Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Dev Patel in THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD

New this week – a dazzling literary adaptation, a profound social satire and a dreary slog. And check out my Best Movies of 2020.

I’ve also recently remembered 32 filmmakers that we lost in 2020:

  • 2020 Farewells: On the Screen (Part 1): Kirk Douglas, Sean Connery, Max von Sydow, Carl Reiner, Olivia de Havilland, Rhonda Fleming. Brian Dennehy, Fred Willard and Chadwick Boseman.
  • 2020 Farewells: On the Screen (Part 2): John Saxon, Ian Holm, Jerry Stiller, Allan Garfield, Michael Lonsdale, Ann Reinking, Stuart Whitman, Wilford Brimley, Sue Lyon, Jo Shishido, Little Richard, Linda Manz and John Benfield.
  • 2020 Farewells: Behind the Camera: Ennio Morricone, Buck Henry, Terry Jones, John le Carré, Lynne Shelton, Ivan Passer, Michael Chapman, Alan Parker, Joel Schumacher and Mike Cobb.

ON VIDEO

The Personal History of David Copperfield: That master of social satire, Amando Ianucci, brings Charles Dickins’ masterpiece to life in this vivid and brilliantly constructed film. Streaming on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Another Round: Writer-director Thomas Vinterberg once again explores human foibles with humor and cold-eyed insight – and profoundly to boot. Mads Mikkelsen is stellar. I watched Another Round on Virtual Cinema at Laemmle.

Ammonite: The fine acting of Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan can’t save Ammonite, a slog of a period romance. Streaming on Amazon.

And some more current films:

ON TV

Alec Guinness in THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI

On January 5, Turner Classic Movies presents David Lean’s WWII epic The Bridge on the River Kwai.  It’s the stirring story of British troops forced into slave labor at a cruel Japanese POW camp.  The British commander (Alec Guinness, in perhaps his most acclaimed performance) must walk the tightrope between giving his men enough morale to survive and helping the enemy’s war effort.  He has his match in the prison camp commander (Sessue Hayakawa), and these two men from conflicting values systems engage in a duel of wits – for life and death stakes.  William Holden plays an American soldier/scoundrel forced into an assignment that he really, really doesn’t want.  There’s also the stirringly unforgettable whistling version of the Colonel Bogey March. The climax remains one of the greatest hold-your-breath action sequences in cinema, even compared to all the CGI-aided ones in the  62 years since it was filmed.

Sessue Hayakawa in THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI

Movies to Watch Right Now (at home)

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Arliss Howard (center) as Louis B. Mayer and Charles Dance (right) as William Randolph Hearst in MANK

Real life has intervened, so I’m now writing through a backlog of a dozen movies, including next week’s The Father. Stay tuned.

ON VIDEO

David Fincher’s Mank is a black-and-white beauty of a film, a portrait of troubled talent in Classic Hollywood. Amanda Seyfried is great as Marion Davies.

Don’t forget that some of my Best Movies of 2020 – So Far, are already available (and Mank and The Father are going on the list). I haven’t yet seen Nomadland or The Sound of Metal.

  • Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie. The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.
  • The Whistlers: In this absorbing crime thriller, a shady cop and a mysterious woman are walking a tightrope of treachery. The Whistlers was a hit at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, but COVID-19 impaired its 2020 theatrical release in the US. (Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play.)
  • The Truth: Writer-director Hirozaku Koreeda’s latest wry and authentic exploration of human behavior is a showcase for Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche. Hirokeeda, such an insightful observer of behavior, cuts to the core of his characters’ profound humanity. (Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play.)

ON TV

Jayne Mansfield and Dan Duryea in THE BURGLAR

Tonight and tomorrow morning Turner Classic Movies is presenting one of my Overlooked Noir on Noir Alley with Eddie Muller, and you shouldn’t miss it. The core of The Burglar is the stellar lead performance of Dan Duryea as the chief burglar. He’s a tortured and worn-out guy – with one deep loyalty.

