“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” (2025) (Denmark/Czechia/Germany). Cast: Pavel “Pasha” Talankin; Vladimir Putin (archive footage). Director: David Borenstein and Pavel “Pasha” Talankin. Screenplay: David Borenstein. Web site. Trailer. 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 unassuming, mild-mannered David matter-of-factly takes on a daunting Goliath and does so with an unintimidated sense of aplomb and wry tongue-in-cheek humor, a story chronicled in the new delightful but troubling release, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin.” In the small Ural Mountains community of Karabash, Pavel Talankin (better known as “Pasha”) has lived a quiet life as the special event organizer and videographer of a local grade school. Over the years, he has capably and methodically gone about his everyday duties, such as recording school choir performances and arranging graduation ceremonies. This soft-spoken, down-to-earth soul has accomplished these tasks unobtrusively, essentially fading into the background and making it look like these outcomes came into being ...

“Midwinter Break” (2026) (Netherlands/UK). Cast: Lesley Manville, Ciarán Hinds, Niamh Cusack, Ed Sayer, Julie Lamberton, Ozan Topaloglu. Director: Polly Findlay. Screenplay: Bernard MacLaverty and Nick Payne. Book: Bernard MacLaverty, Midwinter Break (2017). Web site. Trailer. Has anyone noticed how it’s becoming increasingly rare these days to find movies that present stories with insightful, contemplative narratives? Granted, pictures like this may not appeal to everyone (especially producers salivating over the hopes of big box office numbers), but the considerations these releases address ultimately account for significant and meaningful aspects of our lives and the nature of existence, big issues that aren’t – and shouldn’t be – easily dismissed. That’s especially true now, given the hunger that many of us have for offerings that provide profound food for thought on both practical and existential levels. Fortunately, though, there’s one new release that amply helps to fill this void, the spiritually oriented relationship drama, “Midwinter Break.” Based on the acclaimed 2017 novel of the same name by author Bernard MacLaverty, the film tells the bittersweet story of Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciarán Hinds), a long-married couple from Glasgow, Scotland who fled their home in Belfast, Northern Ireland years ago when the religion-driven ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday February 24, 2 pm ET, available by clicking here. You can also catch it later on demand on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Podchaser, Audible, Deezer, Podcast Addict and Jiosaavn ...

Photo by Trevor Laster With 2025 now in the books, it’s time to look back on the year in movies. In this third of three blogs, I spotlight my Best and Worst Documentaries of 2025, beginning with a Top 10 Countdown, followed by an open-ended list of Honorable Mentions and an abbreviated list of my choices for the Worst Documentaries of the year. As much as possible, I’ve included web site and trailer links, as well as links to my own reviews. In separate previously published blog posts, I examined my Best Films of 2025 and my Worst Films of 2025. The year just passed was a good one for documentaries (certainly better than the past few were). In particular, there was greater diversity in 2025’s selections, a welcome change, to be sure. But, as I have said with regard to other such trends in movies, I believe there’s always room for more. Some readers have asked me why I write about documentaries separately from narrative features when compiling my best and worst lists. The answer is simple: narrative features are fictional, while documentaries are not (or at least they’re not supposed to be, though there are two releases in ...

Reviews of “The Plague” and “Viva Verdi!”, as well as a Windie Awards recap and a review of the best and worst movies of 2025, are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the website of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here ...

Tune in for the latest Cinema Scribe segment on Bring Me 2 Life Radio, beginning Tuesday February 10, 2 pm ET, available by clicking here. You can also catch it later on demand on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Podchaser, Audible, Deezer, Podcast Addict and Jiosaavn ...