While the news is full of stories about same-sex marriage and gun control issues, it struck
me how two movies I have seen recently viewed closely touch upon both subjects.

Travis Fine’s "Any Day Now" is the moving true story of a gay couple whose efforts to adopt a young man with Down syndrome in 1979 are thwarted because of their homosexuality. Actors Alan Cumming, whose singing numbers are entertaining while
his wrath against the system is riveting, and Garret Dillahunt express such care for the
young man, but the biased court is blind to this loving couple.

A winner of a number of audience awards, the film is both a crowd-pleaser and inspires anger over such archaic views. One cannot help thinking that a showing at the Supreme Court could be helpful before they rule on the same sex marriage cases.

Opening up last week...

We all know what a great actor Dustin Hoffman is and how much pleasure he has given us on the screen. What a nice surprise to see him act so skillfully as a director in his debut film, "Quartet."

The storyline is delightful -- egotistical fading musicians and opera singers all holed up in an “old folks’ home" in the English countryside. The stars of the past remain even more so in their old age. They share aches and pains, uber egos, and old grudges.

Billy Connolly shines as the humorous Wilfred Bond, whose inappropriate running commentary both shock and entertain. Maggie Smith as Jean Horton continues the habitual casting of her as queen of the diva roles from "Downton Abbey" to "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."  In this more romantic role, she softens up as she repairs the damage...

As an avid moviegoer, live theater takes second fiddle for me unless it’s the revival of some childhood favorite. I confess I ran to “South Pacific” and “West Side Story” once they showcased in my hometown D.C. --  my girlfriends and I used to play the records and act out the songs in our basements when we were young. 

But there is always the attraction of newer creative projects that scream, “Come see me.” So it was a no-brainer to attend the Off-Broadway play “Old Jews Telling Jokes” the minute I read the title. It didn’t hurt that the play was co-written by a high school and college friend Dan Okrent, a respected magazine editor and author, a former New York Times public editor -- and creator of rotisserie baseball. 

Although I admit to never having read the website that inspired the show, I...

The 50th New York Film Festival just unveiled its golden anniversary with two epic tales during its first weekend. For opening night there was the 3D premiere of Ang Lee’s adventurous “Life of Pi,” the compelling story of a young Indian lad being shipwrecked with a ferocious tiger.

I still have not recovered from some of the spectacular ocean scenes and the perception that a tiger does not master emotional ties with humans. An interesting crouching tiger in this film.

That first weekend gained more prestige by featuring another epic film from Hollywood’s glorious past. The restored version of David Lean’s riveting “Lawrence of Arabia” played on Sunday morning to a most enthusiastic audience.

Instead of a protagonist being overcome by water on Friday night, we empathized with Peter O'...