On December 14, TCM airs the Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West. It’s a fish-out-of-water comedy that transports the boys to the Old West. Thirteen-and-a-half minutes in, Laurel and Hardy descend from a stagecoach and perform a dance in front of a saloon that is one of the most perfect bits of physical comedy that I’ve ever seen. I actually keep Way Out West on my DVR and watch this dance whenever I need an emotional lift.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in WAY OUT WEST

coming up on TV: WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL – the drive for relevance

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Pauline Kael in WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael is the remarkably thorough and insightful biodoc of the iconic film critic Pauline Kael and her drive for relevance. Set your DVRs for it on Turner Classic Movies on December 12.

Documentarian Rob Garver has sourced What She Said is well-sourced with the memories of Kael’s colleagues, rivals and intimates. Garver’s portrait of Kael helps us understand her refusal to conform to social norms as she basically invented the role of a female film critic and what today we might call a national influencer on cinema.

Of course, one of Kael’s defining characteristics was her all-consuming love of movies, a trait shared by many in this film’s target audience. Fittingly, Garver keeps things lively by illustrating Kael’s story with clips from the movies she loved and hated. Garver’s artistry in composing this mosaic of evocative movie moments sets What She Said apart from the standard talking head biodocs.

Kael was astonishingly confident in her taste (which was not as snooty as many film writers). For the record, I think Kael was right to love Mean Streets, Band of Outsiders, Bonnie and Clyde, and, of course, The Godfather. It meant something to American film culture that she championed those films. She was, however, wrong to love Last Tango in Paris. She was also right to hate Limelight, Hiroshima Mon Amour and The Sound of Music. But Kael was just being a contrarian and off-base to hate Lawrence of Arabia and Shoah.

Kael was by necessity an intrepid self-promoter and filled with shameless contradictions. She famously dismissed the auteur theory but sponsored the bodies of work of auteurs Scorsese, Peckinpah, Coppola and Altman. She loved – even lived – to discover and support new talent.

Most of the people we like and admire possess at least some bit of selfishness and empathy. Kael’s daughter Gina James says that Kael turned her lack of self awareness into triumph. This observation, of course, cuts both ways.

I screened What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael while covering the 2019 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. It’s coming up on Turner Classic Movies this Friday.

Movies to Watch Right Now (at home)

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Amanda Seyfried in MANK on Netflix

This week, the prestige movies have started to roll out for the Holidays. Stay tuned.

ON VIDEO

Don’t forget that some of my Best Movies of 2020 – So Far, are already available. I haven’t yet written about Mank or The Father. I haven’t yet seen Nomadland or The Sound of Metal.

  • Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie. The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.
  • The Whistlers: In this absorbing crime thriller, a shady cop and a mysterious woman are walking a tightrope of treachery. The Whistlers was a hit at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, but COVID-19 impaired its 2020 theatrical release in the US. (Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play.)
  • The Truth: Writer-director Hirozaki Koreeda’s latest wry and authentic exploration of human behavior is a showcase for Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche. Hirokeeda, such an insightful observer of behavior, cuts to the core of his characters’ profound humanity. (Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play.)

ON TV

Ray Harryhausen with one of his sword-fighting skeletons from JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

On December 10, Turner Classic Movies will be airing Jason and the Argonauts, a work of artistic genius and fun with Greek mythology. The original thousands-year-old story is a fun adventure yarn, and the 1963 movie, even with its sword-and-sandal dialogue and acting, is loads of fun.

Ray Harryhausen was a unique genius of pre-CGI movie special effects.  His stop-motion animation created the vivid creatures that made possible movies about ancient mythology (from the 1958 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad through the 1981 Clash of the Titans) and fantasy literature (The Three Worlds of Gulliver).  His pioneering work in stop-motion animation has influenced the field since, all the way to today’s Aardman Animation and Wallace and Gromit.

