Year: 2023

It’s that time of year again, the release of my lists of best and worst films of the year. Thankfully, 2022 was a better year for movies than either of 2020 or 2021 (pandemic considerations notwithstanding). I was pleased to have screened a wealth of fine pictures in theaters, at festivals and online. However, despite that, 2022 still had more than its share of overrated, overhyped releases that, in my opinion, were erroneously labeled “masterpieces” (some of which made their way onto my “worst” list). With that said, though, I’d like to start out on a more positive note, featuring my “best” list in this blog, the first of two devoted to addressing my assessments of the year’s cinematic offerings. But don’t worry – that “worst” list will be along soon enough. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not see every movie released in 2022 (who realistically could?), but I have seen nearly all of the major contenders (although there are a few I’ve yet to see given that they have not gone into widespread release as yet). In addition, as per custom, this blog and the one to soon follow do not address documentary offerings; films in ...

Reviews of “The Whale,” “Living” and “Broker” are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday January 24, available by clicking here. You can also catch it later on demand on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser and Jiosaavn ...

“Broker” (“Beurokeo”) (2022). Cast: Song Kang-ho, Dong-won Gang, Doona Bae, Ji-eun Lee, Lee Joo-young, Seung-soo Im, Ryu Kyong-soo, Ji-yong Park. Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda. Screenplay: Hirokazu Kore-eda. Web site. Trailer. When we think of the concept of “family,” we most often consider it as something made up of those with whom we’re developed our closest bonds. This has traditionally been built on a basis of biology, but, over time, we’ve seen that change. And, in some cases, it’s become something that may arise as a result of unexpected circumstances, sometimes exceedingly unfathomable ones. So it is in the delightfully new quirky Korean comedy-drama, “Broker” (“Beurokeo”). Baby Woo-sung (Ji-yong Park) is about to embark on a grand adventure, even if he is unaware of it and doesn’t understand or appreciate the impact it will have on him and his future. Late one rainy night, the boy’s mother, So-young (Ji-eun Lee), approaches a church that’s been equipped with a “baby box,” a secure depository where the parents of infants who are unable or unwilling to care for their young can safely leave their children in the hands of those who will nurture and protect them until they’re ready to be put up for ...

“Living” (2022). Cast: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlins, Hubert Burton, Oliver Chris, Michael Cochrane, Anant Varman, Zoe Boyle, Lia Williams, Jessica Flood, Jonathan Keeble, Patsy Ferran, Barry Fishwick, Tom Burke, Nichola McAuliffe, Thomas Coombes. Director: Oliver Hermanus. Screenplay: Kazuo Ishiguro. Source Material: Akira Kurosawa, screenplay, “Ikiru” (1952). Web site. Trailer. Willingly taking ourselves out of our comfort zones is something that may make many of us squirm in discomfort. As creatures of habit, we like our lives filled with familiarity and predictability. So, when we find ourselves faced with having to make adjustments in light of our conditions, we might rail against those circumstances, especially if we feel the pressure of time constraints squeezing us into unexpected (and not necessarily welcome) alterations. Those are the limitations thrust upon a long-inflexible public official whose advancing years force him into changing his life path in the endearing new drama, “Living.” Mr. Rodney Williams (Bill Nighy) has spent years perfecting the practice of turning life into an unrelenting routine. The aging, button-down civil servant for London’s Department of Public Works lives out virtually every day in the same unchanging manner, executed with impeccably clocklike precision. He seems perfectly content ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday January 10, available by clicking here. You can also catch it later on demand on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser and Jiosaavn ...