I’m pleased to announce the launch of my new Internet radio segment, “The Cinema Scribe,” on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, a production of Project Bring Me 2 Life, a multifaceted web organization presenting a variety of information about metaphysics, philosophy, spirituality, music and art. A preview of the segment will air this Wednesday, July 19 at 12:30 pm ET, with new episodes beginning on August 2. The Cinema Scribe will then run twice a month on the first and third Wednesday.So what is this new feature about? Unlike my continuing “Movies with Meaning” segments on Frankiesense & More radio and “Reviewers Roundtable” on New Consciousness Review radio, which present reviews of a variety of films and other movie-related information, [...]

Reviews of "A Ghost Story" and "Flowers" and a radio show preview are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here.

“The Journey” (2016 production, 2017 release). Cast: Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Freddie Highmore, John Hurt, Toby Stephens, Catherine McCormack, Ian Beattie, Barry Ward, Mark Lambert. Director: Nick Hamm. Screenplay: Colin Bateman. Web site. Trailer.Bridging a gap is often quite a challenge, especially when it involves opposing parties who are philosophically miles apart. How can these adversaries be successfully brought together? And will the efforts aimed at that ultimately bear fruit? Those questions loomed large when warring factions sought to make peace in the wake of one of the world’s longest-running bloody feuds, the subject of the new speculative historical drama, “The Journey.”For 40 years, Northern Ireland was caught up in a gruesome conflict known as “The Troubles” between those seeking [...]

“The Big Sick” (2017). Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher, Zenobia Shroff, Adeel Akhtar, Shenaz Treasury, Bo Burnham, Aidy Bryant, Kurt Braunohler, Rebecca Naomi Jones, David Alan Grier, Jeremy Shamos, Vella Lovell, Linda Emond, Ed Herbstman, Myra Lucretia Taylor. Director: Michael Showalter. Screenplay: Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon. Web site. Trailer.Being oneself isn’t always easy, especially when we’re pressured to conform by others from both our culture and our own immediate family. The implications of this can be wide-ranging, too, including everything from our vocations to our romantic life. Those are among the challenges a would-be stand-up comedian from Pakistan must confront after he and his relatives immigrate to the US in the charming [...]

“Letters from Baghdad” (2016 production, 2017 release). Cast: Tilda Swinton (voice), Adam Astill, Tom Chadbon, Michelle Eugene, Andrew Havill, Eric Loscheider, Robert Ian Mackenzie, Helen Ryan, Pip Torrens, Rose Leslie (voice). Directors: Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl. Web site. Trailer.Making one’s voice heard amidst a thunderous throng of opposing viewpoints can be difficult, especially in the face of an entrenched consensus and when expressed by someone who possesses qualities that might tempt others to downplay the significance of those divergent opinions. Yet making the effort to get those views heard is important, particularly when the stakes are high. So it was for an incredibly insightful woman seeking to be heard in the geopolitical arena, an area where others often tried [...]

Reviews of "The Journey," "Jim: The James Foley Story" and "The Lobster," all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here.

Reviews of "The Big Sick," "Letters from Baghdad" and "Embrace of the Serpent," as well as a radio show preview, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here.

“Maudie” (2016 production, 2017 release). Cast: Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke, Gabrielle Rose, Zachary Bennett, Kari Matchett, Billy MacLellan. Director: Aisling Walsh. Screenplay: Sherry White. Web site. Trailer.When life seemingly sidelines us due to various limitations – be they personal, physical, economic or otherwise – we may easily become discouraged, reconciling ourselves to our circumstances. But need we be saddled with such hindering conditions? Can we lead a meaningful existence in spite of those obstacles? Might we be able to successfully draw upon impulses that lead us to believe to the contrary? Such is the experience of a challenged young woman who manages to build a creative and fulfilling life for herself in the thoughtful new biopic, “Maudie.”Canadian folk artist Maud [...]

“Beatriz at Dinner” (2017). Cast: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton, David Warshofsky, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass, Chloë Sevigny, John Early, Enrique Castillo. Director: Miguel Arteta. Screenplay: Mike White. Web site. Trailer.Some say that, fundamentally, we’re all connected, even if we don’t realize it. In an age and in a society in which seemingly inherent division and separation are taken for the norm, we may not be aware of our interrelatedness, perhaps even denying it when others attempt to point it out to us. But, if we’re ever to resolve this misguided sense of disconnectedness, we need to be reminded – perhaps even cajoled – about our innate linkage. Examples of such reminders surface in highly pointed ways in the [...]

Reviews of "Beatriz at Dinner," "Maudie" and "The Family Fang" are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here.