The sages call it by many names: yagé, ambiwaska, aioasca, but most know it as ayahuasca: a hallucinogenic brew drunk during a spiritual ceremony. That’s why the Spanish conquistadors outlawed it, and the U.S. government classified it Schedule 1. But … Continue reading THE MEDICINE
No one face embodied the French New Wave more than that of Anna Karina. Born Hanne Karin Bayer in Denmark in 1940, Karina made her way to Paris as a model when she was 17, starring in advertisements for Coca-Cola, … Continue reading LE PETIT SOLDAT
The king of the jungle, a London-based gangster and high-powered drug dealer, has been killed. Or, so says Fletcher (Hugh Grant), an investigative reporter who’s stumbled onto a scoop so good, he might as well parlay it into blackmail and … Continue reading THE GENTLEMEN
On this week’s edition of After Image, I sit down with Metro Arts’ producer Veronica Straight-Lingo to discuss The Cave and plenty of other Oscar-nominated movies. Wanna catch up with some of them before the awards ceremony on Feb. 9? Click … Continue reading
Before the Syrian Civil War in 2011, an estimated 2 million souls called Ghouta home. Less than 20% now reside in the suburb of Damascus. The rest either fled, were evacuated, or were killed. A few remained to help those … Continue reading THE CAVE
When François Truffaut penned his revolutionary essay, “A Certain Tendency in French Cinema,” the up-and-coming critic laid waste to what he saw as a national tradition of quality: A stultifying funeral procession of moviemaking that could barely keep up with … Continue reading MY JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA
On Monday, Jan. 13, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced their nominations for this year’s Oscars. Out of the 53 movies nominated, Joker leads the pack with 11 nominations. The Irishman and Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood … Continue reading Oscars 2020
Earlier today, the Denver Film Critics Society—16 writers and broadcasters working in and around the Mile High City, of which I am one—announced their picks for the year’s best. Of the 41 movies nominated, 1917 (above) — a World War … Continue reading And the winners are…
Monroeville, Alabama, 1987: A man is condemned to death for a crime he did not commit. Do you need to know the color of his skin, or can you already guess? He is Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), and recent Harvard … Continue reading JUST MERCY
Michael J. Cinema 
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