Far from the Madding Crowd, which opens today, is satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. I haven’t yet seen the sci-fi Ex Machina, which has been engendering almost universal praise. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows.
I’m at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where I’ve written about four films so far (scroll down). Two are among the year’s best films: the wonderfully weepy and funny coming of age film, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and the uncomfortable documentary on living with past genocide in the absence of truth and reconciliation, The Look of Silence.
Documentarian Alex Gibney now has TWO excellent films playing on HBO:
- Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, a devastating expose of Scientology is playing on HBO; and
- Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, an especially well-researched and revelatory biopic of Frank Sinatra.
Don’t bother with Clouds of Sils Maria – it’s a muddled mess. Insurgent, from the Divergent franchise is what it is – young adult sci-fi with some cool f/x. The romance 5 to 7 did NOT work for me, but I know smart women who enjoyed it. The biting Hollywood satire of Maps to the Stars wasn’t worth the disturbing story of a cursed family. I also didn’t like the Western Slow West, now out on video.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is the funny and sentimental Canadian dramedy Cloudburst, available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Netflix, Amazon Instant Video , iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.
On May 4, Turner Classic Movies is playing two marvelous, gritty classics from 1958.
- I Want to Live! features Susan Hayward’s Oscar-winning performance as a good hearted but very unlucky floozy; it has both a great jazz soundtrack and a dramatic walk to The Chair.
- Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is another film noir from the great Fritz Lang: seeking to discredit capital punishment, a reporter (Dana Andrews) gets himself charged with and CONVICTED of a murder – but then the evidence of his innocence suddenly disappears! Crackerjack (and deeply noir) surprise ending.