Weekly Movie Recommendations – Page 83

Movies to See Right Now

May 22, 2015 by movie gourmet

The one MUST SEE in theaters is the intensely thoughtful Ex Machina. I really like the thoughtful and authentic dramedy I’ll See You in My Dreams, and it opens more widely next week. Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows. Don’t bother with Slow West, a failed Western that never gets into rhythm.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is the role of character actor Richard Jenkins’ career – The Visitor. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play ad Xbox Video.

Turner Classic Movies always programs a war movie marathon on Memorial Day weekend. I recommend two of the very best Korean War movies – both airing on May 24:

The Steel Helmet (1951) is a gritty classic by the great writer-director Sam Fuller, a WWII combat vet who brooked no sentimentality about war. Gene Evans, a favorite of the two Sams (Fuller and Peckinpah), is especially good as the sergeant. American war movies of the period tended toward to idealize the war effort, but Fuller relished making war movies with no “recruitment flavor”. Although the Korean War had only been going on for a few months when Fuller wrote the screenplay, he was able to capture the feelings of futility that later pervaded American attitudes about the Korean War.

Men in War (1957): An infantry lieutenant (Robert Ryan) must lead his platoon out of a desperate situation and encounters a cynical and insubordinate sergeant (Aldo Ray) loyally driving a jeep with his PTSD-addled colonel (Robert Keith). In conflict with each other, they must navigate through enemy units to safety. Director Anthony Mann is known for exploring the psychology of edgy characters, and that’s the case with Men in War.

DVD/Stream of the Week: THE VISITOR

May 19, 2015 by movie gourmet

The great character actor Richard Jenkins has the role of his career in The Visitor – a man who deals with loss by isolating himself. He becomes intrigued with an illegal Middle Eastern immigrant, then develops a bond and then reclaims passion into his life.

The Visitor is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play ad Xbox Video.

Movies to See Right Now

July 28, 2015May 15, 2015 by movie gourmet

The one MUST SEE in theaters is the intensely thoughtful Ex Machina. Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows.

Documentarian Alex Gibney now has TWO excellent films playing on HBO:

Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, a devastating expose of Scientology is playing on HBO; and
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, an especially well-researched and revelatory biopic of Frank Sinatra.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is The Imitation Game – an Oscar-nominated historical film about the corrosiveness of secrets. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Turner Classic Movies has programmed Cabaret, with Liza Minelli and a stunningly original performance by Joel Grey, on May 17. On May 19, TCM airs Days of Wine and Roses, Blake Edwards’ unflinching exploration of alcoholism, featuring great performances by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (both nominated for Oscars) and Charles Bickford.

Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon in DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES

DVD/Stream of the Week: THE IMITATION GAME

May 12, 2015 by movie gourmet

Keira Knightly and Benedict Cumberbatch in THE IMITATION GAME

So – here’s a pretty good true story: the guy who invented the computer and played a key role in defeating the Nazis was hounded for his homosexuality. And The Imitation Game tells that story very well and is a pretty good movie. Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent as Alan Turing, the mathematical genius who was able to create a proto-computer that could break the codes of the German Enigma cipher machine. To make his character even more interesting, Turing had appalling, almost Asberger-like personal skills and needed to conceal his sexual preference. Cumberbatch nails the role, and will reap an Oscar nomination for his efforts.

It’s a top-to-bottom excellent English cast. Keira Knightley is especially good as Joan Clarke, the real life female codebreaker who overcame sexism and who became, briefly, Turing’s fiance.

The Imitation Game is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Movies to See Right Now

May 8, 2015 by movie gourmet

Documentarian Alex Gibney now has TWO excellent films playing on HBO:

Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, a devastating expose of Scientology is playing on HBO; and
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, an especially well-researched and revelatory biopic of Frank Sinatra.

Don’t bother with Clouds of Sils Maria – it’s a muddled mess. Insurgent, from the Divergent franchise is what it is – young adult sci-fi with some cool f/x. The romance 5 to 7 did NOT work for me, but I know smart women who enjoyed it. The biting Hollywood satire of Maps to the Stars wasn’t worth the disturbing story of a cursed family. I also didn’t like the Western Slow West, now out on video.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is a good movie with a GREAT ending, the French drama You Will Be My Son, available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, Vudu, iTunes and Xbox Video.

So Bad It’s Fun Alert – on May 11, Turner Classic Movies is playing Hells Angels on Wheels (1967), an exploitation film with Jack Nicholson joining the Hells Angels. Shot on location in the Bay Area. Has a brief, credited cameo by the real life Sonny Barger, murderous chief of the Oakland Hells Angels.

If you’re ready for satisfying and timeless classic dramas, on May 12 TCM has programmed Treasure of Sierra Madre and The Best Years of Our Lives.

