One of the most terrible things is that in fact, whether I like it or not, I am an American. —James Baldwin That line comes from the 1968 documentary from Horace Ové, Baldwin’s Ni**er, a provocatively titled conversation featuring one … Continue reading James Baldwin On-Screen
Set in London, Sorry We Missed You follows a working-class family, the Turners, as they try to keep their head above water financially and emotionally in the freelance and gig economy. Sorry We Missed You is a harrowing look at what it takes … Continue reading SORRY WE MISSED YOU
Shot in stark black and white like a moving Weegee photograph, Lionel Rogosin’s On the Bowery is a stunning piece of filmmaking instrumental in dropkicking American movie making out of the studios and onto the streets. The story here is of an … Continue reading ON THE BOWERY
Directed by Matthew Rankin, The Twentieth Century is one-half quirky bio-pic about the rise of Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (Dan Beirne), and one-half spoof of King and the notion that a bio-pic can be a truth delivery device. Shot … Continue reading THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
It didn’t take long for Judy Garland to get started. Born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on June 10, 1922, Garland strode onto the vaudeville stage with her sisters in 1924, solidifying her future as an entertainer. In … Continue reading Judy Garland
On this week’s edition of After Image, I chat with Metro Arts’ producer Veronica Straight-Lingo about Judy Garland’s centenary, which is being celebrated all month long on TCM and The Criterion Channel. And speaking of The Criterion Channel, there is … Continue reading
Journalist Barrett (Peter Breck) has cracked his fast track to the Pulitzer: Have himself committed to an insane asylum to uncover the details of an unsolved murder. It’s an airtight plan until Barrett finds himself in the company of a … Continue reading SHOCK CORRIDOR
The second installment in Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s unofficial trilogy (Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, The Silence) is by far the best. Pastor Tomas (Gunnar Björnstrand) has misplaced his faith. He’s not sure where, and he’s not sure he wants to … Continue reading WINTER LIGHT (NATTVARDSGÄSTERNA)
Mamma Roma has paid her dues and done her time. For nearly 30 years, she walked the sweaty streets of Rome, turning tricks and handing out favors. And with her pimp (Franco Citti) married and moved to the country, Mamma … Continue reading MAMMA ROMA
Michael J. Cinema 
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