Michael Magras
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michaelmagras.bsky.social
Michael Magras
@michaelmagras.bsky.social
170 followers 51 following 300 posts
Book critic, film buff. Writings in The New Yorker, Times Literary Supplement, The Economist, BookPage, Shelf Awareness, Kirkus, and more.
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michaelmagras.bsky.social
Once again, we're listening to loud gunfire in @freeportmaine.bsky.social. Town officials were informed that many residents who suffer from anxiety are traumatized by this, but they refuse to stop it. A police sergeant even came to our home and tried to intimidate me into dropping my complaint. 1/2
October 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
It pops into my head all the time these days. In case you haven't seen the cover of the current issue of The New Yorker:
A black-and-white cartoon in which members of the current US administration ride the bomb in a parody of the classic scene from "Dr. Strangelove."
April 3, 2025 at 6:31 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Just a hunch, but I think I know where Flora is. #cats
A brownish cat tail (attached to an unseen cat) peeks out from under a bed with a yellow comforter.
January 4, 2025 at 8:47 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
The big 2024 films are crowding it out, so I thought I'd mention Annie Baker's "Janet Planet." We watched it last night and thought it was terrific. A mother-daughter story that doesn't go where you think it will. Quietly powerful and beautifully done. #film #cinema #movies
A middle-aged mother with brown hair and in a white T-shirt sits next to her red-haired 11-year-old daughter (wearing round-framed glasses) and watches an outdoor play off-screen with other people in Annie Baker's "Janet Planet."
December 29, 2024 at 6:37 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
If you’re interested in cinema, you should read this book. A little dated here and there (it was published in 1983), but utterly fascinating. #books #booksky #film #cinema #movies
The cover of a paperback book with a dark blue background. The author name, William Goldman, appears at the top in yellow caps. The title, “Adventures in the Screen Trade,” appears below it in red caps.
December 28, 2024 at 3:26 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Tonight's feature presentation at the Magras Film Archive. One of my favorite comedies. #film #cinema #movies #comedy
A woman in a light-brown shirt and with her long brown hair in a braid scowls at an unseen gambling table in a casino (she's losing) as her husband, a man with dark, curly hair and wearing a white bathrobe, tries to get her to stop her obsessive gambling in Albert Brooks's "Lost in America" (1985).
December 21, 2024 at 11:56 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
I love this painting: Julie Mehretu's "Congress" (2003). Take a close look & admire the artistry of the storm. If you want to see a mesmerizing film, watch "Promises: Through Congress," which begins with a tight shot of the painting's center & slowly zooms out. #film #cinema #movies #art #painting
A mesmerizing, seemingly random storm of dark lines, green dots, strips of red in all directions, colorful triangles, and much more against an off-white background in Julie Mehretu's painting "Congress" (2003).
December 21, 2024 at 3:42 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Tonight's old sweater at the Magras Film Archive. I'm not sure why I love "The Squid and the Whale" as much as I do, as it's terribly sad, and I wouldn't want those lives. Yet there's a tenderness here that I love. And it's beautifully written. Great film. #film #cinema #movies
The scene is a living room interior decorated in earth tones. At left, a brown-haired teenager in a light blue button-down shirt sits on a butterscotch-colored sofa next to his younger brother, who wears a blue polo shirt. At center, in a yellow chair, is their mother, with straight dark hair, a maroon vest, and a denim skirt. The bearded father in a blue-and-white striped polo is at right. The still is from "The Squid and the Whale" (2005).
December 19, 2024 at 1:40 AM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Good news from the world of book reviewing: I’ve been asked to review the collected diaries of the great Australian author Helen Garner. This volume, all 800 pages of it, comes out in March. #books #booksky
The cover of “How to End a Story,” the collected diaries of Helen Garner, has a cream-colored background with light yellow stylized flames in its center.
December 17, 2024 at 12:30 AM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Sunday.
A cat with brown and beige coloring curls up on a pale yellow comforter that has blue detailing.
December 15, 2024 at 2:53 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Little-known fact about Maine winters: Wild turkeys often gather outside the office windows of book critics in the hope of overhearing news about upcoming releases. #books #booksky #maine
More than a dozen wild turkeys peck at a greenish lawn in front of a forest of bare trees.
December 13, 2024 at 6:00 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
New picture (and new lamp) for my office.
