This is a very promising summer movie season, having kicked off with the original, smart and hilarious Booksmart. This weekend, I’ll be chasing down the jukebox biodoc Rocketman. Stay tuned.
OUT NOW
- The wildly successful comedy Booksmart is an entirely fresh take on the coming of age film, and a high school graduation party romp like you’ve never seen. Directed and written by women, BTW.
- Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen are pleasantly entertaining in the improbable Beauty-and-the-Beast romantic comedy Long Shot.
- Ramen Shop is a lightly-rooted dramedy about a Singaporean-Japanese family’s reconciliation. There’s also a metaphorical foodie angle.
- The bio-documentary An American Story: Norman Mineta and His Legacy is available from PBS.
ON VIDEO
My Stream of the Week is my choice as the best movie of 2017. In the deeply emotionally affecting and humane Spanish film Truman. Truman had only a brief US theatrical run. It’s now streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
Elisabeth Moss’ powerhouse performance as a monstrously narcissistic and drug-deranged rock star Her Smell is the acting tour de force of 2019. The movie could have been a great one if shorter, but Moss makes it worthwhile watch nonetheless. Her Smell is out of theaters, but it’s already streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play, an available on DVD from Redbox.
And I just caught up to the hypnotically compelling Burning. This 2 hour, 28 minute slow burn begins as a character study, evolves into a romance and then a mystery, and finally packs a powerful punch with a thriller climax. It’s a superb achievement for director and co-writer Chang-dong Lee. You can stream Burning from Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and Vudu.
ON TV
On June 4 Turner Classic Movies will present The Night of the Hunter, which really should be rated among the greatest American films. Robert Mitchum plays one of cinema’s most chilling villains, serial killer Reverend Harry Powell. He’s a terrifying combination of religious fanaticism, depraved greed and misogyny. But wait until he runs into Lillian Gish (25 years after her heyday in silent films)! This is the only film directed by actor Charles Laughton, and it is brilliant, as is the cinematography of Stanley Cortez.
Later on June 4, TCM will air Woodstock: The Director’s Cut chronicling the most iconic rock concert ever, also a pivotal social and cultural phenomenon. Performers include: Joan Baez, Crosby Still & Nash, Arlo Guthrie, The Who, Sha Na Na, Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Santana and (wait for it…) Ten Years After.
