Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now

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Elizabeth McGovern in THE CHAPERONE

There are some good movies on Silicon Valley and Bay Area screens, and this is the final weekend of the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival):

OUT NOW

  • In The Chaperone, Downton Abbey’s writer Julian Fellowes and star Elizabeth McGovern reunite for a pleasing character study of self-discovery in 1921 America – it’s deeper than it first appears to be.
  • The Man Who Killed Don Quixote: after 25 years of misfortune and missteps, Terry Gilliam has succeeded in making a Don Quixote movie – and it’s good.
  • In Teen Spirit, Elle Fanning plays an underdog teenager who has the chance to win a talent contest and become an instant pop star – yes, it’s a genre movie, but it’s a pretty fair one.
  • The Brink is documentarian Alison Klayman’s up-close-and-personal portrait of Steve Bannon, the outsized personality who coached Donald Trump’s race-baiting right into the White House. As Bannon unintentionally reveals himself to be pathetically craving relevance, I found The Brink to be irresistible, and I watched with fascination.
  • You can still stream Tre Maison Dasan, the unwavering and emotionally powerful documentary about boys with incarcerated parents from PBS.
  • For the first hour-and-a-half of Sunset, I was convinced that I was watching the best movie of the year. Then the coherence unraveled, but I still recommend Sunset, even with its flaws, for its uncommon artistry.
  • The puzzling thriller Transit, with all its originality, just isn’t director Christian Petzold’s best.
  • Skip The Hummingbird Project – two good scenes just isn’t enough.

ON VIDEO

The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) in underway, and this week’s video pick comes from the 2016 festival:  the absorbing neo-noir romance Frank & Lola. You can stream it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

ON TV

On April 20, Turner Classic Movies presents the movie that invented the mockumentary: This Is Spinal Tap, co-written by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and the director Rob Reiner. Guest, of course went on to direct the mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, Mascots and his masterpiece, Best in Show. This Is Spinal Tap follows a dim-witted rock band on the decline. Tony Hendra is brilliant as the band’s long-suffering road manager; he downplays their cancelled show in Boston with, “I wouldn’t worry about it though, it’s not a big college town.” Watch for Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal as mimes. It’s difficult to pin down the funniest moment – the Stonehenge-themed stage set, the band’s succession of ill-fated drummers or the guitar amp that goes to eleven.

Easter always triggers television networks to pull out their Biblical epics. 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 April 21. 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.

Anthony Quinn in BARABBAS
Anthony Quinn in BARABBAS

Stream of the Week: FRANK & LOLA – Bad Girl or Troubled Girl?

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Imogen Poots with Michael Shannon in FRANK & LOLA. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.
Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots in FRANK & LOLA.
Photo courtesy of SFFILM.

The San Francisco International Film Festival is underway, so this week’s video pick comes from the program of the 2016 festival. The absorbing neo-noir romance Frank & Lola opens with a couple lovemaking for the first time – and right away there’s a glimmer that he’s more invested than she is. Soon we’re spirited from Vegas to Paris and back again in a deadly web of jealousy.

Lola (Imogen Poots) is young and beautiful, a lively and sparkly kind of girl. Frank (the great Michael Shannon) is older but “cool” – a talented chef. He is loyal and steadfast but given to possessiveness, and he says things like, “who’s the mook?”.

In a superb debut feature, writer director Matthew Ross has invented a Lola that we (and Frank) spend the entire movie trying to figure out. Imogen Poots is brilliant in her most complex role so far. She’s an unreliable girlfriend – but the roots of her unreliability are a mystery – is she Bad or Troubled? A character describes her with “She can be very convincing”, and that’s NOT a complement. Poots keeps us on edge throughout the film, right up to her stunning final monologue.

Shannon, of course, is superb, and the entire cast is exceptional. There’s a memorable turn by Emmanuelle Devos, the off-beat French beauty with the cruel mouth. Rosanna Arquette is wonderful, as is Michael Nyqvist from the Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movies. I especially liked Justin Long as Keith Winkleman (is he a namedropping ass or something more?).