A black desk lamp, a round analog clock shaped like a pocket watch, and, in a blue frame, a photo of a smiling woman with dark hair and black-framed glasses are situated on the corner of a brown desk.
December 11, 2024 at 9:48 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
If you, too, are waiting for Jesse Eisenberg's "A Real Pain" to come to home video, consider watching his first directing effort, "When You Finish Saving the World," in the meantime. A terrific film about, among other issues, learning to let people be who they are. #film #cinema #movies
A teenager in a peach ski hat and white jacket rides in the passenger seat of a tiny red and black car, his brown guitar case sticking out the window, as his red-haired, bespectacled mother drives.
December 11, 2024 at 1:54 AM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Today’s afternoon tea treat. Baker: @dianemagras.bsky.social #food #tea #foodsky
A gingerbread man (white frosting on brownish cookie) on an orange dessert plate that has a small semicircle of white at the top.
December 9, 2024 at 7:55 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
He loved to dance. He loved jazz. And would it shock you to learn that he ate pears with “reverence for geometry,” cutting each fruit into matching segments before eating it? This biography of Mondrian is marvelous. #books #booksky
The cover of “Mondrian” shows a black-and-white photo of the bald, bespectacled artist looking toward the book’s spine and with a hand on his chin. The photo is in the center of an otherwise colorful grid from one of his paintings, with thick black lines separating white, gray, yellow, red, and blue squares.
December 8, 2024 at 1:26 AM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
The wonderful @dianemagras.bsky.social treated me to a couple of books today. (“Tokyo Story” is one of my favorite films.) #books #booksky #film #cinema #movies #japan
Two books. On the left, a drawing of a young woman and older man who sit outdoors in front of overhead electrical wires on the cover of a book about the film “Tokyo Story.” On the right, a black-and-white photo of an old water pump and bucket in the snow is on the cover of “Baumgartner” by Paul Auster.
November 29, 2024 at 11:43 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Exhausted after a busy holiday of napping. #cats
A cat with brown and beige coloring sleeps on a white comforter. Brown wooden closet doors are behind her.
November 29, 2024 at 1:37 AM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Male Eastern bluebird enjoying berries on our lawn. #birds
A bright-blue male Eastern bluebird perched atop a bush of red berries.
November 28, 2024 at 2:35 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
I feel that I would be remiss if I didn't call your attention to one of the most entertaining documentaries I've ever seen: "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" (1988). It's about cane toad overpopulation in Australia. A serious problem, but a delightful film. #film #cinema #movies #australia
A black-and-white photograph of a happy, smiling little girl hugging an enormous cane toad.
November 24, 2024 at 2:18 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
A painting I like: Wassily Kandinsky's "Verstummen" (Fall Silent), 1924. A print of it hangs in my office. #art #painting
Against a mostly rust-colored background are multiple shapes in multiple colors, from scattered triangles to a large blue circle intersected with five black parallel lines, and much more. A perfect example of abstract Western art.
November 23, 2024 at 6:46 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
The late-autumn view outside my office window on a sunny afternoon in southern Maine. Not bad, I say.
Bare trees, blue sky with white clouds, and green grass. A sunny autumn day in southern Maine.
November 22, 2024 at 5:53 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
I took a break this afternoon to re-watch the Coen Brothers' 2009 dark comedy "A Serious Man." The story of Job moved to 1967 Minnesota. Michael Stuhlbarg is a physics professor for whom just about everything goes wrong. Not a cheery film, but brilliantly done. #film #cinema #movies
A white male with dark wavy hair, dark-rimmed glasses, a gray suit, white dress shirt, and a bluish tie stands in front of a chalkboard that's covered with mathematical equations in the Coen Brothers' brilliant 2009 dark comedy "A Serious Man."
November 21, 2024 at 12:15 AM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
A beautiful cat hanging out with her family.
Close-up of a cat with brown, beige, and black coloring, her eyes partly closed, as she sits on a plain white comforter.
November 20, 2024 at 1:35 AM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
My birthday lilies have opened beautifully. #flowers
A close-up of a gorgeous yellow lily on our breakfast table (with some of our many greeting cards in the background).
November 18, 2024 at 2:55 PM
michaelmagras.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#Books
#BookSky
Day 2
A cartoon razor, ruler, tube of toothpaste, and toothbrush with a smiley clown head at the top are in a clear cartoon glass against a white background on the cover of "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4" by Sue Townsend.
November 17, 2024 at 12:20 PM