Writers themselves aren’t that dramatic or empathetic a subject,” screenwriter Sarah Gubbins says. “As a genus and species they are wont to be solitary, sedentary, and sullen. Social mores often elude them. As a breed they are prone to paranoia, … Continue reading Home Viewing: Writers on Screen
Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) is precisely the type of writer you’d expect to meet if you’d read one of her stories: Distant, acerbic, and drunk. Her husband, Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg), also fits the mold. He’s a college professor with … Continue reading SHIRLEY
Adapted from the novel by Miles Franklin (the pen name for Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin), My Brilliant Career is the Australian story of one woman, two suitors, and a passion for the pen. Both men want marriage, and Sybylla (Judy Davis) … Continue reading MY BRILLIANT CAREER
Marion Michael Robinson, aka John Wayne, aka The Duke, was born in Winterset, Iowa on May 26, 1907. If he were alive today, he would be 113. But he’s not. Wayne died on June 11, 1979, at the age of … Continue reading THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
A lament of the cancellation of the 73rd Cannes Film Festival, and recommend past Palme d’Or recipients you can stream right now, including a personal favorite, The Tree of Life. Continue reading
The origins of France’s Cannes Film Festival lay not in La République, but neighboring Italy. Specifically, 1937’s Venice Film Festival, when Benito Mussolini stuck his big, fat fascist fingers in the mix and ensured that The Grand Illusion from French … Continue reading Home Viewing: Palme d’Or
Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier is a sadist, and a proud one at that. He likes to put his characters (mostly women) through hell and back just to see if they’ll come out the other side. They do, and it’s … Continue reading DANCER IN THE DARK
Director Jacques Demy sought to make a movie that would make audiences cry. He succeeded in spades. It helps that Michelle Legrande provided one of the most indelible film scores of all time, and cinematographer Jean Rabier found the sourness … Continue reading THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG)
Someday we’ll fall down and weep, and we’ll understand it all. All things. —Mr. O’Brien, The Tree of Life For two weeks every May, the world of cinema turns to the beaches of Southern France as the Cannes Film Festival … Continue reading THE TREE OF LIFE
Michael J. Cinema 
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