This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of All Quiet on the Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin and Armageddon Time. I also wrote about the masterpiece noir thriller Ashes and Diamonds; if you missed it this week on Turner Classic Movies, you can stream it from Amazon and AppleTV. Plus, TCM airs a 2022 documentary this week that I’ve been recommending that you pay to stream.
CURRENT MOVIES
- All Quiet on the Western Front: the trauma of war. Netflix.
- Armageddon Time: coming of age – right into a moral choice. In theaters.
- The Banshees of Inisherin: a contest of absurd stubbornness. In theaters.
- Tar: a haughty spirit before a fall. In theaters.
- Triangle of Sadness: more subtlety, please. In theaters.
- Amsterdam: a star-studded thriller without the thrills. In theaters.
- The Greatest Beer Run Ever: a blowhard plans a stunt, gets an education. AppleTV.
- Don’t Worry, Darling: a misfire (but with Huell Howser’s cool house). In theaters.
- Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues: what Armstrong was really thinking. AppleTV.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Grizzly Man: a fool’s misadventure. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Augustine: obsession, passion and the birth of a science. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Phoenix: riveting psychodrama, wowzer ending. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Headhunters: from smoothly confident scoundrel to human piñata. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Her Smell: powerhouse Elisabeth Moss. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Take Me to the River: fresh, unpredictable and gripping. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Lost Solace: a psychopath afflicted by empathy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
On November 22, Turner Classic Movies will air a charming 2022 documentary that I had recommended during its blink-and-you-missed-it theatrical run in March – The Automat. It traces the fascinating seven-decade run of the marble-floored food palaces where one could put nickels in a slot and be rewarded with a meal. Filled with unexpected nuggets, The Automat gives voice to those nostalgic about the automat, but it is clear-eyed about why it didn’t survive. The Automat is the first film for director Lisa Hurvitz, who spent eight years on the project.