This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of Fanny: The Right to Rock (hard to find in theaters, but a hoot-and-a-half) and A Hero (streamable, but a lesser film from a great filmmaker).
I’m currently screening films that will playing at the Frameline film fest June 16-26.
CURRENT FILMS
- Montana Story: a family secret simmers, then explodes. In theaters.
- The Duke: he finally gets his audience. In theaters.
- Downton Abbey: A New Era: harmless enough. In theaters.
- Everything Everywhere All at Once: often indecipherable and mostly dazzling. In theaters.
- Hit the Road: a funny family masks their tough choice. Streaming at Laemmle.
- Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres: tell me more. Netflix.
- Fanny: The Right to Rock: triple-threat trailblazers. In theaters (but hard to find).
- Jane by Charlotte: as mildly interesting as the subject. AppleTV.
- Mau: fact-based optimism and thinking big. Streaming at Laemmle.
ON VIDEO
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- The Women’s Balcony: a righteous man must keep his woman happy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Handmaiden: gorgeous, erotic and a helluva plot. Amazon (included with Prime), Vudu.
- Very Semi-Serious: glorious The New Yorker cartoons. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Touching the Void: the gripping true life story of a mountaineer who had to cut his climbing partner’s rope. Amazon, AppleTV.
- Dick Johnson Is Dead: funny, heartfelt and frequently bizarre. Netflix.
- The Women’s Balcony: a righteous man must keep his woman happy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Electrick Children: magical Mormon runaways in Vegas. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- NUTS!: the rise and fall of a testicular empire. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Imposter: you gotta see this. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
On June 11, Turner Classic Movies presents Humphrey Bogart as Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled LA detective Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep. Bogart’s performance is iconic, and The Big Sleep is famous for its impenetrably tangled plot. It’s also one of the most overtly sexual noirs, and Lauren Bacall at her sultriest is only the beginning. The achingly beautiful Martha Vickers plays a druggie who throws herself at anything in pants. And Dorothy Malone invites Bogie to share a back-of-the-bookstore quickie.
