‘Love’ on The Cinema Scribe
Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, Tuesday, March 3, at 2 pm ET, by clicking here. And, if you don't hear it live, catch it later on demand!
‘The Truth’ urges us to remove the drama from the stage of life
“The Truth” (“le Verità”) (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke, Clémentine Grenier, Manon Clavel, Roger Van Hool, Alain Libolt, Christian Crahay, Ludavigne Sagnier, Sébastien Chassange, Laurent Capelluto, Jackie Berroyer. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Screenplay: Hirokazu Kore-eda. Web site. Trailer. Drama may have a place in life, but some of us have trouble determining the stage on which it’s most appropriate. Theaters and movie screens are certainly acceptable venues, but, when drama makes its presence felt on the stage of life, it may well have overstepped its bounds. That’s particularly true when it intrudes upon personal relationships, a place where its appearance may be unwanted, if not unhealthy. Such is the case in the long-tense dealings between [...]
This Week in Movies with Meaning
Reviews of "Ordinary Love," "Knives and Skin" and "The Hottest August," as well as an Oscar scorecard, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here.
‘The Hottest August’ showcases how to survey the bigger picture
“The Hottest August” (2019). Cast: Clare Coulter (narrator). Director: Brett Story. Web site. Trailer. What does the future hold? That’s a question many of us ask ourselves often, both individually and collectively. But how wide a view do we take when answering it, again, either individually or collectively? That’s a subject addressed in the experimental new documentary, “The Hottest August.” It probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that, when we contemplate the future, we usually do so in terms of how it most directly affects us as individuals or in our peer groups. We think about our homes, our families, our communities, our professions and so forth, the aspects of our lives that have the most immediate impact. [...]
‘Knives and Skin’ charts the slow journey out of dysfunction
“Knives and Skin” (2019). Cast: Marika Engelhardt, Raven Whitley, Tim Hopper, Audrey Francis, Marilyn Dodds Frank, Grace Smith, Ty Olwin, James Vincent Meredith, Kate Arrington, Robert T. Cunningham, Kayla Carter, Alex Moss, Jalen Gilbert, Tony Fitzpatrick, Genevieve Venjohnson, Aurora Real De Asua, Ireon Roach, Haley Bolithon. Director: Jennifer Reeder. Screenplay: Jennifer Reeder. Web site. Trailer. When we feel like we’re stuck in a rut, escape seems almost unfathomable. And, the greater the dysfunction associated with that condition, the more onerous the circumstances become. But such conditions need not be an irrevocable sentence, especially if we can find it within us to search for a way forward. These are the challenges of a group of adult and teen residents in a [...]
‘Ordinary Love’ proves there’s nothing ordinary about it
“Ordinary Love” (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, David Wilmot, Amit Shah, Melanie Clark Pullen, Esh Alladi. Directors: Lisa Barrows D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn. Screenplay: Owen McCafferty. Web site. Trailer. “Love” is a word we often bandy about rather casually without really giving much thought to what’s behind it. That can be unfortunate, since such a practice frequently sells it short, giving us a diminished perspective on what it actually can do. Fortunately, there are tales out there that shed a bright light on the subject, showing us what it can achieve when employed skillfully and deliberately. So it is with the new touching romantic drama, “Ordinary Love.” Middle-aged couple Tom (Liam Neeson) and Joan (Lesley Manville) [...]
An Oscar Winner on The Cinema Scribe
Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, Tuesday, February 18, at 2 pm ET, available by clicking here. And, if you don't hear it live, catch it later on demand!
How’d I Do on This Year’s Oscars?
With this year’s Academy Awards ceremony behind us, it’s time to take a look at how I did on my predictions for the winners in this annual competition, as first outlined in my previous blog, “Who Will Win This Year’s Oscars?”, first published on January 24. This was a mixed season for handicapping, some easy, some not. But I was generally pleased with the results, even when I was wrong in my predictions. So how did I do? Four out of six correct calls, with two misses (and qualified ones at that). Here are the details: Best Picture The Field: “Ford v Ferrari,” “The Irishman,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Joker,” “Little Women,” “Marriage Story,” “1917,” “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” “Parasite” [...]
This Week in Movies with Meaning
Reviews of "Les Miserables," "Clemency" and "Corpus Christi" are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here.
A Joieful Time!
Don't miss the next episode of the Positively Joieful podcast, when four special guests and yours truly will join host Joie Lamar to talk about the movies! Join me, TV host Antoine Elhashem, writer Joey Viola, filmmaker Kate Johnston and writer/actor/director Chrysanthi Zora Michaelides when we talk about the movies -- what we love, what Hollywood is doing right and the Oscar nominations! Tune in starting tomorrow, Saturday February 8, by clicking here.