Weekly Movie Recommendations

Stream of the Week: LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY – an unimaginable escape and a quirky guy

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LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY

Werner Herzog’s documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a portrait of Dieter Dengler’s unimaginable life journey, highlighted by one of history’s most amazing feats of human endurance. With a childhood (as Herzog’s) in WWII Germany, Dengler survived US bombing raids that reduced his hometown to rubble; a glimpse of an American pilot spurred Dengler’s obsession with aviation. His drive to fly led him to emigration and a career as a US Navy aviator. Shot down in the Vietnam War, Dieter was captured and tortured. He made a daring escape, and, after the war, pursued civilian aviation; we finally see Dieter in his Marin County home with its odd survivalist features . Unsurprisingly, given the traumas he endured, Dieter has his quirks.

But the core of Little Dieter Needs to Fly is the amazing jungle escape. It was a 23-day ordeal with a manhunt hot on his heels. His 167-pound frame was whittled to 98 pounds. Herzog takes Dieter back to Southeast Asia and pays the locals to re-enact the capture and chase.

Werner Herzog, known for his German New Cinema art house hits of the 70s and 80s (Aguirre:The Wrath of God, Strozek Nosferatu the Vampyre, Fitzcarraldo), switched gears in 1997 with Little Dieter Needs to Fly and followed it with the masterpiece Grizzly Man. Since, Herzog has become a prolific and masterful documentarian.

Note: It’s not in Little Dieter, but, four years after the 1997 release of the film, Dieter was diagnosed with ALS and died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

The brisk 80 minutes of Little Dieter Needs to Fly can be streamed on Criterion, the Amazon Fandor channel, iTunes, Vudu and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

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Buster Keaton (right) in STEAMBOAT BILL, JR.

OUT NOW

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week is the Danish director Susanne Bier’s 2006 After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet) with the charismatic Mads Mikkelsen. There’s also a remake – a big Hollywood remake to be released this Friday also called After the Wedding. See this Danish original. After the Wedding was nominated for Best Foreign Language Oscar. After the Wedding, which I had listed as the second-best movie of 2007, can be streamed from Criterion and Amazon.

ON TV

On August 19, Turner Classic Movies presents an evening of Buster Keaton that is one of the best programs that TCM has ever curated. First, there’s Peter Bogdanovich’s fine 2018 biodoc of Keaton, The Great Buster: A Celebration. I had thought that I had a good handle on Keaton’s body of work, but The Great Buster is essential to understanding it.

TCM follows with five movies from Keaton’s masterpiece period:
Sherlock, Jr. (1924), The Navigator (1924), Seven Chances (1925), The General (1926) andSteamboat Bill, Jr. (1928). After 1928, Keaton’s new studio took away his creative control, and his career (and personal life) crashed.

This is a chance to appreciate Keaton’s greatest work. I just wrote about Steamboat Bill, Jr. for this year’s Cinequest. I’ve also recommended Seven Chances for its phenomenal chase scene, one that still rates with the very best in cinema history.

Buster Keaton in SEVEN CHANCES

Stream of the Week: AFTER THE WEDDING – a drama with three shockers

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Sidse Babett Knudson and Mads Mikkelsen in Susanne Bier’s AFTER THE WEDDING

The Danish director Susanne Bier’s 2006 After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet) is a successful melodrama in the very best sense. There’s also a remake – a big Hollywood movie to be released this Friday also called After the Wedding, and I can’t say if it’s any good (early reviews are favorable for the stars but not the film overall). But I can tell you that I love, love, love Bier’s 2006 film.

The Danish expat Jacob (Mads Mikkelsen) runs an orphanage in Calcutta, and his non-profit badly needs an infusion of cash. He gets the offer of a huge contribution, but it’s conditioned on his travel to Denmark. There, he meets the prospective philanthropist, the industrialist Jorgen (Rolf Lassgård). Jacob just wants to finalize the money and return to India, but the forceful and wily Jorgen is a difficult guy to close. While apparently stalling, Jorgen sets up Jacob with a driver and a luxury hotel room; this makes the anti-poverty crusader Jacob, a true believer, ever more uncomfortable. Finally, Jorgen invites Jacob to attend the wedding of Jorgen’s daughter. Jacob gets a big surprise when he meets Jorgen’s wife Helene (Sidse Babett Knudsen). A second shocker is unveiled at the wedding by the bride. And then, after the wedding, Jorgen delivers yet another jaw-dropper.

