Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Jodie Comer in THE BIKERIDERS. Courtesy of Focus Features.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of two fine documentaries and an acting showcase – Penny Lane’s exploration of shocking altruism, Confessions of a Good Samaritan, a thoughtful dive into #MeToo accountability, Sorry/Not Sorry, the sweet, but not overly sentimental Perfect Days, and the Dakota Johnson-Sean Penn two-hander Daddio.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. In theaters.
  • The Bikeriders: they ride, drink and fight, and yet we care. In theaters.
  • Daddio: intimacy between strangers. In theaters.
  • Perfect Days: intentional contentment. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Hulu (included).
  • Sorry/Not Sorry: revelatory, and posing the smartest questions. In theaters.
  • Confessions of a Good Samaritan: of course, wouldn’t you?…WHAT? In theaters, primarily arthouses.
  • Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
  • Thelma: too proud to be taken. In theaters.
  • Mother Couch: obstreperous mom, surreal situation. In theaters, primarily arthouses.
  • Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
  • The Grab: important, engrossing and sobering. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Run Lola Run: still sprinting after 25 years. In theaters and Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • How to Have Sex: searing and authentic. MUBI.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • The Dead Don’t Hurt: such a bad movie. In theaters.
  • Kinds of Kindness: disgustingly indulgent. In theaters, primarily arthouses.

WATCH AT HOME

VERY SEMI-SERIOUS

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

On Saturday, July 13, Turner Classic Movies airs John Sayles’ 1988 Eight Men Out, which tells the true story of the Black Sox Scandal – the Chicago White Sox players who fixed the 1919 World Series.  Sayles used actors, not baseball players, but the baseball scenes are totally authentic.  The characters of star players Eddie Cicotte (David Straithern), Buck Weaver (John Cusack) and Shoeless Joe Jackson (D.B. Sweeney) and owner Charles Comiskey (Clifton James) vividly come alive. Watch for Sayles himself and Studs Terkel playing sportswriters Ring Lardner and Hugh Fullerton.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption. Jodie Comer and Austin Butler in THE BIKERIDERS. Courtesy of Focus Features.

You know it’s a good week when you can see Ghostlight, The Bikeriders and Thelma in theaters, and you can stream Challengers, La Chimera and Hit Man at home. This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of Jeff Nichol’s superbly character driven The Bikeriders and the unabashedly surreal comedy Mother Couch, and the disgustingly self-indulgent Kinds of Kindness.

REMEMBRANCE

Robert Towne is best known, justifiably, for his Oscar-winning screenplay for Chinatown, one of my Greatest Movies of All Time; but director Roman Polanski perfected the script by changing the ending over Towne’s objections.  However, Chinatown was only one of a string of brilliant screenplays penned by Towne between 1973 and 1982 – The Last Detail, The Yakuza, Shampoo and Personal Best. Starting in 1967, Towne was also the uncredited script doctor who polished Bonnie and Clyde, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Godfather and Heaven Can Wait.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. In theaters.
  • The Bikeriders: they ride, drink and fight, and yet we care. In theaters.
  • Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
  • Thelma: too proud to be taken. In theaters.
  • Mother Couch: obstreperous mom, surreal situation. In theaters, primarily arthouses.
  • Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • The Grab: important, engrossing and sobering. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Run Lola Run: still sprinting after 25 years. In theaters and Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • How to Have Sex: searing and authentic. MUBI.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • The Dead Don’t Hurt: such a bad movie. In theaters.
  • Kinds of Kindness: disgustingly indulgent. In theaters, primarily arthouses.

WATCH AT HOME

Aksel Hennie in HEADHUNTERS

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Anton Walbrook and Dyana Wyngard in GASLIGHT.

