Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Helen Mirren in PRIME SUSPECT

This week: a binging recommendation for Labor Day Weekend, a revealing new documentary, a remembrance and the most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE.

REMEMBRANCE

Chadwick Boseman in MARSHALL. Photo credit: Barry Wetcher; courtesy of Open Road Films

Actor Chadwick Boseman, an emerging superstar after his iconic role in Black Panther, was able to humanize real life icons like Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall and James Brown. My favorite Boseman performance was in Marshall, available from all the major streaming platforms,

ON VIDEO

Prime Suspect: Binge the 25 hours of Prime Suspect, with Helen Mirren’s extraordinary performance as Detective Jane Tennison. And here’s a look at its great supporting performances. All seven series of Prime Suspect can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime).

Coup 53: Superbly researched documentary on the 1953 Iranian coup d’etat manufactured by the UK and the US, complete with new revelations. Available to stream on Virtual Cinema; I watched it at the Roxie.

APOCALYPSE ’45

Apocalypse ’45: Never-before-seen color film and the memories of survivors bring to life the grisly final two years of WWII in the Pacific. It premieres this weekend on the Discovery Channel .

The August Virgin: In the best movie of summer 2020, a young woman switches up Madrid neighborhoods to mix things up in her life. It’s a lovely and genuine story of self-invention, and it’s on my list of Best Movies of 2020 – So Far. The August Virgin is streaming on Virtual Cinemas, like San Rafael’s Rafael or Laemmle’s in LA.

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

ON TV

On September 6, Turner Classic Movies will broadcast the top heist film ever, the pioneering French classic Rififi: After the team is assembled and the job is plotted, the actual crime unfolds in real-time – over thirty minutes of nerve-wracking silence.

RIFIFI

binging PRIME SUSPECT and Helen Mirren’s Jane Tennison

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Helen Mirren in PRIME SUSPECT

Prime Suspect, the perfect Labor Day weekend binge, pairs one of cinema’s greatest actresses, Helen Mirren, with one of the most compelling characters ever on episodic television, Detective Jane Tennison. At once a sensational crime show and a high brow character study, the seven seasons of Prime Suspect follow a female protagonist over fifteen years.

Prime Suspect is a set of nine separate stories over 25 hours. Jane Tennison’s career spans from Chief Detective Inspector to Superintendent to Chief Superintendent. The episodes were created between 1991 and 20O5, and Helen Mirren herself ages from 46 to 60 in the role.

The core of Prime Suspect is the character of Jane Tennison, forged by writer Lynda La Plante and Mirren. Jane is a driven woman, in a career that ranges from when women cops were unwelcome novelties to more politically correct times. In the entire span, Jane is, at best, barely tolerated.

Jane gives as well as she gets. She can force her superiors to promote her by using the same heavy-handed methods they use to suppress her.

Indeed, each Prime Suspect story has multiple threads of conflict. There is, of course, Jane against the criminal she is trying to catch. At the same time, Jane is being distracted and hampered by forces inside her own department. And Jane is in a constant battle to hold herself together amid overbearing stress.

Jane Tennison is a solitary figure, alone with her demons. She faces the daily challenges to her career survival and advancement with an ever-prickly demeanor.

Jane is a person of overwhelming ambition. In the very first season, it’s clear that she cannot advance by being pleasant and waiting her turn. She recognizes that sometimes she has to be unpleasant, and she will need to seize advancement at other’s expense; (in season 3, she receives a critical favor from a peer and then swipes his dream job).

Jane Tennison is also a fully sexual Woman of a Certain Age, but career rock stars like Jane can’t have it all. Her obsession with career leaves a trail of relationship carnage. At one point, Jane has fallen in love with the one man who gets her and adores her, but she has learned about herself and about life and…

And there’s always too much stress. Jane smokes too much and drinks too much. In Prime Suspect 3, her jaw is constantly pounding away on nicotine gum. In one later episode, she drops into her neighborhood market to buy four microwaveable frozen dinners and two fifths of whisky.

At first, Jane faces the most open and unapologetic misogyny, which evolves in later episodes into more veiled and insidious sexism. Being a flawed feminist hero is complicated. As the series evolves, Jane herself discriminates against a subordinate who is parenting. And she is betrayed by a female protege and, later, fights being forced out to pasture by a gender-integrated set of bosses.

Prime Suspect is always topical. Besides the ever-present sexism, the stories touch on race, abortion, postpartum depression, AIDS, sex work and pedophilia.

