Year: 2022

“Elvis” (2022). Cast: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Kodi Smit-McPhee, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Luke Bracey, Dacre Montgomery, Yola, Alton Mason, Shonka Dukureh, Cle Morgan, Nicholas Bell, Chaydon Jay, Tony Nixon. Director: Baz Luhrmann. Screenplay: Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner. Story: Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner. Web site. Trailer. Every so often, innovators come along in various fields of endeavor who shake things up and create something unique and inventive, revolutionary conceptions that set their particular milieus of expression on their ear. These creations set new standards for others to emulate or adapt, sometimes even birthing entirely distinct genres different from others that preceded them. In the world of painting, names like Rembrandt and Jackson Pollock come to mind; in writing, icons like William Shakespeare and Ursula K. Le Guin emerge; and in music, the works of Beethoven, Prince and Philip Glass step to the fore. And, when it comes to rock ʼn roll, the king of the genre virtually always springs to mind, the subject of the glitzy new biopic, “Elvis.” Given how many biographies about Elvis Presley have been made over the years, I had to wonder how ...

Join yours truly and guest host Ishita Sharma for a second helping of June movie reviews on the next edition of Frankiesense & More! The show, to begin airing on Thursday June 30, will feature reviews of five new releases, as well as the first-ever Frankiesense & More LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, presenting looks at movies for Pride Month. Tune in on Facebook or YouTube for the fun and lively discussion! ...

“Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes” (2022). Cast (Interviews and Archives): Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Lyudmila Ignatenko, Vasily Ignatenko, Ihor Hodosov, Ihor Pismensky, Oleksandr Sirota, Nikolai Tarakanov, Oleksiy Breus, Ihor Yatskiv, Nikolai Kaplin, Yuri Samoilenko. Director: James Jones. Web site. Trailer. The truth can be hard to face. We may want to deny it, dismiss it or cover it up, but it inevitably comes back to us in all its unblemished fidelity, forcing us to deal with it, no matter how dire the consequences associated with it may be. Attempts at imposing deception may work for a while, but cracks in the foundation of such lies ultimately emerge, enabling victims and onlookers to clearly view all of the excuses, exaggerations and dishonesty that went into the creation of this kind of fraudulent concealment. Such is the lesson we should all hope to learn from the riveting yet infuriating new documentary, “Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes.” As bad as you might have thought it was, the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster was far worse than any of us knew, as revealed in this unflinching new HBO documentary from director James Jones. With a wealth of previously unseen footage recorded at the facility at ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday June 28, available by clicking here. You can also catch it later on demand on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser and Jiosaavn ...

“The Phantom of the Open” (2021 production, 2022 release). Cast: Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Rhys Ifans, Jake Davies, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones, Johann Myers, Steve Oram, Tim Steed, Ash Tandon, Dick Nelson, Nigel Betts, Neil Edmond, Marc Bosch, Mike Capozzola, Tommy Fallon. Director: Craig Roberts. Screenplay: Simon Farnaby. Book: Scott Murray and Simon Farnaby, The Phantom of the Open: Maurice Flitcroft, The World’s Worst Golfer (2011). Web site. Trailer. It seems like just about everybody is willing to cheer for a lovable loser. We know that these challenged individuals don’t stand a chance of coming out on top in their respective pursuits, but we pull for them anyway, hoping that their efforts will pay off in a modicum of respectability. At the very least, we admire them for their gumption, their willingness to try, even in the face of heavily stacked odds. That’s probably because we can see some of ourselves in them, looking up to them for their commitment to attempt something that we might not be able to bring ourselves to do. Such are the sentiments prompted by the new fact-based comedy, “The Phantom of the Open.” When it comes to those who’ve achieved celebrity ...

Reviews of “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Lola” and “Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin” are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here ...