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Year: 2015

‘Grandma’ provides an exercise in self-discovery

‘Grandma’ provides an exercise in self-discovery

“Grandma” (2015). Cast: Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer, Sam Elliott, Elizabeth Peña, Laverne Cox, Nat Wolff, John Cho, Meg Crosbie, Frank Cullison, Colleen Camp. Director: Paul Weitz. Screenplay: Paul Weitz. Web site. Trailer. How well do we know ourselves? As anyone who has ventured off on a spiritual quest or undergone therapy can attest, this can be a remarkable process, full of surprises, revelations, joys and heartache. It often emerges out of the unlikeliest of scenarios, too, as evidenced in the touching new comedy-drama, “Grandma.” Writer-lecturer Elle Reid (Lily Tomlin) has experienced more than her share of upheavals of late. With the passing of her soul mate, Violet, 18 months ago, Elle found herself saddled with an inconsolable sense of loss ‒ and a mountain of medical bills. Needless to say, these circumstances weighed quite heavily on her. But, as difficult as these trials were, little does she know that there are even more to come. Drawing upon her vast reserves of resilience and determination, Elle vowed not to let these setbacks keep her from living her life. She actively took steps to move on, such as marshalling all of her assets to pay off her ...
Check out 'Paulo Coehlo's Best Story'

Check out ‘Paulo Coehlo’s Best Story’

Brazilian-born author Paulo Coelho is one the most prolific and best-selling writers of all time, but who is he? The new feature film “Paulo Coelho’s Best Story” attempts to address this. Read more in my latest post to the New Consciousness Review web site, available by clicking here ...
Check out New Consciousness Review!

Check out New Consciousness Review!

Check out the latest edition of New Consciousness Review magazine, including my latest article, “Celluloid Salutes to Faith and Beliefs” on pp. 48-51, available by clicking here. Enjoy! ...
The Quiet Power of Stillness

The Quiet Power of Stillness

In a world as busy as ours is today, with its myriad elements competing for our attention at seemingly every turn, stillness often seems like a rare commodity. So how do we find it? Check out “Tapping Into the Quiet Power of Stillness,” my latest Smart Women’s Empowerment post, available by clicking here ...
‘The Prophet’ muses about the meaning of life

‘The Prophet’ muses about the meaning of life

“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” (2014 production, 2015 release). Cast (Voices): Liam Neeson, Salma Hayek-Pinault, John Krasinski, Quvenzhané Wallis, Alfred Molina, Frank Langella, Assaf Cohen, Leah Allers. Director: Roger Allers. Segment Directors: Gaëtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Joan C. Gratz, Mohammed Saeed Harib, Tomm Moore, Nina Paley, Bill Plympton, Joann Sfar, Michal Socha. Screenplay: Roger Allers, Hanna Weg and Douglas Wood. Book: Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet. Web site. Trailer. What’s the essence of life? That’s a question mankind has been wrestling with almost from its inception. And, while answers may vary from individual to individual, there’s now a new animated fantasy that attempts to put this inquiry into a larger, thoughtful context, “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.” “The Prophet,” the latest offering from the director of “The Lion King” (1994), is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Lebanese-born author Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), first published in 1923. The film tells the story of a spiritually inspired poet and painter named Mustafa (Liam Neeson). For the past seven years, the charismatic foreign-born artist has been under house arrest near the mythical city of Orphalese, a seaport with a Mediterranean ambiance. Its residents, landscape and culture resemble an amalgamation of the peoples, ...
‘Best of Enemies’ asks, ‘What have we unleashed?’

‘Best of Enemies’ asks, ‘What have we unleashed?’

“The Best of Enemies” (2015). Interviews: Dick Cavett, Christopher Hitchens, Matt Tyrnauer, Sam Tanenhaus, Andrew Sullivan, George Merlis, John McWhorter, William Sheehan, Fred Kaplan, Reid Buckley, Linda Bridges, Ginia Bellafante. Voiceovers: Kelsey Grammer, John Lithgow. Archive Footage: William F. Buckley Jr., Gore Vidal, Howard K. Smith, Paul Newman, Arthur Miller, Sam Donaldson, Ted Koppel, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey, Richard J. Daley, Norman Mailer, Patricia Buckley, Shana Alexander, James J. Kilpatrick, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin. Directors: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville. Screenplay: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville. Movie web site. Filmmakers’ web site. Trailer. At times we may look upon what we’ve manifested in our lives with shock, surprise and utter distress. Like a genie let loose from a bottle, these creations disrupt our realities in unimagined ways, causing havoc that takes our breath away – and that’s not easily remedied. Such instances often leave us unaware of how to proceed, too, largely because we’re overcome by what transpires. It’s conditions like these that become all too apparent in the provocative new historical documentary, “Best of Enemies.” In 1968, the fortunes of the ABC television network were seriously flagging. As the lowest rated ...
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