On Monday, January 10, the Denver Film Critics Society—15 writers and broadcasters working in and around the Mile High City, of which I am one—announced their nominees for the best of 2021. In total, 44 movies received nominations with The Power … Continue reading And the nominees are…
Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker want you to know that God loves you—yes, he does. Their message is simple and humble, but they are anything but. They want to be on TV: she as a singer, he as a preacher. … Continue reading THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
Written and directed by Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life—available on Blu-ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection—is a watershed moment in contemporary cinema. Pairing the impressionistic poetry of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the abstract visual effects of Douglas Trumbull, the concrete … Continue reading THE TREE OF LIFE
Dark Phoenix, the latest installment in the current X-Men series, is fine. Yes, that is damning with faint praise, but considering Dark Phoenix’s odd mishmash of tones and race to the finishing line, “fine” is both good enough and the best outcome one could … Continue reading DARK PHOENIX
Hemingway had a phrase: “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” If Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) ever needed a mantra, I’d offer her that. Diagnosed with early-onset scoliosis, Bloom blew out her back at … Continue reading MOLLY’S GAME
Of all the people to get stranded on Mars, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is the lucky one. Smart, resourceful, cunning, and, most importantly, optimistic, Watney can grow potatoes using human feces, manufacture water simply and reconfigure every possible piece of … Continue reading THE MARTIAN
Michael J. Cinema 