On July 8, Turner Classic Movies will play the less well-known 1940 version of Gaslight. In GASLIGHT, GASLIGHT and gaslighting in domestic violence, I wrote about this film, the more familiar 1944 version and gaslighting itself. This original 1940 version is also especially well-acted. Anton Walbrook is suave and evil as the hubbie and Dyana Wyngard is unforgettably haunting as the wife. Only 19 minutes in, we see his duplicity, manipulation and control. Frank Pettingell is very good as the detective, and the cast includes Robert Newton (Long John Silver in the 1950 Treasure Island). Cathleen Cordell plays the oversexed maid Nancy in a less nuanced performance than Angela Lansbury’s in 1944. This 1940 film version is reportedly the most faithful to the stage play source material.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: June Squibb and Fred Hechinger in THELMA. Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures | photo by David Bolen.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new reviews of the important documentary The Grab, the family drama Ghostlight and the clichéd western The Dead Don’t Hurt, which is not always plausible or understandable. Ghostlight joins Hit Man and Thelma as the Must See movies.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. In theaters.
  • Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
  • Thelma: too proud to be taken. In theaters.
  • Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • The Grab: important, engrossing and sobering. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Run Lola Run: still sprinting after 25 years. In theaters and Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.
  • Banel and Adama: we want to be together and left alone. In arthouse theaters.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life: creativity with self-indulgence. In NYC and LA theaters now and digital on July 3.
  • Waiting for Dali: here’s the cuisine; where’s the surrealist? AppleTV, YouTube.
  • The Origin of Evil: the angry, the unhinged and the evil. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • How to Have Sex: searing and authentic. MUBI.
  • Wildcat: often admirable, rarely fun. In theaters.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • Ennio: the good the bad and the transcendent. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Chasing Chasing Amy: origins of love, fictional and otherwise. Waiting for release.
  • The Woman Who Ran: is the payoff worth the slow burn? AppleTV, YouTube.
  • The Dead Don’t Hurt: such a bad movie. In theaters.

WATCH AT HOME

Charlie Hunnam in THE LOST CITY OF Z photo courtesy of SFFILM

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Just for fun – on July 3, Turner Classic Movies will air A Bucket of Blood, a campy minor horror movie much more interesting as a window in beatnik culture. By 1959, beatnik consciousness was ripe for exploitation by low-budget movie wizard Roger Corman, who produced and directed A Bucket of Blood.  The story is about a loser who covers a dead cat with plaster of Paris and is acclaimed as a talented sculptor.  He embraces the hoax and starts hunting victims to cast into human “sculptures”; hence the horror and the bucket of blood.

“Beatnik” conjures up 20-somethings adorned in black turtleneck sweaters (and black leotards for women), berets, goatees and dark glasses; they’re in coffee houses snapping their fingers to applaud poetry and jazz.  And they’re conversing in hip cat patter.  Watch A Bucket of Blood and you’ll get a dose.

A Bucket of Blood stars Corman favorite Dick Miller, the subject of That Guy Dick Miller; ubiquitous game show host Burt Convy, as a young actor, played Lou. Can you dig it?

Movies to See Right Now

by
Richard Roundtree and June Squibb in THELMA. Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures | photo by David Bolen..

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the audience-pleasing comedy Thelma, the good-hearted Catalan farce Waiting for Dali, the thoughtful artist biodoc Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life, the unpretentious 1976 ground-breaker Car Wash and 1964’s The Strangler, which is pretty perverse even for a serial killer movie. Plus a preview of Frameline, the oldest and longest-running LGBTQ+ film festival in the world, now underway in the Bay Area.

Wow – in just two weeks, the Movie Gourmet has produced reviews of six new 2024 movies and three revivals, along with previews of two film festivals. Whew.

REMEMBRANCES

Donald Sutherland became a famous character actor playing quirky misfits in The Dirty Dozen and Kelly’s Heroes, and became a star as an iconic subversive in M*A*S*H*. His performances in Klute and Invasion of the Body Snatchers are indelible. Sutherland finished with 199 IMDb credits, including the Hunger Games franchise, and had three films released in 2023.

Anouk Aimée starred in some of the most iconic European art films of the 1960s: Fellini’s 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita and Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman.

