Of all the ideas to come out of Michael Lewis’ Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, the notion that the difference between a team making the playoffs—and a team not—coming down to the success or failure of a single … Continue reading TRY HARDER!
Throughout the summer of 1969, Harlem attracted thousands by assembling some of the best musical talents around for the Harlem Cultural Festival. B.B. King brought the blues, Mahalia Jackson brought the gospel, Jesse Jackson brought the church, and Sly and … Continue reading SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
In 1970, Björn Andrésen was just another skinny Swedish 15-year-old. In 1971, he was dubbed “the most beautiful boy in the world” by Italian director Luchino Visconti. Visconti had adapted Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice for the screen and cast Andrésen in … Continue reading THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD
Joe Deacon (Denzel Washington) used to be the Los Angeles Police Force’s top detective. Used to be: Five years ago, a momentary decision proved momentous, and Deacon traded in his LAPD shield for a Kern County sheriff’s badge and started … Continue reading THE LITTLE THINGS
In 1975, the U.S. was at a crossroads. The Vietnam War was over, and Americans were more disillusioned than ever. Big cities out east, like New York and Washington D.C., prepped for the Bicentennial, but Small Town, U.S.A., seemed not … Continue reading ROLLING THUNDER REVUE: A BOB DYLAN STORY
J. Edgar Hoover was no fan of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Where others saw the leader for racial equality, Hoover saw a communist on U.S. soil. They saw a preacher professing non-violence, but Hoover saw a sexual deviant. And … Continue reading MLK/FBI
Young Mr. Lincoln might be John Ford’s greatest film. And that’s saying something. Especially considering Young Mr. Lincoln was one of three films Ford made in 1939 alone. The other two: Stagecoach is cited by many to be the best western an American studio ever … Continue reading YOUNG MR. LINCOLN
Constructed in the early 1980s, The Villages—America’s largest retirement community—is home to 130,000, covers 32 square miles of central Florida, and has just about every amenity you can think of: Grocery stores, restaurants, night clubs, golf courses, pickleball courts, bars, … Continue reading SOME KIND OF HEAVEN
It’s going to be shorter this year, but it’s also coming a lot closer to home: The 2021 Sundance Film Festival is going virtual. A bummer for those who like gathering in theaters to share cinematic discovery. But a boon … Continue reading NIGHT OF THE KINGS (LA NUIT DES ROIS)
Michael J. Cinema 
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