Paris

What does the heiress to a vast fortune do with her time and financial resources if she’s in a male-dominated world and not necessarily expected to accomplish much? What’s more, how does someone like that fit in when she possesses a headstrong, eccentric personality, one that could easily ruffle the staid feathers of a society with little imagination or tolerance for unconventional thinking? If you’re Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979), you chart your own path – and become quite a trailblazer in the process.

In 1926, life was good for Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and his wife, Gerda (Alicia Vikander). The couple lived comfortably in Copenhagen as aspiring artists; Einar specialized in landscapes, and Gerda painted portraits. When not working, they enjoyed a lively social life, hobnobbing with the city’s social elite and members of the arts community, such as their good friend, Ulla (Amber Heard), a colorful though somewhat flighty ballet dancer. But, above all, they were madly in love with one another. They were also anxious to start a family, a process that wasn’t going too well (but at which they nevertheless kept trying).

In August 1974, crowds of open-mouthed New Yorkers were captivated when a little-known French high-wire artist named Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) undertook and achieved the unthinkable – stringing a cable and successfully traversing the space between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 110 stories (1,350 feet) above the ground.

Being artistically inclined in a country run by a regime that discourages – even punishes – certain forms of self-expression can be frustrating at best, dangerous at worst. Coming to terms with such circumstances proved a hard lesson for Iranian-born dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, who, in his youth (Gabriel Senior), had to reconcile his love for his art form with a reality in which this activity was banned by a fundamentalist government that considered it immoral. Concerned about her son’s welfare, Afshin’s mother (Nazanin Boniadi) warned him of the consequences for defiance of this dictate, citing the strong-arm tactics of the Basij, the country’s often-brutal volunteer militia responsible for suppressing rebellious activities and dissident gatherings under orders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. But, despite the danger, Afshin had difficulty containing his enthusiasm; clearly he needed a safe outlet to practice his artistry.

We’ve all undoubtedly had days where we’ve found our heads spinning, overwhelmed by the complexities before us. It’s enough to make us crazy. It’s also enough to get us to ask ourselves. “Why me?” Such are the circumstances served up in the independent comedy, “Chinese Puzzle,” now available on video on-demand and scheduled for release on Blu-ray disk next week.

A heightened sense of self-awareness is often accompanied by the realization that we each have a destiny in life. Even if we can’t always pinpoint what we’re supposed to accomplish, many of us nevertheless have an undeniable sense that we’re supposed to achieve something during our terrestrial visit. But, once we begin to understand what we’re meant to do, it’s up to us to carry through on our objectives, even if we don’t know precisely how. That’s particularly crucial when our time runs short, a concern not unlike that faced by a supremely gifted but seriously challenged protagonist in director Luc Besson’s new metaphysically themed action-adventure, “Lucy.”

We all reach critical junctures in our lives, and those turning points nearly always require us to make some significant (and hard) choices. It’s a process that can become considerably more difficult if we tune out to it, be it intentionally or inadvertently, during the time leading up to those decisions. Such is the lot of a middle class English couple in the bittersweet romantic comedy-drama, “Le Week-End.”

For many, Paris is the ultimate destination. One of the world’s most beautiful cities filled with art, culture, wine and incredible food. Although for special diets such as vegan, gluten free and dairy free, it seems that it might not be the most accommodating place to visit. But I’m glad to report that it is quickly becoming a hotspot for delicious dining, no matter your dietary restrictions!

What makes a good relationship? That’s a question mankind has wrestled with for ages (or at least ever since Woody Allen started making movies), but the answer has always seemed to elude us, shifting like an ever-moving target. And the clarity we seek on this point may be even harder to come by with the release of the latest offering from director Spike Jonze, the romantic comedy-drama, “Her.”