Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now

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LETTERS FROM THE BIG MAN

This week’s best two movies can be found on Video on Demand (I saw them on Amazon Instant), and both feature magical realism:

  • Letters from the Big Man: a beautifully looking and sounding fable about a prickly woman with a guy and a Bigfoot competing for her affections.
  • Electrick Children: an entirely unique teen coming of age story with fundamentalist Mormon teens in Las Vegas.

The best bets in theaters:  

  • No: Gael Garcia Bernal stars as the regular guy who brainstormed the guerrilla advertising campaign that dethroned Chilean dictator Pinochet.
  • The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: a pleasant comedy and a showcase for Jim Carrey.
  • Side Effects: Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
  • Quartet: a pleasant lark of a geezer comedy with four fine performances.

Music fans will enjoy the bio-documentary Beware of Mr. Baker, available on VOD.

Emperor, with Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur leading the American occupation of Japan, is historical but plodding.  On the Road is the faithful but ultimately unsuccessful adaptation of the seminal Jack Kerouac novel, with surprisingly little energy.  The HBO movie Phil Spector is really just a freak show.

 I haven’t yet seen the upcoming PBS documentary Philip Roth: Unmasked. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD of the week is the smart, actress-written romantic comedy Celeste and Jesse Forever.

On Easter Sunday, Turner Classic Movies offers a Jesusathon of Sword and Sandal movies: Ben-Hur, The Robe and Barabbas. Ben-Hur has the thrilling chariot race around that phenomenal set – one of the greatest sets in movie history. In Barabbas, Anthony Quinn sees Charlton Hestons’s galley slavery and raises it by a tour in the sulpher mines, a stint as a gladiator and the witnessing of the burning of Rome, all culminating in a Christian martyrdom.

DVD of the Week: Celeste and Jesse Forever

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I really enjoyed Celeste and Jesse Forever, starring Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg as best friends who have been married, are now working on an amiable divorce and are still best friends. The screenplay is co-written by Rashida Jones (Paul Rudd’s fiance in I Love You, Man) and, once you accept the comic premise that this couple is made for each other but not as a married couple, everyone’s behavior is authentic. Sure, he wants to get back with her when she isn’t in a place to do that – and, then, vice versa – but the characters resolve the conflict as they would in real life. Here’s a mini-spoiler – this movie is just too smart to end in rushing to the airport or disrupting the wedding or any of the other typical rom com contrivances.

The supporting characters are funny without being absurdly zany (except for one pot dealer). Chris Messina pops up in Celeste, as he did in the other smart actress-written comedy Ruby Sparks, and does a good job here, too. I’m certainly looking forward to Rashida Jones’ next screenplay.

Movies to See Right Now

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Gael Garcia Bernal in NO

This week’s best movie in theaters is the suspenseful German historical drama Barbara.  In No, Gael Garcia Bernal stars as the regular guy who brainstormed the guerrilla advertising campaign that dethroned Chilean dictator Pinochet.  The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a pleasant comedy and a showcase for Jim Carrey. I admire Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller Side Effects, starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Emperor, with Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur leading the American occupation of Japan, is historical but plodding.

I haven’t yet seen Walter Salles’ Jack Kerouac movie On the Road, which opens today, or Sunday’s HBO movie Phil Spector. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD/Stream of the week is the most under-appreciated Big Movie of 2012, Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow’s inspired telling of the hunt for Bin Laden.

Turner Classic Movies is showing a couple of my guilty pleasures this week.  The 1958 Terror in a Texas Town is a lousy movie with an wonderfully implausible climax where the good guy (Sterling Hayden with a Swedish accent) take on a gunfighter with a harpoon.   An even worse movie, 1964’s The Outrage tried to remake Rashomon with a Mexican bandit – and landed Paul Newman the #8 spot on my list of Least Convincing Mexicans.

DVD of the Week: Zero Dark Thirty

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My DVD pick is the most under-appreciated Big Movie of 2012, Zero Dark Thirty,  director Kathryn Bigelow’s inspired telling of the hunt for Bin Laden.  Zero Dark Thirty got smeared with some unfair punditry and didn’t get either the box office or the Oscar recognition that it deserved.  Zero Dark Thirty is on my list of Best Films of 2012.