Most of the Prime Suspect plots are serial killer whodunits, and one story turns on whether she got it wrong in solving her breakthrough case. In one story, we know the culprit right away, but Jane is a race against the clock to prevent further victims.

In an astounding performance, Mirren grips us each time she fiercely deflects yet another indignity, as she waves her hand through her hair when she needs a reset from a setback and as her eyes reveal that she is connecting the dots. Her entire body coils in frustration and stiffens in insubordination. It’s a tour de force.

Between seasons of Prime Suspect, Helen Mirren was compiling an imposing body of work: The Madness of King George, Gosford Park and her Oscar-winning Elizabeth II in The Queen.

I believe that Mirren’s Jane ranks, with James Gandolfini’s run as Tony Soprano, as one of the greatest in episodic dramas. I’m guessing that Mirren was on screen for over twenty hours of Prime Suspect and that Gandolfini was on screen as Tony Sopranos for about 35 of The Sopranos‘ 86 hours. Of course, Prime Suspect’s Jane Tennison is distinguished from most episodic protagonists by being female and by aging fifteen years.

Mirren is surrounded by two generations of the best British actors. For tomorrow, I’ve also written PRIME SUSPECT: the supporting performances.

This is one of the best and most entertaining episodic series ever on television. All seven series of Prime Suspect can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime).

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Mina Farid and Zahia Dehar in AN EASY GIRL

This week: two female-written, European coming of age films, The August Virgin and An Easy Girl, are still the top recommendations, but there’s also a powerful WWII doc and a film that is a morbid horror comedy with flecks of sci-fi and surrealism.

ON VIDEO

Kate Lyn Sheil in SHE DIES TOMORROW

She Dies Tomorrow: This completely original fable from writer-director Amy Seifetz bounces between absurdism, sci-fi, dark comedy and horror. It’s streaming on all the major platforms.

Apocalypse ’45: Never-before-seen color film and the memories of survivors bring to life the grisly final two years of WWII in the Pacific. Apocalypse ’45 is now streaming (I watched it at the Pruneyard Cinemas). It will premiere on the Discovery Channel on Labor Day weekend.

The August Virgin: In the best movie of summer 2020, a young woman switches up Madrid neighborhoods to mix things up in her life. It’s a lovely and genuine story of self-invention, and it’s on my list of Best Movies of 2020 – So Far. The August Virgin is streaming on Virtual Cinemas, like San Rafael’s Rafael or Laemmle’s in LA.

An Easy Girl: A 16-year-old girl is introduced to her 22-year-old cousin’s Eurotrash lifestyle and learns about life; written by its female director, it doesn’t go as you would expect. An Easy Girl is a NYT Critic’s Pick, and it is streaming on Netflix.

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

ON TV

Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Frank Finlay in THE THREE MUSKETEERS

On August 30, Turner Classic Movies is Richard Lester’s boisterous The Three Musketeers from 1973. Watch Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York and Frank Finlay swashbuckle away against Bad Guys Christopher Lee, Faye Dunaway and Charlton Heston. Geraldine Chaplin and Raquel Welch adorn the action. [If you like it, you can stream the second volume, The Four Musketeers, from Criterion Collection, Amazon, YouTube and Google Play; it was filmed in the same shoot and released the next year.]

And, if you like your movies more complex and mysterious, tune in to Turner Classic Movies on September 3 for the enigmatic Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) by Australian filmmaker Peter Weir. An Australian girls school goes on an outing to a striking geological formation – and some of the girls and a teacher disappear. What happened to them? It’s beautiful and hypnotic and haunting. It’s a film masterpiece, but if you can’t handle ambiguous endings – this ain’t for you.

Weir has gone on to make high quality hits (The Year of Living Dangerously, Witness, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, Master and Commander), but Picnic at Hanging Rock – the movie that he made at age 31 – is his most original work.

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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

This week: five new 2020 movies, and the best two are about young women in European summers.

ON VIDEO

The August Virgin: In the best movie of summer 2020, a young woman switches up Madrid neighborhoods to mix things up in her life. It’s a lovely and genuine story of self-invention, and it’s on my list of Best Movies of 2020 – So Far. The August Virgin opens today on Virtual Cinemas, like San Rafael’s Rafael or Laemmle’s in LA.

An Easy Girl: A 16-year-old girl is introduced to her 22-year-old cousin’s Eurotrash lifestyle and learns about life; written by its female director, it doesn’t go as you would expect. An Easy Girl is a NYT Critic’s Pick and it is streaming on Netflix.

Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind: A surprisingly interesting documentary about a now genial singer-songwriter that I hadn’t thought of for decades. I watched it at the Laemmle.

The Speed Cubers: This short documentary about a curiosity surprisingly turns into a moving story about love, friendship and profound decency. Streaming on Netflix.

Radioactive: Marie Curie led an amazing life – I knew about the two Nobel prizes, but not about the tragic early death of her husband, the sex scandal, WW I X-ray machines and more. You would think this would make for a scintillating biodoc, but this isn’t. Rosamund Pike is excellent as Curie but can’t save the movie. Streaming on Amazon (included with Prime).

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

ON TV

Bette Davis and Warren William in SATAN MET A LADY

Can you imagine The Maltese Falcon as a screwball comedy? On August 23, Turner Classic Movies has just that – Satan Met a Lady, the earlier, 1936 version of The Maltese Falcon, starring Bette Davis and Warren William, the King of Pre-Code. I’ve written about The three faces of The Maltese Falcon. Satan Met a Lady is lots of fun and well worth watching.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Gemma Arterton and Lucas Bond in SUMMERLAND

This week: three new documentaries, a wonderful essay and the most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE. Plus, a rarely seen film noir is coming up on TCM.

First, I am reminding you about a MUST READ. That most literary of critics, the Bay Area’s own Richard von Busack, writes on the Golden Age and the COVID Era resurgence of drive-in movie theaters in SF Weekly: At the Drive-In: A Remembrance.

ON VIDEO

Summerland: Gemma Arterton and two child actors shine in the contrived melodrama Summerland, which finally arrives at its heartwarming conclusion. Available from most streaming services.

The Go-Go’s: The Go-Go’s have been the only all-female band to write their own music and play their own instruments ever to have a number one Billboard record. This is a modest film about a singular moment in popular music. Streaming on Showtime.

The Booksellers: This amiable documentary slips us into the obscure world of antiquarian book collectors and dealers. It’s a passion that few of us share, but, for the few, a passion it is indeed. Streaming from Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play.

A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story: This doc traces the history of TV’s longest-running music performance show. There’s a very heavy dose of the main producer, Terry Lickona, and the doc dives short shrift to the show’s greatest contribution – introducing mainstream American audiences to artists like Joe Ely, Marcia Ball, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. There are behind-the-stage anecdotes about Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard. It streams on Amazon (included with Prime).

Campbell Scott in THE 11TH GREEN

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

ON TV

Diana Dors and Victor Mature in THE LONG HAUL

On August 21, Turner Classic Movies airs The Long Haul, one of my Overlooked Noir. In a vehicle for the curvy Diana Dors, a world weary Victor Mature personalizes weariness, disgust, desperation and adherence to a code. The Long Haul isn’t available to stream, so DVR it on TCM this week.

Movies to See Right Now

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Alan Parker’s THE COMMITMENTS

This week: The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE, two remembrances and a wonderful essay on drive-ins.

That most literary of critics, the Bay Area’s own Richard von Busack, writes on the Golden Age and the COVID Era resurgence of drive-in movie theaters in SF Weekly: At the Drive-In: A Remembrance. This is a MUST READ.

REMEMBRANCES

Alan Parker had a gift for directing modern musicals (Bugsy Malone, Fame, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Evita) but he was Oscar-nominated for two harrowing dramas, Midnight Express and Mississippi Burning. He also directed the deliciously trashy Angel Heart. My favorite Alan Parker film is the ever-delightful The Commitments.

Wilford Brimley in THE CHINA SYNDROME

Actor Wilford Brimley started out in life as a real cowboy. At age 45, he broke through as an actor playing Jack Lemmon’s loyal assistant engineer in The China Syndrome. More good curmudgeon performances followed on TV and in movies (Cocoon, Absence of Malice). Ironically, this fine actor is most well-known for a Quaker Oatmeal commercial.

ON VIDEO

Natalia Dyer in YES, GOD, YES

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

ON TV

Ben Gazzara and Timothy Carey in CONVICTS 4

On August 11, Turner Classic Movies is airing the very idiosyncratic Convicts 4, the true-life tail of one convict, played by Ben Gazzara, who develops into a fine artist while in prison. There’s a particularly unforgettable supporting turn by one of my favorite movie psychos, Timothy Carey, here in one of his most eccentrically self-conscious performances. The rich cast includes Stuart Whitman, Vincent Price, Rod Steiger, Jack Albertson, Ray Walton, Brodrick Crawford and Sammy Davis Jr.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Natalia Dyer in YES, GOD, YES

This week: a sweet coming of age comedy and a pointed religious satire – all in the same movie. Plus art house cinema comes to your home and remembrances of two wonderful screen actors – one a mega-star and one not so much.

