The storyline in “The Fundamentals of Caring” is not original.  Written and directed by Rob Burnett, it is based on the novel “The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving” by Jonathan Evison.  We saw a similar treatment of the subject of a severely handicapped person, whose caretaker changes his life, as well as his own, in  “The Intouchables,” a French film dealing with that theme.

With the recently celebrated 75th Anniversary of VE Day, commemorating the end of World War II in Europe, A Royal Night Out, currently streaming on Netflix, couldn’t have been re-released at a more appropriate time. This delightful film, written by Trevor De Silva and Kevin Hood, and exquisitely directed by UK director Julian Jarroid (Brideshead Revisited,) was originally released by Lionsgate on May 8, 2015.

I wonder if I could take your mind off COVID-19 for a few minutes to tell you about Lee Stockner, a very special young man in New York who teaches piano primarily to Autistic children.

If you grew up in New England in the 70s and 80s, you were exposed to an incredibly diverse music scene. Chart rockers abound, Aerosmith, J. Geils and the Cars filled the airwaves. Radio playlists were laced with alternatives like the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, Pixies, Til Tuesday and Watermelon Slim.

It’s not necessary for me to say that we are living in difficult times – times that tax our ability to adjust to a life heretofore unknown to us. Like many of you, watching movies has been a way to escape from this dreadful reality into another world – one devoid of the challenges we are currently facing.

“One of Us,” is a no holds barred documentary feature illuminating the intricate, almost police state of the Hasidic Jews living in Brooklyn. Originally released in 2017, the film was produced and directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, former members of that biotic community, and illuminates the severe consequences to anyone wishing to leave the safety of that non-secular “state.”

Italian director Giuseppe Capotondi’s directing career kicked off at age 23. He cut his teeth on music videos and over 250 TV commercials, subsequently winning international awards. The Burnt Orange Heresy, his second feature, is a fascinating Hitchcockian mystery which has more twists and turns than a salted pretzel.

Under the deft, delicate hand of Swedish director Levan Akin, who is of Georgian decent, And Then We Danced is a tender love story that combines the long-standing tradition of exciting Georgian folk dancing, which just about every child learns growing up...

Nena Anderson is in constant motion. She has to be. She has a garden and confesses “I like to cook out of it.” There are also two dogs, three chickens, teen-agers, a husband and five on-going, musical projects. Six, if you count her collaboration on Alex Woodard’s, For the Sender.

Well, it’s been a week. And once again I find myself sitting on the park bench in Vevey, Switzerland next to the statue of Charlie Chaplin, with whom I share the panorama of shimmering Lake Geneva and the pristine snowcapped Alps in the distance.