Bigelow, who won the directorial Oscar for The Hurt Locker, once again demonstrates an uncommon ability to enthrall. She chose to tell the story of the frustrating, wearying and dangerous ten-year man hunt, not just the exciting raid in Abbottabad.

We should all be grateful that this movie was made with Bigelow’s directorial choices. She is content to invest half of her screen time on false leads and wasted efforts – and makes them utterly gripping. She neither lingers on the violence nor shies away from it. In a scene where a CIA operative is looking for a man talking on a cell phone, the camera pulls back to reveal that he is on a chaotic Pakistani street with hundreds of men on cell phones – perfectly conveying the needle-in-a-haystack aspect of the search.  As the Navy Seal team returns from the successful raid, the music is deeply thoughtful and reflective, not the triumphalist anthem that many directors would have used.

Zero Dark Thirty contains realistic and non-gratuitous depictions of war, terrorism and torture. The movie is, to my sensibilities, not too uncomfortable for most viewers. (You can also read my rant on Zero Dark Thirty and torture – I conclude that the filmmakers did not seek to promote, justify or apologize for torture used by US forces).

Jessica Chastain brilliantly plays the CIA analyst who doggedly and passionately pursues an unlikely lead that finally pays off after a ten-year grind. I’ve already rhapsodized several times about Chastain’s sudden emergence as perhaps our best current screen actress. She is profoundly gifted and can do anything. Let’s just say that, as good as Zero Dark Thirty is, she carries it.

The rest of the fine cast includes Jason Clarke (Lawless), Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom), Jennifer Ehle (The Ides of March, The King’s Speech), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Fares Fares (Safe House), Jeremy Strong (The Guard), Mark Duplass and James Gandolfini.

Movies to See Right Now

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Nina Hoss in BARBARA

This week, the theaters feature three historical dramas, the best being the suspenseful German Barbara.  In No, Gael Garcia Bernal stars as the regular guy who brainstormed the guerrilla advertising campaign that dethroned Chilean dictator Pinochet.  Emperor, with Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur leading the American occupation of Japan, is historical but plodding.

The documentary The Gatekeepers is centered around interviews with all six surviving former chiefs of Shin Bet, Israel’s super-secret internal security force; these are hard ass guys who share a surprising perspective on the efficacy of Israel’s war on terror. The documentary
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is now playing on HBO; it explores the Catholic Church’s decades-long cover-up of priest abuse from a Wisconsin parish to the top of the Vatican (and I mean the top). I admire Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller Side Effects, starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

San Jose’s Cinequest Film Festival is over, and for a wrap-up, see my CINEQUEST 2013 page.

You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD/Stream of the week is, fittingly, the Italian comedy We Have a Pope, especially in a double feature with Mea Maxima Culpa.

I usually don’t think of Dustin Hoffman as a comic actor, but some of his performances have been brilliantly funny, including Tootsie, Little Big Man and the essential The Graduate.  Turner Classic Movies will be broadcasting those three films tomorrow night, March 16.

Movies to See Right Now

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LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION at Cinequest

We’re now in the final two days of San Jose’s Cinequest Film Festival.  It’s been a good year for thrillers at Cinequest, and you can still see Lead Us Not Into Temptation, Dose of Reality and Chaos, as well as the German dark comedy gem Oh Boy.  Check out my CINEQUEST 2013 page for comments on these films, plus another 20 or so that I’ve seen.

In the theaters, I recommend The Gatekeepers, a documentary centered around interviews with all six surviving former chiefs of Shin Bet, Israel’s super-secret internal security force; these are hard ass guys who share a surprising perspective on the efficacy of Israel’s war on terror.  The Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) documentary
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God is now playing on HBO; it explores the Catholic Church’s decades-long cover-up of priest abuse from a Wisconsin parish to the top of the Vatican (and I mean the top).  I admire Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller Side Effects, starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Quartet is a pleasant lark of a geezer comedy with four fine performances. The charmingly funny Warm Bodies has made my list of Zombie Movies for People Who Don’t Like Zombie Movies. The drama Lore is about the innocent children of monstrous people, but its intensity is so unrelenting that it wearies the audience.

