You know the song. You probably know John Cale’s version, maybe even Jeff Buckley’s. You’ve heard it in movies like Watchman and TV shows like Scrubs. We’re not talking just iconic, but ubiquitous. But you might not know the number of revisions Leonard … Continue reading HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG
Following the long, hot summer of 1967, the U.S. Army built a series of mock towns called “Riotsville,” serving as training grounds for military and police on how to deal with civil unrest at home. The trainings went hand in … Continue reading RIOTSVILLE, USA
Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy) is handsome, clever, and rich. She’s also a bit of a wrecking ball—the kind who thinks she’s holding the world together when she’s the one holding on for dear life. And if she spent a little … Continue reading EMMA.
Barry Gifford, who has been hailed as “William Faulkner by way of B-movie film noir,” authored more than 40 books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and the bulk of Roy’s World concerns growing up in the 1950s when the post-war boom was … Continue reading ROY’S WORLD: BARRY GIFFORD’S CHICAGO
Before the Syrian Civil War in 2011, an estimated 2 million souls called Ghouta home. Less than 20% now reside in the suburb of Damascus. The rest either fled, were evacuated, or were killed. A few remained to help those … Continue reading THE CAVE
There is an often-repeated anecdote that Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest and came in second. It’s a popular story, one that illustrates the emptiness behind celebrity and fame, but it is just a story. No hard … Continue reading ELVIS & NIXON
The soldier is shot. One bullet to the head just as he was going over the top. We learn his name, Gerber, but little else. The year is 1917, three years into the War to End All Wars. But Gerber … Continue reading ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (IM WESTEN NICHTS NEUES)
The sages call it by many names: yagé, ambiwaska, aioasca, but most know it as ayahuasca: a hallucinogenic brew drunk during a spiritual ceremony. That’s why the Spanish conquistadors outlawed it, and the U.S. government classified it Schedule 1. But … Continue reading THE MEDICINE
On some level, every work of art is a reflection of the human condition. Who we are and how we relate to others and the world around us is the concern of every artist, but for some, that concern is … Continue reading ANOMALISA
Michael J. Cinema 
You must be logged in to post a comment.