Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Tabatha Zimiga in EAST OF WALL. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

This Week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the kinda funny, but disposable, Honey Don’t and the raunchy Spanish absurdist comedy The Fantastic Golem Affairs, plus a preview of the upcoming NashFilm.

REMEMBRANCE

Artist Joe Caroff created the unforgettable movie posters for West Side Story, The Last Temptation of Christ and many others, including the iconic 007 for the James Bond franchise. His comprehensive NYT obit includes other examples of his work.

CURRENT MOVIES

ON TV

Victor Buono in THE STRANGLER

Coming up on Turner Classic Movies, the 1964 serial killer movie The Strangler; it’s the masterpiece of director Burt Topper, who specialized in low-budget exploitation movies. First, we see that lonely lab tech Otto Kroll (Victor Buono in an especially brilliant and eccentric performance) is twisted enough to murder random women and return to his lair to fondle his doll collection. Then we learn his motivation – he dutifully visits his hateful mother (Ellen Corby – later to play Grandma Walton) in her nursing room; she heaps abuse on him in every interaction. Pretty soon, even the audience wants to kill Mrs. Kroll, but Otto sneaks around taking out his hatred for his mom by strangling other women. Because Otto is outwardly genial to a fault, it takes a loooong time to fall under the suspicion of the cops. The character of Otto and Buono’s performance elevate The Strangler above its budget and launches it into the top rank of serial killer movies.

Victor Buono and Helen Cory in THE STRANGLER

Movie to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Porshia Zimiga (left) in EAST OF WALL. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

This Week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the engrossing indie family drama East of Wall and the totally unexpected reveal of the familiar, Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan on Netflix.

REMEMBRANCE

Terence Stamp in THE LIMEY

I loved Terence Stamp. Stamp, of course was a 1960s British star as a dreamy leading man (Billy Budd, The Collector, Far from the Madding Crowd). I’ve felt that his best work was in his middle age and since: still magnetic in The Hit, The Limey, and The Adjustment Bureau. And as recently as 2021, in Last Night in Soho, with his still striking features and dead-cold eyes, he looked dangerous from at the first glimpse.

CURRENT MOVIES

MADE IN ETHIOPIA. Courtesy of POV.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Liam Neeson in THE NAKED GUN. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

This Week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the surprising hypnotic documentary Architecton, the character-driven indie mystery To Kill a Wolf. Plus, my thoughts on the popular spoof The Naked Gun.

I enjoyed the raucous comedy The Naked Gun (and so did The Wife, although somewhat less than I did). I didn’t post a full review because this is not an overlooked movie, nor does anyone need me to deconstruct it. Liam Neeson ably deadpans his version of the clueless Leslie Nielsen-created character through dignity-sapping situations. Pamela Anderson, so good in The Last Showgirl, has fun, too. Danny Huston is all in as the bad guy – a Bond villain whose billions come from an electric car company. The jokes are stupid, which is the whole point.This ain’t a comedy for the ages, like Annie Hall, Sullivan’s Travels or even There’s Something About Mary, but it’s a fun 90-minute diversion for August 2025.

Watch for my upcoming recommendation of a totally unexpected reveal of the familiar, Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan on Netflix.

CURRENT MOVIES

ON TV

Van Heflin and Mary Astor in ACT OF VIOLENCE

The great film noir Act of Violence is on TCM late tonight, with its career-topping performances by Van Heflin and Mary Astor. You need to DVR it because it’s not available to stream.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Eva Victor and John Carroll Lynch in SORRY, BABY. Courtesy of A24.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Sorry, Baby. Unusual for the month of August, there is a strong selection of movies in theaters, but they’re hard to find among our vanishing inventory of arthouse screens.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Sorry, Baby: smart, funny and on the path to healing. In theaters.
  • Oh, Hi!: romantic disappointment becomes absurdly unhinged. In theaters.
  • Shoshana: two lovers amid a deepening conflict. In theaters.
  • To a Land Unknown: no good choices. In arthouse theaters.
  • Made in Ethiopia: it’s just like China used to be. PBS POV
  • Diciannove: coming of age – his way. In arthouse theaters.
  • Kill the Jockey: surrealism in the stables. In theaters.
  • Sew Torn: a thriller like none you’ve seen before. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Bonjour Tristesse: not the life lesson she was expecting. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
Irina Starshenbaum and Douglas Booth in SHOSHANA. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Logan Lerman as Isaac and Molly Gordon as Iris in OH, HI!. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Wow, what a busy week here at The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the smartly absurd rom com Oh, Hi!, the historical drama Shoshana, the immigration thriller To a Land Unknown, and a very individualistic coming-of-age film, Diciannove.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Oh, Hi!: romantic disappointment becomes absurdly unhinged. In theaters.
  • Shoshana: two lovers amid a deepening conflict. In theaters.
  • To a Land Unknown: no good choices. In arthouse theaters.
  • Made in Ethiopia: it’s just like China used to be. PBS POV
  • Diciannove: coming of age – his way. In arthouse theaters.
  • Kill the Jockey: surrealism in the stables. In theaters.
  • Sew Torn: a thriller like none you’ve seen before. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • Bonjour Tristesse: not the life lesson she was expecting. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.

