This Week in Movies with Meaning
Reviews of "Blackbird," "House of Cardin" and "Cicada," 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, available by clicking here.
Check out The Cinema Scribe
Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio today, Tuesday, October 13, at 2 pm ET, available by clicking here. And, if you don't catch it live, check it out later on demand!
‘Cicada’ chronicles the path to healing
“Cicada” (2020). Cast: Matthew Fifer, Sheldon D. Brown, Sandra Bauleo, Cobie Smulders, Jazmin Green Grimaldi, Scott Adsit, Michael Potts, David Burtka, Jason “Freckles” Greene, Beau Curran, Bowen Yang. Directors: Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. Screenplay: Matthew Fifer and Sheldon D. Brown. Web site. Trailer. Healing old wounds can be a long and painful process, especially if we’re unclear about the nature or source of the hurt. When we are, though, the path to overcoming trauma can be a seemingly unending one in which the anguish never goes away, leaving us feeling as if there’s no hope for recovery or a future worth looking forward to. But, many times, and often quite unexpectedly, something happens that sets us off in a [...]
‘Blackbird’ wrestles with matters of life and death
“Blackbird” (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: Susan Sarandon, Sam Neill, Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Rainn Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Anson Boon. Director: Roger Michell. Screenplay: Christian Torpe. Web site. Trailer. We’re all aware that our lifetimes are finite in nature and that they will one day come to an end. But, as our lives unfold, many of us become progressively more concerned with how that end will ultimately come about. Will it be on terms of our own choosing? Or will we relegated to circumstances that are out of our control? And how much input will we have in determining the details of the process? Those are among the questions raised in the moving new end of life drama, [...]
‘Eternal Beauty’ sheds light on the search for ‘normal’
“Eternal Beauty” (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: Sally Hawkins, David Thewlis, Penelope Wilton, Billie Piper, Morfydd Clark, Alice Lowe, Paul Hilton, Spencer Deere, Robert Pugh, Natalie O’Neill, Elysia Welch, Boyd Clack, Rita Bernard-Shaw, Robert Aramayo (voice), Nicholas Lumley. Director: Craig Roberts. Screenplay: Craig Roberts. Web site. Trailer. Throughout our lives, we’re often bombarded by statements, observations and criticisms associated with what constitutes “normal.” But what is that exactly? It’s often considered something ordinary and everyday, yet it frequently gets elevated to a standard that’s essentially unattainable, prompting us to wonder what good it would be then. Finding our way through such a perplexing maze can become a challenge even under the best of conditions, but it’s especially frustrating for someone with [...]
‘Fatima’ extols the virtues of faith
“Fatima” (2020). Cast: Harvey Keitel, Sônia Braga, Joaquim de Almeida, Goran Visnjic, Stephanie Gil, Alejandra Howard, Jorge Lamelas, Lúcia Moniz, Marco D’Almeida, Joana Ribeiro, João Arrais, João D’Avila, Figueira Cid, Elmano Sancho, Carla Chambel, Iris Cayatte, Ivone Fernandes-Jesus. Director: Marco Pontecarvo. Screenplay: Valerio D’Annunzio, Barbara Nicolosi and Marco Pontecarvo. Web site. Trailer. Faith is something that’s exceedingly difficult to characterize. It doesn’t have any palpable, easily identifiable qualities. It won’t conveniently fit into a neat little package. And it’s not something that can be readily recognized at a passing glance. But, for those who understand and appreciate it, its existence is undeniable, no matter how intangible it might be and how difficult it may be to convince disbelievers of its [...]
‘The Last Full Measure’ seeks to rectify justice denied
“The Last Full Measure” (2020). Cast: Sebastian Stan, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Plummer, Peter Fonda, Diane Ladd, Bradley Whitford, Amy Madigan, John Savage, Jeremy Irvine, Alison Sudol, Linus Roache, Dale Dye, Ser’Darius Blain, James Jagger, Zach Roerig, Ethan Russell, Cody Walker, Richard Seymour Cawthorne, LisaGay Hamilton, Asher Miles Fallica, Rachel Harker, Hannah Black. Director: Todd Robinson. Screenplay: Todd Robinson. Web site. Trailer. An old adage maintains “Better late than never.” But is “late” truly acceptable? In many cases, it’s used as an all-too-convenient excuse for careless oversights, intentional snubs or even willful, agenda-driven and often-indefensible denunciations. It’s at that point when efforts to make up for those shortcomings often emerge, some of which slowly fall by the [...]
‘Song Without a Name’ pleas for justice, reform
“Song Without a Name” (“Cancíon sin nombre”) (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: Pamela Mendoza, Tommy Pàrraga, Lucio Rojas, Maykol Hernández, Ruth Armas, Lídia Quispe, Jhazmin Mamani, Lourdes Villareal, Carlos Victoria, Luis Menezes, Boris Severola, Gabriela Velásquez, Yiliana Chong, Janet Gutarra, Melvin Quijada, Ronald Saravia, Jenny Torres. Director: Melina León. Screenplay: Melina León and Michael J. White. Web site. Trailer. Life in a land riddled with injustice, intolerance and inequality – conditions that many of us can relate to these days – is ripe for change. But the birth pangs of bringing about such reform are often as difficult to endure as the problems that sparked their institution. And, to complicate matters further, these ordeals are often felt both across society and [...]
‘Mighty Oak’ sheds light on the mystery of reincarnation
“Mighty Oak” (2020). Cast: Janel Parrish, Tommy Ragen, Carlos PenaVega, Levi Dylan, Ben Milliken, Nana Ghana, Rodney Hicks, Gianna Harris, Alexa PenaVega, Raven-Symoné, Bill Lewis, Linda Ardell Wendfeldt, Marco Drapeau, Thomas Kasp. Screenplay: Matt R. Allen. Story: Frank Ragen and Matt R. Allen. Web site. Tariler. Most of us have heard of the concept of reincarnation, and many of us – including skeptics – are intrigued by the notion. It’s become so ingrained in the culture that we’ve even embraced sayings like “not in this lifetime,” implying matter-of-factly that there’s more than just one incarnation. But how many of us are willing to look past our doubt and genuinely buy into the principle without definitive proof of its existence? That’s [...]
‘The Guilty’ asks, ‘How much help is too much?’
“The Guilty” (“Den skyldige”) (2018). Cast: Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage (voice), Omar Shargawi (voice), Johan Olsen (voice), Jacob Hauberg Lohmann (voice), Katinka Evers-Jahnsen (voice), Jeanette Lindbæk (voice), Simon Bennebjerg (voice), Laura Bro (voice), Guuled Abdi Youssef (voice), Morten Suurballe (voice), Caroline Løppke (voice), Morten Thunbo, Maria Gersby Cissé, Anders Brink Madsen. Director: Gustav Möller. Screenplay: Gustav Möller. Web site. Trailer. The well-meaning among us no doubt want to do all we can to aid those in need. But is it possible for there to be too much of a “good” thing? In an effort to be of service, there’s always the possibility we can go too far, making a difficult situation worse than it needs to be. Such is the [...]