Harryhausen’s masterpiece was Jason and the Argonauts, for which he created the Harpies, Talos, the Clashing Rocks Triton, the Hydra and the sword-fighting skeletons that emerge from the Hydra’s teeth.  I still watch Jason and the Argonauts whenever it’s on TV, and I often give the DVD to kids. 

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

on TV: THE GREAT BEAUTY – decadence, stunning imagery and the beauties of Rome itself

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Toni Servillo (center) in THE GREAT BEAUTY

On Sunday, November 29, Turner Classic Movies will air The Great Beauty (La grande belleza), which begins as its protagonist Gep Gambardella is celebrating his 65th birthday in a feverishly hedonistic party. Gep authored a successful novel in his twenties, which has since allowed him the indulgent life of a celebrity journalist, bobbing from party to party among Rome’s shallow rich.

Gep is having a helluva time, but now he reflects on the emptiness of his milieu and the superficial accomplishments of his past 40 years. As he alternates introspection and indulgence, we follow him through a series of strikingly beautiful Roman settings. (And, because Gep parties all night, we see lots of gorgeously still Roman dawns.)

The Great Beauty is foremost an extraordinarily beautiful art film. If you’ve been to Rome, you know that it is a generally chaotic city with unexpected islands of solitude. The Great Beauty captures this aspect of the Eternal City better than any other film I’ve seen. On one level, The Great Beauty is very successful Rome porn.

THE GREAT BEAUTY

Writer-director Paolo Sorrentino also explores the moral vacuity of the very rich and the party life. It’s the Italy of Silvio Berlusconi, whom Sorrentino blames for enabling a national culture of escapism. These themes, along with the main character and the movie’s structure are of course nearly identical to Fellini’s great La Dolce Vita (1960), but The Great Beauty is more accessible, funnier and a bit more hopeful – and much more of a showcase for the cityscape of Rome. Sorrentino provides plenty of laughs, especially with a gourmet-obsessed cardinal and a cadaverous celebrity nun with a Mephistopheles-looking handler.

It’s hard to imagine an actor better suited to play Gep than Toni Servillo. Servillo perfectly captures both the happiness Gep takes in carnal pleasure and his self-criticism for giving his entire life to it. Servillo’s Gep is brazenly proud of his own cynicism, until we see his humanity breaking through at a funeral. Servillo is even magnificent in wearing Gep’s impressive collection of sports jackets.

There’s so much to The Great Beauty – stunning imagery, introspection, social criticism, sexual decadence, fine performances, humor and a Rome travelogue – each by itself worth watching the film.  The Great Beauty won the Best Foreign Language Oscar. If you miss it on TCM, you can still stream it from Amazon, Apple TV, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, kanopy and the Criterion Channel. Courtesy of the Criterion Channel, here’s a illustrative clip.

Movies to See Right Now (at home) – Thanksgiving Weekend Edition

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Brian Dennehy, Lucas Jaye and Hong Chau in DRIVEWAYS

While we are gathered – or NOT gathered – with family this Thanksgiving, I recommend 2020’s best family film, Driveways. It’s high on my list of the Best Movies of 2020 – So Far, and I hope it doesn’t get lost among the prestige movies poised for Holiday release.

This is the FINAL WEEKEND for Noir City International – coming TO YOUR HOME with great classic movies that you can’t find anywhere else. Please take advantage of this very rare opportunity through November 29.

ON VIDEO

Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie. The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

She Is the Ocean: In this visually stunning documentary, fearless and high-achieving women celebrate the oceans in science and sport. Now streaming at Laemmle’s.

Cinta Hansel in SHE IS THE OCEAN

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

ON TV

Joseph Cotten and theresa Wright in SHADOW OF A DOUBT

On Thursday and Friday, Turner Classic Movies presents a Hitchcock-a-thon: Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Birds, Psycho, Rope, The Lady Vanishes, Strangers on a Train, Saboteur, Torn Curtain, Marnie, The Trouble with Harry and Shadow of a Doubt.

