For Bruce Springsteen, it was the starting snare shot of “Like a Rolling Stone” that kicked open the door to his mind. He’s not wrong. And he’s not alone. That iconic Bob Dylan song has and will stand the test … Continue reading A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
There’s a new sheriff at the CU International Film Series, and his name is Jason Phelps. If you’ve attended IFS in the past, you’ve probably seen him introducing movies, running the projector, directing the pithy shorts reminding you to turn … Continue reading Back in the Saddle: Previewing the Fall 2023 International Film Series
The play’s the thing, and for Conrad Earp (Edward Norton), a Tennessee Williams-type with a predilection for Tom of Finland cowboy art, his new play is sure to be the one that wakes the audience up. Or puts them to … Continue reading ASTEROID CITY
From the elaborate and overly complicated puzzle boxes that open the story—which the characters solve in a matter of minutes—to “world’s greatest detective” Benoit Blanc’s lengthy summation, Glass Onion feels kind of dumb. That seems largely by design, a reflection more on … Continue reading GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
October marks the 75th anniversary of Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian Scott, and Dalton Trumbo’s refusal to answer the House on Un-American Activities Committee’s question: “Have … Continue reading HIGH NOON ON THE WATERFRONT
It’s been 20 years since novelist Jonathan Lethem published Motherless Brooklyn — the story of Lionel Essrog, a low-level gumshoe with Tourette’s — and actor Edward Norton has been trying to bring it to the screen every since. Oh, to know the … Continue reading MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN
2012 was a magnificent year for the movies. They are more diverse, more personal, and more magical than ever. Yes, there was the onslaught of the usual blockbuster fare, sequels left and right, and the mighty flops that were John Carter and Battleship, … Continue reading 2012: A Year at the Movies
People will say, “There are a million ways to shoot a scene,” but I don’t think so. I think there’re two, maybe. And the other one is wrong. —David Fincher Continue reading In Their Words — Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Michael J. Cinema 