Venus

Movies to See Right Now

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Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in A STAR IS BORN[/caption]

I just saw A Star Is Born last night – and you should, too. I’ll be writing about it this weekend. I’ll also be heading to the Mill Valley Film Festival to see three of the most exciting Prestige Season releases: Cold War, Roma and Shoplifters.

OUT NOW

  • Spike Lee’s true story BlacKkKlansman is very funny and, finally, emotionally powerful.
  • The first-rate thriller Searching is more than just a gimmick (it entirely takes place on computer screens) and is filled with authentic Silicon Valley touches.
  • Jane Fonda herself spills her most intimate secrets in the irresistible HBO biodoc Jane Fonda in Five Acts.
  • Crazy Rich Asians is wildly popular for a reason – it’s damn entertaining and probably the year’s most appealing date movie. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll wait for the chance to see Awkwafina in her next movie.

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week is the appealing transgender dramedy Venus, which won the Cinequest award for best narrative feature. Venus is available for streaming from Amazon and iTunes.

ON TV

Tune into Turner Classic Movies on October 6 for director Robert Altman’s underappreciated California Split.  Elliott Gould plays a guy deep in the throes of gambling addiction, and George Segal plays another guy well on his way.  The two join up and play the LA-area card clubs before heading to Reno for a poker game that may be too big for them.  Gould is at his manic, wise cracking best, and plays off the more reserved Segal in a very funny adventure.  Of course, their decision-making is influenced by their addiction.

Actor Joseph Walsh wrote the screenplay about his own gambling addiction and plays the bookie you don’t want to owe money to.  Real card club and casino patrons play the poker players, so the verisimilitude of the poker games is unmatched.  The real Amarillo Slim elevates the big game.

California Split was the first non-Cinerama movie to use eight tracks for sound, which was perfect for Altman’s style of overlapping dialogue and tidbits of side and background conversations.

The poker is both authentic and entertaining.  The two guys “read a table”, analyzing the other players in one particularly funny moment.

Reliable character actor Bert Remsen has a memorable bit in drag.   Mickey Fox is memorable as a suspicious poker loser.  Look for a young Jeff Goldblum, too.

Elliott Gould (center left) and George Segal (center right) in CALIFORNIA SPLIT

Stream of the Week: VENUS – meeting your kid for the first time while transitioning

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Debargo Sanyal (center) in VENUS

In the appealing Canadian transgender dramedy Venus, Sid (Debargo Sanyal) is at a personal crossroads. Single after things didn’t work out with his closeted boyfriend Daniel (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), Sid has just begun to dress like a woman in public and to take hormones for his transition. Then, he is shocked to learn that he has a 14-year-old son Ralph (Jamie Myers). The boy thinks that having a transgender dad with Indian heritage is very cool and, unbeknownst to his mom, starts spending more and more time with Sid. Sid has to deal with this, along with the reactions of his more traditional Indian parents and a chance meeting with Daniel.

In her first narrative feature, writer-director Eisha Marjara has crafted a funny, touching and genuine story. Venus is successful largely because of Debargo Sanyal’s performance. Eschewing flamboyance, Sanyal’s Sid is a man driven to keep his dignity in the most inescapably awkward situations. It helps that Sanyal is a master of the comic take; Sid’s reactions to his mother’s and Ralph’s intrusiveness are very funny.

I predicted that Venus, at its US premiere at Cinequest, would become one of the most popular indies at the festival; indeed, it won the Cinequest award for best narrative feature. Venus is available for streaming from Amazon and iTunes.

Cinequest: VENUS

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Debargo Sanyal (center) in VENUS

In the appealing Canadian transgender dramedy Venus, Sid (Debargo Sanyal) is at a personal crossroads.  Single after things didn’t work out with his closeted boyfriend Daniel (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), Sid has just begun to dress like a woman in public and to take hormones for his transition.  Then, he is shocked to learn that he has a 14-year-old son Ralph (Jamie Myers).  The boy thinks that having a transgender dad with Indian heritage is very cool and, unbeknownst to his mom, starts spending more and more time with Sid.  Sid has to deal with this, along with the reactions of his more traditional Indian parents and a chance meeting with Daniel.

In her first narrative feature, writer-director Eisha Marjara has crafted a funny, touching and genuine story.  Venus is successful largely because of Debargo Sanyal’s performance.  Eschewing flamboyance, Sanyal’s Sid is a man driven to keep his dignity in the most inescapably awkward situations.  It helps that Sanyal is a master of the comic take; Sid’s reactions to his mother’s and Ralph’s intrusiveness are very funny.

Cinequest hosts the US premiere of Venus, and I expect it to become one of the most popular indies at the festival.