Tony Lo Bianco first made his name in a perverse movie that became a cult film, The Honeymoon Killers. He went on to act in the 1970s classics The French Connection, The Seven Ups, Jesus of Nazareth, and lots and lots of TV work. I especially admire his performance in John Sayles’ City of Hope.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
  • Thelma: too proud to be taken. In theaters.
  • Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Run Lola Run: still sprinting after 25 years. In theaters and Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.
  • Banel and Adama: we want to be together and left alone. In arthouse theaters.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life: creativity with self-indulgence. In NYC and LA theaters now and digital on July 3.
  • Waiting for Dali: here’s the cuisine; where’s the surrealist? AppleTV, YouTube.
  • The Origin of Evil: the angry, the unhinged and the evil. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • How to Have Sex: searing and authentic. MUBI.
  • Wildcat: often admirable, rarely fun. In theaters.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • Ennio: the good the bad and the transcendent. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Chasing Chasing Amy: origins of love, fictional and otherwise. Waiting for release.
  • The Woman Who Ran: is the payoff worth the slow burn? AppleTV, YouTube.

WATCH AT HOME

Brady Jandreau in THE RIDER

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Richard Widmark in THE KISS OF DEATH

On June 25, Turner Classic Movies airs the classic film noir Kiss of Death. Victor Mature plays an ex-con with horrific luck – he gets caught on a heist and takes the rap for his cohorts; this leads to a long sentence and a double-cross with impacts to his wife and kids. Seeking to see his kids again, he is released back on the streets to set up the double-crossers for the DA. Mature, too often dismissed for his campy sword-and-sandal movies, did his finest work in film noir – especially I Wake Up Screaming, Kiss of Death and The Long Haul. But the flashiest performance in Kiss of Death is Richard Widmark’s film debut as psychopath Tommy Udo, who chortles maniacally as he pushes an old lady in a wheelchair down the stairs to her demise; Widmark went on to play indelible neurotics and sleazes in noir for the next three years (Roadhouse, Panic in the Streets, Night and the City, No Way Out, Pickup on South Street) before becoming an A-lister.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Adria Arjona and Glen Powell in HIT MAN. Courtesy of Netflix.

This very busy week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the enormously fun Hit Man, the Senegalese fable Banel and Adama, the searing coming-of-age drama How to Have Sex, and the re-release of the most kinetic movie you’ll ever see, Run Lola Run.

La Chimera, one of the year’s best films, may now be watched at home on Amazon, AppleTV or YouTube. So is the Jessie Buckley/Olivia Colman comedy Wicked Little Letters.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
  • Challengers: three people and their desire. In theaters.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Run Lola Run: still sprinting after 25 years. In theaters and Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.
  • Banel and Adama: we want to be together and left alone. In arthouse theaters.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • The Origin of Evil: the angry, the unhinged and the evil. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • How to Have Sex: searing and authentic. MUBI.
  • Wildcat: often admirable, rarely fun. In theaters.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
  • Ennio: the good the bad and the transcendent. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • The Taste of Things: two passions – culinary and romantic. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Golden Years: when dreams diverge. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Chasing Chasing Amy: origins of love, fictional and otherwise. Waiting for release.
  • The Woman Who Ran: is the payoff worth the slow burn? AppleTV, YouTube.

WATCH AT HOME

Barbara Stanwyck in WITNESS TO MURDER

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Otis Day, Antonio Fargas and Darrow Igus in CAR WASH. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

On June 19, Turner Classic Movies will air a 1970s time capsule, the unpretentious ground-breaker  Car Wash. Car Wash portrays the raucous hijinks and foibles of the crew at a downtown LA car wash and samples a range of African-American perspectives, from an angry African nationalist to a corrupt preacher. Car Wash was the first film by an African-American director shown in competition at Cannes (and possibly the most unabashedly low brow Cannes entry). Three cast members – Bill Duke, Ivan Dixon and Melanie Mayron – became prolific directors themselves. Comedians George Carlin, Richard Pryor and “Professor” Irwin Corey have cameos. And the title song became a major disco hit. This is a very fun movie. I’ll be posting a complete review on Sunday, but go ahead and DVR it. now