What a lineup – festooned by some of the most iconic American movies, like Psycho, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window and The Birds! The most overlooked may be Shadow of a Doubt, with its great performances by Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright. And it was shot in Santa Rosa.

In the second-earliest of these films, Saboteur, the wonderful character actor Norman Lloyd got to play the villain; 78 years later, Lloyd is still alive at age 106 – and still a great raconteur.

Norman Lloyd (then 28-years-old) in SABOTEUR

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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PALE FLOWER, playing at Noir City International

Once again this week, it’s all about Noir City International – coming TO YOUR HOME with great classic movies that you can’t find anywhere else. Please take advantage of this very rare opportunity through November 29

Plus the weekly, eclectic watch-at-home recommendations.

ON VIDEO

DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD

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

ON TV

Michael Caine and Barbara Hershey in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS

On November 22, Turner Classic Movies presents Woody Allen’s 1986 near-masterpiece, Hannah and Her Sisters, a story framed by two Thanksgivings. Biting and insightful, Hannah and Her Sisters won Best Supporting Oscars for Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest, along with a Best Screenplay Oscar for Woody. I particularly enjoy the performances of Barbara Hershey as the inappropriate object of Caine’s middle-aged infatuation and Max Von Sydow as her artist-boyfriend, a ridiculously pretentious and selfish artist.

Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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ASHES AND DIAMONDS, playing at Noir City International

This week, it’s all about Noir City International – coming TO YOUR HOME with great classic movies that you can’t find anywhere else. Plus the most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE.

PALE FLOWER, playing at Noir City International

ON VIDEO

Lena Olin and Bruce Dern in THE ARTIST’S WIFE

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

ON TV

Michael Polley in STORIES WE TELL

On November 17, Turner Classic Movies brings us the documentary Stories We Tell, the brilliant director Sarah Polley’s exploration of her own family’s secrets. Which secret is more shocking, and which family member’s reaction is more surprising? This was #4 on my Best Movies of 2013, and it’s a Must See.

STORIES WE TELL

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Anne Bancroft and Aldo Ray in NIGHTFALL

This week: video at home, Nightfall on TV (and you can’t stream it) and my remembrance of the late Sean Connery.

ON VIDEO

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

ON TV

On November 9, Turner Classic Movies will present A Place in the Sun, one of the great films of the 1950s.  Montgomery Clift is a poor kid who is satisfied to have a job and a trashy girlfriend (Shelly Winters in a brilliant portrayal).  Then, he learns that he could have it ALL – the CEO’s gorgeous daughter (19-year-old Elizabeth Taylor), lifelong comfort, status and career.  Did I mention Elizabeth Taylor?  The now pregnant girlfriend is the only obstacle to more than he could have ever dreamed for – can he get rid of her without getting caught?

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A PLACE IN THE SUN

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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BORGMAN

This week: celebrate Halloween with two unconventionally scary movies, Borgman and Freaks. Plus more 2020 films to stream at home.

ON VIDEO

Borgman: This Dutch thriller is a horror film for adults, without the gore and with lots of wit. You can stream it from all the major services.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (link will go live this week, I promise): Aaron Sorkin’s fresh look at an indelible moment in American history. Sacha Baron Cohen, John Carroll Lynch and Frank Langella are great. Streaming on Netflix.

My Octopus Teacher: A diver encounters an octopus and films her every day for a year. He’s not that interesting but the resourceful octopus and the underwater cinematography are worthwhile. Streaming on Netflix.

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

ON TV

FREAKS

Here’s a genuinely scary movie for Halloween – and it’s 88 years old. Tomorrow morning October 31, Turner Classics airs Tod Browning’s Freaks. Bad things happen at the circus. And bad things happen in Freaks. This is one of the most unsettling horror films (and the least politically correct), because it was filmed in 1932 with real circus freaks. If you have teenagers jaded by today’s empty horror flicks, this will knock them for a loop. Only 64 minutes.

Director Tod Browning and his cast of FREAKS