This week on The Movie Gourmet – my coverage of Cinequest (links live later today), now underway, and a new review of Women Talking. Plus the following rant.
I finally got around to watching Top Gun: Maverick, if only because The Wife insists on catching herself up on all the movies nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. I knew that I was not the audience for this well-crafted movie, which is very entertaining on the most superficial level, and I acknowledge that the aerial training and combat scenes are technically unsurpassed. The actors all do their best with the hackneyed and well-worn dialogue, like “You’re where you belong. Make us proud.” But I wasn’t prepared for the insipidity of the happy endings of each plot thread; the only way Top Gun: Maverick could have been cornier is if they found out that Goose wasn’t killed in the first movie, after all. And, since I’m the last person to see Top Gun: Maverick, I don’t consider this a spoiler: although Maverick and Rooster each do something to sacrifice himself for the other, nobody is really sacrificed – this is another war movie where there is no human cost to the violence; (and the enemies are clad anonymously in Darth Vader-like headgear). The screenplay is cynically written to make sure no one feels sad after this movie – it is a fantasy. FWIW Jennifer Connelly is a huge improvement over Kelly McGinnis in the original Top Gun.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Women Talking: safety and its costs. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Broker: in the margins, finding a profound humanity. In theaters, but increasingly hard to find.
- Living: what is it to live? In theaters, but increasingly hard to find.
- Empire of Light: a woman, revealed. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox and included with HBO Max.
- The Whale: regret to redemption. In theaters, but increasingly hard to find.
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery: skewer the rich. Netflix.
- Everything Everywhere All at Once: often indecipherable and mostly dazzling. back in theaters plus on Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Babylon: “wanton excess” is inadequate to describe this movie. In theaters.
- The Eternal Daughter: consumed by mom. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Kimi: an adequate REAR WINDOWS ends as a thrilling WAIT UNTIL DARK. HBO Max.
- Aftersun: who’s coming of age is this? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- The Fabelmans: a mom, a dad and their genius kid. In theaters and on Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox..
- Decision to Leave: he’s obsessed, and she asks, “Am I so wicked?”. Amazon, AppleTV, Mubi.
- Causeway: affecting and uplifting. AppleTV.
- The Menu: immune from pretension. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox and included with HBO Max.
- All Quiet on the Western Front: the trauma of war. Netflix.
- Armageddon Time: coming of age – right into a moral choice. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- The Banshees of Inisherin: no limits on stubbornness. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox and included with HBO Max.
- Tar: a haughty spirit before a fall. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Triangle of Sadness: more subtlety, please. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Little Dieter Needs to Fly: an unimaginable escape and a quirky guy Project Nim: .Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Mustang: repression challenged by the human spirit. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Truman: how to say goodbye. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Love & Mercy: a tale of three monsters and salvation. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Searching: A ticking clock thriller that captures the Silicon Valley vibe. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Venus: Meeting your kid for the first time while transitioning. Amazon, AppleTV.
- The Sapphires: Here’s a crowd pleaser: Motown meets Aborigines. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu.
- Wind River: “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.” Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Radio Dreams: stranger in a strange and funny land. Amazon, AppleTV.
- We Believe in Science: denying science on a monumental scale. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.