Written and directed by Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life—available on Blu-ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection—is a watershed moment in contemporary cinema. Pairing the impressionistic poetry of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the abstract visual effects of Douglas Trumbull, the concrete … Continue reading THE TREE OF LIFE
On Jan. 21, 1958, Charles Starkweather entered the Nebraska home of girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate and shot and killed her father, mother, and 2-year-old sister. The two went on the lam, and Starkweather slew seven more over the course of … Continue reading BADLANDS
There comes a moment, nearly three-quarters through the abysmally dull and bizarre Deadhead Miles—starring Alan Arkin as a long-haul truck driver—where Arkin takes another driver aside to show him something in his cab. Curious, the driver peers into the truck and … Continue reading Terrence Malick Retrospective
Franz Jägerstätter’s arm would not rise. It couldn’t, not for Der Führer or any man, for that matter. His life belonged to the Lord. To the land. And his conviction condemned him to death at the hands of the Nazis … Continue reading A HIDDEN LIFE
This weekend should be the conclusion of the 73rd Cannes Film Festival and the crowing of the new Palme d’Or, but it was not to be. A highly communicable virus had other plans, so we soldier on without one. Thankfully, … Continue reading This week in Film — THE TREE OF LIFE and other Palme d’Or winners
One of the best movies I saw at this year’s Telluride Film Festival was Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life — a narrative based on the life of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian contentious objector who refused to raise right hand to … Continue reading This week in Film — OFFICIAL SECRETS
This week at CU-Boulder’s International Film Series, programmer extraordinaire, Pablo Kjolseth, has Terrence Malick’s first five films — Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World, and The Tree of Life — on 35mm with special introductions. Yours truly will be introducing Badlands … Continue reading This week in Arts & Culture — Malick at IFS
How do I begin? Knight of Cups, the latest movie from writer/director Terrence Malick, follows Hollywood screenwriter Rick (Christian Bale) as he tries to understand what his life is now that his brother has died and his career is on … Continue reading KNIGHT OF CUPS
There’s a good many pictures I’d like to make, we’ll see how many I’ll be allowed to make. —Terrence Malick Continue reading Born On This Day — November 30, 1943
Michael J. Cinema 
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