Year: 2016

“Snowden” (2016). Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Nicolas Cage, Rhys Ifans, Ben Chaplin, Joely Richardson, Ben Schnetzer, Scott Eastwood, Lakeith Lee Stanfield, Patrick Joseph Byrnes, Timothy Olyphant, Bhasker Patel, Edward Snowden. Director: Oliver Stone. Screenplay: Kieran Fitzgerald and Oliver Stone. Books: Anatoly Kucherena, Time of the Octopus, and Luke Harding, The Snowden Files. Web site. Trailer. Heroes come in many forms. Some are obvious by their acts and deeds. Others are less apparent, working quietly behind the scenes to effect meaningful change. And others still may take drastic measures that leave them unappreciated for their efforts, perhaps even being vilified as criminals, agitators or traitors by members of officialdom. Those who fall into this last category often don’t receive the recognition they deserve until well after the fact, despite their rigorous adherence to a strong sense of personal integrity (consider the case of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for example). But, in today’s fast-moving media age, it’s now possible to get the word out about someone’s heroic efforts quickly and widely, achievements portrayed in the revealing new biopic, “Snowden.” In 2013, former CIA and NSA intelligence contractor Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) stunned the world ...

Join me and fellow reviewers Miriam Knight and Cynthia Sue Larson this Wednesday, September 21, when we’ll get together to discuss some of the latest book and movie releases on the quarterly Reviewers Roundtable broadcast of New Consciousness Review radio. Tune in at 2 pm ET by clicking here. Join us for some lively chat! ...

Reviews of “Snowden” and “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years” and a radio show preview are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the Blog Page of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here ...

“Sully” (2016). Cast: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Jamey Sheridan, Anna Gunn, Mike O’Malley, Katie Couric, Valerie Mahaffey, Blake Jones, Sam Huntington, Christopher Curry, Max Adler. Director: Clint Eastwood. Screenplay: Todd Komarnicki. Book: Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow, Highest Duty. Web site. Trailer. What makes a hero? Is it someone who performs extraordinarily beneficial acts? Or can it be someone who believes he or she is just doing his or her job? But what if it could be both? Those are among the issues posed in the new fact-based saga, “Sully.” In January 2009, the world was in awe of an event that came to be known as “the Miracle on the Hudson,” a successful water landing of a US Airways jet liner on New York’s Hudson River after both of its engines were rendered inoperative by a bird strike. The unprecedented damage to the aircraft prevented a landing at any of the New York area airports, forcing Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) and his first officer, Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart), to take drastic measures. Given the history of water landings, the prospects weren’t promising. But, thanks to the crew’s efforts, the plane landed successfully – and ...

Reviews of “Sully” and “Sunset Song” and a magazine article preview are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the Blog Page of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here ...

“Mia Madre” (“My Mother”) (2015 production, 2016 release). Cast: Margherita Buy, John Turturro, Giulia Lazzarini, Nanni Moretti, Beatrice Mancini, Stefano Abbati, Enrico Ianniello. Director: Nanni Moretti. Screenplay: Nanni Moretti, Francesco Piccolo and Valia Santella. Story: Nanni Moretti, Valia Santella, Gaia Manzini and Chiara Valerio. Web site. Trailer. Coping with the impending death of a loved one presents each of us with a unique challenge. How do we respond? Do we approach it directly, seeing circumstances for what they are? Or do we hold out hope against hope, running the risk of drowning in denial? What’s more, what impact does such an event have on our outlook about our own mortality? Those are among the questions posed in the emotional new Italian comedy-drama, “Mia Madre” (“My Mother”). Middle-aged filmmaker Margherita (Margherita Buy) and her brother, Giovanni (Nanni Moretti), are slowly watching their elderly mother, Ada (Giulia Lazzarini), die in a Rome hospital bed. Giovanni has taken a leave of absence from his job to address Ada’s many health care issues head on, while Margherita struggles to maintain a normal routine in between hospital visits. Margherita is wrestling with quite a full plate, too, given that she’s working on a new film ...