Wrapping Up the 2025 Chicago Film Festival
With this year’s 61st edition of the Chicago International Film Festival in the books, I’ve completed my screenings for 2025. Here’s what I screened and what I thought.
‘Peacock’ seeks the nature of the self and our existence
In this age of increasingly untrustworthy AI, rampant fake news and unabashedly self-serving social media, it’s becoming ever more difficult for many of us to distinguish what’s “real” and what isn’t these days, almost as if we’re stuck in a frightening new Orwellian paradigm. That’s significant, not only for how we perceive existence, but even in terms of how we experience and respond to it. In fact, these circumstances might even be looked upon as a metaphysical or existential nightmare. But how do we cope with such circumstances?
‘Eric LaRue’ explores coping under fire
When one lives in a small town, it’s not uncommon for everyone to seemingly know everybody else’s business, a circumstance that can be inconvenient, frustrating or annoying. But, worse than that, if one is somehow associated with an incident that’s tragic, scandalous or unspeakable, dealing with the fallout of such conditions (and the associated consequences) can be wholly intolerable. So how does one cope in scenarios like this?
This Week in Movies with Meaning
Reviews of "Turtles," "The Life of Chuck" and "The Ballad of Wallis Island" are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network.
This Week in Movies with Meaning
Reviews of "The Room Next Door," "Hard Truths" and "Nightbitch," along with a podcast preview and my Oscar scorecard, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network.
February Movies Rewind
For those who may have missed the most recent movie review edition of The Good Media Network's Frankiesense & More video podcast, the recorded version is now available for viewing on Facebook (Facebook.com/thegoodradionetwork) and YouTube (youtube.com/c/TheGoodMediaNetwork). Join show host Frankie Picasso and yours truly as we review four new movies and look back at what we predicted at the Oscars. Tune in for all the fun and lively discussion!
Learning To Cope on The Cinema Scribe
Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday March 11.
‘Hard Truths’ seeks the quest to cope
Many of us these days are experiencing a certain inexplicable unsettledness with our lives, a constant sense of frustration and restlessness that seems to defy explanation – or resolution. Because of those conditions, we may also find ourselves becoming increasingly aggravated, with our fuses growing progressively shorter. And, no matter what we might do to try and address these circumstances, it often feels like nothing works, that the irritation is perpetual and unrelenting.
This Week in Movies with Meaning
Reviews of "I'm Still Here," "Flow" and "Maria," along with two podcast recaps and a look back at the best and worst of 2024, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network.
‘Maria’ plumbs the perils of indecision
When one achieves greatness at his or her craft, it’s difficult to walk away when the skills behind it begin to fade. Moreover, facing the hard truth that one’s peak may indeed be irretrievably in the past can be even tougher to accept, no matter how passionate one’s desire might be for it. At times like these, we must often begin making new plans for ourselves and our future, and some of the options open to us may indeed hold considerable appeal, especially if they involve unfulfilled dreams. But what if we have difficulty accepting the reality of such circumstances?