Two Tales on The Cinema Scribe
Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment -- this one featuring two new movie reviews -- on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday August 11, 2 pm ET
The Life Lessons of Two Alternative Love Stories
The hope most of us hold for romantic comedy-dramas is that everything will ultimately work out in the end. But, in real life, relationships don’t always turn out that way. So when filmmakers try to fuse those two divergent scenarios, the results can be unexpected, even dismaying, if not handled properly. However, when addressed with a skillful touch, such stories can be surprisingly entertaining, even revelatory, in many ways. So it is with two alternative love stories now available for streaming online, “Magic Hour” and “Departures.”
Who Will Win the 2026 Oscars?
It’s that time of year again – time for my predictions of the winners at the upcoming annual Academy Awards.
The Best and Worst Documentaries of 2025
With 2025 now in the books, it’s time to look back on the year in movies. In this third of three blogs, I spotlight my Best and Worst Documentaries of 2025.
The Worst of 2025
With 2025 now in the books, it’s time to look back on the year in movies. In this second of three blogs, I spotlight my Bottom 10 Films of 2025.
The Best of 2025
With 2025 now in the books, it’s time to look back on the year in movies. In this first of three blogs, I spotlight my Top 10 Films of 2025, followed by 10 Honorable Mentions and an open-ended list (in alphabetical order) of other releases that I found noteworthy or worth a look.
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.
This Week in Movies with Meaning
Reviews of "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" and "Peacock," as well as a film festival wrap-up, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network.
Wrapping Up Reeling 2025
The 43rd annual edition of Chicago’s Reeling International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is now in the books. I managed to catch 10 films during the festival’s 10-day run. Here’s my take on what I watched and what I thought.
‘We Were Dangerous’ celebrates the inner rebel
At the risk of gross oversimplification, nearly all of the world’s residents can be divided into two camps – those who are only too willing to comply with society’s dictates to keep from rocking the boat and those who insist on being themselves, no matter what, even if that means ruffling some feathers and flaunting their uncontainable individuality. Unfortunately, those who fall into the latter camp are often met with staunch opposition, frequently including efforts aimed at stifling their actions, beliefs and behavior, even for the slightest of deviations from conventional expectations.