The 30th annual edition of the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Black Harvest Film Festival is now in the books, having featured an array of narrative, documentary and short films. The event featured a strong lineup of offerings this year, perhaps the best I’ve ever seen at this festival. In all, I managed to catch six films during the festival’s two-week run. So, with that said, here’s my take on what I watched and what I thought.
The 42nd edition of the Chicago Reeling International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is now in the books, having featured an array of narrative, documentary and short films in theaters and online. I managed to catch 12 films during the festival’s two-week run. So, with that said, here’s my take on what I watched and what I thought.
Select movie reviews from my web site are now available on the Movie Reviews page of BringMe2Life.com, available at https://bringme2life.com/. My latest post features a review of the eye-opening documentary "Your Fat Friend."
An old saying maintains that we can pick our friends but not our family. But is that really so? It might seem that way at times, especially in situations where we struggle mightily to get along with them and put up with their annoyances and quirks. However, one could also contend that the individuals we incarnate with are present in our lives to help us learn valuable lessons in areas like cooperation and forgiveness.
Imagine being systematically discriminated against and unduly ridiculed without those inflicting such hurtful and unfair acts suffering any consequences. Those in various minority communities can no doubt relate to such treatment, having been subjected to it for long periods before legal protections were put into place (and, in some cases, even after those safeguards were implemented). However, there’s one constituency that’s effectively gone without protection – and, in many respects, still continues to do so. That kind of vulnerability should make everyone squirm, whether or not they’re directly impacted by such blindly sanctioned abuse.
In all truthfulness, how often do most of us take the time to contemplate life’s “big issues”? Given the importance and impact they have on us, one might think they’re something we should all examine in greater detail and on a more frequent basis than we probably do. Yet we often find ourselves distracted by the comparatively inconsequential minutiae of everyday life, setting aside those grand questions that we must all ultimately address for ourselves.
Adjusting to new outlooks that override established beliefs can be difficult for some of us. We’ve become so entrenched in certain ways of thinking that it’s hard to embrace new ones. We may not understand the revised concepts, either because they’re too radical or esoteric for us to grasp or because they’re not explained in easily comprehensible ways, perhaps too vague or too overly intellectualized. Or we may simply be unwilling to adopt such new thoughts because they make us feel uncomfortable. But, then, there are also those who take to them readily, either out of curiosity or an undeniably instinctual awareness.
It’s been said that one of the most cherished hopes for a loving relationship is that its partners inevitably have someone with whom they can grow old together, a time when they can warmly look back on their time as a couple with fondness and treasured memories. Invariably, it’s an earnest, heartfelt exercise in diligently seeking to preserve as much as possible for as long as possible. But what happens when something occurs that threatens the viability of such a meaningful personal endeavor?
The subject of artificial intelligence has been all over the news in recent months, with much of the coverage (save for what’s in the business/finance pages) presented in an often-troubling, cautionary light. Is this technology as bad as so many contend? Or are we making a mountain out of a proverbial molehill? And, if something were to go wrong, where would the fault truly lie?
What happens after we die? Indeed, as we transition from this world to whatever comes next, what can we truly expect? That’s arguably the most profound – and most mysterious – question that we ask ourselves during our lifetimes. And the only definitive way to know for sure is to actually go through the experience. Nevertheless, that’s not to stop us from speculating about what could occur.
