At the first bullfight I ever went to I expected to be horrified and perhaps sickened by what I had been told would happen to the horse.” That’s the line Ernest Hemingway chose to open his 1930 masterwork, Death in … Continue reading THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
On its surface, The Nightingale is a by-the-numbers revenge tale: A woman is wronged, and she vows to hunt the perpetrated to the ends of the Earth and exact justice. But in execution, The Nightingale is anything but routine. Yes, … Continue reading THE NIGHTINGALE
Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett) can’t sleep. She can’t focus either. She once was an architect, an incredible one, some called her “genius,” but she gave that up 15 years ago. Now, with no outlet for her energy, it explodes out … Continue reading WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE
On August 1, 2019, D(onn) A(lan) Pennebaker, Penny to most, died. He was 94. A true titan of cinema, Pennebaker leaves behind a plethora of work, almost all of it falling under the category of Direct Cinema. His purpose was … Continue reading D. A. Pennebaker
Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) opens with a theft; a battle between two rival gangs and a government building Christmas tree. Who are these battling gangs? Don’t know. Why do they want it? We have our suspicions, but they are … Continue reading PIRANHAS
Cinematographer Jack Cardiff was born for Technicolor. One of the company’s first technicians, Cardiff mastered the three-strip process in the late-1930s with industrial and instructional films before getting a chance to work as a 2nd unit cameraman on Michael Powell … Continue reading 10 from Cardiff
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is bananas. Not that you’d expect anything less from a title sporting two ampersands and one colon. Depending on how you look at it, Hobbs & Shaw is either the eight-and-a-half installment in … Continue reading FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
With the wisdom of the wise and the smile of a sage, Toni Morrison sits before the camera. No background behind her, nothing in front to distract, just Morrison talking directly to the camera as if we are opposite her. … Continue reading TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM
Sam Staggs knows the Gabor family: Zsa Zsa, Eva, Magda, and Jolie, “Watching them was like eating peanuts—you couldn’t stop.” And Staggs knows his audience, which is why his latest biography, Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legends, is also like eating peanuts—delicious, addicting, and goes well with an ice-cold drink. Continue reading FINDING ZSA ZSA: THE GABORS BEHIND THE LEGEND
Michael J. Cinema 
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