Few cinematic forms benefited from the advent of digital technology like the documentary. And not just in cost and access to equipment but in the proliferation of digital archives directors can draw upon. Add social media’s connective power to track … Continue reading THE BEACH BOYS and LET IT BE
On Oct. 2, 2018, Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. He was never to seen from again. Days later, it surfaced that Khashoggi had been killed, likely at the behest of the Saudi Arabian government … Continue reading THE DISSIDENT
Words, for better or worse, shape our perception of the world. Some, like death and decay, carry negative connotations. Hearing them conjures images of mortality, finality, even obsolescence. Others, like birth and growth, invoke positivity: Tiny baby hands grasping adult … Continue reading THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM
For Paul Stamets, it begins and ends with mushrooms. From death, they create life. From fractures, they create connections. And from sickness, they create health. “Mushrooms represent rebirth. Rejuvenation. Regeneration,” Stamets says. Fantastic Fungi, directed by Louie Schwartzberg and edited by … Continue reading FANTASTIC FUNGI
I heard a story—possibly apocryphal, but too good to dismiss—that when The Beatles played The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, something happened that never happened before or since in the history of New York City: not a single crime was reported. … Continue reading THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK – THE TOURING YEARS
Behind the Hollywood Hills, tucked away in the San Fernando Valley, hidden on a side street in Van Nuys, was the recording studio, Sound City. It was open for business in 1969 and would go on to be a recording … Continue reading SOUND CITY
Obsessed individuals, few things are as entertaining to watch. Their motivation, their endurance, their insanity can be quite hilarious while simultaneously awe-inspiring. Jeff Orlowski’s latest documentary, Chasing Ice, follows nature photographer James Balog and his team as they trek up glaciers, all … Continue reading CHASING ICE
Michael J. Cinema 