This week on The Movie Gourmet: new reviews of Poor Things, The Boys in the Boat and Ferrari. All three are good movies, and the extraordinarily original Poor Things is one of the year’s best.
Here’s my year-end feature coverage so far:
When we get 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.
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.
- Poor Things: brazen, dazzling, feminist and very funny.
- Dream Scenario: but it can’t be my fault, can it? In theaters.
- Ferrari: his racecars are easy, his women are not. In theaters.
- The Boys in the Boat: underdogs soar. In theaters.
- Rustin: greatness, overlooked. Netflix.
- Fallen Leaves: two lonely people amid the driest of humor. In theaters.
- Maestro: not what she bargained for. 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+.
- The Crime Is Mine: better after Huppert shows up. In theaters.
- Flora and Son: a bad mom turns it around. 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.
- Priscilla: icky, then unpleasant. In theaters.
WATCH AT HOME
From my Best Movies of 2023:
- 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
On January 10, Turner Classic Movies is airing the always entertaining 1946 film noir Gilda. Glenn Ford plays a shady gambler who shows up in exotic Buenos Aires, where he lucks into a job with a casino operator; turns out that his new boss has a gorgeous young wife (Rita Hayworth). The Ford and Hayworth characters shared a past relationship that ended ugly. There are plot twists aplenty, including a faked death, former Nazis running a tungsten cartel, and a love affair that is on-again, off-again and on-again. Glenn Ford’s character spins like a top through sap-hero-jerk-hero. The wonderful actor Joseph Calleia comes brooding through the story. Gilda is almost worthwhile just for the dramatic cinematography of Rudolph Maté (D.O.A.) and for Hayworth’s stunning wardrobe.
But there’s more – Czar of Noir Eddie Muller has opened my eyes to a hiding-in-plain-sight nugget. Watch Gilda with the premise that the Glenn Ford character has an intimate relationship with his boss – so the appearance of the wife sparks a love triangle.
And, finally, a gourmet treat from the Movie Gourmet’s recent excursion to San Sebastian, Spain. San Sebastian is justifiably famous for its sumptuous and inexpensive pinxtos, and the trend started with a pinxto named for the glamorous Rita Hayworth character. It’s a toothpick loaded with a green olive, a few strips of pickled guindilla pepper, an anchovy filet, more guindilla strips, and a final olive, all coated with olive oil. It’s available in almost every San Sebastian bar, and called a Gilda (pronounced HEEL-dah).