ON TV

RIFIFI

On July 26, 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. TCM’s broadcast will be on Noir Alley with an intro and outro by Eddie Muller.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Eve Connolly in SEW TORN. Courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of No Sleep Till, the sensational debut of indie director Alexandra Sampson, No Sleep Till – I’ll let you know when it releases more widely. I also have recommendations for the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, currently underway, including The Stamp Thief. And the scintillating documentary Made in Ethiopia is now playing on PBS’ POV series.

REMEMBRANCE

Rebekah Del Rio’s rendition of Llorando, the Spanish language version of Roy Orbison’s Crying, was one of the most transfixing scenes in Mulholland Drive.

CURRENT MOVIES

Ursula Corbero and Nahuel Perez Biscayart in KILL THE JOCKEY. Courtesy of Music Box Pictures.

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Michael Madsen in RESERVOIR DOGS.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Kill the Jockey, Argentina’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar and a preview of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Plus, a review of an almost-lost film about a lost jazz legend Bix Biederbecke: Ain’t None of Them Play Like Him Yet.

And check out my in-depth comments on the New York Times’ The Best 100 Movies of the 21st Century. My critique of the NYT list in in Part 1; Part 2 is my own stab at the 50 best movies of the century.

REMEMBRANCE

Every time I hear Stuck in the Middle with You by the one-hit wonder Stealer’s Wheel, I think of Michael Madsen. Madsen was a fine character actor who was good in all of his work, and he amassed 344 screen credits, often as a physically imposing bad guy. But, for anyone who has seen Reservoir Dogs, Madsen’s performance – especially his torture dance to Stuck in the Middle with You – is indelible.

CURRENT MOVIES

ON TV

Belita and Barry Sullivan in THE GANGSTER

On July 12 and 13, Turner Classic Movies airs the hard-to-find The Gangster on Noir Alley, one of my Overlooked Noir. The minor crime lord Shubunka (Barry Sullivan) rules Brooklyn’s Neptune Beach, a noir setting if ever there was one – a sketchy beachfront boardwalk area near subway tracks.   It may be a only Coney Island for bottom feeders, but Shubunka enjoys being its master.  Then another gangster (Sheldon Leonard) tries to move in on his territory, and Shubunka makes the mistake of underestimating him. Plus Shubunka is distracted – hung up on his night club singer girlfriend (Belita). Much like Marshall Will Kane in High Noon, Shubunka finds out how few acquaintances will help him in a crunch.  Barry Sullivan is excellent as a guy who is at first blind to his vulnerabilities, and then increasingly desperate. There’s a phenomenal supporting cast of noir all-stars: Harry Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, John Ireland, Charles McGraw, Leif Erickson, Elisha Cook, Jr. and an uncredited Shelly Winters. The Noir Alley screening will be bookended by an intro and an outro from Eddie Muller, the Czar of Noir (who likes the skater-turned-actress Belita far more than I do).

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Eve Connolly in SEW TORN. Courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.

This Week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of the totally original indie thriller Sew Torn, plus a republished review of the fine biodoc Janis Ian: Breaking Silence, now playing on PBS American Masters.

I have also commented in depth on the New York Times’ The Best 100 Movies of the 21st Century. My critique of the NYT list in in Part 1; Part 2 is my own stab at the 50 best movies of the century.

I’ve also published full reviews of some as yet unreleased films that I saw at the SLO Film Fest and Frameline.

