Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Melvin Gregg in SHARE?, world premiere at Cinequest. Courtesy of Cinequest.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a remembrance of master director William Friedkin and a preview of Cinequest, Silicon Valley’s own film festival, which begins next week.

REMEMBRANCE

Robbie Robertson (front center) in THE LAST WATZ.

Robbie Robertson was justifiably famous as a musician and a songwriter, fronting The Band with its many hits and backing Bob Dylan’s transition from acoustic to electric. In fact, I was introduced to Robertson on-screen as a subject of Martin Scorsese’s documentary The Last Waltz, still one of the handful of greatest concert films. But Robertson also became a significant force in the music of cinema, amassing almost 300 screen credits on IMDb as a composer, music supervisor or contributor to the soundtrack. Robertson’s behind the screen work included many collaborations with Scorsese, the last being the heralded Killers of the Flower Moon, to be released later this year. Robertson identified as an indigenous Canadian, whose mother was Cayuga and Mohawk from the Six Nations Reserve. 

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

Fred Rogers in WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

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

  • Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: gentleness from ferocity. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Land Ho!: rowdy geezer roadtrip to Iceland. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Beast: finally unleashed … and untethered. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • The Imposter: a jaw dropper. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Secret in Their Eyes: Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • NUTS!: the rise and fall of a testicular empire. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Stopover: PTSD takes more than an umbrella drink…Amazon, AppleTV.

ON TV

Anthony Quinn in BARABBAS
Anthony Quinn in BARABBAS

Biblical epics were a staple of cinema until the mid-1960s when they petered out with The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Bible: In the Beginning. If you’re going to watch just one Sword-and-Sandal classic, I recommend going full tilt with Barrabas, broadcast by Turner Classic Movies on August 16. This 1961 cornball stars Anthony Quinn as the Zelig-like title character.

The story begins with the thief Barabbas avoiding crucifixion when Pontius Pilate swaps him out for Jesus (this part is actually in the Bible). Because the Crucifixion isn’t enough action for a two-hour 17-minute movie, Barabbas is soon sent off as a slave to the salt mines, where he is rescued by a miraculously timely earthquake. He then joins the Roman gladiators, complete with a javelin-firing squad, gets lost in the catacombs and emerges to the Burning of Rome. He has encounters with the Emperor Nero and the Apostle Peter before he converts to Christianity – just in time for the mass crucifixion. Watch for an uncredited Sharon Tate as a patrician in the arena.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Paula Beer, Enno Trebs, Langston Uibel and Thomas Schubert in AFIRE. Courtesy of Janus Films.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of two of the Best Movies of 2023 – So Far: Christian Petzold’s ultimately redemptive Afire and Greta Gerwig’s delightfully funny Barbie. Plus, a new review of the breezy comedy treat Theater Camp.

Cinequest is coming up on August 11, and I’ll be posting my usual extensive preview and recommendations.

REMEMBRANCE

Paul Reubens was the star of and the creative force behind the goodhearted and gloriously weird Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson in LAND HO!

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

  • Land Ho!: rowdy geezer roadtrip to Iceland. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Beast: finally unleashed … and untethered. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: gentleness from ferocity. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • The Imposter: a jaw dropper. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Secret in Their Eyes: Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • NUTS!: the rise and fall of a testicular empire. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Stopover: PTSD takes more than an umbrella drink…Amazon, AppleTV.

ON TV

Robert Ryan in THE SET-UP
Robert Ryan in THE SET-UP

On August 7, Turner Classic Movies will present The Set-Up (1949), one of the great film noirs and one of the very best boxing movies. Robert Ryan plays a washed-up boxer that nobody believes can win again, not even his long-suffering wife (Audrey Totter).  His manager doesn’t even bother to tell him that he is committed to taking a dive in his next fight.  But what if he wins?

Director Robert Wise makes use of real-time narrative, then highly innovative. Watch for the verisimilitude of the bar where the deal goes down.

Robert Ryan in THE SET-UP
Robert Ryan in THE SET-UP

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Cillian Murphy in OPPENHEIMER. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Christopher Nolan’s epic masterpiece Oppenheimer. Also, a review of The Anonymous People, about some of the over 23 million Americans in long-term recovery from addiction who are coming out of the closet..

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF) is running through August 6 at the Castro, the Piedmont and the Vogue through August 6; here are my four films to seek out.

REMEMBRANCE

Bo Goldman won an adapted screenplay Oscar for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and an original screenplay Oscar for Melvin and Howard.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

Jessie Buckley and Johnny Flynn in BEAST

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

  • Beast: finally unleashed … and untethered. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Land Ho!: rowdy geezer roadtrip to Iceland. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: gentleness from ferocity. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • The Imposter: a jaw dropper. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Secret in Their Eyes: Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • NUTS!: the rise and fall of a testicular empire. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Stopover: PTSD takes more than an umbrella drink…Amazon, AppleTV.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Cillian Murphy in OPPENHEIMER. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

Last night I saw Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. It’s a masterpiece, so it will take me a few days to write about it. Suffice it to say that many in the audience applauded at the end, and I predict it will receive at least ten Oscar nominations.

