movie gourmet

Movies to See Right Now

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Nicole Kidman in THE PAPERBOY

The best bet is still Argo, Ben Affleck’s brilliant thriller based on a true story from the Iran Hostage Crisis.  It’s unquestionably the best Hollywood movie of the year so far.

But there are some other excellent choices.  The Sessions is an uncommonly evocative, funny and thoughtful film about sex leading to unexpected emotional intimacy.   The Paperboy is a deliciously pulpy crime drama, enhanced by a trashy Nicole Kidman and a canny Macy Gray. You can still find End of Watch, a thrilling cop movie that rises above the genre. I also liked the thinking person’s sci fi movie, Looper.  Perks of Being a Wallflower is an authentic coming of age story. I also recommend the realistic indie alcoholism drama Smashed.

Two lower profile films are continuing their long runs. The zany French odd couple comedy The Intouchables is a crowd pleaser – and an attendance record breaker in France. Another good choice is the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist who didn’t know that he was a rock star.

Paul Williams Still Alive, an affecting documentary about the songwriter, omnipresent in the 70s, but not now, is available on Video On Demand.  History buffs will appreciate Ethel, the documentary on Ethel Kennedy by her daughter Rory Kennedy, still playing on HBO.  You can skip HBO’s dreary The Girl.

The dark crime comedy Seven Psychopaths is well-acted by a very deep team of my favorite actors and is embedded with belly laughs, but, as a whole, it’s just not that satisfying. The Master is a visual and acting masterpiece, but the story fizzles out.

I haven’t yet seen the blockbuster sci fi epic Cloud Atlas, which opens this weekend. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is the most overlooked film of the year, Sarah Polley’s brilliant Take This Waltz.   It’s a woman’s movie, but in the best possible way. It’s not a shallow chick flick and there’s no wedding scene. Instead, it’s an exploration of attraction and fulfillment from a woman’s perspective. Take This Waltz makes my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Smashed: life is better when sober, but still messy

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In this indie drama, a couple navigates life while drunk.  Can they stay together and flourish when she sobers up?  Smashed is a remarkably realistic portrayal of the drinking life and the challenges of recovery and relapse, informed by the personal experience of co-writer Susan Burke.

The best thing about Smashed is the performance of Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the wife.  Winstead realistically takes her character through the carelessness, denial, humiliation and self-degradation of drinking and the fears and determination that co-exist in her recovery.  It’s a stellar performance, and I’ll be looking for Winstead in bigger roles.

Also very good are Nick Offerman as the wife’s colleague, Megan Mullally, unrecognizable as the wife’s boss, and the always delightful Octavia Spencer.

As The Wife pointed out, the amount of time that director and co-writer James Ponsoldt spent on the drinking part of the story means that lots of plot points whiz by in the final ten minutes.  Still, Smashed is very watchable and benefits from the breakthrough performance by Winstead.

The Sessions: sex leading to emotional intimacy

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We usually think of sex as the culminating manifestation of lust and/or romantic love.  The Sessions is an exploration of sex (first) leading to emotional intimacy.

John Hawkes plays a man in an iron lung seeking to lose his virginity to his sex surrogate (Helen Hunt).  The premise may seem farfetched, but it’s based on the life of Mark O’Brien, who survived childhood polio to graduate from UC Berkeley and become a poet and journalist. The kernel of this screenplay was O’Brien’s magazine essay “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate”, and O’Brien was the subject of Jessica Yu’s Oscar-winning Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien.

As I’ve written before, I particularly loathe “disease of the week” movies, but The Sessions is completely untainted by this maudlin genre.  The credit goes to writer-director Ben Lewin, himself a polio survivor, who has made The Sessions more than a movie about sex and a disability.  Lewin has embedded lots of humor, along with genuine emotions.

Hawkes and Hunt will receive Oscar nominations for the kind of performances that the Academy especially loves and rewards.  Hawkes spends the entire movie horizontal on a gurney with his spine contorted by a device the filmmakers labeled “the Torture Ball”.  Equally courageously, Hunt is often naked (really, really naked), frankly leading the couple through simulated sexual acts.

But don’t be put off by the showy aspects of the performances, which are authentic and riveting.  Hawkes, who is best known for his scary and creepy roles in Winter’s Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene, embodies a witty man who has overcome more than most, but who fears the depths of his own vulnerabilities.  Likewise, Hunt goes very deep to express emotions that take her by surprise.

Beyond Hawkes and Hunt, The Sessions is uniformly well-acted.  I especially enjoyed the performances of William H. Macy as a goofily sympathetic Berkeley parish priest, Moon Bloodgood as a poker-faced but playful caregiver and Ming Lo as an amusingly dense hotel clerk.

Lewin, Hawkes and Hunt have combined to make an uncommonly evocative, funny and thoughtful film.  The Sessions was an audience fave at the Sundance and Toronto film fests.  (Plus it’s a great date movie.)