Bier, who co-wrote the film, paces the reveals just perfectly. The plot twists could easily have been preposterous and the ending could have been phony – but Bier skillfully avoids every misstep and delivers a gripping, genuine drama.

Mads Mikkelsen is an especially charismatic actor, and After the Wedding, along with The Hunt, is among his very best work.

After the Wedding was nominated for Best Foreign Language Oscar (and would have won most years, but it had to compete with The Lives of Others). After the Wedding, which I had listed as the second-best movie of 2007, can be streamed from Criterion and Amazon.

Movies to See Right Now

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Margot Robbie stars in ONCE UPON TIME IN HOLLYWOOD,

The top choice is Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood – it’s a masterpiece AND it’s marvelously entertaining.

And I’ve written an acknowledgement of the late groundbreaking filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker.

OUT NOW

  • Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is a Must See – one of Quentin Tarantino’s very, very best
  • Sword of Trust is a wickedly funny comedy with an emotionally powerful personal story embedded. Great performances by Marc Maron and Lynn Shelton.
    The family dramedy
  • The Farewell is an audience-pleaser.
  • The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an absorbing exploration of inner lives reacting to a changing city – and it’s one of the best films of the year.
  • The wildly successful comedy Booksmart is an entirely fresh take on the coming of age film, and a high school graduation party romp like you’ve never seen. Directed and written by women, BTW.
  • Mindy Kaling’s very smart, privilege-skewering comedy Late Night stars Emma Thompson (and contains a performance gem by John Lithgow).

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week is the engaging documentary Satan & Adam, much more than an odd couple story. You can stream it from Netflix and iTunes.

ON TV

Tonight, Turner Classic Movies airs In a Lonely Place (1950). The most unsettlingly sexy film noiress Gloria Grahame falls for the troubled screenwriter Humphrey Bogart, a guy with a MAJOR anger management issue; once she’s hooked, she realizes that he might be a murderer after all…Nicholas Ray directs. In a Lonely Place justifiably made the BBC’s list of the 100 Greatest American Films. The Czar of Noir Eddie Muller has named it as his #1 noir.

Gloria Grahame and Humphrey Bogart in IN A LONELY PLACE

Stream of the Week: SATAN & ADAM – more than an odd couple

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From L:R – Subjects Adam Gussow and Sterling “Mr. Satan” Magee in a still from SATAN & ADAM. Photo courtesy JFI

In the engaging documentary Satan & Adam, Adam, a young white Ivy Leaguer, takes a stroll through Harlem and encounters an older African-American street guitarist, who calls himself Mr. Satan. Adam, a talented amateur blues harmonica player sits in, and soon the odd couple are a busking team, a popular attraction at their regular sidewalk venue in Harlem.

“Mr. Satan” is an alias for an artist of note.  Mr. Satan’s talent and the odd couple novelty allows the act to soar to totally unexpected heights. But Satan has emotional and medical issues, and Adam might be a better fit for a career in academia, so this is a story with plenty of unexpected twists and turns.  Let’s just say that, over the past 23 years, there have been some significant detours on this journey.

The core of the film is about this unusual relationship and the peculiarities of these two guys, but it also traces the evolving race relations in NYC.

Satan & Adam is told primarily from Adam’s point of view, which is understandable because of Mr. Satan’s periodic unavailability and, when we see him unfiltered, his oft puzzling inscrutability.

I saw Satan & Adam at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), a fest noted or its especially rich documentaries.  It cn now be streamed from Netflix and iTunes.

Movies to See Right Now

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ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

I’m still thinking about Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and why it is so wonderful. That’s why I haven’t written about it yet, but I will this weekend. Don’t wait for my review – just go see it now.

OUT NOW

  • Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (link to go live this weekend) is a Must See – one of Quentin Tarantino’s very, very best.
  • Sword of Trust is a wickedly funny comedy with an emotionally powerful personal story embedded. Great performances by Marc Maron and Lynn Shelton.
  • The family dramedy The Farewell (link to go live this weekend) is an audience-pleaser.
  • The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an absorbing exploration of inner lives reacting to a changing city – and it’s one of the best films of the year.
  • The wildly successful comedy Booksmart is an entirely fresh take on the coming of age film, and a high school graduation party romp like you’ve never seen. Directed and written by women, BTW.
  • Mindy Kaling’s very smart, privilege-skewering comedy Late Night stars Emma Thompson (and contains a performance gem by John Lithgow).

