This week on The Movie Gourmet – Cinequest is underway today, as is my Cinequest coverage. Plus a new review of The Automat and a rant on the Oscars.
Oscar winners CODA, Drive My Car and Belfast are all now available to stream.
Reflecting on the shit show that was this year’s Oscars:
- The second-worst moment was the desecration of the In Memorium segment, with peppy dancers in front of the images of the dead people; no one is properly revered when someone is bouncing to Norman Greenbaum’s one hit in front of their portrait. Shameful. (And why should Betty White, however beloved, get special recognition on a cinema awards show when she only made four forgettable movies?)
- The best moment was Lady Gaga’s kindness and graciousness in helping Liza Minnelli through presenting the Best Picture award. Liza clearly didn’t have enough cognitive capacity to navigate the situation, and I feared she would announce La La Land as the winner. But Lady Gaga let her have her moment without messing up CODA’s.
CURRENT FILMS
- CODA: what’s not to like about this delightful Oscar-winning audience-pleaser? CODA’s success results from the textured supporting characters and complicated family dynamics in writer-director Sian Heder’s screenplay. AppleTV.
- Drive My Car: director and co-writer Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s engrossing masterpiece about dealing with loss – and it’s the best movie of 2021. Layered with character-driven stories that could each justify their own movie, this is a mesmerizing film that builds into an exhilarating catharsis. HBO Max, AppleTV, Amazon, and Vudu.
- Nightmare Alley: enough burning ambition for a thousand carnies. IHBO Max, Hulu, Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and redbox.
- Belfast: a child’s point of view is universal. If you have heartstrings, they are gonna get pulled. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and redbox.
- The Power of the Dog: One man’s meanness, another man’s growth. Netflix.
- Don’t Look Up: Wickedly funny. Filmmaker Adam McKay (The Big Short) and a host of movie stars hit the bullseye as they target a corrupt political establishment, a soulless media and a gullible, lazy-minded public. Netflix.
- The Tragedy of Macbeth: No surprise here: Joel Coen, Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand deliver a crisp and imaginative version of the Bard’s Scottish Play. AppleTV.
- Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn: completely different than any movie you’ve seen. AppleTV, Drafthouse On Demand.
ON TV
I’ve just written about Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales, coming up on Turner Classic Movies on April 2.
And, on April 7, TCM will present the fine Dean Martin biodoc King of Cool.
