“Embrace of the Serpent” (“El abrazo de la serpiente”) (2015). Cast: Nilbio Torres, Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolívar Salvador, Brionne Davis, Yauenkü Miguee, Luigi Sciamanna, Nicolás Concino. Director: Ciro Guerra. Screenplay: Ciro Guerra and Jacques Toulemonde. Source Material: The diaries of Theodor Koch-Grünberg and Richard Evan Schultes. Web site. Trailer.What happens when individuals from two very different worlds come into contact with one another? In some instances, such clashes of cultures can have devastating effects. But, in other cases, the interaction can lead to entirely new understandings of one another, especially for those whose eyes have been closed to revelatory insights and blinded by superficial and materialistic concerns. Such is the experience of two Western explorers who journey into the remote [...]

Join me and host Frankie Picasso for this month's edition of Movies with Meaning on Frankiesense & More radio, Thursday March 31 at 1 pm ET. We'll look at some enlightening new film releases. Tune in here for some lively movie chat!

Reviews of "Eye in the Sky," "Everything Is Copy" and "Hello, My Name is Doris" are all available in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the Blog Page of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here.Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street Media.Photo by Dan Greenburg, courtesy of HBO.Photo by Aaron Epstein, courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

“Creative Control” (2015 production, 2016 release). Cast: Benjamin Dickinson, Nora Zehetner, Dan Gill, Alexia Rasmussen, Reggie Watts. Director: Benjamin Dickinson. Screenplay: Micah Bloomberg and Benjamin Dickinson. Web site. Trailer.It’s easy to distinguish reality from fantasy, right? Are you sure? But what happens when the lines start to get blurred? For some, making the distinction may prove more problematic than one might think, a conundrum explored in the quirky new independent comedy-drama, “Creative Control.”When a hip New York ad agency is hired to come up with a marketing campaign for a new form of computer-based eyewear with interactive capabilities, the organization puts its best man, David (Benjamin Dickinson), on the account. To learn about the product, David decides to try it [...]

Reviews of "Miracles from Heaven," "Embrace of the Serpent" and "Creative Control" are all available in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the Blog Page of The Good Radio Network, available by clicking here.Photo courtesy © CTMG, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.Photo courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

“A War” (“Krigen”) (2015). Cast: Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novatny, Dar Salim, Søren Malling, Dulfi Al-Jabouri, Charlotte Munck, Alex Høgh Andersen, Cecilie Elise Sondergaard, Adam Chessa, Andreas Buch Bogwardt, Martin Tamm Andersen. Director: Tobias Lindholm. Screenplay: Tobias Lindholm. Web site. Trailer.Can we realistically say that there are rules to be followed during wartime? If so, what would be considered acceptable and unacceptable? And how does one address these questions if an issue should arise? Those are among the thorny subjects raised in the new Danish drama, “A War” (“Krigen”).Danish peacekeeping commander Claus Pedersen (Pilou Asbæk, right) confers with colleague and long-time friend Najib Bisma (Dar Salim, left) about how to handle his duties in Afghanistan in the Oscar-nominated drama, “A War.” [...]

Reviews of "Eddie the Eagle" and "Kabbalah Me" and a second look at "Tomorrowland" are all now available in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Radio Network by clicking here.Photo by Larry Horricks, courtesy © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

“Where to Invade Next” (2015). Cast: Michael Moore. Director: Michael Moore. Web site. Trailer.America likes to think of itself as the birthplace of all great ideas. But, considering the current state of the nation and its various institutions, the country can use all the help it can get. So what is the U.S. to do? What sources of ingenuity should it tap to rejuvenate itself? And are those aims realistic? Those questions are among those that controversial filmmaker Michael Moore has attempted to tackle in his new and perhaps most ambitious effort, “Where to Invade Next.”In the spirit of how the U.S. typically goes after what it needs these days, Moore took it upon himself to lead his army of [...]