How does one define a horror movie? Thrills and chills? Blood and guts? Elements of the supernatural and the super-demented? In a word, yes. All of these tropes are acceptable for the horror genre, yet they still remain restrictive. Using … Continue reading What’s in a name?
Every great movie holds two similar distinctions: they appear fresh and modern, no matter when they were made, and they are almost always ahead of their time. Of all of these movies, Jean Renoir’s seminal The Rules of the Game (Le règle … Continue reading THE RULES OF THE GAME
Dior. The name itself invokes the very highest of French fashion. One of the original members of haute couture, Christian Dior, opened his Parisian house in December of 1946 when he was just 41. By February 1947, Dior launched “The … Continue reading DIOR AND I
Colorado is home to a plethora of film festivals—from the very small and local to the very large and international—but the Stanley Film Festival (SFF), playing April 30–May 3, is a rare one. Existing left of center, SFF embraces all … Continue reading Stanley Film Festival
The movie opens and closes with a similar image, the ruins of a fortress, built at the foot of Mt. Fuji, enveloped by fog. A visual cue from famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa reminding viewers that what goes around comes … Continue reading THRONE OF BLOOD
None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before Me?Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine. Job 41:10-11, King James Version Leviathan, the latest … Continue reading LEVIATHAN (Левиафан)
Writer, director, and actor Pierfrancesco Diliberto (known commonly as Pif) knows that the best way to kill giants is with humor. The satirist has spent the last 15 years working in Italian television, and now he has made the transition … Continue reading THE MAFIA ONLY KILLS IN SUMMER
This is a true story.This is based on a true story.This story was inspired by true events.This story is nothing of the sort. Moviegoers have long struggled with “truth” in movies. This struggle ranges from how historical figures are depicted … Continue reading KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER
The history of cinema is littered with career defining debuts. From Orson Welles’ seismic Citizen Kane to François Truffaut’s autobiographical The 400 Blows; from Terrence Malick’s poetic Badlands to Martin Scorsese’s raw Whose That Knocking On My Door? They don’t … Continue reading I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS
Michael J. Cinema 
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