“Sing Street” (2016). Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Aiden Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jack Reynor, Kelly Thornton, Ben Carolan, Mark McKenna, Percy Chamburuka, Conor Hamilton, Karl Rice, Ian Kenny, Don Wycherley, Lydia McGuinness. Director: John Carney. Screenplay: John Carney. Trailer. When life seems to be falling apart, it helps to have something to latch onto to stay afloat. But whatever one reaches for, no matter how satisfying it may be, could lead to even bigger and better things, and much of it unexpected. Such is the case for an Irish teen seeking to find himself during deteriorating circumstances in the charming new musical romantic comedy, “Sing Street.” In the mid 1980s, with the Irish economy in the doldrums, residents of the Emerald Isle suffered financially, with many, especially the young and talented, fleeing to England to seek new opportunities. For those who remained behind, life was hard, with many households having to make sacrifices, and even the middle class wasn’t immune. Such conditions often led to domestic strife, with couples squabbling over money and, eventually, a host of other relationship issues. Such is life in the family of a soft-spoken, somewhat geeky teen named Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). His parents, Robert ...

Reviews of “Sing Street” and “Fireworks Wednesday” and a radio show preview are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on The Good Radio Network Blog Page available by clicking here. Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Co. Photo courtesy of Grasshopper Film ...

“99 Homes” (2015). Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Noah Lomax, Tim Guinee, Robert Larriviere. Director: Ramin Bahrani. Screenplay: Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi. Story: Ramin Bahrani and Bahareh Azimi. Web site. Trailer. The pride of home ownership has long been a cornerstone of the American Dream. But that foundation of this long-sought-after way of life came crashing down for many in 2008 with the financial crisis and the housing bubble that triggered it. Countless people lost their homes – and, in many cases, their will to carry on – in the midst of that calamity, while others profited handsomely from their misfortune. The anguish of that crisis and how one homeowner attempted to bounce back from it provides the focus of the tense, heartfelt drama, “99 Homes,” now available on DVD, Blu-ray disk and video on demand. When construction worker Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) loses the childhood home he shares with his son, Connor (Noah Lomax), and mother, Lynn (Laura Dern), he reluctantly hands over the foreclosed property to an oily real estate broker, Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), who has craftily figured out how to manipulate the housing crisis to his advantage. However, when Carver learns what Nash ...

“The Dark Horse” (2014 production, 2016 release). Cast: Cliff Curtis, James Rolleston, Kirk Torrance, Miriama McDowell, Wayne Hapi, James Napier Robertson, Niwa Whatuira, Shaden Te Huna, Dante Nathuran. Director: James Napier Robertson. Screenplay: James Napier Robertson. Short Film Source Material: Jim Marbrook, “Dark Horse” (2003). Web site. Trailer. Battling our personal demons can be quite a challenge. It may even land us in debilitating circumstances that require us to struggle to find our way back. Such a descent can be especially hard when it involves someone who has attained success only to see it slip away. So it was for a fallen chess champion combating a host of issues in the inspiring new biopic from New Zealand, “The Dark Horse.” Genesis Potini (1963-2011) (Cliff Curtis), a Maori tribesman who became a seemingly unlikely chess master (which earned him the fitting nickname “the dark horse”), may know the intricacies of the game he loves, but he has considerable trouble managing the affairs of his life. In part that’s due to his battle with bipolar disorder. But there’s more to it than that, namely, his impoverished background and troubled family life. That becomes all too apparent when he’s released from a psych ...

A review of “A Will for the Woods,” another look at “The Way, Way Back” and a radio schedule change are all featured in the latest Movies with Meaning post on The Good Radio Network blog page, available by clicking here. Terminally ill lymphoma patient Dr. Clark Wang (left) and life partner Jane Ezzard (right) inspect the site of his eventual green burial in “A Will for the Woods.” Fourteen-year-old Duncan (Liam James) dreads his upcoming summer vacation in the hilarious coming of age comedy, “The Way, Way Back.” Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures ...

“I Smile Back” (2015). Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Skylar Gaertner, Shayne Coleman, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Sean Reda, Terry Kinney, Oona Laurence, Chris Sarandon. Director: Adam Salky. Screenplay: Paige Dylan and Amy Koppelman. Web site. Trailer. Having it all should be enough for happiness and contentment, right? But what if it’s not? What if it masks an underlying emptiness driven by inexplicable feelings of unrelenting sadness, past regrets and compulsive behaviors aimed at paving over that pain? That’s the struggle faced by an upscale housewife whose life is slipping away from her in the gripping drama, “I Smile Back,” now available on DVD and video on demand. Laney Brooks (Sarah Silverman), a married mother of two, would appear to live a charmed life. Her wealthy husband, Bruce (Josh Charles), provides well for his family, and her kids (Skylar Gaertner, Shayne Coleman) are an absolute joy. So why is mom so unhappy? That’s what she needs to find out. In getting there, though, Laney routinely binges on alcohol, prescription drugs and illicit substances and unabashedly has affairs with other men, including one of her husband’s best friends (Thomas Sadoski). She also abandons the medications designed to treat her bipolar disorder, ...