DVD of the Week: Take This Waltz

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My DVD pick this week is the most overlooked film of the year, Sarah Polley’s brilliant Take This Waltz, which makes my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

Take This Waltz is a woman’s movie, but in the best possible way.  It’s not a shallow chick flick and there’s no wedding scene.  Instead, it’s an exploration of attraction and fulfillment from a woman’s perspective.

Margot (Michelle Williams) and Lou (Seth Rogen) have been happily married for five years.  They are affectionate and playful with each other, but they have hit a patch where it’s easy for one to kill the other’s buzz and for a romantic moment to misfire.  But Lou is a fundamentally good guy who loves Margot, and he is definitely not driving her into the arms of another man.

But Margot meets Daniel (Luke Kirby) and is fascinated by him. He is completely attentive – not in a chocolates and flowers kind of way, but by observing her deeply and pointing out things about her personality that she hasn’t recognized herself.  Daniel exhilarates her, and she can’t keep herself from engaging with him.

Michelle Williams is once more transcendent.  She is our best actress.  We know that Rogen can play a goodhearted, ambling guy, but when his character is profoundly hurt, he delivers a tour de force.  Sarah Silverman co-stars as Margot’s sister-in-law, a recovering alcoholic whose relapse sparks a fierce moment of truth telling.

Take This Waltz could not have been made by a man.  In particular, there is a remarkable shower scene in which women of a variety of ages and body types have the type of frank conversation that women share with each other.  Although they are all naked and fully visible, the scene is shot as to be devoid of any eroticism or exploitation.  All that is there is the content of the conversation and the female bonding.

33-year-old Canadian actress Sarah Polley wrote and directed;  Polley’s debut feature was Away From Her, my pick for best movie of 2006.

Take This Waltz is a beautifully shot film, but generally not in a showy way.  The film opens with Williams backlit as she prepares a batch of muffins; it’s a simple kitchen scene, but Polley showcases Williams as Margot reflects on her choices and their consequences.

In one extraordinary scene, the camera swirls with Margot and Daniel on an amusement park ride blaring “Video Killed the Radio Star”.  Their faces show fun, then an urge to kiss, then regret that they can’t kiss, then fun again and, finally, disappointment when the music and the ride end way too harshly.

Later, Polley reprises the muffin baking scene, paired with “Video Killed the Radio Star” in an unexpectedly rich way.  After just two features, Sarah Polley is established as one of today’s top filmmakers.

Ethel: an interesting woman who has lived an extraordinary life

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Ethel is a fine HBO documentary on the life of Ethel Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy’s widow.   The filmmaker is Ethel’s daughter Rory, her 11th child, born six months after RFK’s assassination.  Rory Kennedy had the advantage of access to a trove of photos and home movies, along with on-camera interviews with her mother and her siblings.  The result is an affectionate and insightful portrait of Ethel, with the view of RFK’s career by his own family.  We are surprised to learn that Ethel was the most competitive member of the family.  We also learn of her impish liveliness, such as dropping “Get a new Director” into the FBI’s basement suggestion box.  Ethel is an interesting woman who has lived an extraordinary life.  Anyone interested in 20th Century American history should see Ethel.

Ethel debuted last week and is being rebroadcast on HBO.

Paul Williams Still Alive: now content in his skin

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Here’s a treat – Paul Williams Still Alive, an affecting documentary about the songwriter, omnipresent in the 70s, but not now.  Because Paul Williams’ life story follows the arc of every episode of VH1’s Behind the Music (hits the show biz big time, does too many drugs, career crashes and burns), this film could have been trite.  Instead, it’s fresh and appealing, chiefly because filmmaker Stephen Kessler is such an unabashed  fan boy who glories in following Williams around, uncovering tidbits like Williams love of eating squid.

The documentary’s other cornerstone is that Paul Williams himself – now twenty years sober –  is a very appealing guy.  Williams doesn’t dwell on the time when he was rich, famous and unhappy.  He has an edge, and doesn’t suffer fools, but he lives in the moment and it’s fun to see a guy now so content in his skin.

Paul Williams Still Alive is available now on Video On Demand, including Amazon Instant Video.

 

 

The Girl: just dreary

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Sienna Miller and Toby Jones in THE GIRL

HBO’s The Girl is the story of a beautiful young woman being sexually harassed by the much older and very unattractive male boss who is responsible for her career success.  In this case, the woman is Tippi Hedren, the boss is Alfred Hitchcock, and they’re making The Birds and Marnie.  Unfortunately, the movie just grinds along as Hitchcock becomes more twisted and Hedren becomes more wearily traumatized.  The story is based on a book by Donald Spoto, whose version of Hitchcock is not shared by other film historians.

