An Italian production about the death of not just someone but their entire life's meaning. Based on the book by Thomas Mann it focuses on a music composer Gustav Von Auschenbach. He's stricken by ennui. After arriving in the city of Italy he finds new passion for his work. But after a failed performance he starts to doubt his ability. That all changes when he sees a young boy with his mother. There is a lot of meandering shots in this whole thing; the two main leads don't even interact for most of the time. The real character that stands out next to the fantastic scenery is the score. Gives it enough of a dramatic edge. It's a bit empty when it comes to emotional heft though. But it does remind us there's almost no escape from the passage of time catching up to us all.

Just because someone is sick doesn't mean they still can't experience love. ABC television presents one of their earliest movies starring the late Peter Falk and the late Jill Clayburgh. These are two people in love with a similar circumstance. Griffin & Phoenix follows in the footsteps of 'A Love Story.' Geoffrey Griffin has two kids but is separated from his wife, Sarah Phoenix is a photographer. Griffin gets the devastating news that he's going to die from cancer and it's pretty much untreatable. Phoenix is equally upset while gets the same news about her. It seems neither of them have hope to make it. But both of them enroll in a college class for psychology. They meet and start to form a unique bond. The two also partake in all kinds of crazy things they'd never imagine doing to increase their zest for living. Griffin has taken up being a writer hoping to leave something behind when he's gone. Maybe he'll even reconnect with his family eventually. This is equally romantic and heartbreaking altogether. Yet Falk and Clayburgh light up the screen with their chemistry. Super sad ending for sure but comes with its own brand of humor.

Who gets the late shift on late night television? The one who's the funniest. Based on the book by Bill Carter and directed by Betty Thomas. This is a comedic take on the true story of the fight between Jay Leno and David Letterman for the ultimate talk show. CBS is talking about the next live show host; Letterman is owned by NBC and Leno is hot in the ratings. Someone's gotta take over for Johnny Carson so it'll be a bloody battle for airtime. A brilliant cast of John Michael Higgins, Daniel Roebuck, Treat Williams, Ed Begely Jr, and Kathy Bates. It's a lot of handheld camera techniques almost like a documentary. If you're not a fan of the conversations this won't interest you. But it's fascinating to look at the world of late show television and who deserves to get the better slates.

One simple act of refusal can change everything. On December 1st, 1955 a monumental historical movement took place in Montgomery, Alabama. This act of defiance would unite an entire community for social change in our nation. Segregation was fluent in the south then came Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. This was the infamous bus boycott that many blacks soon followed. Sometime later Martin Luther King, Jr would lead the Montgomery march across the bridge. The movie is based on the book Daybreak of Freedom. It uses various archival footage with great actors playing King, Coretta Scott, and Abernathy fighting in this dramatic telling for civil rights. Everything from the church gatherings to combating the white citizens council feeling that the boycotts are impeding their goal. Jeffrey Wright, Terrence Howard, and CCH Pounder play all their parts respectively. Wright gives one of his best performances ever as Martin Luther King. The bus boycott is widely considered to be the wide birth of the Civil Rights Movement. It certainly paved the way for many struggles for freedom and equality in the days to come. This movie is not to be missed for its superb acting and historical significance.

There are places that change us. There are journeys we must take. And there are challenges of pain and trauma we must learn to overcome. Sometimes we have to do all of it on our own. Robin Wright stars and directs this self-discovery tale of a woman living in her own land in the vast of the wilderness. Edee loses her son and husband, after they pass away she resorts to dealing with the loss all by herself. She figures the only way for her to deal with it is to cut herself off from all human contact. Edee chooses to move into a cabin on the Wyoming mountainside yet she seems pretty unprepared. She has to learn to live a solitary life without electricity, phones, and try to farm, hunt, harvest, and fish by herself. Sometime later a man named Miguel stumbles onto her almost dying of hypothermia. He wants her to be more aware of her surroundings seeking outside help if necessary. Edee begs him to understand she wants to be in these woods alone cause she chooses to be. To her she feels more alone being around other people and self-destructive. As time goes on Edee starts to adapt to the hermit-like existence. This is another take of just one person being completely dependent on themselves without anyone else. Sometimes we need to be by ourselves to re-discover our deeper meaning and purpose of what we left behind. It's all about the triumph of the human spirit while also abandoned the modern conveniences of daily life to survive. Robin Wright's performance shines ever so, the vistas are so lovely, and delivers on the right amount of emotion mainly towards the end. I did get very weepy once the credits started rolling. This actually brought me back to Reese Witherspoon in Wild. Both are very good examples of finding ourselves again after going through such hardship.