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Tenzing

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Tom Hiddleston, Genden Phuntsok, and Willem Dafoe in “Tenzing.” Apple TV photo via IMDb.com In 1953, the world thrilled to news that the summit of Mount Everest had been reached.  People with no idea where the Himalaya Mountains or the countries of Tibet or Nepal were, still knew it was the highest mountain on earth, and climbing it was one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century.  The peak’s conqueror, soon to be knighted, was a New Zealand beekeeper, Edmund Hillary. All but buried in the story was his partner in the quest, whose footsteps reached the summit at the same moment as Hillary’s. The true “Hero of Everest” was Nepalese-Indian Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, according to mountaineering author Ed Douglas, whose book on the mountaineer has inspired a remarkable new film now streaming on Apple TV. “Tenzing” transforms this humble man from being a historical footnote to become, in his own fractured English, “Mr. Amazing.” Australian director Jennifer Peedom makes...
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You Can See Everything

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  Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes in “You Can See Everything.” A24 photo via IMDb.com Don’t believe the title. Not only can you not see everything in this strange new movie, but after almost three hours watching the screen, you can’t be certain about anything you’ve observed. In a society that gives lip service to total transparency, “You Can See Everything” is more like a funhouse hall of mirrors, reflections of reflections, confusion mounting the more you look. It is, in some sense, a documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, the Stanford dropout who became a magazine cover girl for founding Theranos, a Silicon Valley startup producing a device it claimed could diagnose a patient from a single drop of blood.  She’s now serving a 14-year sentence in a Texas prison camp after being convicted of investor fraud. Starring the real live Elizabeth (you can call her Liz) for the first half, it’s a documentary … right?  Not so fast, my friend. In 2023, a few months before ...
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The Social Reckoning

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  Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong in “The Social Reckoning.”          Columbia Pictures/Sony Releasing poster image via IMDb.com He made presidential briefings and government policy discussions sound poetic in “The West Wing.” But trying to find any poetry in Silicon Valley jargon– or even make it vaguely comprehensible – is a whole lot harder, even for a screenwriter as talented as Aaron Sorkin. The reason why is simple: Language is a human creation. High-tech is a human creation, too. But it’s antihuman as well. According to “The Social Reckoning,” it may be out to kill us … our spirits, at least, our kids’ self-esteem, and our capacity to think straight. Not to mention, our social institutions as collateral damage.  All of this to make one very weird man with zero social skills or empathy but an off-the-charts IQ, even more obscenely wealthy than he already is. This sounds like a horror show, but, sad to say, it’s a true stor...
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Heart of the Beast

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                            Brad Pitt and his best friend in "Heart of the Beast." Photo via IMDb.com. The first time I saw a trailer for “Heart of the Beast,” two words came to mind: Old Yeller. (Bet you thought I was going to say, Brad Pitt, right?) You can tell from the outset that the  story of two survivors of a light plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness – one a retired Green Beret combat vet, the other a three-legged German Shepherd who served with him in the K9 corps – has a good chance of bringing tears before the final credits. Rugged and spectacularly beautiful, it’s a tale of Hemingway proportions. Ably directed by David Ayres, the intense action is as breathtaking as the landscape. Acting-wise, it’s essentially a one-man show. Well, one man and one dog. The dog, Odin, is actually played by four canines in the credits. Many of the emotional two-shots leave you wondering who’s the better actor – Brad o...
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