I haven’t yet seen the Chilean historical drama No (with Gael Garcia Bernal), which was nominated for the 2013 Foreign Language Oscar and opens widely today. Nor have I seen Emperor, with Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur leading the American occupation of Japan. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

You can still catch the Academy Award winning Argo, as well as Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook. To ride the momentum of director Ang Lee’s surprise Oscar win, Life of Pi is now out again in 3D, which I recommend. The Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Picture, Amour, is brilliantly made and almost unbearable to watch.

My DVD of the week is still Undefeated, last year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary.

Movies to See Right Now

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THE GATEKEEPERS

Three documentaries are dominating this week’s cinematic landscape:

  • The Gatekeepers is a documentary centered around interviews with all six surviving former chiefs of Shin Bet, Israel’s super-secret internal security force.  These are hard ass guys who share a surprising perspective on the efficacy of Israel’s war on terror.
  • Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, now playing on HBO, explores the Catholic Church’s decades-long cover-up of priest abuse from a Wisconsin parish to the top of the Vatican (and I mean the top).
  • 56 Up is the surprisingly mellow next chapter in the greatest documentary series ever.  Starting with Seven Up! in 1964, director Michael Apted has followed the same fourteen British children, filming snapshots of their lives at ages 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 49 – and now at 56.

We’re now in the third day of San Jose’s Cinequest Film Festival.  I’ve updated my CINEQUEST 2013 page, which includes comments on The Sapphires, In the Shadows, Lead Us Not Into Temptation, The Almost Man, Panahida, Dose of Reality, White Lie, Aftermath and The Hunt.

Opening this week, the drama Lore is about the innocent children of monstrous people, but its intensity is so unrelenting that it wearies the audience. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

I admire Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller Side Effects, starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Quartet is a pleasant lark of a geezer comedy with four fine performances. The charmingly funny Warm Bodies has made my list of Zombie Movies for People Who Don’t Like Zombie Movies.

You can still catch the Academy Award winning Argo, as well as Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook.  To ride the momentum of director Ang Lee’s surprise Oscar win, Life of Pi is now out again in 3D, which I recommend.  The Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Picture,  Amour, is brilliantly made and almost unbearable to watch.

My DVD of the week is another documentary, Undefeated, last year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary.

Turner Classic Movies is celebrating the Oscars with its annual 31 Days of Oscars, filling its broadcast schedule with Academy Award-winning films. This week, the lineup includes Inherit the Wind and Elmer Gantry.

Movies to See Right Now

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56 UP

I haven’t yet seen 56 Up, the next chapter in the greatest documentary series ever. Starting with Seven Up! in 1964, director Michael Apted has followed the same fourteen British children, filming snapshots of their lives at ages 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 49. Choosing kids from different backgrounds, the series started as a critique of the British class system, but has since evolved into a broader exploration of what factors can lead to success and happiness at different stages of human life. The ultimate reality show. I’ve included the 7 Up series in my list of Greatest Movies of All Time. It opens today, as does The Gatekeepers, a documentary centered around interviews with all six surviving former chiefs of Shin Bet, Israel’s super-secret internal security force. You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

It’s you last chance to catch the Oscar-nominated movies before the Academy Awards: Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained and Life of Pi.  The French language drama Amour is a brilliantly made and almost unbearable to watch.  If you really like musicals, you will probably like the lavish but stupefying Les Miserables (I didn’t).

The best new movie is Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller Side Effects with Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In Stand Up Guys, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin play old mobsters gearing up for one last surge of adrenaline. Quartet is a pleasant lark of a geezer comedy with four fine performances. The charmingly funny Warm Bodies has made my list of Zombie Movies for People Who Don’t Like Zombie Movies. The pretty good horror movie Mama (with Jessica Chastain) can send chills down your spine without any slashing or splattering.

Skip the unoriginal mob movie Gangster Squad, which wastes its fine cast. The FDR movie Hyde Park on Hudson is a bore. The disaster movie The Impossible is only for audiences that enjoy watching suffering adults and children in peril. I have not seen Movie 43 – it is the most critically reviled movie in a looooong time.

My DVD/Stream of the week is the Oscar winning Gosford Park, a fitting companion to the just completed third season of Downton Abbey.