The Girl wastes some excellent acting. Toby Jones and Sienna Miller are good as Hitchcock and Hedren.  As Hitchcock’s wife and secretary,  Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) and Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) are splendid.  The Girl, which is just a dreary movie-watching experience, is now playing on HBO.

Movies to See Right Now

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Ben Affleck in ARGO

DO NOT MISS Argo, unquestionably the best Hollywood movie of the year so far.   In this true story from the Iran Hostage Crisis, a down-on-his-luck spy rescues six Americans hiding in the Canadian Ambassador’s Tehran home by pretending to make a cheesy Hollywood sci fi movie. The scenes in Tehran and Washington are pure thriller, leavened by the very funny Hollywood thread.

The Paperboy is a deliciously pulpy crime drama, enhanced by a trashy Nicole Kidman and a canny Macy Gray.

End of Watch is a thrilling cop movie that rises above the genre. I also liked the thinking person’s sci fi movie, Looper.   Perks of Being a Wallflower is an authentic coming of age story.

Two lower profile films are continuing their long runs.  The zany French odd couple comedy The Intouchables is a crowd pleaser – and an attendance record breaker in France.   Another good choice is the compelling documentary Searching for Sugar Man, about the hunt to uncover the secret fate of an artist who didn’t know that he was a rock star.

The dark crime comedy Seven Psychopaths is well-acted by a very deep team of my favorite actors and is embedded with belly laughs, but, as a whole, it’s just not that satisfying.  The Master is a visual and acting masterpiece, but the story fizzles out.

I haven’t yet seen Smashed, which opens this weekend.  You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick this week is Wes Anderson’s wistfully sweet and visually singular Moonrise Kingdom. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2012 – So Far.

The Paperboy: a trashy Nicole Kidman and a canny Macy Gray

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Set in 1969 Florida, The Paperboy is a coming of age film nestled within a deliciously pulpy crime drama.  The story is centered around an overlooked younger son (talented up-and-comer Zac Efron) who is thrilled when his older brother (Matthew McConaughey) returns to their swampy backwater after making it in the big time of Miami.  The older brother is an investigative reporter who seeks the truth about a sensational death row case.

The strength of the film is in the supporting characters.  David Oyelowo plays the older brother’s cynical and self-absorbed partner.  John Cusack’s death row inmate is utterly animalistic, a real departure for Cusack.  Nicole Kidman plays the convict’s pen pal fiance; the younger brother falls for her, but she’s apparently screwing everyone except him.

But the surprise performance in The Paperboy is by recording artist Macy Gray, who plays the family domestic.  With complete authenticity, Gray is playful, hurt, dignified, angry, funny, tough, cagy and vulnerable and, as the narrator, she keeps the movie together.  It’s a really superb performance, and I look forward to seeing Gray in more high profile parts.

This is director Lee Daniels’ follow up to his heart rending Precious.  Once again, his  character driven story-telling is first rate.  The Paperboy is dark, violent, sexy and gripping with vivid characters.

Watch for Kidman’s particularly alarming treatment for jellyfish stings.

Argo: the first Must See this fall

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Ben Affleck directs and stars in Argo, unquestionably the best Hollywood movie of the year so far.   In this true story from the Iran Hostage Crisis, a down-on-his-luck spy rescues six Americans hiding in the Canadian Ambassador’s Tehran home by pretending to make a cheesy Hollywood sci fi movie. The scenes in Tehran and Washington are pure thriller, leavened by the very funny Hollywood thread.

It’s a gripping story.  Setting up the audacious plan is only the beginning. It must be sold to risk averse government officials.  And it must be sold to the “house guests”, who clearly understand how risky it is.  The diplomats must learn their cover identities as Canadian filmmakers well enough to withstand interrogation.  And the team must be shuttled past layer upon layer of suspicious, trigger happy and completely unpredictable revolutionaries.  Helluva story, well told.

Thanks to director Affleck, editor William Goldberg and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, Argo is brilliantly photographed and constructed.It is economical story-telling at its best, with each shot revealing critical information – the lethal chaos in the streets of Tehran, the paralyzing fear of the house guests, the determination of Affleck’s operative.

It’s a deep cast.  John Goodman and Alan Arkin are hilarious as the movie industry guys.  Scoot McNairy and Christopher Denham are especially good as house guests.  Farshad Farahat is compelling as the commander of the final revolutionary checkpoint.  The rest of the cast is equally superb:   Bryan Cranston, Philip Baker Hall, Richard Kind, Michael Parks, Clea DuVall, Adam Arkin, Chris Messina and Victor Garber.  Watch for a bit role played by 80s horror maven Adrienne Barbeau.

This could have been jingoistic, but Affleck starts the movie with an animated historical primer to remind (or teach) the audience about why the Iranians were so angry.  And he generously included another American perspective during the end credits.  Much more nuance than the standard Hollywood movie –  good for Affleck!