CURRENT MOVIES

ON TV

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

On July 9, Turner Classic Movies airs Jason and the Argonauts, the 1963 masterpiece of Ray Harryhausen, a unique genius of 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.

Jason and the Argonauts packs one action adventure sequence after another in its one hour, 44 minutes, Typical of sword and sandal movies shot in Italy in this era, the dialogue and acting are lame. The voice of the forgettable American star, Todd Armstrong, is dubbed by a British actor. But that’s why you’re watching Jason and the Argonauts – the hooks are the ancient adventure story and the special effects that bring the mythology to life.

In Jason and the Argonauts, Harryhausen 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 gave the DVD to kids (back in the DVD era).   

Todd Armstrong and Harryhausen’s skeletons in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Marion Barbeau in DRONE, one of Must See films at Frameline. Courtesy of Frameline and StudioCanal.

This Week on The Movie Gourmet – my coverage of Frameline, which is running through June 28, centers on directorial debuts in international cinema.

I also posted a reminder to catch the bracing neo-noir Pale Flower this Saturday and Sunday on Turner Classic Movies’ Noir Alley with Eddie Muller. This Japanese slow burn erupts into thrilling set pieces, and you shouldn’t miss it.

REMEMBRANCE

Harris Yulin, with Al Pacino, in SCARFACE.

Character actor Harris Yulin brought intensity and authenticity to characters that ranged from authoritative to kindly to venal ones. He appeared in lots of big movies (Scarface, the 24 series and the Ghostbusters, Star Trek and Rush Hour franchises)  and smaller, even better ones (Victory at Entebbe, Night Moves, St Ives, Truman, The Place Behind the Pines).

CURRENT MOVIES

ON TV

Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls and Leticia Brédice in NINE QUEENS.

As I alerted you to last week, tonight Turner Classic Movies is airing the rarely-broadcast Argentine neo-noir Nine Queens. Nine Queens has a great con artist plot, kind of midway between House of Games and The Sting. And it stars one of my favorite actors, Ricardo Darin, the Argentine Joe Mantegna. Sadly, the writer-director Fabián Bielinsky died at 47, right after his masterpiece The Aura, ending a very promising career.

And, as I wrote this week, TCM is presenting the bracing Japanese neo-noir Pale Flower this Sat/Sun Pale Flower on Noir Alley with Eddie Muller. Don’t miss this one.

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Mariko Kaga in PALE FLOWER

Movies to See Right Now

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Photo caption: Paul Reubens in PEE-WEE AS HIMSELF. Courtesy of HBO Max

This Week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of the French coming-of-age drama Bonjour Tristesse and a tribute to the groundbreaking French comedy La Cage au Folles, coming up on TCM. Plus a preview of the upcoming Frameline film festival and a fond reflection on La cage aux folles.

REMEMBRANCES

Mara Corday in THE BLACK SCORPION

60s pinup queen Mara Corday starred in a series of monster movies: The Giant Claw, The Black Scorpion (both among my Least Convincing Movie Monsters) and Tarantula. Corday concluded her career in several Clint Eastwood movies, most memorably in Sudden Impact as the waitress hostage rescued by Clint with “Go ahead, make my day.”

Clint Eastwood and Mara Corday in SUDDEN IMPACT

Frederick Forsyth’s early days as a spy and a journalist gave him fodder for his potboiler novels, many of which were adapted into movies like The Odessa File, The Dogs of War and, perhaps my favorite thriller, The Day of the Jackal.

CURRENT MOVIES

ON TV

George C. Scott (right) with Michael Sarrazin and Slim Pickins in THE FLIM-FLAM MAN
George C. Scott (right) with Michael Sarrazin and Slim Pickins in THE FLIM-FLAM MAN

Tonight, Turner Classic Movies resurrects the great, great comedic performance by George C. Scott as the con man Mordecai Jones in The Flim-Flam Man (1967).  Mark Twain would have loved this movie.

And set your VCRs for TCM’s June 20 airing of the rarely-broadcast Argentine neo-noir Nine Queens. Nine Queens has a great con artist plot, kind of midway between House of Games and The Sting. And it stars one of my favorite actors, Ricardo Darin, the Argentine Joe Mantegna. Sadly, the writer-director Fabián Bielinsky died at 47, right after his masterpiece The Aura, ending a very promising career.

Ricardo Duran and Gaston Pauls in NINE QUEENS.