This week on The Movie Gourmet – a review of the newly available Loving Highsmith, a revealing biodoc of the novelist whose novels were turned into twisted movie thrillers that include Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train and all the Tom Ripley movies, as well as the queer memoir Carol. Plus, Wrapping up Cinequest.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Nope: an unusually intelligent popcorn movie. I’m not a big horror/sci fi guy, and I loved it. One of the best movies of 2022. In theaters.
- Spin Me Round: an unpretentious and delightful comedy. AppleTV.
- A Love Song: bittersweet, heartfelt and funny. In theaters.
- Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris: nothing wrong with a dose of sentimentality once in a while. In theaters.
- Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song: reflective artist, reflective movie. In theaters.
- My Donkey, My Lover and I: it had me at the title. AppleTV.
- The Automat: nickels in, memories out. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, KinoNow.
- Bitterbrush: two women at work. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, redbox.
- Montana Story: a family secret simmers, then explodes. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Compartment No. 6: a surprising journey to connection. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Cha Cha Real Smooth: decent people and their foibles, navigating life. AppleTV.
- Everything Everywhere All at Once: often indecipherable and mostly dazzling. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Hit the Road: a funny family masks their tough choice. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres: tell me more. Netflix.
- The Tale of King Crab: storytelling at its best. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Auggie: Who do you see when you put on the glasses? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Outfit: no one is just what they seem to be. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Colma: The Musical: a refreshing hoot. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Worst Person in the World: funny, poignant, original and profoundly authentic. Amazon, Apple, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Heartworn Highways: like desperados waitin’ for a train. AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, Showtime.
- Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel: the artsy and the quirky. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Everything Everywhere All at Once: often indecipherable and mostly dazzling. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Jockey: he finally grapples with himself. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Visitor: self-isolation no longer. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Project Nim: a chimp learns the foibles of humans. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- The East: how do we punish corporate crime? HBO, Amazon, AppleTV, redbox.
- Bombshell: The Hedy Lamar Story: the world’s most beautiful woman and her secrets. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, KINO Now.
- The Gatekeepers: winning tactics make for a losing strategy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
On September 23, Turner Classic Movies airs one of the most fun films noir, The Big Steal, which rematched Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer after their iconic noir Out of the Past. This time, Mitchum and Greer careen around Mexico, being chased by William Bendix. The Big Steal was only the third of the 36 feature films directed by the grievously underrated Don Siegel. Siegel became a master of crime movies (and was the primary filmmaking mentor to Clint Eastwood). I particularly love Siegel’s 1973 neo-noir Charley Varrick, the guilty pleasure Two Mules for Sister Sara and John Wayne’s goodbye: The Shootist. Anyway, The Big Steal is delightful.