The ivy-clad halls of Newport, Rhode Island’s stoic Braylin College are about to get shaken up (or at least that’s what administrators think). Renowned philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) has agreed to join the school’s faculty as a visiting instructor for the summer program. His arrival is heralded as a major coup for the university, given his pedigree as one of the field’s most insightful academics. But his standing precedes him in other ways, too; the handsome young scholar has earned quite a reputation as a ladies’ man.
Woody Allen
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Life would be pretty tedious if everything could be explained in purely rational terms. As valuable as logic and the intellect are, they don’t take into account the mystery of magic and the intuition, elements that add spice and flavor to our lives and the realities we create for ourselves. And forgoing one of those components of existence at the expense of the other can be a painful experience, to be sure. Learning to strike a balance between the two is important to our well-being and happiness as a beleaguered protagonist discovers for himself in the latest offering from director Woody Allen, “Magic in the Moonlight.”
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Arts & EntertainmentFamily & Relationships
‘Fading Gigolo’ urges us to broaden our horizons
by Brent Marchant May 16, 2014For many of us, there comes a time in our lives when we find ourselves stretching in ways we never thought possible. Those instances can be exhilarating, introducing us to talents we never knew we possessed and enabling us to access vast untapped reserves of personal power. Of course, those revelations seldom materialize unless we recognize the opportunities that make such episodes of personal growth possible, which may be tricky if they call for us to venture outside our comfort zones. These are among the challenges posed to a cast of colorful but longing characters in the quirky new comedy, “Fading Gigolo.”
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Being willing to face the truth of our lives can be a difficult and painful lesson at times. Under such circumstances, it may be tempting to look away in hopes that the difficulties will somehow just evaporate. But such wishful thinking seldom pans out as hoped for, leaving us with problems that are even larger to contend with, as becomes all too apparent in the award-winning Woody Allen comedy-drama, “Blue Jasmine,” now available on DVD and Blu-ray disk.
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Arts & EntertainmentFamily & Relationships
‘Her’ pushes the limits of human connection
by Brent Marchant February 8, 2014What 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.”
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Arts & Entertainment
READ: Conscious creation films fare well at Oscars
by Brent Marchant March 1, 2012Movies with conscious creation-related themes fared well once again at this year’s Oscars ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday night. There weren’t many surprises, however, with front-running nominees taking home most of the awards as expected.
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The magic of ‘Midnight in Paris’ charms, inspires
by Brent Marchant June 24, 2011Anyone who has ever been creatively blocked can certainly appreciate Gil’s circumstances. The frustration that comes from being unable to express oneself, despite strong but undefined urges to the contrary, can lead to a desperate search for inspiration. And that’s why the energizing effects that come from finding it—or even the belief that one has found it—seem so thoroughly satisfying.
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“Whatever Works” (2009). Cast: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr., Henry Cavill, Conleth Hill, Olek Krupa, Christopher Evan Welch, Jessica Hecht, Michael McKean, Carolyn McCormick; Director:…