Another summer blockbuster with a artistically proven director opens today – Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed.

I won’t be writing about the raunchy comedy Joy Ride, which I found very disappointing. I had high hopes because it was directed and co-written by a co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians, which I loved. Kind of an Asian-American Bridesmaids, Joy Ride has some smart cultural observations, but it’s just not funny enough. For example, if you think about the most alarming potential tattoo location on a woman’s body – that’s funny; but when the image is revealed in Joy Ride, it’s not as funny. Big miss.

REMEMBRANCE

Jane Birkin is remembered as a model, fashion icon, pop singer and a celebrity jet setter in the Mod 60s. She appeared in an extraordinarily good movie, Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-up, but in a cameo playing a Mod Era jet set model. She was the mother of a very gifted screen actress, Charlotte Gainsbourg.

CURRENT MOVIES

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Laura Galán in PIGGY. Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

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

  • Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
  • Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
  • The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.

ON TV

Jon Voigt in DELIVERANCE

On July 23, Turner Classic Movies the beautiful and intense Deliverance from 1972. It’s one of my all-time favorites – still gripping today – with a famous scene that still shocks. That scene and the Banjo Boy immediately became indelible in the culture, but Deliverance is much more than a thriller with some unforgettable moments.

There has never been a more studly image in the history of cinema than Burt Reynolds, brandishing a bow-and-arrow and clad in a sleeveless neoprene vest. The performances of Jon Voigt, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox fill out other manifestations of masculinity.

Deliverance was beautifully and dramatically shot by the late great cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. John Boorman also directed Point Blank and Hope & Glory, but this was his masterpiece IMO.

Burt Reynolds in DELIVERANCE

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Greta Lee in PAST LIVES. Courtesy of A24.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of Asteroid City, Egghead and Twinkie, and the stunning Past Lives.

Note that BlackBerry and Turn Every Page are now widely available to stream.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson in DRINKING BUDDIES.

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

  • Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
  • Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
  • The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.

ON TV

Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES

On July 19, Turner Classic Movies airs Days of Wine and Roses, Blake Edwards’ unflinching exploration of alcoholism, featuring great performances by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (both nominated for Oscars) and Charles Bickford.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Teo Yoo and Greta Lee in PAST LIVES. Courtesy of A24

Don’t wait for my review to go see the stunning Past Lives – it may be the best movie of 2023 so far. This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, with reviews of Asteroid City and Past Lives on the way soon.

Note that BlackBerry and Turn Every Page are now widely available to stream.

REMEMBRANCES

Alan Arkin in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS.

His NYT obit notes that Alan Arkin “won a Tony Award for his first lead role on Broadway (and) received an Academy Award nomination for his first feature film”. Arkin soared in comic roles, especially in The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! and Little Miss Sunshine and as a chilling villain in Wait Until Dark. For my money, his greatest performance as as the desperate and life-worn salesman in Glengarry Glen Ross, a puddle of nervous desperation and vulnerability.  

From 1974 to 1979, Frederic Forrest was making unforgettable movies (The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, The Rose), but those led to a passel of forgettable ones in the 80s. He did sparkle as the villainous Blue Duck in Lonesome Dove.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

RIDERS OF JUSTICE, a Magnet release. © Kasper Tuxen. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

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

  • Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
  • Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
  • Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.

ON TV

Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES

On July 10, Turner Classic Movies will present the groundbreaking French comedy La Cage Aux Folles – a daring film in 1978, when few were thinking publicly about same-sex marriage. A gay guy runs a nightclub on the Riviera, and his partner is the star drag queen. The nightclub owner’s beloved son wants him to meet the parents of his intended.  But the bride-to-be’s father is a conservative politician who practices the most severe and judgmental version of Roman Catholicism, so father and son decide to conceal aspects of dad’s lifestyle. Madcap comedy ensues, and La Cage proves that broad farce can be heartfelt. Michel Serrault is unforgettable as Albin/Zaza – one of the all-time great comic performances. (La Cage was tepidly remade in 1996 as The Birdcage with Robin Williams, but you want to see the French original.)

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Jennifer Lawrence in NO HARD FEELINGS. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of the Jennifer Lawrence comedy No Hard Feelings, and I warn you away from Wife of a Spy. Coming up: a new review of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

REMEMBRANCE

Prolific actor Julian Sands earned 156 screen credits and will be best remembered for A Room with a View.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

Macon Blair in BLUE RUIN

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

  • Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
  • Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
  • The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.

ON TV

Millard Mitchell and James Stewart in WINCHESTER ’73

On July 1, Turner Classic Movies presents what is perhaps the best of director Anthony Mann’s “psychological Westerns”, Winchester ’73 (1950) with James Stewart. Winchester ’73 taps the quest and revenge genres, and it has the Western’s requisite Indian battle and climactic shootout.  Westerns were oft about Good versus Bad, but Mann makes Jimmy Stewart’s character in Winchester ’73 much more complex and morally ambiguous – and he has what we now call “unresolved issues”.  The bad guys are Dan Duryea at his oiliest and Stephen McNally at his most brutish.  The 29-year-old Shelly Winters finds herself as the object of several characters’ desires.  Millard Mitchell is perfect as Jimmy’s sidekick. One of my favorite character actors, Jay C. Flippen, shows up as a cavalry sergeant.

