement money.    Her employer downsizes Gloria’s coworker, an older woman not yet ready to retire.   Puts her out the door with not a little foreshadowing as to what might lie ahead when Gloria herself triggers that same age + salary-schedule nexus.   Her kids are grown and immersed in their own lives.    And her goals are non-specific.   What does Gloria  want, beyond dancing? You might say Gloria’s prospects are thin. But there is something in Gloria.   Let’s call it an urge to live.   To live life. ...