Frank & Lola has more than its share of food porn and, as befits a neo-noir, lots of depravity. But, at its heart, it’s a romance. Is Lola a Bad Girl or a Troubled Girl? If she’s bad, then love ain’t gonna prevail. But if she’s damaged, can love survive THAT either? We’re lucky enough to go along for the ride.

I saw Frank & Lola in 2016 at the San Francisco International Film Festival. I liked it more than most and put it on my Best Movies of 2016.  Frank & Lola is now available to stream on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

https://vimeo.com/188033673

Movies to See Right Now

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Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce in THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE

Lots of new recommendations this week.  Of course, I’m covering this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival). ICYMI:

OUT NOW

  • In The Chaperone, Downton Abbey’s writer Julian Fellowes and star Elizabeth McGovern reunite for a pleasing character study of self-discovery in 1921 America – it’s deeper than it first appears to be.
  • The Man Who Killed Don Quixote: after 25 years of misfortune and missteps, Terry Gilliam has succeeded in making a Don Quixote movie – and it’s good. (link to full review will be live later.)
  • In Teen Spirit, Elle Fanning plays an underdog teenager who has the chance to win a talent contest and become an instant pop star – yes, it’s a genre movie, but it’s a pretty fair one.
  • The Brink is documentarian Alison Klayman’s up-close-and-personal portrait of Steve Bannon, the outsized personality who coached Donald Trump’s race-baiting right into the White House. As Bannon unintentionally reveals himself to be pathetically craving relevance, I found The Brink to be irresistible, and I watched with fascination.
  • You can still stream Tre Maison Dasan, the unwavering and emotionally powerful documentary about boys with incarcerated parents from PBS.
  • For the first hour-and-a-half of Sunset, I was convinced that I was watching the best movie of the year. Then the coherence unraveled, but I still recommend Sunset, even with its flaws, for its uncommon artistry.
  • The puzzling thriller Transit, with all its originality, just isn’t director Christian Petzold’s best.
  • Skip The Hummingbird Project – two good scenes just isn’t enough.

ON VIDEO

The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) in underway, and this week’s video pick comes from the 2014 festival. On its surface, the brilliant comedy Dear White People seems to be about racial identity, but – as writer-director Justin Simien points out – it’s really about personal identity (of which race is an important part). Dear White People, which has been spun off into a popular Netflix series, is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, and Google Play.

ON TV

On April 16, Turner Classic Movies presents the gold standard of Civil War films, Ron Maxwell’s 1994 Gettysburg. It follows Michael Shaara’s superb historical novel The Killer Angels and depicts the decisive three day battle. It was filmed on the actual battlefield with re-enactors. Maxwell took great care in maintaining historical accuracy. Civil War buffs will recognize many lines of dialogue as historical, as well as shots that recall famous photographs. In addition, Gettysburg is especially well-acted, especially by Jeff Daniels, Tom Berenger, Stephen Lang, Sam Elliott and Brian Mallon.

Jeff Daniels (center) in Gettysburg

Actor Seymour Cassel’s dies this wek at age 84. His singular performances were often eccentric and exuberant – and always no bullshit. The most recent of Cassel’s 213 screen credits was in 2015, but he is best remembered for his association with writer-director John Cassavetes. Two of my favorite Cassel performances are in Cassavetes’ Minnie and Moscowitz (1971) and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976).

Seymour Cassel in MINNIE AND MOSCOWITZ

DVD/Stream of the Week: DEAR WHITE PEOPLE

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dear white people2

The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) opens tomorrow, and this week’s video pick comes from the 2014 festival.  On its surface, the brilliant comedy Dear White People seems to be about racial identity, but – as writer-director Justin Simien points out – it’s really about personal identity (of which race is an important part). Set at a prestigious private college, Dear White People centers on a group of African-American students navigating the predominantly white college environment.