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: A scene from Tracey Arcabasso Smith’s RELATIVE. Courtesy of Gravitas.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the psychological thriller The Origin of Evil, the irresistible documentary Chasing Chasing Amy and the Hong Sang-soo character study The Woman Who Ran.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Challengers: three people and their desire. In theaters.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. In arthouse theaters.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • The Origin of Evil: the angry, the unhinged and the evil. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. In theaters.
  • Wildcat: often admirable, rarely fun. In theaters.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. In theaters.
  • Ennio: the good the bad and the transcendent. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • After Antarctica: one man, two poles. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s: real, uplifting, essential. On PBS and the PBS App.
  • Monkey Man: a massacre, one bad guy at a time. In theaters.
  • The Taste of Things: two passions – culinary and romantic. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Golden Years: when dreams diverge. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Chasing Chasing Amy: origins of love, fictional and otherwise. Waiting for release.
  • The Woman Who Ran: is the payoff worth the slow burn? AppleTV, YouTube.

WATCH AT HOME

Brian Wilson (seated left) in BRIAN WILSON: LONG PROMISED ROAD. Courtesy of Nashville Film Festival.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Margaret Tallichet in STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR

On June 12, Turner Classic Movies Stranger on the Third Floor named as the first film noir by more scholars than any film. (Personally, I go with the more popular and influential The Maltese Falcon, released 14 months later.) Indeed, due to the groundbreaking cinematography of Nicholas Musaraca, Stranger on the Third Floor did pioneer the look of German Expressionism in an urban American crime drama – so it has the look of a film noir. An indifferent justice system convicts a loser (Elijah Cook, at his most loserly) while an obvious psycho killer (Peter Lorre as a malevolent elf) scurries free.

Even the bland reporter (John Maguire) hates his obnoxious neighbor so much that he has his own murder fantasies. His torment leads to a surreal nightmare. Most of the 1940 audience had probably never seen anything as bizarre as this dream sequence.

Stranger on the Third Floor has its corny aspects. But it’s worth watching for Musaraca’s cinematography – what was in 1940 an entirely fresh look.

Peter Lorre in STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Bill Faist, Zendaya and Josh O’Connor in CHALLENGERS. Courtesy of MGM.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Wicked Little Letters. I also recently added Take Aim at the Police Van (wild title, wild movie) to my collection of Overlooked Neo-noir.

REMEMBRANCES

Documentarian Morgan Spurlock broke through with his McDonalds exposé Super Size Me.

Casting director and producer Fred Roos enhanced the films of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas by advocating for then unknown actors like Al Pacino, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Lowe, Cindy Williams, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon and Mackenzie Phillips.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Challengers: three people and their desire. In theaters.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. In arthouse theaters.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. In theaters.
  • Wildcat: often admirable, rarely fun. In theaters.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. In theaters.
  • Ennio: the good the bad and the transcendent. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • After Antarctica: one man, two poles. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s: real, uplifting, essential. On PBS and the PBS App.
  • Monkey Man: a massacre, one bad guy at a time. In theaters.
  • The Taste of Things: two passions – culinary and romantic. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Golden Years: when dreams diverge. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Woman Who Ran: is the payoff worth the slow burn? AppleTV, YouTube.

WATCH AT HOME

Helen Mirren in EYE IN THE SKY

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Roger Livesey in THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP

On June 1, Turner Classic Movies will air the 1943 masterpiece The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, a remarkably textured portrait of a man over four decades and his struggles to evolve into new eras. Written and directed by the great British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, this is a movie with a sharp message to 1940s audiences about modernity, as well as a subtle exploration of privilege that will resonate today.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Will Steger in AFTER ANTARCTICA. Photo courtesy of SFFILM.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the Arctic/Antarctic exploration documentary After Antarctica and Ethan Hawkes’ Flannery O’Connor biopic Wildcat, plus seven movies that are The best of TCM’s Memorial Day Weekend.

