Earlier this week, BBC Culture released its lists of “The 100 greatest American films” from a poll of 62 international film critics. The results weren’t surprising—what was left off caused more discussion—with the usual suspects: Citizen Kane, Vertigo, The Godfather, The Searchers, 2001, etc., topping … Continue reading THE THIRD MAN
The time has come to rewrite Jean-Luc Godard’s aphorism: “All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl.” Writer/director/cinematographer Sean Baker doesn’t even need the gun—just two transgender actresses, three iPhone 5s with fancy lenses, and East … Continue reading TANGERINE
David Thorpe’s documentary Do I Sound Gay? is cinema by way of the diary. After breaking up with his boyfriend, Thorpe realizes he’s not happy with the person he is and decides to change for the better. This happens to just about … Continue reading DO I SOUND GAY?
For most, Taxi Driver is summed up by one of the most famous lines in cinema: “You talking to me?” Conveying masculinity and bravado, it readies angry men for battle. But it is misleading. It is an act, a façade. The truth … Continue reading TAXI DRIVER
On the eve of World War II, the great director, Jean Renoir, gave one of the most tragic and truthful dictums of all time, “The awful thing about life is this: Everybody has their reasons.” That was true for the … Continue reading CARTEL LAND
There has never been, and there will never be, a movie like Roar. Even the tagline is one in a million, “No animals were harmed in the making of this film. Seventy cast and crew members were.” If that doesn’t pique your … Continue reading ROAR
On February 10, 2008, singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse was nominated for six Grammys, walked away with five—including Record of the Year—and solidified her place as a worldwide recording artist. For most people, that would have been more than enough. For Winehouse, … Continue reading AMY
On November 23, 2012, at approximately 7:40 p.m. in Jacksonville, Florida, Michael David Dunn gunned down Jordan Davis at a Gate Gas convenience store parking lot. The dispute was over the loud music emanating from the vehicle Davis was in, … Continue reading 3½ MINUTES, 10 BULLETS
If Jean-Luc Godard was correct when he surmised, “The history of cinema is the story of men filming women,” then the French auteur Olivier Assayas’s latest, Clouds of Sils Maria, adds the crucial word missing from that epigraph: young. The cinema is … Continue reading CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Michael J. Cinema 
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