It’s that time of year again – time for my predictions of the winners at the annual Academy Awards. Most of the major honors appear fairly clear-cut at this point, but, even with that said, here are my picks for who will take home statues this year:Best ActorThe Field: Michael Keaton, “Birdman”; Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”; Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”; Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”; Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”Who Will Likely Win: Eddie Redmayne. In this talent-packed category, it wasn’t entirely clear at the start of awards season who would end up prevailing. However, Redmayne has gradually emerged as the favorite in light of his wins in the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA Awards competitions. While I [...]

Two of this year’s awards season releases celebrate the lives of people whom some consider heroes. Director Clint Eastwood’s enormous box office hit “American Sniper” tells the story of military marksman Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL sharp shooter who did four tours in Iraq, while filmmaker Angelina Jolie’s modestly successful “Unbroken” profiles the experiences of World War II veteran and U.S. Olympian Louis Zamperini. Both pictures have been hailed to critical acclaim, with “Sniper” capturing six Academy Award nominations (including best picture and best lead actor for Bradley Cooper) and “Unbroken” snagging three Oscar nods. Unfortunately, despite their financial and critical successes, both films in my opinion seriously miss their marks. Why? Because they both come up short when it [...]

“Cake” (2014). Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Mamie Gummer, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Chris Messina, Lucy Punch, Evan O’Toole, Manuel Garcia-Rolfo, Camille Mana. Director: Daniel Barnz. Screenplay: Patrick Tobin. Web site. Trailer.Holding on to what does not serve us can be fraught with difficulties. When it’s of a minor nature, it can be a nagging nuisance. But, when it’s of significant magnitude, it can disrupt our lives in countless ways. The search for how to handle this dilemma provides the basis for one of the most engaging releases of recent months, “Cake.”Claire Bennett (Jennifer Aniston) is in a lot of pain, both physically and emotionally. The twin sources of her discomfort are obvious, too, but [...]

Fans of Apple's iTunes Store can now find the ebook edition of Get the Picture?!: Conscious Creation Goes to the Movies on this popular bookseller's web site, available by clicking here!Cover design by Paul L. Clark, Inspirtainment (www.Inspirtainment.com)

“Force Majeure” (“Turist”) (2014). Cast: Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Vincent Wettergren, Clara Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Metelius, Karin Myrenberg, Brady Corbet, Johannes Moustos, Jorge Lattof, Adrian Heinisch. Director: Ruben Östlund. Screenplay: Ruben Östlund. Web site. Trailer. When different types of everyday circumstances arise, we’d all like to think we know how we and others will react. The expectations associated with such situations offer a degree of predictability and reassurance that we find comforting. But what happens when unforeseen events occur? Do we know how we and others will respond? And what happens if any expectations we hold about such scenarios go unfulfilled? Those are among the many thorny questions raised in the recently released, darkly satirical Swedish comedy, [...]

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Great news for Kindle users -- the new edition of Get the Picture?!: Conscious Creation Goes to the Movies is now available for the Amazon reader by clicking here. And for traditionalists, the book is also available in print by clicking here. Enjoy!

Ebook readers can now find the new edition of Get the Picture?!: Conscious Creation Goes to the Movies available in electronic form from Kobo Books! Check it out by clicking here.Cover design by Paul L. Clark, Inspirtainment (www.inspirtainment.com)

“Still Alice” (2014). Cast: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish, Shane McRae, Stephen Kunken, Caridad Montanez, Erin Drake, Daniel Gerroll. Directors: Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. Screenplay: Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. Book: Lisa Genova, Still Alice. Web site. Trailer.Most of us probably go through life expecting it to continue on, almost in perpetuity, without anything ever coming along to disturb that pattern. But the virtual certainty of change generally doesn’t allow this. Sometimes it even violently shakes us out of our sameness and complacency, taking us places we never would have expected and reminding us of what we have – and what we might stand to lose. Those lessons are driven home with stark poignancy [...]

How are those New Year's resolutions working out for you? Time for a belief check? Find out more by reading "Resolutions Redux," my latest Smart Womens Empowerment post, available by clicking here.