It’s the season of prestige films, and this week on The Movie Gourmet features recent reviews of fall films big and small: Decision to Leave, The Menu, The Banshees of Inisherin, Armageddon Time, All Quiet on the Western Front, Tar, Triangle of Sadness and The Greatest Beer Run Ever.
Two big movies that I have not yet seen are opening today: Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical The Fabelmans with Michelle Williams and Luca Guadgnino’s horror film Bones and All with Timothee Chalamet, Taylor Russell and Mark Ryland.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Decision to Leave: he’s obsessed, and she asks, “Am I so wicked?”. In theaters.
- The Menu: immune from pretension. In theaters.
- 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: no limits on 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.
- See How They Run: Is this supposed to be funny? HBO Max.
- 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
Owen Teague in MONTANA STORY. Courtesy of Bleecker Street.
During the Holidays, I suspend my usual The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE so I can highlight the very best movies from earlier in 2022. These are on my list of Best Movies of 2022 – So Far, and they shouldn’t be overlooked. Now you can watch them all at home.
- Nope: an exceptionally intelligent popcorn movie. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, 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.
- Poser: personal plagiarism. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- The Tale of King Crab: storytelling at its best. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- 12 Months: an authentic relationship evolves. Amazon.
ON TV
Ava Gardner and Robert Taylor in THE BRIBE
Set your DVR for Turner Classic Movies on December 1, when TCM airs The Bribe, one of my Overlooked Noirs. I subtitled my review with ambiguity and double crosses amid the sweat. Robert Taylor plays an investigator who arrives at a Mexican seaside resort and is immediately identified as a cop by all the bad guys – and by his one lead, the unreliable nightclub singer (Ava Gardner at her most luscious). But the best reason to watch The Bribe is Charles Laughton, an acting legend never better than here. His character often acts like a coward, but he is flush with confidence when it’s time to make a deal. A master of manipulation and persuasion, this guy is a great negotiator. In turn ingratiating and menacing, Laughton’s performance lights up the last half of The Bribe.
Charles Laughton and Robert Taylor in THE BRIBE