Children’s movies are fascinating triumphs of simplicity and clarity. Often these movies render complex issues so succinctly that they become masterworks full of sophisticated ideas, a trait that some of the best “adult” works cannot hold a candle to. For … Continue reading BOY & THE WORLD (O MENINO E O MU)
Marriage: two people come together, make a proclamation of lifelong devotion and fidelity and try their damnedest to carry it out. For some, it all works out. For others, it doesn’t. What makes the difference? Could it be the convenient … Continue reading 45 YEARS
Ane (Nagore Aranburu) lives her life of quiet desperation one bland day at a time. Stuck in a loveless marriage and grappling with early on-set menopause, the childless Ane sighs. She always thought there would be more. More life, more … Continue reading FLOWERS
If I have seen further,” Sir Isaac Newton wrote to his peer, Robert Hooke, “it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” The line is well-known, but it isn’t Newton’s. Like many before and after him, Newton drew on … Continue reading THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (隠し砦の三悪人)
Once upon a time, there were five beautiful Turkish sisters whose parents died when they were very young. They were sent to live with their uncle and grandmother, high in the hills above the city of Istanbul. One day, a … Continue reading MUSTANG
It takes an army to make a movie. Behind the writers, directors, producers, and actors, hundreds of unseen hands toil endlessly to set the cinematic stage and deliver the illusion we call “movie magic.” “You bring together what [is] real … Continue reading Courtney Hoffman and Rosemary Brandenburg on THE HATEFUL EIGHT
For the last three years, I have started every one of these year-end posts with, “[Year] was an excellent year at the movies.” Or something to that effect. This idea remains true in 2015, but the casualness makes me pause. … Continue reading 2015 at the Movies
On some level, every work of art is a reflection of the human condition. Who we are and how we relate to others and the world around us is the concern of every artist, but for some, that concern is … Continue reading ANOMALISA
Two Decembers ago, New Yorker critic Richard Brody wrote, “The year 2013 has been an amazing one for movies, though maybe every year is an amazing year for movies if one is ready to be amazed by movies.” True in 2013, and … Continue reading 2015: Come and See
Michael J. Cinema 
You must be logged in to post a comment.