The shadow of Alfred Hitchcock looms large in cinema. So much so that it’s hard to divorce his stylistic innovations from movies that may or may not have been influenced by him. Take Blow the Man Down, a recent release currently … Continue reading Two for the Master
In honor of Arbor Day—the holiday to go out a plant a tree—I give you this short film: Trees to Tame the Wind. First, a few words. Released in 1939, Trees to Tame the Wind was a product of the United States Department … Continue reading TREES TO TAME THE WIND
For Robbie Robertson, it all begins with a guitar. A ’56 Fender Stratocaster, the one he wrote his first two commercial songs with: “Hey Boba Lou” and “Someone Like You.” Those were for Ronnie Hawkins, an early rock ‘n’ roll … Continue reading ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND
The timing couldn’t be better. The Alamo Drafthouse’s series, Hot Takes & Remakes, is a bizarre and beautiful collection of 30ish movies—some revered, some despised, all worth a second look. And if you haven’t given Martin Scorsese’s 2006 Boston cops … Continue reading THE DEPARTED
Who is Frank talking to? That was the question posed as a group of us exited The Irishman. One was a film programmer, the other four: film professors—the fixating kind. But the question was valid. Who is Frank Sheeran (Robert De … Continue reading THE IRISHMAN
The Irishman begins in darkness. A small box of light at the center of the frame opens like an iris, and we see nurses and doctors. It looks like a hospital, but this is no beginning; this is the end: A … Continue reading THE IRISHMAN
It must have come as a surprise to filmgoers in the mid-90s that the next Martin Scorsese feature film would focus on the childhood of the 14th Dalai Lama. Then again, it probably came as a similar surprise in the … Continue reading KUNDUN
Released in 1989, New York Stories is an omnibus film, three shorts stitched together by a city. And though two of the directors’ oeuvres are inseparable from the city streets, tenements, and high rises that dot the New York skyline, it is … Continue reading NEW YORK STORIES
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. —Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder Revue is Scorsese’s second documentary about the singer/songwriter from Duluth, Minnesota. His first, No Direction Home from 2005, covered Dylan’s early years up to his motorcycle … Continue reading ROLLING THUNDER REVUE: A BOB DYLAN STORY BY MARTIN SCORSESE
Michael J. Cinema 
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