I’m trying to write the best song we’ve ever written,” the brother says. “And the most accessible.”“That sounds stupid,” the sister replies. He’s Finneas Baird O’Connell, and she’s Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell. He’s 21, and she’s 17. They’re standing … Continue reading BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD’S A LITTLE BLURRY
Things are going well for Renesha (Brittany S. Hall). She’s found success working in the nonprofit sector, and her relationship with Evan (Will Brill) has lasted long enough that they feel comfortable with one another while still taking time to … Continue reading TEST PATTERN
Has decency become a sin?” Ibrahima Dieng cries. On his knees, Ibrahima holds out his empty hands in mock offering. The world has stripped him bare, and now, in an ending fitting of Kafka, Ibrahima offers up the scraps. So … Continue reading MANDABI
On this week’s edition of After Image, I chat with Metro Arts’ producer Veronica Straight-Lingo about Within Our Gates (screening for free on Kino Now in honor of Black History Month) and Nomadland, available now in select theaters and on … Continue reading
To criticize a movie, you have to make another movie. —Jean-Luc Godard It might be the most notorious climax in American cinema: A Black man terrorizes a white woman, a Black militia lays siege to a white family’s cabin, and … Continue reading WITHIN OUR GATES
There weren’t any crowds in Park City, Utah, and the big studios may have stayed away, but the 2021 Sundance Film Festival proved that headliners or no, in-person or virtual, the cinematic cream will always rise to the top. Chief … Continue reading All I Need to Get By: Dispatches from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival
Every year, the Australian-based online quarterly, Senses of Cinema, invites writers from all over the globe to submit their selections for the best movies of the year. This year, over a hundred writers sent in their picks, giving a pretty comprehensive … Continue reading SENSES OF CINEMA: 2020 World Cinema Poll
On this week’s edition of After Image, I chat with Metro Arts’ producer Veronica Straight-Lingo about two World War II dramas: Dara of Jasenovic (now playing in select theaters) and The Ascent (available now on Blu-ray and DVD from The … Continue reading
Established by the Independent State of Croatia, under the rule of the fascist Ustase government, Jasenovac was a chain of extermination camps designed to murder Serbs, Jews, and Roma people during World War II. Significantly, they were the only such … Continue reading DARA OF JASENOVAC
Michael J. Cinema 
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