JOKER
“I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man.” —Notes From the Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky Who makes the monster, and where do they come from? We’ve been asking those questions for far too long … Continue reading JOKER
Tag: Robert De Niro
On Familiar Ground: Paul Schrader and the Death Impulse
I always thought I wanted to be a film critic. Then I ran into a whole series of problems in my life, which could not be addressed by non-fiction. … I had to give life to these demons before these … Continue reading On Familiar Ground: Paul Schrader and the Death Impulse
HANDS OF STONE
When it comes to sports on film, none transfer to a composed and contained visual medium quite like boxing. Two men, and in some cases women, square off in a confined arena below the spotlights of showtime. The action is … Continue reading HANDS OF STONE
JOY
David O. Russell’s latest, Joy, tells the story of Joy Mangano, an American inventor best known for her self-wringing Miracle Mop. Well, sort of. Joy is partly about how Joy Mangano became Joy Mangano, but it’s also about how family just likes to … Continue reading JOY
THE INTERN
Using an incredibly hokey premise and coming off like an over manufactured product, The Intern is a kind and gentle movie that massages the shoulders of the generation on the way out while holding the door open for the generation on the … Continue reading THE INTERN
TAXI DRIVER
For most, Taxi Driver is summed up by one of the most famous lines in cinema: “You talking to me?” Conveying masculinity and bravado, it readies angry men for battle. But it is misleading. It is an act, a façade. The truth … Continue reading TAXI DRIVER
Born On This Day — November 17, 1942
Each film is interlocked with so many other films. You can’t get away. Whatever you do now that you think is new was already done in 1913. When I first went to L.A. in 1970, there was a little bit … Continue reading Born On This Day — November 17, 1942
THE GODFATHER
Some movies never grow old. They exist outside of time and space, always there, always waiting for us to return. Case in point: The Godfather Part I and II. Director Francis Ford Coppola’s saga tells the story of the Corleone crime family, whose evolution … Continue reading THE GODFATHER
Born On This Day — November 17
We’re face to face with images all the time in a way that we never have been before. And that’s why I believe we need to stress visual literacy in our schools. Young people need to understand that not all … Continue reading Born On This Day — November 17
Michael J. Cinema 
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