REMEMBRANCES

Olivia de Haveilland in GONE WITH THE WIND

Silicon Valley native and icon of classic Hollywood, Olivia de Havilland (her real name) was raised in Saratoga and went to Los Gatos High. Her performance in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream in the Saratoga Community Theater led directly to her appearing in the Hollywood film version of the play at age 19. She starred as the leading lady in her next film, Captain Blood, the first of a series of Warner Brothers costume romances that matched her with Erroll Flynn, with whom she had undeniable chemistry: The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Santa Fe Trail, Dodge City, They Died with Their Boots On and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. In this period, she was loaned to David O. Selznick for her most remembered role, that of the profoundly sweet and decent Melanie in Gone with the Wind.

De Havilland won her contractual freedom from Warner Brothers through landmark litigation in 1943. She went on to more serious fare and earned three Oscar nods in the next six years, winning for To Each His Own and The Heiress.

And here’s my remembrance of versatile and prolific actor John Saxon.

ON VIDEO

Yes, God, Yes: A sweet coming of age story and pointed jab at religious hypocrisy; based on writer-director Karen Maine’s own youthful experiences. Yes, God, Yes has been available to stream on Virtual Cinema and is available from the usual VOD platforms.

The Women’s Balcony:. A community of women in a traditional culture revolt in the delightfully smart and funny Israeli comedy. You can stream it on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

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

ON TV

Burt Lancaster in BRUTE FORCE

On August 6, Turner Classic Movies will present Brute Force (1947), the Jules Dassin noir that is by far the best of the Hollywood prison dramas of the 30s and 40s. A convict (Burt Lancaster) is taunted by a sadistic guard (Hume Cronyn) and plans an escape. It’s a pretty violent film for the 1940s, and was inspired by the 1946 Battle of Alcatraz, in which three cons and two guards were killed. Charles Bickford, Whit Bissell and Sam Levene are excellent as fellow cons. On my list of Best Prison Movies.

Burt Lancaster (right) in BRUTE FORCE

THE WOMEN’S BALCONY: a righteous man must keep his woman happy

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THE WOMEN’S BALCONY

A community of women in a traditional culture revolt in the delightfully smart and funny Israeli comedy The Women’s Balcony.   The balcony in a small Jerusalem synagogue  collapses, and the building is condemned.  The old rabbi’s wife is seriously injured, and he suffers a trauma-induced psychotic breakdown.  Just when it looks like the leaderless congregation will die, a young and charismatic rabbi (Avraham Aviv Alush) appears, enlivens the congregation and repairs the building.  But he rebuilds the synagogue WITHOUT the women’s section.  Profoundly disrespected, the synagogue’s women strike in protest.

The women live in a culture where males have all the power and religious authority trumps all.  The women all have their individually distinct gifts, personalities and rivalries. But they all appreciate the injustice of the situation, and they are really pissed off.  They are very creative in finding way to leverage the power that they do have, and the result is very, very funny.

This could have been a very broad comedy (and a Lysistrata knock-off).  Instead, it’s richly textured, with an examination of ethical behavior and loving relationships.  It’s also dotted with comments on the relations between Israeli Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox and on the importance of food in this culture.  It’s the first – and very promising – feature for both director Emil Ben-Shimon and writer Shlomit Nehana.

THE WOMEN’S BALCONY

There are plenty LOL moments, including a scene where one of the congregants masquerades as the demented old rabbi to secure the needed psychotropic meds.

We soon understand that the young rabbi has a very unattractive side – grossly sexist and power-hungry. But he has seduced the men and then cows them by manipulating his religious authority. He’s tearing apart a closely bound community braided together by decades of deep friendship and inter-reliance. The movie turns on whether the men can recognize when his supposed righteousness veers into what is really unethical and, in one pivotal scene with the old rabbi, indecent.

Two of the male characters, deeply in love with their women, step up and do the right thing. This overt comedy has a very a romantic core.

Most of all, The Women’s Balcony is about mature relationships. Most of these couples have been married for decades, especially the couple at the core of the story, Ettie (Evein Hagoel) and Zion (Igal Naor). Ben-Shimon and Nehana prove themselves to be keen and insightful observers of long-lasting relationships.