Turner Classic Movies is celebrating the Oscars with its annual 31 Days of Oscars, filling its broadcast schedule with Academy Award-winning films. This week, the lineup includes one of the funniest movies ever, Mel Brook’s glorious The Producers.

DVD/Stream of the week: the orginal Downton Abbey

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Fans of Downton Abbey – do not despair because Season 3 has run its course.   Before he created Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes wrote the 2001 film Gosford Park, also set at the estate of an English aristocrat in the 1920s. The period between the world wars marked the final decline of the Upstairs Downstairs world, and Fellowes, descended from such an upper class family, grew up with relatives who had lived through it.  In fact, he modeled the scathingly dismissive character of Constance, Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), after his own great-aunt.

Gosford Park won an Oscar for its legendary director, Robert Altman.  Altman was a master of weaving together characters and multiple story lines, employing the kind of simultaneous, overlapping speech that people use in real life.  In Gosford Park, instead of recording all the actors with the normal boom microphone, he placed radio microphones on each of twenty actors in the large scenes.  The result, a triumph of cinematic sound design, is that we can hear key lines of dialogue amidst the realistic cacophony of a large gathering, and our attention can move from group to group within a single camera shot.

Ever unconventional, Altman also showed his genius in the solitary scenes.  In one, Helen Mirren’s character has repaired to her own room to reflect on an emotionally shattering development.  Instead of a closeup on Mirren’s face, Altman shoots in long shot, allowing Mirren to act with her whole body and emphasizing the loneliness of her life and the situation.

Altman was also known for attracting very deep, top rate casts.  Gosford Park contains exceptional performances by Mirren, Kelly Macdonald and Emily Watson.  Watson has an outburst at a formal dinner that leaves the audience gasping.  American audiences had only seen Clive Owen in the modest art house film Croupier, and the brooding determination in his Gosford Park performance helped make him a star.

As in Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith gets some great lines and makes the most of them.  Her performance triggered a stream of spunky roles for Smith, including in the Harry Potter movies, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Quartet and, of course, as Downton Abbey’s Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Gosford Park is a great movie, and you’ll recognize its world as Downton Abbey’s.  Gosford Park is available on DVD and streaming from Netflix Instant.

Movies to See Right Now

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Jude Law in SIDE EFFECTS

The best new movie is Steven Soderbergh’s psychological thriller Side Effects with Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  In Stand Up Guys, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin play old mobsters gearing up for one last surge of adrenaline. Quartet is a pleasant lark of a geezer comedy with four fine performances. The charmingly funny Warm Bodies has made my list of Zombie Movies for People Who Don’t Like Zombie Movies. The pretty good horror movie Mama (with Jessica Chastain) can send chills down your spine without any slashing or splattering.

Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook are on my list of Best Movies of 2012 and all are nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. The French language drama Amour, also nominated for Best Picture, is a brilliantly made film about the end of life – it’s also an almost unbearable viewing experience.

If, like me, you worship the spaghetti Western, the Quentin Tarantino blockbuster Django Unchained is gloriously pedal-to-the-metal, splattering exploitation. The intelligent drama Rust and Bone is the singular tale of a complicated woman and an uncomplicated man. Ang Lee’s visually stunning fable Life of Pi is an enthralling commentary on story-telling.

Skip the unoriginal mob movie Gangster Squad, which wastes its fine cast. Also pass on the lavish but stupefying all-star Les Miserables, with its multiple endings, each more miserable than the last. The FDR movie Hyde Park on Hudson is a bore. The disaster movie The Impossible is only for audiences that enjoy watching suffering adults and children in peril. I have not seen Movie 43 – it is the most critically reviled movie in a looooong time.

You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD of the week is the underrated 2012 thriller Deadfall.

Turner Classic Movies is celebrating the Oscars with its annual 31 Days of Oscars, filling its broadcast schedule with Academy Award-winning films. In the next week, the especially rich lineup will include Double Indemnity, A Place in the Sun, Seven Days in May, All the King’s Men, Anatomy of a Murder with its great jazz score, On the Waterfront, The Caine Mutiny, Easy Rider, The Last Detail, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Tootsie.