This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Kill the Jockey, Argentina’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar and a preview of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Plus, a review of an almost-lost film about a lost jazz legend Bix Biederbecke: Ain’t None of Them Play Like Him Yet.
And check out my in-depth comments on the New York Times’ The Best 100 Movies of the 21st Century. My critique of the NYT list in in Part 1; Part 2 is my own stab at the 50 best movies of the century.
REMEMBRANCE
Every time I hear Stuck in the Middle with You by the one-hit wonder Stealer’s Wheel, I think of Michael Madsen. Madsen was a fine character actor who was good in all of his work, and he amassed 344 screen credits, often as a physically imposing bad guy. But, for anyone who has seen Reservoir Dogs, Madsen’s performance – especially his torture dance to Stuck in the Middle with You – is indelible.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Sew Torn: a thriller like none you’ve seen before. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Kill the Jockey: surrealism in the stables. In theaters.
- Janis Ian: Breaking Silence: she stepped onto the roller coaster at 16. PBS American Masters.
- Bonjour Tristesse: not the life lesson she was expecting. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- Pee-Wee Herman as Himself: a man hidden in his own invention. HBO Max.
- The Friend: grieving with an enormous dog. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- The Count of Monte-Cristo: you think you’ve seen a revenge movie? kanopy (free), Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
ON TV
On July 12 and 13, Turner Classic Movies airs the hard-to-find The Gangster on Noir Alley, one of my Overlooked Noir. The minor crime lord Shubunka (Barry Sullivan) rules Brooklyn’s Neptune Beach, a noir setting if ever there was one – a sketchy beachfront boardwalk area near subway tracks. It may be a only Coney Island for bottom feeders, but Shubunka enjoys being its master. Then another gangster (Sheldon Leonard) tries to move in on his territory, and Shubunka makes the mistake of underestimating him. Plus Shubunka is distracted – hung up on his night club singer girlfriend (Belita). Much like Marshall Will Kane in High Noon, Shubunka finds out how few acquaintances will help him in a crunch. Barry Sullivan is excellent as a guy who is at first blind to his vulnerabilities, and then increasingly desperate. There’s a phenomenal supporting cast of noir all-stars: Harry Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, John Ireland, Charles McGraw, Leif Erickson, Elisha Cook, Jr. and an uncredited Shelly Winters. The Noir Alley screening will be bookended by an intro and an outro from Eddie Muller, the Czar of Noir (who likes the skater-turned-actress Belita far more than I do).