dissolution

‘Eternal Memory’ seeks to preserve as much as possible for as long as possible

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?

Brent Marchant2024-04-21T16:52:12-05:00March 18th, 2024|Conscious Creation, Documentary, Foreign, Movie Reviews, Romance|

‘Swan Song’ spotlights the power of choice

All too often, we’re faced with difficult situations that pose us with perplexing choices. Evaluating the options can be dizzying, leaving us feeling as though we can’t decide. Because of this, we may often default to what appears to be the most expedient choice, a move that frequently gives us an easy out – “I didn’t have any choice in the matter” – in case things don’t unfold as planned. In the alternative, we may remain indecisive, leaving us with no viable solution to the issue at hand. But those fallbacks are innately insufficient,

Brent Marchant2022-01-25T14:21:44-05:00January 2nd, 2022|Conscious Creation, Drama, Movie Reviews, Sci-Fi|

‘Lightships’ provides a quantum leap in understanding

Are we who we think we are? Most of us would probably say “Of course,” but is that statement truly accurate? Indeed, are we the limited, localized selves we’re most familiar with, or is there more to us than meets the eye (or, more precisely, the mind)? There could well be unknown portions of ourselves that are beyond our current comprehension. But what would it be like to find and explore those hidden aspects that could potentially open new worlds of opportunity for us?

Brent Marchant2021-11-04T07:57:15-05:00October 5th, 2021|Conscious Creation, Movie Reviews, Sci-Fi|

‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ chillingly instructs us in life’s hard lessons

Some life experiences can involve truly hard pills to swallow. In fact, they can be so arduous to undergo that we may wonder why we’re having to endure such ordeals, especially when they involve elements we find unthinkable.

Brent Marchant2021-05-12T11:56:12-05:00April 21st, 2021|Conscious Creation, Drama, Foreign, Movie Reviews|

‘Marriage Story’ showcases what makes a relationship succeed – or fail

“Marriage Story” (2019). Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, Merritt Wever, Wallace Shawn, Azhy Robertson, Martha Kelly, Mark O’Brien, Robert Smigel, Brook Bloom. Director: Noah Baumbach. Screenplay: Noah Baumbach. Web site. Trailer. It’s sad when a relationship comes to an end, even when it’s the best thing for the partners involved. But matters can become that much worse when the parting becomes inflamed with heated rhetoric and venomous emotions, not only for those directly involved, but also for those touched by the fallout. Such is painful saga outlined in the gripping new family drama, “Marriage Story.” From all outward appearances, Charlie and Nicole Barber (Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson) have what seems to be a [...]

Brent Marchant2020-01-24T08:10:20-05:00December 27th, 2019|Conscious Creation, Drama, Movie Reviews|

‘Jojo Rabbit’ charts the challenges of growing up

“Jojo Rabbit” (2019). Cast: Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Thomasin McKenzie, Taiki Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen, Stephen Merchant, Archie Yates. Director: Taiki Waititi. Screenplay: Taiki Waititi. Book: Christine Leunens, Caging Skies. Web site. Trailer. Growing up can be difficult enough as we seek to understand the complexities of the world around us. But, if we add to that a quest to grasp an emerging sense of self and the place we occupy in our existence, the task can become overwhelming. Where do we turn for guidance? Who can we trust? And what advice should we seriously consider? Those questions might seem obvious and fundamental, but that doesn’t make them any less daunting, especially for those who lack [...]

Brent Marchant2019-12-27T22:06:38-05:00November 13th, 2019|Comedy, Conscious Creation, Movie Reviews|

‘Late Night’ celebrates the joys of reinvention

“Late Night” (2019). Cast: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Denis O’Hare, Max Casella, Paul Walter Hauser, John Early, Jia Patel, Luke Slattery, Ike Barinholtz, Marc Kudisch, Amy Ryan, Bill Maher, Seth Meyers, Jake Tapper. Director: Nisha Ganatra. Screenplay: Mindy Kaling. Web site. Trailer. No matter how much we may enjoy something, be it food, entertainment or our wardrobe, sometimes we want to shake things up a bit, trying out new offerings to stay fresh and invigorating. For that to happen, however, we often depend on others to make those new options available to us. Meanwhile, the purveyors of those commodities who fail to change with the times may easily be left behind when innovators step [...]

Brent Marchant2019-07-29T12:45:27-05:00July 2nd, 2019|Comedy, Conscious Creation, Movie Reviews|

‘Meeting Gorbachev’ celebrates a pragmatic visionary

“Meeting Gorbachev” (2019). Cast: Interviews: Mikhail Gorbachev, Werner Herzog, Miklós Németh, George Shultz, James Baker, Lech Walesa, Horst Teltschik. Archive Footage: Raisa Gorbachev, Yuri Andropov, Leonid Brezhnev, Konstantin Chernenko, Vladimir Putin, Boris Yeltsin, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, Andrei Gromyko. Directors: Werner Herzog and Andre Singer. Screenplay: Werner Herzog. Web site. Trailer. It’s one thing to be ever-practical when it comes to conducting our affairs, but this approach may sometimes limit our options, outcomes and effectiveness. By contrast, we could adopt a truly visionary view, one that surpasses these shortcomings but that also may be difficult to fulfill due to a lack of pragmatism. So it’s quite something when we’re able to fuse both qualities, making [...]

Brent Marchant2019-06-18T16:07:31-05:00May 24th, 2019|Conscious Creation, Documentary, Movie Reviews|

‘Loveless’ exposes the perils of self-absorption

“Loveless” (“Nelyubov”) (2017). Cast: Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Matvey Novikov, Marina Vasileva, Andris Keyshs, Aleksey Fateev, Nataliya Potapova, Artyom Zhigulin, Aleksandr Sergeev. Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev. Screenplay: Oleg Negin and Andrey Zvyagintsev. Web site. Trailer. How we treat those close to us often speaks volumes about how we care about others in the wider world, even if the parallels aren’t patently obvious. The compassion, caring and courtesy – or lack thereof – that we show them is quite telling, even if we can’t or don’t want to see it for ourselves. Whether such concerted attentiveness or deliberate slights occur on an individual or collective scale, their presence and expression are nevertheless undeniable, as seen in the troubling new Russian drama, “Loveless” [...]

Brent Marchant2018-04-20T07:30:59-05:00March 12th, 2018|Conscious Creation, Drama, Movie Reviews|