TV Series: RUSH (2014 - ) 8 or 9 Episodes; B

Dr. William Rush is not your average on-call doctor.  An excellent practitioner . . . and not attached to any hospital, because he operated on a patient while being high on drugs. He parties with the best of them. 

(I had a friend while growing up . . . a great piano player . . . who became a dentist and had a similar personality). 

Rush is highly discreet, no matter what the ailment, as long as the client can pay his extremely large cash-only premium. He has no desire to change his life or how he lives it, until an old flame and his conscience begin to stir things up.

Interesting and amusing series but episodes are predicable and somewhat repetitive.

If you watch it you will be introduced to some very attractive men and women in their 30's who are in and out of relationships.

Movie Review: THE BEST OFFER (2014) A+

Great movie with Geoffrey Rush.  He is an actor that stands above many others. I would have written the ending differently but this is still a film that is worthwhile watching.  Streaming on Netflix.

From Other Reviews:
Virgil Oldman is a solitary, cultured man whose reluctance to engage with others, especially women, is matched only by the dogged obsessiveness with which he practices his profession of antiques dealer. He's never been close to another human being, not even Robert, his only friend - a young, skillful restorer of mechanical devices from every era. The day he turns sixty-three, Virgil receives a phone call from a young woman who asks him to handle the disposal of some family works of art. But when the time comes for his first site visit, the girl fails to appear, nor, for various reasons, is she present for the taking of the inventory or for the transportation and restoration of the pieces. More than once Virgil is tempted to bow out of what appears to be nothing but a bothersome mess, but on each occasion, the mysterious young woman, locked in her own obsessional world, convinces him to continue.

Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) wrote and directed this film, which takes place in the present but feels like a 19th-century gothic novel. A cold-hearted art auctioneer (Geoffrey Rush) agrees to value the collection of a recently deceased wealthy couple, whose agoraphobic daughter hasn’t left the family estate in years and refuses to show herself to strangers.  The movie's an eyeful, though, thanks to the intricate production design and many artworks on display; it's also an earful, thanks to Ennio Morricone's fittingly lush score. With Donald Sutherland and Jim Sturgess.

SHINE (1996) A

A MUST SEE CLASSIC!!

From Netflix: A riveting (and touching) profile of Australian keyboard virtuoso David Helfgott (Geoffrey Rush) and his
ultimate triumph over a domineering, abusive father (Armin
Mueller-Stahl). Sir John Gielgud, superbly plays Helfgott's tutor.
Richly deserved Oscars went to Rush (Best Actor) and to Mueller-Stahl for his supporting role.

Both father and son had schizophrenia in different forms. Seeing this painful yet sensitive movie is what this art form is all about.

Please go see it and get back to me with your comments.

Movie Review: GOLD (2013) C

A weak "western" movie with no ending.

In the summer of 1898, a small group of German compatriots head into the hostile northern interior of British Columbia in search for gold at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush. 
Could have been interesting but the ending left you empty.

MUNICH (2005) A

In this thriller based on actual events, Palestinian terrorists hold hostage and ultimately kill a group of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. In the tragic aftermath of the infamous murders, a Mossad agent (Eric Bana) tracks down the assassins. Ciaran Hinds and Geoffrey Rush co-star in this film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner

THE BOOK THIEF (2013) A

An excellent story about a group of people  (out of 

the hundreds of millions ) caught up in the the 

second World War.  Great acting . . .especially by 

Geoffery Rush (who played the speech teacher of 

King George in the KING' SPEECH).  
Cinematography of Germany in wartime was also
excellent.

From Rotten Tomatoes: Based on the beloved

international bestselling book, The Book Thief tells 

the story of an extraordinary, spirited young girl 

sent to live with a foster family in WWII Germany. 

Intrigued by the only book she brought with her, 

she begins collecting books as she finds them. 

With the help of her new parents and a secret guest 

under the stairs, she learns to read and creates 

a magical world that inspires them all.

JUNO (2007) A & F

Juno received two ratings because many people will see it as a lovely fairy tale (the A rating) and others will see it as a blatant
propaganda piece for the Right-To-Life Movement (the F rating). This is the most important movie of the year. It should be shown, and maturely discussed, at all high school sex education classes.

JUNO: THE FAIRY TALE A
(This version of the movie is primarily for people who are young at
heart and still believe in the tooth fairy.)

In this movie a young, sweet, lovable, adorable and bright 16 year old girl becomes pregnant while satisfying her boyfriends need for a sexual experience. The culture in her society is ambivalent toward sex between teen age boys and girls that leads to unplanned pregnancies . . . so they are not to blame for being irresponsible.  (In this culture the words blame and responsibility were outlawed some years ago).