A righteous man must keep his woman happy. This may not be written in the Holy Scriptures, but it’s damn useful advice. (It also helps, we learn, if he can make a mean fruit salad.) The longer you’ve been married, the funnier you’ll find The Women’s Balcony. You can stream it on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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John Lewis in JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE

This COVID Era is taking a toll on all of us. I’ve found that my movie taste hasn’t changed, but my appetite has. I’m having a tougher time selecting movies that are pessimistic or which have unsympathetic protagonists. And I’m watching many more Feel Good movies than usual. It brings to mind the popularity of escapist movies during the Great Depression.

I’m also relating more intensely to real life stories of heroism (John Lewis), redemption (Danny Trejo) and gentleness (Walter Mercado).

ON VIDEO

Dateline-Saigon: documents the efforts of five journalists to cover the Vietnam War in the face of a US government which did not want the facts to be told. Streaming on iTunes.

Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado: the biodoc of the mesmerizing Spanish language TV phenomenon, with his singular combination of flamboyance and gentleness. Streaming now on Netflix.

Our Kind of Traitor: a robust globe-trotting thriller, enlivened by a lusty Stellan Skarsgård and played out in a series of stunning set pieces. If you’re looking for an intelligent summer thriller for adults, this is your movie. You can stream it on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Redbox.

When Jews Were Funny: Documentarian Alan Zweig interviews an impressive collection of Jewish comedians from an earlier generation (Shelly Berman, Jack Carter, Norm Crosby, Shecky Greene) and more recent stars (David Brenner, Super Dave Osborne, Howie Mandel, Judy Gold, Gilbert Gottfried, Marc Maron, David Steinberg). Unfortunately, Zweig himself sucks out the energy with his own midlife naval gazing, which engages, confuses, bemuses and annoys his interviewees. Some great Jewish humor does seep through, including the jokes with the famous punchlines He had a hat. and Is anything alright? When Jews Were Funny can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime) and a couple more obscure services.

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

ON TV

Lizabeth Scott, Dick Powell and Raymond Burr in PITFALL

On July 28, 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 gragged into a thriller, but they are. Raymond Burr, again, makes for a menacing sicko stalker.

Dick Powell and Lizabeth Scott in PITFALL

OUR KIND OF TRAITOR: Skarsgård steals this robust thriller

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Naomie Harris and Ewan McGregor in OUR KIND OF TRAITOR. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.

Our Kind of Traitor is a robust globe-trotting thriller, enlivened by a lusty Stellan Skarsgård and played out in a series of stunning set pieces.  A meek Everyman (Ewan McGregor) is a tag-along on his high-powered wife’s trip to Cairo.   Nursing a drink after a tiff with said wife (the sleek Naomie Harris from 28 Days Later… and a couple of Bond films), he is inveigled into joining a crew of partying Russians and becomes entangled in an intrigue that puts entire families at stake – including his own.

It turns out that our protagonist has been randomly plucked from the humdrum by Dima (Skarsgård), the top money launderer for the Russian Mafia, who is trying to get British intelligence to help his family escape from his murderous colleagues.  The story having been adapted from a John le Carré novel, the dour British spy (Damian Lewis from Homeland) on the case is being hindered at every turn by a thoroughly corrupt British law enforcement and intelligence bureaucracy, with the rot reaching up to Cabinet level.

Ewen McGregor and Stellan Skarsgaard in OUR KIND OF TRAITOR

The very best thing about Our Kind of Traitor is Stellan Skarsgård’s performance.   Dima is loud, flamboyant and profoundly course. Skarsgård has filled his career with brooding roles, but here he gets to play the life of the party, and he is hilarious – and steals the movie.

Our Kind of Traitor also looks great as it takes us from Russia (shot in Finland) to Cairo (Morocco) to Switzerland to London to Paris.  Director Susanna White is a veteran (21 directing credits on IMDb), but Our Kind of Traitor is her first big budget action movie.    The success of the film revolves around a series of spectacular set pieces, and White pulls it off masterfully.

Our Kind of Traitor isn’t as good as the best of le Carré’s work (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, for instance), but it’s damn entertaining.  I saw the final four plot twists coming, but by then I was hooked, so I still enjoyed the film.  And, adapting to the post-Cold War world, le Carré may have become even more cynical. 

I saw Our Kind of Traitor (with The Wife) at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) at a screening with director Susanna White.  If you’re looking for an intelligent summer thriller for adults, this is your movie. You can stream it on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Redbox.