PAIN & GAIN
If I think I deserve it, the universe will serve it,” Daniel Lugo tells himself and anyone who will listen. Is he trying to convince them, or is he trying to convince himself? “If I think I deserve it, the … Continue reading PAIN & GAIN
Category: Reviews
TO THE WONDER
Dear Grandma Mary – Thank you very much for coming with me to see To The Wonder. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you did too. The first thing you said to me when the credits came up was, … Continue reading TO THE WONDER
OBLIVION
What does it mean to bear witness? Is it simply to record an event, to interpret an occurrence, to prove that someone or something existed? Philosophers have speculated that the sole purpose of mankind’s existence is to bear witness to … Continue reading OBLIVION
BLANCANIEVES
The broad strokes are ingrained in all of us: the evil stepmother, a banished princess, seven dwarfs, a glass coffin, and a poison apple. Blancanieves, a Spanish production of the familiar tale of Snow White, snatches the tale back from Uncle Walt … Continue reading BLANCANIEVES
ROOM 237
Watching movies is an enjoyable experience. Thinking about movies is illuminating. Writing about movies can be agonizing. And attempting to interpret movies is downright futile. Room 237 is an analysis of Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece, The Shining (1980), divided into nine parts, each section … Continue reading ROOM 237
UPSTREAM COLOR
Upstream Color is a simple story of human connection that is complicated by deliberate nonsense. It is a movie that has a very impressive and unique voice but wants to hold the viewer at arm’s length, keeping them from connecting with … Continue reading UPSTREAM COLOR
RENOIR
There is an old adage that behind every great man is an even greater woman. Behind Pierre-Auguste and Jean Renoir were six women, so it should be no surprise the amount of success they both achieved. Renoir focuses on the famous impressionist … Continue reading RENOIR
GINGER & ROSA
Ginger & Rosa tells the story of two 17-year-old girls who are coming of age in England, 1962. With the creation of the atomic bomb, mankind had finally unlocked the power to obliterate all living things from the planet. The older … Continue reading GINGER & ROSA
STOKER
Stoker is a coming-of-age tale of a young girl’s sexuality wrapped up in a horror movie. Actually, it’s really a young girl’s coming of age story wrapped up in a pastiche of Hitchcock films. Directed by Korean auteur Park Chan-Wook, Stoker is his … Continue reading STOKER
Michael J. Cinema 
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