Mike Tyrkus

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

Box-Office Weekend: BACKROOMS Bulldozes Competition

A new film took control of the box-office weekend top ten as "Backrooms" debuted in first place $55.1 million ahead of its closest competition.

Box-Office Weekend: MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Dominates

"The Mandalorian and Grogu" debuted in first place $59.6 million and claimed dominion over the box-office weekend top ten prior to the holiday.

Movie Review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

The newest film within the Star Wars Universe, centers not on a Skywalker but on Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu. Based on the program The Mandalorian, which has aired on Disney+ since 2019 over three season and eighteen episodes, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu offers an entertaining, and often thrilling experience, that Star Wars fans have been yearning to see for some time now. Set aft...[Read More]

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Box-Office Weekend: MICHAEL Retakes Top Spot

After two weeks out of the top spot, "Michael" retook the number slot of the box-office weekend by an $8.1 million margin.

Movie Review: Obsession

Writer/director Curry Barker’s second feature film, Obsession, which follows his 2024 debut Milk & Serial, often feels like something that has been seen before, but the sheer exuberance shown by everyone involved seems to share for the undertaking allows the whole of the film to overcome the sum of its parts. The film begins as the audience is introduced to Bear (Michael Johnston), a hopeless ...[Read More]

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Box-Office Weekend: Devil Wears Prada Repeats

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures enjoyed a second week of "The Devil Wears Prada 2" on top of the box-office weekend top ten.

Movie Review: Mortal Kombat II

The latest entry of the film franchise based on the iconic fighting game, the sequel to 2021’s reboot of the property, Mortal Kombat II, is arguably an improvement over the game’s original cinematic adaptation (Mortal Kombat (1995), directed by Paul W.S. Anderson) and subsequent sequel (Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997), directed by John R. Leonetti), albeit with a little more to offer than a rous...[Read More]

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Box-Office Weekend: Prada Sequel Soars

A new film took control of the box-office weekend as "The Devil Wears Prada 2" dethroned the King of Pop biopic, "Michael," by a margin of $23.0 million.

Box-Office Weekend: MICHAEL Owns Box Office

After three weeks on top, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" was unseated by "Michael" which took hold of the top spot of the box-office weekend by $75.8 million.

Podcast Ep. 146: “Michael”

This episode of the podcast argues that the musical biography "Michael" does deliver a reasonably entertaining portrayal of a rags-to-riches story.

Movie Review: Michael

On the heels of successful musical biopics such as 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody and 2022’s Elvis, comes the new film from director Antoine Fuqua that tells the story of the King of Pop – Michael Jackson – accurately titled Michael. While other films of this genre have chosen to explore multiple angles of their particular subject’s life (warts and all), Michael refrains from doing so in what appears to...[Read More]

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Box-Office Weekend: Mario Bros. Still On Top

For the third week in a row, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" held the top spot of the box-office weekend top ten, this time by a margin of $14.5 million.

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