Year: 2018

“Hearts Beat Loud” (2018). Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Blythe Danner, Toni Collette, Sasha Lane, Quincy Dunn-Baker. Director: Brett Haley. Screenplay: Brett Haley and Marc Basch. Web site. Trailer. Following our passion is something most of us dream about. But how many of us are able to see it through? Unfortunately, life often seems to get in the way. And sometimes we get in our own way, too. Clearing away the clutter, making a plan and working up the gumption to move forward all factor into the process, but how adept are we at these tasks? These are some of the challenges that a pair of would-be professional musicians face in the heartfelt new comedy-drama, “Hearts Beat Loud.” Frank Fisher (Nick Offerman) is restless. A onetime musician who’s now approaching middle age, Frank spends his days running a vintage vinyl store in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, a business that’s slowly going under, something that he’s not entirely sorry to see. While Frank definitely possesses an encyclopedic knowledge about records of every stripe, he nevertheless itches to make music of his own again. Thankfully, he’s got an outlet for that with his teenage daughter, Sam (Kiersey Clemons), ...

As an entrant in the 2018 Best Book Awards competition, I’m pleased to announce that my latest title, Third Real: Conscious Creation Goes Back to the Movies, is now listed in the New Age Non-Fiction section of the AmericanBookFest.com web site! The listing includes the book’s cover and description, as well as a link to the title’s listing on Amazon.com. This post will be available for the next five months until the announcement of the winners in November. Wish me luck! In the meantime, check out the listing by clicking here ...

Reviews of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, “I Am Somebody” and “Mountain” are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network,  available by clicking here ...

“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (2018). Cast: Interview Footage: Joanne Rogers, James Rogers, John Rogers, François Scarborough Clemmons, Yo-Yo Ma, Elizabeth Seamans, Margy Whitmer, Davis Newell, Joe Negri. Archive Footage: Fred Rogers, Robert Kennedy, Tom Snyder, Christa McAuliffe, John O. Pastore, Betty Aberlin. Director: Morgan Neville. Web site. Trailer. Showing a little kindness goes a long way, especially to those in need of compassion, nurturing and support. This is particularly true when it comes to young ones, who often struggle with the fundamental task of trying to understand how the world works, an increasingly challenging task in an ever-more complicated reality. For 30 years, an unlikely television personality undertook that very task, giving attention, encouragement, wisdom and support to those who all too frequently went overlooked by their preoccupied, impatient and even unconcerned elders. And now the many quiet but profound accomplishments of that soft-spoken, cardigan-clad TV icon are celebrated in the endearing new documentary, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” In many respects, Fred Rogers (1928-2003) was probably the last person anyone would see as a television star. By all rights, most programmers probably would have viewed the gentle-mannered everyman who spoke in deliberate, measured tones as their least likely ...

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m this week’s Featured Author on the Member Profile feature of the Writers Assembled Facebook group. Throughout the week (Monday through Saturday), I’ll be addressing questions posed by the group regarding my work, my writing process and other topics. If you’re a fellow writer, a fan or someone who’s interested in my work and the method to my madness, check it out! ...

“Book Club” (2018). Cast: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Andy Garcia, Craig T. Nelson, Don Johnson, Richard Dreyfuss, Alicia Silverstone, Katie Aselton, Wallace Shawn, Ed Begley Jr., Mircea Monroe, Joey Stromberg, Sabrina Friedman-Seitz. Director: Bill Holderman. Screenplay: Bill Holderman and Erin Simms. Web site. Trailer. As the years pass by, it can be easy to let our lives (and ourselves) slide. Those of us who have attained a certain age may unwittingly fall into the trap of believing that the best years are behind us, that the joys of our youth and young adulthood are no longer available or take too much effort to recapture. This is especially true when it comes to our love lives. But is that really the case? It might take a little initiative to get back what’s been lost, but it is indeed possible – and worth it – as a quartet of seniors discover for themselves in the new romantic comedy, “Book Club.” Longtime friends Diane (Diane Keaton, left), Sharon (Candice Bergen, second from left), Vivian (Jane Fonda, second from right) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen, right) get together every month to enjoy great works of literature, such as E.L. James’s Fifty ...