Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion … I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. —Kurt Vonnegut A mother’s daughter has been slain. Worse, the teenager was raped while she … Continue reading THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE OF EBBING, MISSOURI
Set in a nondescript country in the near future, The Zero Theorem focuses on Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz), a man lacking both hair and individuality. Leth refers to himself in the plural—always “we,” never “I”—and “they” like to be left alone. Leth … Continue reading THE ZERO THEOREM
In his landmark study, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film, Siegfried Kracauer put forth the theory that cinema is a seismograph for its time, a mass media indicator of the cultural subconscious. In other words: … Continue reading BOY ERASED
The world breaks everyone,” Ernest Hemingway wrote in A Farewell to Arms, “and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very … Continue reading MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017. The primary offender: opioids—heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and more—claiming nearly 50,000 lives. It’s a public health emergency with a profound … Continue reading Peter Hedges on BEN IS BACK
Written, produced, and co-starring Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy is filmmaking by way of catharsis. Written during a stint in rehab, Honey Boy presents two periods of LaBeouf’s life in parallel: the first of 22-year-old Otis (Lucas Hedges), who lands in court-appointed rehabilitation program while … Continue reading HONEY BOY
There are a great number of personal movies playing at this year’s Denver Film Festival, but Honey Boy is the rare intersection between personal memoir and commercial enterprise. One that ought to break out of the festival circuit and into mainstream theaters. … Continue reading HONEY BOY
Michael J. Cinema 