Stephen McNally, Shelly Winters and Dan Duryea in WINCHESTER ’73
WINCHESTER ’73

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Aline Kuppenheim in CHILE ’76. Courtesy of Kino Lorber.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – Three excellent international films are playing arthouse theaters: the gripping Holocaust thriller Persian Lessons, the Chilean suspenser Chile ’76, and the mesmerizing Italian exploration of of male friendship and self-discovery, The Eight Mountains. See as many of them as you can find.

Plus, I have new reviews of the corporate thriller Tetris, set amid the implosion of the USSR, and the insightful documentary Body Parts, about on-screen sex from a female perspective.

REMEMBRANCE

Glenda Jackson in Elizabeth R.

Glenda Jackson won Oscars for Women in Love and a A Touch of Class. I most admired her as the fierce Queen Bess in the 1971 miniseries Elizabeth R. Many actors have tried on politics in real life, but Jackson took off 23 years from her acting career to serve as a hard Left Labor Party MP, before returning to the stage as an acclaimed King Lear.

CURRENT MOVIES

Cristiano Sassella and Lupo Barbiero in THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS. Courtesy of Janus Films.

WATCH AT HOME

THE BRA

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

  • The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
  • Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
  • Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.

ON TV

Edmond O’Brien in D.O.A.

On June 28, Turner Classic Movies brings us one of my favorites – 83 minutes of noir hysteria titled D.O.A. This gripping whodunit opens with a man walking into a police station to report HIS OWN MURDER. The man (Edmond O’Brien) finds out that he has been dosed with a poison for which there is no antidote – and that he has only a few days to live. He desperately races the clock to find out who has murdered him and why. Much of D.O.A. was shot on location in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and one SF scene has one of the first cinematic glimpses into Beat culture. The little known director Rudolph Maté gave the film a great look, which shouldn’t be a surprise because Maté had been Oscar-nominated five times as a cinematographer. The next year, he followed D.O.A. with another solid noir, Union Station, with William Holden and Barry Fitzgerald.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart and Lars Eidinger in PERSIAN LESSONS. Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – The gripping Persian Lessons is opening more widely in LA and the Bay Area. Plus new reviews of the Chilean suspenser Chile ’76, the mesmerizing Italian exploration of of male friendship and self-discovery, The Eight Mountains, and the unpretentious Korean action comedy The Roundup: No Way Out.

REMEMBRANCE

Actor Treat Williams began his career with a string of interesting movies from 1976 through 1981: The Ritz, Hair, and the highly acclaimed Prince of the City. He continued a prolific and respectable career for four more decades, but his films never matched his early ones.

CURRENT MOVIES

Aline Kuppenheim in CHILE ’76. Courtesy of Kino Lorber.

WATCH AT HOME

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

Siren Jørgensen in REVENGE. Courtesy of Cinequest.
  • Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
  • Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
  • The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.

ON TV

Lizabeth Scott, Dick Powell and Raymond Burr in PITFALL

On June 19, 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

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Sam Harkness in SAM NOW. Courtesy of HA/HA Productions.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – my top pick is the gripping Persian Lessons.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

LISTENING TO KENNY G. Courtesy of HBO.

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

  • Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
  • Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
  • The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.

ON TV

Samuel Fuller in A FULLER LIFE. Courtesy of Chrisam Films, Inc.

On June 14, Turner Classic Movies will air A Fuller Life, the biodoc of one of my favorite film directors, the irascible Samuel Fuller, the master of the In Your Face Movie. In Depression Era New York City, Fuller grew up working as a child in the tabloid newspaper industry and became a boy reporter at 17. Fuller never lost his gift for the shocking hook, and he reveled unashamedly in the salacious; perhaps the best example is his neo-noir The Naked Kiss, which opens with a prostitute beating her john senseless with her shoe; she moves to another town to go straight, finds herself in a relationship with the rich, handsome and seemingly saintly benefactor of a hospital for disabled children – only to find out that he is preying sexually on the children.

Without any hint of snobbery or pretention, Fuller just told great stories. His The Crimson Kimono was racially groundbreaking by normalizing a Japanese-American protagonist, and he used the outrageous to comment on race in Shock Corridor and White Dog.

In World War II, Fuller served in the First Infantry Division (the “Big Red One”), which landed in North Africa, Sicily and Normandy, and which liberated the Falkenau death camp. Immersed in the horrors of war, he was determined to make war movies with no “recruitment value”, and his are some of the best, especially The Steel Helmet and the autobiographical The Big Red One.

Fuller has been revered by Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and a host of French filmmakers. I don’t remember Marty or Quentin appearing in A Fuller Life, but William Friedkin, Wim Wenders, Buck Henry, James Toback and Monte Hellman do. A Fuller Life is dierected by Sam Fuller’s daughter Samantha Fuller, who has sourced the film exquisitely.