ON VIDEO

My streams of the week are the Australian crime dramas Mystery Road and Goldstone. Both feature writer-director Ivan Sen’s wholly original protagonist, Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pederson). Both movies can be streamed from Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play; Mystery Road is also available on DVD from Netflix.

ON TV

Screenwriter Anthony Veiller fleshed out a very brief Hemingway short story, resulting in Robert Siodmak’s compelling 1946 film noir The Killers, which Turner Classic Movies airs on August 8. The Killers was the screen debut of former circus acrobat Burt Lancaster and the breakthrough for the 23-year-old Ava Gardner. The toughest of noir tough guys – Charles McGraw and Broderick Crawford – are hunting down Lancaster for offending their mob boss…and the clock is ticking.

Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster in THE KILLERS

Streams of the Week: MYSTERY ROAD and GOLDSTONE

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Aaron Pederson in MYSTERY ROAD

Writer-director Ivan Sen’s Australian crime dramas Mystery Road and Goldstone both feature Sen’s wholly original protagonist Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pederson). Swan is an indigenous police investigator who must face racist locals and his own demons.  Pederson’s performances in both movies are very strong, bringing out the inner conflict within a guy who needed to leave his hometown and his marriage but is tormented by the consequences of those decisions.

In the contemporary murder mystery Mystery Road, Detective Swan returns to his small town in the Australian outback to encounter racist co-workers, a drunk and shiftless ex-wife and a resentful teenage daughter.  The daughter is a concern because her gal pals are starting to turn up murdered one by one.  Mystery Road is a solid but unexceptional police procedural except for two things: the movie’s climactic gun battle between guys using hunting rifles through telescopic sights – a real show stopper .

Hugo Weaving chews up some scenery with a supporting role as a cop with ambiguous motivation.  Weaving, with his supporting roles in The Matrix, V for Vendetta, Lord of the Rings, Transformers, etc., may be the world’s most financially successful character actor.

Aaron Pederson and Jacki Weaver in GOLDSTONE


In Goldstone, Swan is still reeling from a family tragedy when he finds a dark personal tie to the latest crime scene. Alcohol doesn’t help. A missing persons case brings Swan to a remote mining outpost. There’s a young local cop of ambiguous motivation – will he obstruct Swan, compete with him or become an ally? The local cop is working a human trafficking case, and the two cops pursue their investigations on dueling separate tracks until they inevitably converge.

Once again, the great Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook) plays a peppy, ever-pleasant cutthroat as only she can.

The dialogue and most of the plot in Goldstone are pretty paint-by-the-numbers, but just as with Mystery Road, the character of Jay Swan and the performance by Aaron Pederson, along with the Outback setting, make Goldstone very watchable.

Both Mystery Road and Goldstone played at Cinequest. Mystery Road is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and can be streamed from Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play. Goldstone can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon , iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

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Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Pacino in ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLWOOD

The Movie Gourmet is having a busy week: Wednesday night at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival for Curtiz, last night with the remarkable Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and a date with The Wife tonight for The Farewell. I’ll be writing these up soon – stay tuned.

OUT NOW

  • The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an absorbing exploration of inner lives reacting to a changing city – and it’s one of the best films of the year.
  • The wildly successful comedy Booksmart is an entirely fresh take on the coming of age film, and a high school graduation party romp like you’ve never seen. Directed and written by women, BTW.
  • Mindy Kaling’s very smart, privilege-skewering comedy Late Night stars Emma Thompson (and contains a performance gem by John Lithgow).
  • The Kid is a little movie that works, chiefly because of Dustin DeHaan’s performance, for fans of Westerns. The Kid can be streamed from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

ON VIDEO

My stream of the week is Mud, a great film to watch with middle schoolers and teens on summer vacation. At its heart, Mud is a coming of age story in which the kids get a big dose of realism about love and human constancy. You can stream Mud on Amazon (free on Prime), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play; it’s also available on DVD from Netflix.

ON TV

I’m recommending Anatomy of a Murder, which I featured yesterday; it airs tomorrow on TCM.

