The nominees for the 95th Academy Awards are in: 54 movies competing in 23 categories. The headlines already belong to the genre-smashing Everything Everywhere All at Once—11 nominations in total, including Best Picture, Best Director, and four acting noms—and the … Continue reading ARGENTINA, 1985
Jennifer Lawrence plays Lynsey, a soldier returning from Afghanistan after a traumatic experience. Brian Tyree Henry plays James, a mechanic drifting through life trying to put his own trauma behind him. Yes, they come together and help each other, but … Continue reading CAUSEWAY
It starts with a young girl catching grasshoppers outside a cabin in the woods. Then a man approaches. He’s a big man, as thick as a tree and with tattoos covering practically every inch of skin, but his voice is … Continue reading KNOCK AT THE CABIN
Orson Welles needed money. That’s how this story begins. Back in 1946, Welles was putting the finishing touches on an ambitious stage production of Around the World in 80 Days—a musical!—and funds were running dry. So he called studio boss … Continue reading THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI
Newly restored and available on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection, 1934’s Imitation of Life opens with two single mothers: Beatrice (Claudette Colbert) and Delilah (Louise Beavers). Beatrice, white, is recently widowed and trying to keep her husband’s maple syrup company … Continue reading IMITATION OF LIFE
A mother is on trial for murdering her child. We know how, but not why. Nor does the mother. She does not deny the act but denies that she is the guilty party. The trial, she hopes, will explain things. … Continue reading SAINT OMER
If you’ve ever wondered about the connective tissue between James Joyce and Gillian Flynn—with a Donald Westlake stopover—reader, you are in luck. Continue reading PERPLEXING PLOTS: POPULAR STORYTELLING AND THE POETICS OF MURDER
Americans are fascinated with criminals. You know this because you watch movies and TV, listen to podcasts, read books and magazines, and encounter their stories everywhere. Sometimes they’re protagonists you root for. Sometimes they’re villains who are more entertaining than … Continue reading AMERICAN MURDERER
Somewhere in Turkey, a man and a woman obtain a foraged passport. The passport is for her, and once the man receives his, he will join her in Europe. Getting across the border is the tricky part. But they are … Continue reading NO BEARS (خرس نیست)
Michael J. Cinema 
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