Lizzy is an artist. Her landlord is also an artist. So are her dad, mother, and colleagues at the Portland art and craft school where Lizzy works. Creation surrounds Lizzy in a way that feels wholly organic and so common … Continue reading SHOWING UP
Megan Bloomfield (Natasha Lyonne) is the all-American girl next door. She’s bubbly and perky, lives in the suburbs with her parents, and is dating Jared (Brandt Wille), the high school football star. He’s a John Travolta look-a-like with the hair … Continue reading BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER
Grace (Abby Quinn) is getting married. She’s young, probably too young to marry, but her parents don’t have much of an option. If they say no, they’ll alienate her. If they say yes, then they’ll seem complicit when the inevitable … Continue reading AFTER THE WEDDING
The average viewer may not know who J. Paul Getty was. If they do recognize the name, it’s most likely from his extensive collection of art, housed in Santa Monica’s Getty Center or the Getty Villa, located just up the … Continue reading ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
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
Oz the Great and Powerful, like The Wizard of Oz, begins in Kansas at the turn of the century. Oscar (James Franco) is a stage magician in a traveling circus act. Using the stage name Oz, he puts on basic circus … Continue reading OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
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
Michael J. Cinema 