This week on The Movie Gourmet – the best movie in theaters right now is Anatomy of a Fall, the funniest is Dream Scenario, and the most endearing is The Holdovers (also on Amazon). Watch for my upcoming reviews of Fallen Leaves and Maestro, while we all wait for the release of Poor Things, Zone of Interest, The Taste of Things and Ferrari.
I highlight (below) one of the bleakest Christmastime neo-noirs, Blast of Silence, and tomorrow I’ll write about a classic Christmas film noir, Cash on Demand.
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
Ryan O’Neal became a movie star when he starred in the disgustingly saccharine Love Story. He later was eclipsed by his own daughter’s Oscar-winning performance in Paper Moon. He was a good sport, mocking Love Story with his final line in What’s Up, Doc?.
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. AppleTV (subscription), Amazon.
- The Holdovers: three souls must evolve beyond their losses. In theaters, Amazon.
- Dream Scenario: but it can’t be my fault, can it? In theaters.
- 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. Netflix.
- 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.
- Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy: a movie and its time. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu,YouTube.
- 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
Any film noir aficionado will want to take advantage of Turner Classic Movies’ rare broadcast of Blast of Silence on December 18. Arguably the first neo-noir (and on my list of Overlooked Neo-noir), Blast of Silence features a solitary professional hit man who is NOT emotionally detached. Instead, he has to work himself into a cauldron of seething hatred before he performs each murder-for-hire. Perversely, this most nihilistic story is juxtapositioned against a New York City Christmastime.
Blast of Silence is not available to stream, so the only ways you can see it are to purchase the Criterion DVD or to catch it this week on TCM.
