Howard (Robert Ryan) has found a body: His employer strangled. Without a moment’s hesitation, Howard flees the scene, runs to the nearest rail yard, and hops aboard the train headed to it-doesn’t-matter-ville. All that matters to Howard is getting the … Continue reading BEWARE, MY LOVELY
Set in the West Indian neighborhoods of London, from the late 1960s to mid-1980s, the five films that comprise writer/director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe are cultural celebrations. Of food, music, and art. Of people just trying to make a buck, and of … Continue reading SMALL AXE
On this week’s edition of After Image, I chat with Metro Arts producer Veronica Straight-Lingo about three new animated films to enjoy with the family over the holidays: Wolfwalkers (Apple TV+), Away (TubiTV), and Soul (Disney+). Listen to After Image, … Continue reading
A young man with nothing more than the clothes on his back and a deployed parachute hangs by a dead tree branch. The landscape around him is desolate. Then, from the dust and mist, a large black figure approaches. It … Continue reading Animation Double Feature
There’s reality, and then there’s everything else. Cinema exists firmly in the latter: Cameras don’t capture reality; they capture a perspective of it with a defined beginning, middle, and end. Add editing into the mix, and you’ve got something new … Continue reading SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE ONE
Anthony (Jamie Dornan) likes flowers. He also likes Rosemary (Emily Blunt) but has a hard time telling her so. He has a hard time telling her about the flowers, too. There’s a lot that Anthony and Rosemary don’t say—to each … Continue reading WILD MOUNTAIN THYME
On Oct. 30, 2015, a fire broke out during a heavy metal concert in the Bucharest nightclub, Colectiv. Twenty-seven concertgoers died that night; another 180 were injured. In the following four months, another 37 died while still in state hospitals. … Continue reading COLLECTIVE
Kilkenny, Ireland, 1650: A city has walled itself off from the world. But every nook and cranny inside the walled city has been filled with homes and shops. To grow and raise food, the villagers must venture outside the walls … Continue reading WOLFWALKERS
Everybody clap your hands. Soul, the feature film from Disney/Pixar, rolls credits with a new version of the Curtis Mayfield classic, “It’s All Right,” one of the most joyous songs ever laid down on wax. Ending a movie on an up … Continue reading SOUL
Michael J. Cinema 
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