Year: 2020

Tune in for the latest edition of Bring Me 2 Life radio’s newest broadcast, Afternoons With The Dudes, now available by clicking here. Join host Selo Closson, yours truly and a great group of guys for an insightful discussion about how men can get better in touch with their feelings ...

Reeling 38, Chicago’s International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, recently completed its 2020 edition in its first-ever all-virtual format. With movie houses just now beginning to reopen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this alternative approach made it possible for the festival to go forward, and it worked remarkably well, enabling viewers to screen a variety of films while remaining safe at home. In fact, in some ways, this is a viable approach well worth considering for future events, one that makes it possible to offer the festival’s films to a wider audience and providing flexible viewing conditions, benefits not necessarily available when presented in theatrical venues. Because of this new format, I was able to screen a greater number of films than I have in the past. In total, I watched 18 feature offerings, most of which were above average to excellent. Below are my reviews of the releases I watched, some of which truly had me … reeling. “Cicada” (U.S.) Score: 4.5/5 (****+) A heart-wrenching look at how two gay male partners (Matthew Fifer, Sheldon D. Brown) in an interracial relationship work together at solving their respective past traumas and how the power of love can significantly aid and smooth the ...

“Blackbird” (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: Susan Sarandon, Sam Neill, Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Rainn Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Anson Boon. Director: Roger Michell. Screenplay: Christian Torpe. Web site. Trailer. We’re all aware that our lifetimes are finite in nature and that they will one day come to an end. But, as our lives unfold, many of us become progressively more concerned with how that end will ultimately come about. Will it be on terms of our own choosing? Or will we relegated to circumstances that are out of our control? And how much input will we have in determining the details of the process? Those are among the questions raised in the moving new end of life drama, “Blackbird.” Life for aging ALS patient Lily (Susan Sarandon) has become a shadow of what it once was. The fiercely independent free spirit, who could easily be the poster child for the causes of choice and free will, has led a rich, remarkable, experience-filled life on her terms. However, with the advance of her illness and failing physical state, she’s seen that existence shrink considerably. She’s lost the use of an arm, her breathing has become labored and her sense ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio on its new day, Tuesday, September 22, at 2 pm ET, available by clicking here. And, if you don’t hear the show live, catch it later on demand ...

Reviews of “Mr. Soul!”, “Eternal Beauty” and “The Bare Necessity,” as well as two film festival previews, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here ...

“Eternal Beauty” (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: Sally Hawkins, David Thewlis, Penelope Wilton, Billie Piper, Morfydd Clark, Alice Lowe, Paul Hilton, Spencer Deere, Robert Pugh, Natalie O’Neill, Elysia Welch, Boyd Clack, Rita Bernard-Shaw, Robert Aramayo (voice), Nicholas Lumley. Director: Craig Roberts. Screenplay: Craig Roberts. Web site. Trailer. Throughout our lives, we’re often bombarded by statements, observations and criticisms associated with what constitutes “normal.” But what is that exactly? It’s often considered something ordinary and everyday, yet it frequently gets elevated to a standard that’s essentially unattainable, prompting us to wonder what good it would be then. Finding our way through such a perplexing maze can become a challenge even under the best of conditions, but it’s especially frustrating for someone with special circumstances, as illustrated in the engaging new character study, “Eternal Beauty.” Life can be difficult when we don’t know what to make of it. Just ask Jane (Sally Hawkins), a middle-aged Welsh woman who drifts through life trying to figure it out. That’s a challenge, given that she suffers from schizophrenia and doesn’t know what to grab onto – or even how to do so. As a consequence, she aimlessly ambles from situation to situation, some seemingly “normal,” some ...