comedy

What, exactly, makes us who we are? Are we merely an amalgamation of biochemical components randomly thrown together, susceptible to the ravages of time? An arrangement of thought patterns organized around some unidentified driving force? A collection of memories bound together by some unseen unifying element? Or is it some combination of the foregoing? Those are some of the underlying questions raised for consideration in the delightful new comedy, “Robot & Frank.”

If you knew for certain that the world was going to end in three weeks, how would you spend your time? Wrapping up the loose ends of your life? Making amends with those you’ve wronged (and who have wronged you)? Those are all questions raised in the thought-provoking new comedy, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.”

Time travel is a notion that has intrigued readers and writers for ages, and its depiction on the big screen has offered viewers a host of interpretations over the years. But temporal excursions can have both advantages and drawbacks, some of which carry loaded consequences, implications explored in the quirky new indie comedy, “Safety Not Guaranteed.”

iven that we always have access to an infinite range of probable existences through the conscious creation process (or in accordance with quantum physics principles, if you prefer the scientific perspective), it’s possible for us to tap into any one of them (including their respective temporal elements), depending on our prevailing beliefs at the time.

Many of us have come to fear change, that the disappearance of the familiar will leave us sad, disoriented or less well off than we’ve grown accustomed to being. But it need not be that way at all. Change just means doing something differently, and it doesn’t automatically equate to things being worse than they have been; it could indeed be the start of something far better than we could have possibly imagined but that we have not previously permitted to materialize.

“Julie and Julia” (2009). Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond, Helen Carey, Jane Lynch, Deborah Rush, Joan Juliet Buck, Mary Lynn Rajskub; Director: Nora Ephron;…