Meet Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher); she’s 13, lives in a suburban home with her single father (Josh Hamilton), and is about as put together as you might expect a 13-year-old to be. Practically bursting at the seams with personality, thoughts, … Continue reading EIGHTH GRADE
If ever there was a word to describe Fred Rogers—the host of the long-running PBS show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood—it would be “kind.” Not a word you hear a lot these days. I suppose that’s why so many look back and think … Continue reading WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Wanting for my happily-ever-after, I lowered my defenses, forgetting the first lesson I was taught: That I was brought into this world to be abandoned; that I am irrevocably alone. —Mary Shelley It’s been 200 years since the publication of Frankenstein; … Continue reading MARY SHELLEY
This is not based on a true story; this is a true story.” So proclaims the title cards that open American Animals—a documentary/narrative hybrid that is almost too good to be true. And it is true, but in a circuitous manner. … Continue reading AMERICAN ANIMALS
Known as “the third genius,” Harold Lloyd did not have the same background in vaudeville as Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton; yet, he ended up making more movies than both of them combined. Lloyd started his career as a Chaplin … Continue reading THE FRESHMAN
Like most love stories, this one begins at the movies. London, 1971: A young actor goes to see the latest release, A Clockwork Orange, and is transfixed. The garish colors, the violence, the sex, the terror, Malcolm McDowell’s theatrical performance; the young … Continue reading FILMWORKER
This conversation between Eric Kohn of Indiewire, writer/director Paul Schrader, and actor Ethan Hawke took place following a screening of FIRST REFORMED at 2017’s Telluride Film Festival. Spoilers follow. ERIC KOHN: Paul, first of all, anyone who’s seen your films … Continue reading Conversations from the Telluride Film Festival: FIRST REFORMED
Reverend Toller (Ethan Hawke, in one of his best performances) is having a crisis of faith. The parish pastor of New York’s 250-year-old First Reformed church—once a stopover on the Underground Railroad, now jokingly called a gift shop—watches with detachment … Continue reading FIRST REFORMED
RBG, from documentarians from Julie Cohen and Betsy West, opens with images of Washington D.C. accompanied by sound bites from conservative talk radio and one American president casually dismissing a Supreme Court justice as vile and disgusting. “Witch” and “zombie” … Continue reading RBG
Michael J. Cinema 
You must be logged in to post a comment.