Megan Bloomfield (Natasha Lyonne) is the all-American girl next door. She’s bubbly and perky, lives in the suburbs with her parents, and is dating Jared (Brandt Wille), the high school football star. He’s a John Travolta look-a-like with the hair … Continue reading BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER
English actor Dirk Bogarde may have lived in the closet, but Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti did not. Visconti also had the luxury of being born into an aristocratic family. So did German novelist Thomas Mann, but he struggled with his … Continue reading DEATH IN VENICE
One of the best movies from 2019 is now on Netflix. Sure, the world out there ain’t a barrel of laughs, but why not spend a couple of hours with Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler)? Sure, he’s a low-level crook and a … Continue reading UNCUT GEMS
Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) is precisely the type of writer you’d expect to meet if you’d read one of her stories: Distant, acerbic, and drunk. Her husband, Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg), also fits the mold. He’s a college professor with … Continue reading SHIRLEY
Adapted from the novel by Miles Franklin (the pen name for Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin), My Brilliant Career is the Australian story of one woman, two suitors, and a passion for the pen. Both men want marriage, and Sybylla (Judy Davis) … Continue reading MY BRILLIANT CAREER
Marion Michael Robinson, aka John Wayne, aka The Duke, was born in Winterset, Iowa on May 26, 1907. If he were alive today, he would be 113. But he’s not. Wayne died on June 11, 1979, at the age of … Continue reading THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
Director Jacques Demy sought to make a movie that would make audiences cry. He succeeded in spades. It helps that Michelle Legrande provided one of the most indelible film scores of all time, and cinematographer Jean Rabier found the sourness … Continue reading THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG)
Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier is a sadist, and a proud one at that. He likes to put his characters (mostly women) through hell and back just to see if they’ll come out the other side. They do, and it’s … Continue reading DANCER IN THE DARK
Someday we’ll fall down and weep, and we’ll understand it all. All things. —Mr. O’Brien, The Tree of Life For two weeks every May, the world of cinema turns to the beaches of Southern France as the Cannes Film Festival … Continue reading THE TREE OF LIFE
Michael J. Cinema 
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