This week on The Movie Gourmet – reviews of two overlooked films, Dennis Hopper’s searing drama Out of the Blue and the deliciously subversive Argentine comedy Human Resources. Slamdance is under way, and here’s my coverage:
Note: Two highly recommended movies – both Oscar-nominated – The Secret Agent and Mr. Nobody Against Putin are now available to stream at home. And all of the big Oscar movies are now available to watch at home.
CURRENT MOVIES
- The Secret Agent: we’re all back in 1977, and he’s running for his life. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- No Other Choice: keeping up with the Parks. Amazon, Fandango.
- A Private Life: a shrink and her own issues. In theaters.
- Hamnet: a grieving couple finally aligned. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- It Was Just an Accident: trauma, justice and complications. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- Mr. Nobody Against Putin: The first casualty of war is truth. Amazon, AppleTV.
- Train Dreams: quietly thinking and quietly feeling. Netflix.
- Marty Supreme: a portrait of chutzpah. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- Sentimental Value: generational healing. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
ON TV
On March 4, Turner Classic Movies plays Pedro Almodovar’s Volver. Almodovar’s signature is a female-forward movie that is a subversively hilarious exploration of dark subjects – and that fits Volver to a tee. There is murder and parentage secrets , along with a body conveniently stashed in a freezer, plus a ghost who isn’t. The mostly female cast is headed by Penelope Cruz (Oscar nomination) and Carmen Maura. Cruz, of course, is a global A-lister, and Maura, like Victoria Abril, Marisa Paredes and Roddy De Palma, we know best from her collaborations with Almodovar (Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom, Matador and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.).