As the Confucian proverb goes: “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” Unfortunately for Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively), she’s going to need more than two to get through this. Three years ago, her family was killed … Continue reading THE RHYTHM SECTION
In addition to the praise and accolades each year’s Oscar nominations bring, there’s a fair amount of teeth-gnashing and viewers crying foul. A stupid movie got too much. Another didn’t get enough. My favorite didn’t get anything. On and on … Continue reading Cinema on the Shorter Side: 2020 Oscar Nominated Short Films
On this week’s edition of After Image, I sit down with Metro Arts’ producer Veronica Straight-Lingo to discuss The Gentlemen (and what makes a work of art feel “derivative”) and Cinema noir et blanc, a new three-day film series at the … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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…
Michael J. Cinema 
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