Summertime

Most overlooked movies of 2021

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Photo caption: RIDERS OF JUSTICE, a Magnet release. © Kasper Tuxen. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

Some of 2021’s best movie experiences are still under the radar. Here are seven films that you shouldn’t overlook.

All are available to stream at home. (There are more overlooked 2021 movies that I could recommend, but I’m not going to tease you with movies that you can’t find.)

  • Riders of Justice: Starring the charismatic Mads Mikkelsen, this character-driven thriller is near the top of my Best Movies of 2021. Riders of Justice has been inadequately described as a revenge thriller and an action comedy. It is gloriously satisfying as entertainment, but the more I think about it, Riders of Justice explores grief, revenge and mortality – they’re all in here. And it’s still very, very funny. Even Denmark overlooked Riders of Justice, submitting Flee as their entry for the Best International Feature Oscar instead. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube.
  • Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road: An unusual documentary about an unusual man.  Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys’ songwriting and arranging genius weighs in on his life and work.  Wilson’s old and trusted friend drove him around important places in his life – in the format of Comedians in Cars Drinking Coffee – and it paid off with oft emotional revelations from the usually monosyllabic Wilson. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and redbox.
  • The Lost Leonardo: This documentary peels back the onion on an ever surprising tale of discovery, scholarship, fraud, commerce and politics in the refined and pretentious art world. Is a rediscovered Renaissance masterpiece authentic, and does it matter? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and redbox.
  • Wildland: This remarkable Danish neo-noir gives family ties a bad name. The story simmers and evolves into a nail biter right up to its noir-stained epilogue. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu.
THE UNKNOWN SAINT. Photo courtesy of The Match Factory.
  • The Unknown Saint: This delightfully deadpan crime comedy is a shrine to really bad luck. Morocco’s submission for this year’s Best International Feature Oscar. Netflix.
  • Summertime: I can’t remember hearing so much poetry in a movie. This ever vibrant film is about giving voice, the voice of mostly young Los Angelenos, expressing themselves, mostly through poetry. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube and redbox.
  • Ma Belle, My Beauty: This simmering romantic drama is a gorgeous, sexy, character-driven film, an exploration of the post-breakup dynamics of polyamorous queer women. This is a beautiful, absorbing movie with the unexpected appearance of a strap-on. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and redbox.
Idella Johnson, Sivan Noam Shimon and Hannah Pepper in Marion Hill’s film MA BELLE, MY BEAUTY. Courtesy of SFILM.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: A scene from RIDERS OF JUSTICE, a Magnet release. © Kasper Tuxen. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing

This week: my experience returning to theaters, the best movie of the year so far, and a marathon of Alfred Hitchcock.

I finally went to a movie theater for the first time in an unimaginable 473 days – and I was a little rusty. On a 92 degree day, I slipped into the air conditioned theater and, while trying to adjust my recliner, inadvertently turned on the seat heater. Everything else went well.

I found the Astronaut Pen that The Wife gave me, which fits easily in my pants pocket. And I still had my unlined notepad from Muji, so I can scrawl notes in the dark. (the downtown San Jose Muji did not survive COVID, so I’ll need another source.)

Incidentally, in that 473 days of COVID hermitage, I had watched 328 films at home – streaming, broadcast, DVD and screeners.

IN THEATERS

The Sparks Brothers: This affectionate documentary profiles a 54-year-old pop band, still tirelessly living their art. Both the subject band and the movie about them are very funny.

Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation: Two giants of American literature in their own words.

Also in theaters:

  • In the Heights: Vibrant, earnest and perfect for this moment. Also streaming on HBO Max.
  • Summer of 85: Director Francois Ozon reflects on how we remember our youth in this romantic teen coming of age story.
  • The Dry: a mystery as psychological as it is procedural. In theaters and also streaming on AppleTV, YouTube and Google Play
  • Undine: slow burn, barely flickering.
  • Censor: less scary and suspenseful than it is unpleasant.

ON VIDEO

Riders of Justice: It’s the year’s best movie so far. A character-driven comedy thriller embedded with deeper stuff. Marvelous. Also AppleTV.

Summertime: This ever vibrant film is about giving voice, the voice of mostly young Los Angelenos, expressing themselves mostly through poetry. Stream from Frameline through Sunday night, June 27.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE

ON TV

Starting Saturday, June 26, and continuing through early Monday. Turner Classic Movies will be airing FORTY-EIGHT HOURS of Alfred Hitchcock. The 23 different movies (Shadow of a Doubt plays twice on Eddie Muller’s Noir Alley) range from Hitchcock’s 1927 silent The Lodger to his 1976 Family Plot. The program includes Hitchcock’s best eight films: Vertigo, Psycho, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Rope, The Birds and Shadow of a Doubt. 

Farley Granger, James Stewart and John Dahl in ROPE

SUMMERLAND: finally arrives at heartwarming

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Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in SUMMERLAND

An agreeable star playing a disagreeable character, Gemma Arterton elevates the melodrama Summerland. Arterton plays a writer self-isolating in an English country village. Self-absorbed, crusty and even mean, she finds herself being assigned to care for a young boy evacuated from the London Blitz.

Why is she like this? We learn that she has been damaged, first by the childhood loss of her father, and then by the loss of her great love. It turns out that everyone in Summerland is damaged by loss – after all, there is a devastating war going on. And, the English are not disposed to letting out their feelings.

Summerland is about addressing the needs of one child. The war has made his parents unavailable, his guardian is reluctant and poorly-equipped, and the emotional capacity of his community is not apparent.

There are two surprises in the plot, and the biggest one is unpredictable; both are contrived – you can either suspend disbelief or not. I was watching with two women who couldn’t get past the unsympathetic behavior of the writer to embrace the story.

Once again, Gemma Arterton proves that she is versatile and can carry a movie on her own. Her work has ranged across genres to the Bond Girl in Quantum of Solace. In the light comedy Tamara Drewe, the main joke is that the main character suddenly transforms into someone who looks as stunning as, well, Gemma Arterton. In Gemma Bovery, Arteron and the French comic actor Fabrice Luchini deliver a smart, contemporary take on Madame Bovary.

The supporting cast is excellent: Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle and lots of TV), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), Tom Courtenay (Oscar-nominated decades apart for The Dresser and Doctor Zhivago) and Sian Phillips (Livia in I, Claudius back in 1976).

This is the first feature for writer-director Jessica Swale, She did an excellent job directing the child actors – Lucas Bond and Dixie Egerickx (now starring in The Secret Garden) – to fine performances.

Summerland is essentially a melodrama that finally arrives at a heartwarming conclusion; as such, it’s moderately satisfying. Summerland is available from all the major streaming services