The traditional materialistic view that science has relied on implicitly for ages has begun to be challenged by new thinking involving the role of consciousness in a wide variety of areas, most notably healing. To find out more about this paradigm shift, check out my review of the new documentary, “The Physics of the Soul,” available by clicking here ...

“Experimenter” (2015). Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Winona Ryder, Jim Gaffigan, Anton Yelchin, John Leguizamo, Anthony Edwards, Dennis Haysbert, John Palladino, Edoardo Ballerini, Ned Eisenberg, Lori Singer, Emily Tremaine, Kellan Lutz, Michael Sibony, Tom Bateman, Lucy Fava, Jude Patrick White. Director: Michael Almereyda. Screenplay: Michael Almereyda. Web site. Trailer. Have you ever wondered why some people do certain things? Better yet, have you ever asked yourself the same question, particularly when engaging in what you thought of as out-of-character behavior? Astonishingly, maybe those acts aren’t as anomalous as you might think, a poignant issue raised in the funny and intriguing new biopic, “Experimenter.” Consider the following scenario: If you were ordered to do something you fundamentally disagreed with, would you comply? Most of us would probably say “No” without hesitation. But does that reaction truly hold water? That’s a theory psychology professor Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) put to the test in an experiment he conducted at Yale University in 1961. In Milgram’s study, test subjects were evaluated for their responses to an order to deliver painful electric shocks to an unseen stranger (Jim Gaffigan) strapped to a chair in an adjacent room. The shocks were to be given whenever the stranger gave ...

“He Named Me Malala” (2015). Cast: Malala Yousefzai, Ziauddin Yousefzai, Toor Pekai Yousefzai, Khushal Khan Yousefzai, Atal Khan Yousefzai, Shazia Ramzan, Kainat Riaz. Director: Davis Guggenheim. Book: Malala Yousefzai and Christina Lamb, I Am Malala. Web site. Trailer. Maintaining grace under pressure is difficult when we’re faced with trying circumstances. But imagine the pressure put upon a teenager attempting to carry on under the thumb of oppression and fighting for her life. Such are the conditions faced by an incredibly brave young woman in documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim’s latest release, “He Named Me Malala.” In October 2012, 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousefzai was unexpectedly – and tragically – thrust onto the world stage. While traveling home from school, Malala and two of her friends, Shazia Ramzan and Kainat Riaz, were shot by an armed brigade of the Taliban, the militant fundamentalist group that took control of Pakistan’s Swat Valley, where Malala and her friends were born and raised. Malala was targeted for assassination because of her outspoken advocacy of girls’ education, a right that was being systematically eliminated by the Taliban in its implementation of strict Sharia law. Outrage at the incident reverberated around the world. With a bullet lodged ...

Once again this year, I had the pleasure of attending the Chicago International Film Festival, which has come a long way in its 51 years. With its more than 125 film offerings, the two-week event has become a premier cinematic celebration for movie lovers in the Windy City and around the world. Given the Festival’s extensive schedule, it’s truly difficult to decide what to see. Some of its features will go on to general release (such as Todd Haynes’s “Carol” and Michael Moore’s “Where To Invade Next”), so those pictures can always be seen later. But many other films don’t get picked up by distributors and only screen at festivals like this (which means see it here or not at all). This, combined with the fact that there are only so many hours in a day, means that selecting a Festival watch list usually calls for making some rather hard decisions. For this year’s Festival, I screened 13 titles, many of which were quite good and well worth seeing. What follows is a summary of the pictures I saw, along with my scores using the Festival’s 1-5 audience rating scale: “The Surprise” (Netherlands). This hilarious dark romantic comedy successfully fuses ...

“The Walk” (2015). Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, Clément Sibony, César Domboy, Steve Valentine, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Benedict Samuel, Soleyman Pierini, Yanik Ethier. Director: Robert Zemeckis. Screenplay: Robert Zemeckis and Christopher Browne. Book: Philippe Petit, To Reach the Clouds. Web site. Trailer. When we set our minds to accomplishing something, there’s usually nothing to stop us except for the roadblocks we place in our own way. But, in the absence of such hindrances, we’re generally free and clear to proceed with fulfilling our objectives, no matter how unlikely they may seem to others. That point is driven home with dramatic flair and heart-pounding thrills in director Robert Zemeckis’s exhilarating new historical drama, “The Walk.” In August 1974, crowds of open-mouthed New Yorkers were captivated when a little-known French high-wire artist named Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) undertook and achieved the unthinkable – stringing a cable and successfully traversing the space between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 110 stories (1,350 feet) above the ground. The illegal, unauthorized feat (which Petit called “le coup”) became an immediate sensation, catapulting the daredevil to worldwide fame and inspiring an Academy Award-winning documentary, “Man on Wire” (2008), that ...

Attending the 51st Chicago International Film Festival? Then be sure to look for me! I’ll be attending 13 screenings over the next two weeks, and you might even spot me on the red carpet! Photos by Trevor Laster ...