It doesn’t get any better on The Movie Gourmet – five new reviews of The Holdovers, Rustin, Cypher, May December, The Stones and Brian Jones, right on the heels of recent reviews of Napoleon, The Lady Bird Diaries and The Killer.
The year’s best film so far, Oppenheimer, is now available on VOD for $19.99, and the second-best, Anatomy of a Fall, is still playing some arthouses.
When we het to the Holidays I pause my regular WATCH AT HOME feature The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE) and replace it with the movies from my Best of 2023 list that are already available to stream.
REMEMBRANCE
Joss Ackland was one of those stage-trained British actors who could elevate a role in any film, as he did in Lethal Weapon 2, The Hunt for Red October, White Mischief and over 200 other screen credits.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Anatomy of a Fall: family history, with life or death stakes. In theaters.
- Killers of the Flower Moon: an epic tale of epic betrayal. In theaters.
- The Holdovers: three souls must evolve beyond their losses. In theaters, Amazon.
- The Lady Bird Diaries: essential history. Hulu.
- Rustin: greatness, overlooked. Netflix.
- Napoleon: didn’t they name a complex after this guy? In theaters before it streams on Apple TV.
- The Pigeon Tunnel: a great storyteller’s story, told at last. AppleTV.
- Fremont: self-discovery and a fortune cookie. Amazon, Vudu.
- May December: a seat-squirmer of a psychodrama. In theaters before it streams on Netflix on December 1.
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial: just what, not who, is on trial here? Showtime/Paramount+.
- Flora and Son: a bad mom turns it around. In theaters and AppleTV.
- The Disappearance of Shere Hite: revoking one’s own celebrity. In theaters.
- Cypher: the year’s most original movie? Hulu.
- The Killer: interior monologue. Netflix.
- Our Father, The Devil: can revenge extinguish trauma? AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Reptile: a neo-noir showcase for Benicio del Toro. Netflix.
- Oppenheimer: creator of a monster controlled by others. Still in theaters.
- The Stones and Brian Jones: casualty of rock. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Priscilla: icky, then unpleasant. In theaters.
WATCH AT HOME
From my Best Movies of 2023 – so far:
- OPPENHEIMER: creator of a monster controlled by others. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- PAST LIVES: a profound and refreshing romance. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- THE MAN WHO DID NOT WANT TO SEE TITANIC: wow – laughs, thrills, love. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- RETURN TO SEOUL: brilliantly crafted and emotionally gripping. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- BARBIE: a marriage of the intelligent and the silly. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- FREMONT: self-discovery and a fortune cookie. Amazon, Vudu.
- HANNAH HA HA: what makes for human value and fulfillment? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
Coming up on Turner Classics on December 4 is Death of a Gunfighter, which I’m not recommending, but I wanted to note that it’s the first movie with a “directed by Alan Smithee” credit. Robert Totten began directing the film, but he was forced out by the star, Richard Widmark, and replaced by Richard Fleischer. Fleischer refused the directing credit because Totten had directed more of the movie, and Widmarks refused to allow Totten to be credited. Widmark and Fleischer agreed that a fictional “Al Smith” would be credited, but there had been a real life director by that name, so they made up “Alan Smithee”. The Alan Smithee credit has since been used by the likes of John Frankenheimer, Dennis Hopper and Ivan Passer to decouple themselves from movies. As I write, “Alan Smithee” has 140 directing credits listed on IMDb.