She tells her girlfriends, mom and dad about her condition and then
after a very short visit to an unfriendly, ugly and horrible Women's
Center that specializes in terminating unwanted pregnancies, she
decides to carry the pregnancy to term.

Without thinking too much about the consequences of carrying the baby
to term, she find a married thirtysomething couple (from a Pennysaver
ad), who live in an upscale suburban home (similar to Dix Hills in
Long Island) . . . and who are more than willing to adopt her child.

With no forethought, the girl and her fantastic Dad agree that she
will have nothing to do with the child after it is born. Finding and
selecting this lovely couple and making these decisions was easy as
pie . . . and only took a few hours of her and her wonderful and
understanding Dad's precious time. Another option, such as keeping the
child with her mother and fathers help, never enters any ones mind.

The movie also deals with her relationship with the soon-to-be
teen-aged father . . . a wonderful and loving young lad who plays the
guitar. During the gestation period he is more than willing comfort
JUNO in his bed room with the door closed. His understanding mom has no
problem with that arrangement. The 16 year old girl ultimately realizes she has
found true love with this understanding and maturing fellow, and
showers him with a gift of hundreds of Pez candies. He may only be 15
years old.

Ultimately she gives birth and turns over the baby to the
thirtysometing woman. (Unfortunately the couple divorces before the
baby was born). The movie ends with the promise that the young father
and Juno, this sweet, lovable, adorable and bright girl, will live
happily ever after.

I was so happy for everyone after I left the theater. I felt so good
after seeing all these wonderful and sweet and understanding people on
the screen.

VERSION 2
JUNO: CONDONING IRRESPONSIBILITY    F
(This movie is primarily for people who remember from High School that
"Animal Farm " was not about pigs and horses).

Sandy is my wife and movie companion. Because I am an outspoken type
of person I always ask her how she feels about the movie before I
express my views. For this movie the first words out of her mouth
were, "This movie strongly supports the Pro Life and Anti-Abortionist's movement".

I agree with Sandy 100%. The movie does a magnificent job of conning
people who want to believe that the situation depicted in the movie is
about a loving family in Kansas . . . in the same small town where Dorothy was sucked
into the funnel of a tornado.

The story starts with underage empty-headed kids doing sexual favors
for each other . . . which produces a human embryo . . . and ends with
the baby's adoption by a single young women (who may not be mentally stable). The narrative treats this event as just another casual day in the life of the
families involved. As if bringing a baby into this world is something
that is just another daily happening. The treatment of the pregnancy
and subsequent adoption is unbelievably irresponsible and childlike.

What follows are just some of the glaring faults of this propaganda piece.

• From the outset, the totally irresponsible act by the two teenagers
is NEVER DISCUSSED by the parents with the boy and the girl. (They had
unprotected sex even though the sex act was thought out ahead of
time). The parents just casually accept their actions. No remorse. No
learning. No nothing. A no-fault pregnancy. Will they do it again .
. . and this time to sell the baby? Who knows. No regrets by anyone!! 
TOTAL CHILD AND PARENTAL IRRESPONSIBILITY . . . that's the subtext of this movie.
But just maybe having a baby was OK for the parents as long as JUNO
gave it away. This way the parents don't have to take anyresponsibility for the child.

• Selecting potential parents from an ad in the Pennysaver without
even the minimal check of the background of the people is MADNESS.
Especially when the future parent appear "wired". The girls father
goes along with this. The babys father is never even involved in these
decisions. (Is that legal?). Then giving the baby to a single mother
on a whim. Real Creepy.

* The one sided presentation of the receptionist in Women's Clinic as
unfeeling is as biased as you can get.

• But the worst part . . . and this is what the pro-lifers never
mention when they push their agenda, (listen to Dr. Laura on the radio), is the
TOTAL NEGLECT of the emotional effect on the girl (and possibly the
boy and their families ) of carrying a baby to term and then giving it
away for adoption. Does anyone know of any case where this can be done with no
residual feeling by the natural parents and grandparents for the
child?

There is no discounting the emotional effects of an abortion. But
these subjects are what the movie should have been about but are NEVER
DISCUSSED in an mature and intelligent manner. Rather they are
glossed over in the pro lifer's rush to show that live birth and
adoption is the way to go.

At the end, the movie shows the teenagers playing the guitar and
living happily ever after. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! A reprehensible F is
the correct rating for JUNO.