Since his 1991 debut, Slacker, writer/director Richard Linklater has quietly become the most reflective director in American cinema. In the documentary Double Play: Jack Benning and Richard Linklater (Gabe Klinger 2013), Linklater casually outlines his philosophical thesis: “I think ultimately the most interesting view … Continue reading BOYHOOD
Like most love stories, this one begins at the movies. London, 1971: A young actor goes to see the latest release, A Clockwork Orange, and is transfixed. The garish colors, the violence, the sex, the terror, Malcolm McDowell’s theatrical performance; the young … Continue reading FILMWORKER
Remember those old movies? The ones where a couple drives down the road, only they aren’t driving, they’re sitting in a car on some studio lot. And that’s not a road behind them; it’s a rear projection of road. Looks … Continue reading ROME OPEN CITY (Roma città aperta)
July 12, 1917, Bisbee, Arizona: Cochise County Sheriff Harry Wheeler and a deputized posse nearly 2,000 people strong rounded up 1,300 striking miners—many of them immigrants—and sympathetic residents, loaded them into cattle cars at gunpoint and shipped them 200 miles … Continue reading BISBEE ’17
It’s only a paper moon. Sailing over a cardboard sea. But it wouldn’t be make believe if you believe in me. —Billy Rose and Yip Harburg “Paper Moon” The names Harold and Lillian Michelson are not synonymous with cinema, but … Continue reading HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY
Set in modern-day Japan, Belle—the latest from anime writer/director Mamoru Hosoda—follows Suzu, a 17-year-old wanna-be singer suffering from a crippling shyness stemming from a childhood tragedy. For this reason, Suzu can’t connect with the other students and can’t tell her oldest … Continue reading BELLE (竜とそばかすの姫)
There’s no such thing as an American anymore. No Hispanics, no Japanese, no Blacks, no whites, no nothing. It’s just rich people and poor people.” That’s the line David (a slick and oily Jeff Goldblum) feeds drug kingpin Hector (René … Continue reading DEEP COVER
Drawing on the structure from One Thousand and One Nights—where a reluctant bride, Scheherazade, enchants her murderous husband, the Sasanian King, with tales to stay her execution—director Miguel Gomes provides commentary on modern-day cultural and political crises in Portugal. Dealing with … Continue reading ARABIAN NIGHTS
First published in 1923, The Prophet by Lebanese-American author Kahlil Gibran is one of the most successful and popular books of poetry ever produced. Selling more than 100 million copies in more than 40 languages, The Prophet is a collection of 26 illustrated poems … Continue reading THE PROPHET
Michael J. Cinema 
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