The Lion King, Disney’s computer-generated remake, isn’t like the rest. Yes, the story—Hamlet meets Bambi with a touch of The Jungle Book—is intact, as are the memorable Elton John and Tim Rice songs. But The Lion King is different. From the first delicate images of the … Continue reading THE LION KING
It was one of those moments. The kind where two historical figures crossed paths briefly and a simple exchange carries meaning greater than one could have perceived. He was Bob Dylan, already a major player in the rock ‘n’ roll … Continue reading JANIS, LITTLE GIRL BLUE
Well, if you want to sing out, sing outAnd if you want to be free, be free.’Cause there’s a million things to beYou know that there are. —Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) It starts with music, a siren song if … Continue reading COLD WAR
Style is half the picture. Story is the other half. William Shakespeare’s 17th-century play, The Tragedie of Macbeth, might be one of the greatest stories ever penned. If not, it’s at least one of the most durable. The desire for power, … Continue reading THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
There are roughly three New Yorks … First, the New York of the man or woman who was born here … Second, there is the New York of the commuter … Third, there is the New York of the person … Continue reading THE WORLD BEFORE YOUR FEET
If a revolution could ever be distilled into a single image, then let it be Delacroix’s commemoration of the French Revolution’s July 1830 victory, “Liberty Leading the People.” The now-iconic painting focuses on Marianne, a woman waving the familiar tricolor … Continue reading BELLADONNA OF SADNESS (哀しみのベラドンナ)
The world breaks everyone,” Ernest Hemingway wrote in A Farewell to Arms, “and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very … Continue reading MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Few words in the English language come as charged as “Satanism.” Conjuring images of blasphemy, ritual, sacrifice, and perversion, Satanism seems to be the sort of thing people can oppose on name alone. Then again, few know what Satanists believe. … Continue reading HAIL SATAN?
On Sept. 1, 2013, Hayao Miyazaki, the imaginative creator of My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, and The Wind Rises, announced his retirement. Cameras flashed, and reporters asked questions. This wasn’t the first time the 72-year-old animator claimed he was stepping … Continue reading NEVER-ENDING MAN: HAYAO MIYAZAKI (終わらない人 宮崎駿)
Michael J. Cinema 
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