There’s also an early neo-noir on TCM on July 27 – 1962’s Experiment in Terror. It’s not one of the great noirs, but it’s a nailbiter with some high points and some curiosities. A criminal (Ross Martin) tries to heist a bank by threatening a bank teller’s little sister; he’s stalking her and scaring her over the phone, so the FBI leader (Glenn Ford) only has the crook’s asthmatic voice as a clue. The bank teller is played by Lee Remick, who is always worth watching, and the role of the little sister was one of the first for 20-year-old Stefanie Powers. Like Stefanie Powers (The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. and Hart to Hart), Ross Martin became a well-known TV star (Artemus Gordon in The Wild, Wild West). The climax is a chase in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park – right where the departing throngs bottle-necked at the entrance to the long escalator – a point always to be remembered by Giants fans; oddly, the bad guy is trying to be inconspicuous by being the only person in the crowd to wear a hoodie – not yet ubiquitous ballpark fashion. Blake Edwards, much more well known for comedies, directed.

Lee Remick catching a Giants game at Candlestick in EXPERIMENT IN TERROR
Ross Martin and Lee Remick in EXPERIMENT IN TERROR
Ross Martin in EXPERIMENT IN TERROR

Stream of the Week: MUD – a big dose of realism about love

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MUD

In the brilliant drama Mud, two Arkansas boys venture onto a river island and discover a man named Mud (Michael McConaughey) hiding from the authorities. Ellis (Tye Sheridan of The Tree of Life) is a hopeless romantic, consumed by an ideal view of love. His more hard-eyed buddy Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) is on the outlook for cool stuff. Both are ready for the excitement of a secret adventure.

Mud is another triumph for writer-director Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter). The story has aspects of a boyhood adventure and of an escape thriller which hook the audience. But Mud is, at its heart, a coming of age story in which Ellis (primarily) gets a big dose of realism about love and human constancy.

Neckbone doesn’t have many illusions about human nature. His parents aren’t in the picture, and he lives with his wacky uncle Galen (Michael Shannon) in a trailer. Neckbone has a knack for immediately getting to the core of situation by bargaining an errand for a pistol or asking “Didja feel her titties?”.

A step down from Neckbone’s trailer lifestyle, Ellis lives on a floating shack tied to the riverbank. His parents are together, but, it seems, not for long. Somehow, Ellis believes in an ideal and forever love. There are many relationships for Ellis to observe: his parents’ troubled journey, the sacrifices Mud makes for his lover (Reese Witherspoon), the mysterious relationship between Mud and another houseboat dweller (Sam Shepherd), a rich man’s (Joe Don Baker) own obsession with his sons, his partnership with Neckbone and Ellis’ own first foray into dating. It’s all a bigger mouthful than Ellis was expecting.

The two kid actors are great. So are McConaughey, Shepherd, Witherspoon, Baker and Nichol’s favorite actor, Shannon. Mud primarily succeeds because Nichols has created compelling characters and woven a top-rate story, both gripping and thoughtful. I listed Mud as one of the best movies of 2013. You can stream Mud on Amazon (free on Prime), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play; it’s also available on DVD from Netflix.

Movies to See Right Now

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Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson in LATE NIGHT

I’ve recently updated my Best Movies of 2019 – So Far. Two of the films on the list is in theaters right now.

OUT NOW

  • The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an absorbing exploration of inner lives reacting to a changing city – and it’s one of the best films of the year.
  • The wildly successful comedy Booksmart is an entirely fresh take on the coming of age film, and a high school graduation party romp like you’ve never seen. Directed and written by women, BTW.
  • Mindy Kaling’s very smart, privilege-skewering comedy Late Night stars Emma Thompson (and contains a performance gem by John Lithgow).

ON VIDEO

My stream of the week is the neo-noir Elena, a superbly crafted film that vividly peeks into a dark, very dark contemporary Russia. Elena is available to be streamed from Amazon (free with Prime), iTunes and Google Play.

ON TV

On July 24, Turner Classic Movies will broadcast one of the greatest movies of all time – All About Eve (1950). Bette Davis plays the middle-aging Broadway superstar Margot Channing, who fears losing her popularity with age. Who can eclipse her in the dog eat dog world of show biz? George Sanders is wonderful as the cynical critic Addison DeWitt, whose bimbo de jour is played by Marilyn Monroe. All About Eve was nominated for fourteen Oscars and won six.


Bette Davis in ALL ABOUT EVE: “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!”