The Cinema Scribe

Fostering brotherly love isn’t always easy, especially when siblings differ from one another or, more fundamentally, when they are unaware of one another’s existence. But sometimes circumstances break down these barriers and open up new dynamics, giving us a chance to test them and see what they yield. That is the case with two siblings long unknown to one another, unexpectedly drawn together in a...

LGBTQ+ cinema has made tremendous strides in recent years. As groundbreaking as they once were, however, the tried-and-true narratives that dominated the genre in its early years grew somewhat stale and clichéd over time, forcing filmmakers specializing in these pictures to become more creative and more daring in their works, even when dealing with stories similar in nature to their predecessors....

Well-meaning optimists often nudge us to believe that it’s never too late to discover (or rediscover) our respective callings in life (and sometimes they’re right). At a time when many of us may have given up on our dreams or settled for a simpler way of life, some still eagerly follow such inspirational advice and find the experience refreshingly rejuvenating. But even with the best of hopes and...

Movies about second chances are fairly common fare in the world of cinema. They offer opportunities to explore themes like redemption and forgiveness. These notions usually appear in interpersonal dramas or gentle comedies. So it’s truly unusual to find them as thematic underpinnings in as unlikely a context as science fiction. Nevertheless, such is the case in a new summertime blockbuster. Find o...

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, uneven, and even dismaying, if not handled properly. However, when addressed with a skillful touch, such stories can be surprisingly e...

Celebrities are often regarded as vain, narcissistic, self-absorbed, and unapologetically materialistic, consumed with their own ambitions, the center of attention, and lining their own pockets. Seldom are they widely recognized for qualities like artistic integrity, personal fulfillment, and noble intentions. But those generalizations may be overstated; some individuals indeed embody sincere moti...

Nineteenth-century Irish novelist, playwright, and raconteur Oscar Wilde, widely known for his witticisms and observations about life, is generally credited with the following arguably astute advice: “One should always be in love. That is the reason why one should never marry.” And it’s most fitting that those very words should eloquently serve as a cinematic epigraph at the start of a new comedy-...

“Disclosure” can be an awfully loaded word, one that carries connotations on multiple levels, nearly always with personally meaningful ramifications. However, those implications may sometimes be so subtle that they’re easy to miss, even though they do not diminish their importance. It’s also interesting to note how they’re frequently revealed simultaneously, heightening their collective impact, a...

It’s often been observed that “order comes out of chaos,” a notion that might seem counterintuitive but frequently rings true. It’s also something that can be seen in a variety of contexts, with corollaries all their own tailored to the area of endeavor in question. In the world of music, this idea can be applied to the tuning of instruments – specifically pianos – wherein it’s been said that “har...

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, because you just might be surprised by what’s inside. The content may readily defy observations and expectations in unanticipated ways. And the same, of course, can be said for people, especially those who exhibit traits or behavior that’s outside the mainstream. That’s precisely the point driven home by the excellent new, award-winning, fact-based...

As we approach the finish lines of our lives, we often take time to reflect on how we’ve spent the years of our existence. It’s a process that allows us to take stock of who we are and how we’ve lived, and it frequently provides a means to help us make decisions about any remaining unfinished business we may have. However, such soul-searching may also leave us with more questions than answers at a...

Social issues frequently provide considerable fodder for documentary features. especially when they address hot-button issues that are on the minds of many of us and have the potential to affect us significantly. That's very much the case when it comes to such subjects as effective, compassionate health care and the impact of electronic technology on our daily lives. Fortunately, both of these top...

No matter how much we may care for our significant others, we sometimes appear to experience issues with them that threaten the future of our relationships. The love between us might still be seemingly present, but the overall tone of the partnership feels ... off, and we’re unlikely to know why. Unfortunately, under those circumstances, we may give up and choose to separate, but is that really th...

Courage comes in many forms, some of them plainly apparent and others seemingly unlikely. Ironically, it’s those emboldened but unsuspecting heroes who often end up achieving the greatest victories in their endeavors, even when up against formidable opponents. And now the makings of such an implausible scenario provide the focus for an insightful first-person documentary, one in which an unassumin...

One of the most inspiring messages I’ve run across in my life maintains that “The greatest joy is in creation,” a message that, ironically, came my way via a Chinese fortune cookie just as I had begun work on my first book. The timing couldn’t have been better, as this sentiment fed directly into my writing. It proved to me at the time – and ever since – that creativity is essential to help keep u...

Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of a bully’s wrath can understand the hurt, anxiety, and self-esteem issues that frequently accompany such physical and emotional trauma. The abusive taunting, teasing, mockery, and ostracism that come with such cruel treatment can leave its victims devastated for years afterward, making it difficult, if not impossible, to recover. And this doesn’t eve...

When the slate gets involuntarily wiped clean, we generally have two choices available to us: (1) walking away and starting anew or (2) attempting to rebuild. Both options usually represent hard choices, not only because of the effort required, but also due to the emotional anguish we’re likely to face. Of those two choices, the restoration option can be particularly trying, given that, as we go t...

Forgiveness is one of the most challenging but potentially rewarding exercises in which we can engage. Mustering up the courage and gumption to take on this task may be difficult, even anguishing. But, once we make our way through this potentially intimidating process, we often find ourselves feeling renewed, brimming with rejuvenated emotions and grace that we never knew we possessed. In that sen...

We’ve all been taught the wisdom behind the notion of “honesty is the best policy.” It’s sound, solid guidance that’s nearly always appropriate (provided it’s not carried to an unhealthy extreme). But what about the opposite of this advice: Is there ever any benefit in a falsehood, the so-called “good lie?” At first glance, it might be easy to dismiss this idea out of hand, but what if something l...

Life can sometimes present us with hard choices. However, strange as it might sound, death might actually hand us some even bigger ones. That’s the dilemma posed to a recently deceased woman who led a long and largely happy life. But, much to her surprise, now that she's in the afterlife, she faces a decision that’s not at all what she expected, a choice far greater and more difficult than anythin...

In an age where distinguishing what seems genuine from something that’s clandestinely veiled, it may be difficult to know what to believe. As a result, we might abandon any attempt to identify inherent (and potentially significant) differences. Or, by contrast, we may become so obsessed with reconciling such matters that we descend into a sea of paranoid conspiracy theories, potentially seeing sha...

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, almost as if we’re stuck in a frightening new Orwellian paradigm. That’s significant, not only for how we perceive existence and our connections (or lack thereof) to it, but also in terms of how we...

It’s been said that “life is what you make of it,” that “we become what we believe.” To some, this probably seems like the content of a warm, fuzzy, inspirational greeting card. But, if we truly take the time to examine ourselves and our lives, we’re likely to find that there’s more than a small kernel of truth in these observations. Find out more in a review of the insightful new romantic comedy-...

Those who insist on being themselves, no matter what, are often met with staunch opposition from those expecting them to strictly comply with their wishes. But, by willingly giving license to their inner rebels, these free-spirited mavericks are often subjected to sanctions aimed at stifling their actions, beliefs and behavior, even for the slightest of deviations from conventional expectations. F...