The prestige movies are rolling out in theaters and I’ve already added two Must Sees to my Best Movies of 2017 – So Far:
Lady Bird , an entirely fresh coming of age comedy that explores the mother-daughter relationship – an impressive debut for Greta Gerwig as a writer and director.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri a powerful combination of raw emotion and dark hilarity with an acting tour de force from Frances McDormand and a slew of great actors.
My Stream of the Week is Louder Than Bombs, the intricately constructed family drama from writer-director Joachim Trier (his new film Thelma is rolling out). Louder Than Bombs is now available to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play.
On December 3, Turner Classic Movies presents Pushover, which is highly recommended on my list of Overlooked Noir. Tracking a notorious criminal, the cop (Fred MacMurray) follows – and then dates – the gangster’s girlfriend (“Introducing Kim Novak”) as part of the job, but then falls for her himself. He decides that, if he can double cross BOTH the cops and the criminal, he can wind up with the loot AND Kim Novak. (This is a film noir, so we know he’s not destined for a tropical beach with an umbrella drink.)
Woody Harrelson and Frances McDormand in THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
For your Thanksgiving viewing pleasure, complete with four new movie recommendations, here are my picks for the long weekend. My top two recommendations are
Lady Bird , an entirely fresh coming of age comedy that explores the mother-daughter relationship – an impressive debut for Greta Gerwig as a writer and director.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri a powerful combination of raw emotion and dark hilarity with an acting tour de force from Frances McDormand and a slew of great actors.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is a different kind of Thanksgiving movie – a dysfunctional family thriller. Deadfall is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and can be streamed from Netflix Instant, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
On November 29, Turner Classic Movies presents The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. John Ford was the greatest director of Westerns and this is his masterpiece, showcasing both James Stewart and John Wayne. It took one kind of man to explore and tame the West and another kind of man to bring peace and prosperity. Ford uses the genre of the Western to deconstruct the mythology of the West. It’s also a mature Ford’s contemplation of all those shoot ’em ups from earlier in his career. Jimmy and the Duke are joined by Andy Devine, Woody Strode, Vera Mills, Edmond O’Brien and Lee Marvin. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is on my list of A Classic American Movie Primer – 5 to start with.
Lee Marvin and Jphn Wayne in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCEJohn Wayne and James Stewart in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCEJames Stewart in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
Claes Bang in THE SQUARE. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The Square, the social satire from Swedish writer-director Ruben Östlund is one of the most ambitious movies of the year. Often LOL funny, and just as often uncomfortable, The Square hits moments of triumph that would constitute a great movie if they were braided together more cohesively.
The Square is set in a world that is ripe for mockery – Christian (Claes Bang) is chief curator at a Stockholm museum of modern art. The museum is funded by the very rich, and the art is impenetrably pretentious, inaccessible to all but those predisposed to deconstruct it (or at least pretend to). One installation is described in straight-faced mumbo jumbo as “relational aesthetics”. Another is a roomful of conical piles of rubble, with a museum guard rebuking visitors with a stern “no pictures!”.
Christian is comfortable in his privilege, but he is curious about exploring social inequity – but only as an intellectual exercise. Christian is interested in street beggars (and finds one especially ungrateful one), and The Square is filled by “help me” moments. He is victimized by a robbery that seems like performance art, and sets off on an adventure called the “Tesla of Justice”, which goes horribly awry.
There are lots of laughs in The Square. Christian admonishes a colleague not to use Comic Sans font in a threat letter. There’s a very funny tug of war in a post-coital spat. A self-congratulatory on-stage interview with a precious artist wearing a blazer over pajamas, is disrupted by an audience member with Tourette’s who ejaculates “cock godammit” and the like, all while the audience pretends it’s all ok. And there’s a riotous thread with PR guys making a BS pitch that results in the very most counter-productive promotional video (think Springtime for Hitler in The Producers).
Östlund is very gifted at finding the humor in interruptions. The most serious, intimate and formal discussions are interrupted by a baby crying, construction noise and lots of cell phones ringing.
And, finally, there is a museum opening gala with a “welcome to the jungle” theme. This segment of The Square could stand alone as a sort film and probably win an Oscar. (Again, completely universal terror is interrupted by a ringing cell phone.) But, it’s unclear how this fits inside The Square’s themes.
Elisabeth Moss and Claes Bang in THE SQUARE. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The Square is very well-acted. Claes Bang is exceptional as Christian, exuding the ennui of Marcello Mastroianni in 8 1/2, Gabriele Ferzetti in L’Avventura and David Hemmings in Blow-up.
As an American journalist, Elisabeth Moss (who is always excellent) gets to show us her playful side, which is a treat; there’s a wonderful Moss moment when her eyes tell us she’s made a decision about her sex life while in the restroom line.
The most stunning performance is by Terry Notary as the performance artist at the gala. Notary, a stunt coordinator, choreographer and movement coach, is a master of motion capture, and his work has been featured in the Planet of the Apes and The Hobbit franchises and Andy Serkis’ Jungle Book. It’s one thing to imitate an ape, but Notary’s performance in The Square plays off of and dominates a banquet room full of other actors. It’s a really singular performance.
Terry Notary (on table) in THE SQUARE. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
I loved Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure, which made my list of Best Movies of 2014 Force Majeure was Sweden’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. It is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video. Force Majeure was a satirical drama with some very funny moments; The Square is a satirical comedy with some very serious themes.
The Square is a movie that my head liked a lot, but it didn’t thrill my heart. Filled with brilliant moments, it just doesn’t hold together as one cohesive great movie.
[SPOILER: At the end, Christian tries to be genuinely helpful by making amends – but he is proven ultimately and ironically helpless.]
I’ve updated my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page (also known as The Paula Page). I’ve included the movie Get Low and trailers or clips from/about Get Low, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Cane Toads: The Conquest, Welcome to the Rileys, Animal Kingdom, Uncle Boonmee and Carlos.
I’m still the most eager to see Mike Leigh’s Another Year, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Kids Are Alright, Poetry, Certified Copy, Inside Job and Cane Toads.
I had already posted the trailers for The Kids Are Alright and Homewrecker/The Locksmith, plus the teaser for Certified Copy (Copie Conforme).
Other movies featured include The Square, Biutiful, Howl, The American, Blue Valentine, Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et des Dieu), One Too Many Mornings and Aurora.
Robert Duvall, Lucas Black and Bill Murray in Get Low
If I were programming a theater, I would make sure I had locked up Toy Story 3, The Kids Are All Right, Another Year and Inside Job. I would take a flyer on The Certified Copy, Poetry and Uncle Boonmee. And I would try to track down The Locksmith, Everyone Else, The Square and Cane Toads.
On July 9, I’ll be watching for The Girl Who Played With Fire, which follows my personal favorite film of the year so far, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo as the second part of Stieg Larssen’s trilogy.