Each of the four primary characters has adopted a persona – choosing how they want others to view them. Middle class Sam is a fierce Black separatist (despite her White Dad and her eyes for that really nice White boy classmate). Coco, having made it to an elite college from the streets, is driven to succeed socially by ingratiating herself with the popular kids. Kyle, the Dean’s son, is the college BMOC, a traditional paragon, but with passions elsewhere. Lionel is floundering; despite being an African-American gay journalist, he doesn’t fit in with the Black kids, the LGBT community or the journalism clique. All four of their self-identities are challenged by campus events.

This very witty movie is flat-out hilarious. The title comes from Sam’s campus radio show, which features advice like “Dear White People, stop dancing!” and “Dear White People, don’t touch our hair; what are we – a petting zoo?”.  While the movie explores serious themes, it does so through raucous character-driven humor. It’s a real treat.

It’s the first feature for writer-director Justin Simien and it’s a stellar debut. Dear White People is on my list of Best Movies of 2014. Dear White People, which has been spun off into a popular Netflix series, is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

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Right: Juli Jakab as Irisz Leiter
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

OUT NOW

  • The Brink is documentarian Alison Klayman’s up-close-and-personal portrait of Steve Bannon, the outsized personality who coached Donald Trump’s race-baiting right into the White House.  As Bannon unintentionally reveals himself to be pathetically craving relevance, I found The Brink to be irresistible, and I watched with fascination.
  • You can still stream Tre Maison Dasan, the unwavering and emotionally powerful documentary about boys with incarcerated parents from PBS.
  • For the first hour-and-a-half of Sunset, I was convinced that I was watching the best movie of the year.  Then the coherence unraveled, but I still recommend Sunset, even with its flaws, for its uncommon artistry.
  • The puzzling thriller Transit, with all its originality just isn’t director Christian Petzold’s best.
  • Skip The Hummingbird Project – two good scenes just isn’t enough.

ON VIDEO

This week’s Stream of the Week is the riveting psychodrama Phoenix. It’s better than director Christian Petzold’s Transit, and you can stream it from Netflix Instant, Amazon, YouTube and Google Play.

ON TV

Tonight and again on April 7, Turner Classic Movies airs one of my Overlooked Noir. Film noir tends to be about guys with bad luck, but NOBODY would trade their luck with Ernie Driscoll, the anti-hero of 1953’s 99 River Street. Driscoll (John Payne) was leading in a championship boxing match before a fluke cut ends both the fight and his pugilistic career. Now he’s driving a hack, and his highest aspiration is to open a gas station. But the wife he adores (the movie’s Bad Girl) hurls hurtful invective at him constantly. At the same time, she’s cuckolding him with a hood. If that weren’t enough, he gets framed for a murder. And, mid-movie, he even gets set up by the Good Girl! That Good Girl is played by Evelyn Keyes, who knocks it out of the park in two scenes, one on a darkened theater stage and one in a dive bar

Evelyn Keyes and John Payne in 99 RIVER STREET
Evelyn Keyes and John Payne in 99 RIVER STREET

Stream of the Week: PHOENIX – riveting psychodrama, wowzer ending

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Ronald Zehfeld and nina Hoss in PHOENIX
Ronald Zehfeld and Nina Hoss in PHOENIX

In the German psychological drama Phoenix, Nina Hoss plays Nelly, an Auschwitz survivor whose face has been destroyed by a Nazi gunshot; her sister has arranged for plastic surgery to reconstruct her face. When Nelly gets her new face, we accompany her on an intense quest.

Writer-director Christian Petzold is an economical story-teller, respectful of the audience’s intelligence. Watching a border guard’s reaction to her disfigurement and hearing snippets from the sister and the plastic surgeon, we gradually piece together her back story. The doctor asks what seems like a very good question – Why would a Jewish woman successfully rooted in London return to Germany in 1938? The answer to that question involves a Woman Loving Too Much.

