“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 in the dramatic new release, “Still Alice.” Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) has been experiencing some unexpected, unexplained lapses of late. The renowned 50-year-old linguistics professor has found herself uncharacteristically lost for words at times, something that she initially chalks up to a nagging embarrassment. However, when these seemingly innocent nuisance moments begin to combine with a pattern of routinely losing or misplacing items, she grows concerned. And, when she suddenly finds herself lost in the midst of what ...

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 ...

Join me for some lively chat about conscious creation and the movies this Friday, January 23, at 12 pm ET, when I’ll be a guest on the Madly Chasing Peace Radio Show with host Dina Proctor. To tune in, click here. And, to find out more about the show and the host, click here ...

“Into the Woods” (2014). Cast: Emily Blunt, James Corden, Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Daniel Huttlestone, Lilla Crawford, Mackenzie Mauzy, Billy Magnussen, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, Frances de la Tour, Simon Russell Beale, Joanna Riding, Annette Crosbie, Richard Glover. Director: Rob Marshall. Screenplay: James Lapine. Musical: James Lapine, Into the Woods. Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim. Web site. Trailer. We all know what we want out of life, right? Or do we? Sometimes we’re thoroughly convinced, with unquestioned clarity, about what we hope to realize from our existence, only to find we may not be as sure about our certainty as we thought we were. Such exercises in self-discovery can be surprising, disillusioning and amazingly revelatory, especially when it comes to what we hope to attract into our lives, a circumstance that becomes startlingly apparent in the cinematic adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical fantasy, “Into the Woods.” Just as in the real world, everyone in the land of fairy tales wants something: • A baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are a childless couple desperately looking to add a bundle of joy to their life. But, alas, success inexplicably eludes them ...

“Selma” (2014). Cast: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Carmen Ejogo, Cuba Gooding Jr., Martin Sheen, Oprah Winfrey, Giovanni Ribisi, Alessandro Nivola, André Holland, Wendell Pierce, Common, Lorraine Toussaint, Omar J. Dorsey, Colman Domingo, Nigel Thatch, Stephan James, Trai Byers, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tessa Thompson, Jeremy Strong, Keith Stanfield, Henry G. Sanders, Charity Jordan, Stan Houston, John Lavelle, Dylan Baker, E. Roger Mitchell, Niecy Nash, Tara Ochs. Director: Ava DuVernay. Screenplay: Paul Webb. Web site. Trailer Bringing a concept to life can be an exceedingly challenging exercise, especially when dramatic change is involved. But, when success at last arrives, the rewards can be immeasurable. So it was in the days of one of the nation’s most turbulent social movements, circumstances brought to life in the gripping new historical drama, “Selma.” In early 1965, Selma, Alabama became the focal point of the American civil rights movement. In a community where only 2% of African-Americans were legally registered to vote, local Black residents (aided by activists from elsewhere) began making a push to abolish the obstructionist registration policies that kept them from lawfully casting ballots. The implications of this extended far beyond the ability to vote, too, since voter registration impacted who got ...

“Big Eyes” (2014). Cast: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Danny Huston, Terence Stamp, James Saito, Madeleine Arthur, Delaney Raye, Jon Polito, Guido Furlani. Director: Tim Burton. Screenplay: Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Web site. Trailer. We’ve all no doubt been advised that “Honesty is the best policy.” Trite though the expression may be, it often rings true, especially if we try to pull a fast one, because the ramifications can be staggering. Indeed, it’s a lesson that comes home to roost in huge ways in director Tim Burton’s new fact-based comedy, “Big Eyes.” In 1958, housewife, mother and aspiring artist Margaret Ulbrich (Amy Adams) decides to flee her abusive marriage in search of more tranquil surroundings and a fresh start. With her daughter Jane (Delaney Raye) in tow, Margaret abandons her life in suburban northern California in favor of San Francisco’s bohemian North Beach neighborhood. With the aid of her friend Dee-Ann (Krysten Ritter), the soon-to-be-divorced single mom quickly gets a new job and a new apartment, while spending her weekends promoting her paintings at local art shows. To call Margaret’s paintings distinctive would be an understatement. She specializes in portraits of mostly sad, often-crying waifs with ...