I also added Take Aim at the Police Van (wild title, wild movie) to my collection of Overlooked Neo-noir.

REMEMBRANCE

Dabney Coleman in TOOTSIE

Dabney Coleman, a versatile and prolific character actor, perfected the clueless, boorish boss characters in 9 to 5 and Tootsie. As gifted as he was in those comedic roles, he also worked in a wide range of fine movies: Downhill Racer, Cinderella Liberty, Midway, Go Tell the Spartans, North Dallas Forty and Melvin and Howard. Coleman topped off his career with roles in Boardwalk Empire, Ray Donovan and, as John Dutton, Sr., in Yellowstone.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Challengers: three people and their desire. In theaters.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. In arthouse theaters.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • Wildcat: often admirable, rarely fun. In theaters.
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. In theaters.
  • Ennio: the good the bad and the transcendent. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • After Antarctica: one man, two poles. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s: real, uplifting, essential. On PBS and the PBS App.
  • Monkey Man: a massacre, one bad guy at a time. In theaters.
  • The Taste of Things: two passions – culinary and romantic. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Golden Years: when dreams diverge. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Woman Who Ran: is the payoff worth the slow burn? AppleTV, YouTube.

WATCH AT HOME

Sylvie Mix and Bobbi Kitten in POSER. Photo courtesy of Oscilloscope Films.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

See my The Best of TCM’s Memorial Day Weekend.

On May 28, TCM presents , the triumph of silent filmmaking, Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction masterpiece Metropolis. An uber-futuristic movie that is almost 100 years old. Still-spetacular sets, Lang used giant scale, Evertyone should see this film at least once. Verry trippy,

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Josh O’Connor and Bill Faist in CHALLENGERS. Courtesy of MGM.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of the reflective documentary Relative and my suggestion to watch the Oscar-winning documentary Amy at home INSTEAD of seeing Back to Black in a theater.. And, Challengers and La Chimera, both on my running list of Best Movies of 2024 – So Far, are still in theaters.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Challengers: three people and their desire. In theaters.
  • La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. In arthouse theaters.
  • Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube. 
  • Civil War: a most cautionary tale. In theaters.
  • Ennio: the good the bad and the transcendent. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s: real, uplifting, essential. On PBS and the PBS App.
  • Monkey Man: a massacre, one bad guy at a time. In theaters.
  • The Taste of Things: two passions – culinary and romantic. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Golden Years: when dreams diverge. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.

WATCH AT HOME

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pale-flower-saeko-1024x435.jpg
Mariko Kaga in PALE FLOWER

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS

On May 23, Turner Classic Movies airs The Battle of Algiers, the story of 1950s French colonialists struggling to suppress the guerrilla uprising of Algerian independence fighters.  Although it looks like a documentary, it is not.  Instead, filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo recreated the actual events so realistically that we believe that we are watching the strategy councils of each side. Among the great war films, it may be the best film on counter-insurgency.  In 2003, the Pentagon screened the film for its special operations commanders.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Zendaya in CHALLENGERS. Courtesy of MGM.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of Challengers, Civil War and Ennio. It’s May, and we finally have two movies in theaters that will rank with 2024’s best: Challengers and La Chimera.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

 Itsaso Arana in THE AUGUST VIRGIN. Photo courtesy of Outsider Pictures.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Lizabeth Scott, Dick Powell and Raymond Burr in PITFALL

On May 16, Turner Classic Movies features one of my Overlooked Noir, Pitfall (1948), a noir thriller without either a conventional sap or a conventional femme fatale. Dick Powell plays a WW II vet who is bored with the post-war suburban humdrum, and Lizabeth Scott plays a gal with terrible taste in boyfriends. Neither deserves to be dragged into a thriller, but they are. Raymond Burr, again, makes for a menacing sicko stalker.

Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott in PITFALL