The sister plans to re-settle both of them in Israel, but Nelly is obsessed with finding her husband. She does find her husband, who firmly believes that Nelly is dead. But he notes that the post-surgery Nelly resembles his pre-war wife, and he has a reason to have her impersonate the real Nelly. So he has the real Nelly (who he doesn’t think IS the real Nelly) pretending to be herself. It’s kind of a reverse version of The Return of Martin Guerre.

It’s the ultimate masquerade. How would you feel while listening to your spouse describe you in detail to a stranger?

Nina Hoss is an uncommonly gifted actress. Here she acts with her face fully bandaged for the first third of the film. We ache for her Nelly’s obsessive need for her husband – and when she finally finds him, she still doesn’t really have him.

As the husband, Ronald Zehfeld shows us the magnetism that attracts Nina, along with the brusque purposefulness that he thinks he needs to survive and flourish in the post-war Germany.

Christian Petzold and Nina Hoss collaborated on the recent film Barbara (he won the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear for his work). About Barbara, I wrote

“Given that’s it difficult to imagine how anyone else could have improved Barbara, I’ll be looking for Petzold’s next movie.”

Well, here it is, and it’s gripping.

The ending of the film is both surprising and satisfying. Several people in my audience let out an audible “Wow!” at the same time.

Phoenix was one of my Best Movies of 2015. It is available to stream from Netflix Instant, Amazon Video, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

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A scene from Denali Tiller’s TRE MAISON DASAN, playing at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 4 – 17, 2018. Courtesy of SFFILM.

The unwavering and emotionally powerful documentary Tre Maison Dasan was my top pick from the world premieres at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) – and you can finally watch on TV this weekend. The title reflects the names of three Rhode Island boys with incarcerated parents. Unfettered by talking heads, Tre Maison Dasan invites us along with these kids as they interact with their families – both on the outside and the inside.  PBS is airing Tre Maison Dasan on its Independent Lens series on April 1; you’ll also be able to stream it on PBS.

Look for some binge-posting from me this weekend as I catch up from Cinequest and get ready for SFFILM. Of new movies out now, I’m surprisingly ambivalent on Transit and a thumbs down on The Hummingbird Project. Details to follow.

ON TV

On March 31, there’s George Cukor’s Dinner at Eight, an all-star 1933 Hollywood dramedy that mostly still stands up today. Jean Harlow is hilarious as the trophy bride of the course noveau-millionaire played by Wallace Beery. Marie Dressler is at least as funny as a former star yearning to relive an old romance. John Barrymore adds a heartbreaking performance as a man facing disgrace. If all this weren’t enough, we also get Lionel Barrymore, some ditziness from Billie Burke and a splash of sarcasm from quick-patter artist Lee Tracy. Harlow, who died at 26, is usually remembered as a platinum blonde sex symbol, but Dinner at Eight reminds us of her comic brilliance.

Movies to See Right Now

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Comic Aron Kader in TRAVEL BAN: MAKE AMERICA LAUGH AGAIN

Lots to come from The Movie Gourmet as I catch up after my Cinequest coverage. I’m finishing up my interviews with Cinequest’s Mr. Documentary, Sandy Wolf, and Mine 9 director Eddie Mensore, along with Cinequest reviews of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Transit, Teen Spirit, Buy Me a Gun, The Bra, The Hummingbird Project, The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste Garcia, Original Sin and WBCN and the American Revolution.  At least four of these films will be in theaters soon.

Speaking of Cinequest, my strong recommendations for Mine 9 and Last Sunrise were validated by the Cinequest Jury Awards for Best Narrative Drama Feature and Best Science Fiction Feature, respectively. Travel Ban, which I also recommended, won an Audience Award.

Along with Transit, I also need to finish writing up the art house imports Birds of Passage and Sunset, along with the doc The Brink.

ON TV

On March 24, Turner Classic Movies is broadcasting Twentieth Century, a 1934 screwball comedy, which holds up as well today as it did 77 years ago. A flamboyantly narcissistic Broadway producer (John Barrymore) has fallen on hard times and hops a transcontinental train to persuade his former star (Carole Lombard), now an A-list movie star, to headline his new venture. Barrymore’s shameless self-entitlement and hyper dramatic neediness makes for one of the funniest performances in the movies.

And, on March 29, TCM airs the innovative film noir He Walked By Night, completed by an uncredited Anthony Mann. Inspired by a true life story, the LAPD goes on a man hunt for a highly skilled wacko played by Richard Basehart, with his bland good looks (but maniacal eyes). It’s a police procedural elevated by the great cinematography of John Alton, especially the sewer escape chase (right up there with the one in The Third Man).

Richard Basehart in HE WALKED AT NIGHT

Movies to See Right Now

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Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce in THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE

I’ve been absorbed by the 2019 Cinequest, which runs through Sunday. Here’s my Cinequest preview; I’m recommending the closing movie on Sunday evening – Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, starring Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce. Throughout the festival, I link my festival coverage to my Cinequest page, including both features and movie recommendations. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.

OUT NOW

  • In They Shall Not Grow Old, Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson has, for the first time, layered humanity over our understanding of World War I. By slowing down the speed of the jerky WWI film footage and adding sound and color, Jackson has allowed us to relate to the real people in the Great War. This is a generational achievement and a Must See.
  • Roma is an exquisite portrait of two enduring women and the masterpiece of Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men and Y Tu Mama Tambien). It won multiple Oscars. It is streaming now Netflix.
  • Green Book: This is the Oscar winner for Best Picture. Tony Lip is a marvelous character, and Viggo Mortensen’s performance is one of the great pleasures of this year in the movies.
  • Vice: in this bitingly funny biopic of Dick Cheney by writer-director Adam McKay (The Big Short), Cheney is played by a physically transformed and unrecognizable Christian Bale. A superb performance, pretty good history, biography from a sharp point of view and a damn entertaining movie.
  • Stan & Ollie: Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy deliver remarkable portraits of a partnership facing the inevitability of showbiz decline.
  • Pawel Pawlikowski’s sweeping romantic tragedy Cold War is not as compelling as his masterpiece Ida.
  • The Favourite: Great performances by three great actresses, sex and political intrigue are not enough; this critically praised film didn’t work for me.

 

ON VIDEO

My stream of the week is the Peruvian psychological drama Magallanes from the 2016 Cinequest. Magallanes can be streamed from iTunes, YouTube and Google Play.

 

ON TV

On March 19, Turner Classic Movies brings us The Best Years of Our Lives. It’s an exceptionally well-crafted, contemporary snapshot of post WW II American society adapting to the challenges of peacetime. Justifiably won seven Oscars. Still a great and moving film.

Harold Russell, Dana Andrews and Frederic Mrch in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

Stream of the Week: MAGALLANES – some wrongs cannot be righted

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Magallanes_Still

To honor Cinequest, my stream of the week is a remarkable drama from the 2016 Cinequest. The title character in the Peruvian psychological drama Magallanes is a loser, but is he a lovable loser? Played by Damián Alcázar, Magallanes bounces around from odd job to odd job. He can’t break even driving a borrowed outlaw taxi around the squalid streets of Lima, he lives in a basement hovel and he has one friend. Magallanes glimpses a person from his past, and it rocks him into a series of life-changing events.

Magallanes starts out as a caper movie. But we learn that his one friendship is from his military service in a death squad unit, dispatched to repress the indigenous population with the harshest methods. What this unit did years ago has scarred all the characters (except two snarky cops), and Magallanes is revealed to be a study of PTSD.

What is driving Magallanes’ behavior in this story? We find that he is trying to right a past wrong. But what? And by whom? The revelation in Magallanes is that some wrongs cannot be righted.

Magallanes is a showcase for Mexican actor Alcázar, whom U.S. art house audiences saw in John Sayles’ Men with Guns and as the lead in Herod’s Law. Alcázar makes Magallanes so sympathetic that the movie’s climax is jarring and emotionally powerful.

Magallanes can be streamed from iTunes, YouTube and Google Play.