May 15 is Shakespeare Night on TCM. Don’t miss Orson Welles’ Shakespearean masterpiece: Chimes at Midnight. TCM is also playing Welles’ lesser Macbeth and Othello, along with Akira Kurosawa’s samurai version of MacBeth, Throne of Blood.

Orson Welles and Jeanne Moreau in CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT

DVD/Stream of the Week: YOU WILL BE MY SON

May 5, 2015 by movie gourmet

Niels Arestrup (A Prophet, War Horse) stars as the owner of French wine estate who places impossible expectations on his son, with lethal results. The poor son has gotten a degree in winemaking, has worked his ass off on his father’s estate for years and has even married well – but it’s just not enough for his old man. The father’s interactions with the son range from dismissive to deeply cruel.

The father’s best friend is his longtime estate manager, whose health is faltering. The son is the natural choice for a successor, but the owner openly prefers the son’s boyhood friend, the son of the manager. The first half of You Will Be My Son focuses on the estate owner’s nastiness toward his son, which smolders throughout the film. But then the relationship between the sons turns from old buddies to that of the usurper and the usurped. And, finally, things come down to the decades-long relationship between the two old men.

Deep into the movie, we learn something about the father that colors his view of his son. And then, there’s a startling development that makes for a thrilling and operatic ending.

It’s one of several good 2013 films about fathers and sons, like The Place Beyond the Pines and At Any Price. (This is also a food porn movie, with some tantalizing wine tasting scenes that should earn a spot on my Best Food Porn Movies.)

You Will Be My Son is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, Vudu, iTunes and Xbox Video.

Movies to See Right Now

May 1, 2015 by movie gourmet

Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine in BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

Far from the Madding Crowd, which opens today, is satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. I haven’t yet seen the sci-fi Ex Machina, which has been engendering almost universal praise. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows.

I’m at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where I’ve written about four films so far (scroll down). Two are among the year’s best films: the wonderfully weepy and funny coming of age film, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and the uncomfortable documentary on living with past genocide in the absence of truth and reconciliation, The Look of Silence.

Documentarian Alex Gibney now has TWO excellent films playing on HBO:

Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, a devastating expose of Scientology is playing on HBO; and
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, an especially well-researched and revelatory biopic of Frank Sinatra.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is the funny and sentimental Canadian dramedy Cloudburst, available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Netflix, Amazon Instant Video , iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.

On May 4, Turner Classic Movies is playing two marvelous, gritty classics from 1958.

I Want to Live! features Susan Hayward’s Oscar-winning performance as a good hearted but very unlucky floozy; it has both a great jazz soundtrack and a dramatic walk to The Chair.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is another film noir from the great Fritz Lang: seeking to discredit capital punishment, a reporter (Dana Andrews) gets himself charged with and CONVICTED of a murder – but then the evidence of his innocence suddenly disappears! Crackerjack (and deeply noir) surprise ending.

DVD/Stream of the Week: CLOUDBURST

April 28, 2015 by movie gourmet

The funny and sentimental Canadian dramedy Cloudburst pairs Oscar-winning actresses Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck) and Brenda Fricker (My Left Foot) as lesbian life partners of many decades. Because they live in Maine before the legalization of same-sex marriage there, their union is not legally recognized. The sweet-tempered Dotty (Fricker) is visually-impaired and becoming more and more infirm. Her partner Stella (Dukakis) is irascible and enjoys a startlingly vulgar vocabulary. The pair is separated when Dotty’s granddaughter moves Dotty into a convalescent home over Stella’s objection. Stella rescues Dotty and spirits the two of them off to get legally married in Nova Scotia. On the run from Maine authorities, they pick up a feckless young guy (Ryan Doucette) and head off on a very funny, and sometimes dangerous, road trip.

Cloudburst is directed and written by Thom Fitzgerald from his own play. Fitzgerald has written wonderful characters for Dukakis and Fricker to play, and their performances are superb. Surprisingly, this is the first lead role for the 68-year-old Fricker.

Cloudburst was an indie hit in Canadian theaters, but was purchased by Lifetime and didn’t get a theatrical release in the US. That’s a shame, because I think that Cloudburst could have become an art house hit like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It’s a crowd pleaser.

Cloudburst is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Netflix, Amazon Instant Video , iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.

Movies to See Right Now

April 25, 2015 by movie gourmet

I’m at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and I haven’t caught up with the promising sci-fi Ex Machina or the rock doc Lambert & Stamp. Here are the movies that I know are good:

In theaters, I liked Ethan Hawke’s gentle documentary Seymour: An Introduction. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows.

Documentarian Alex Gibney has TWO excellent films playing now on HBO:

Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, a devastating expose of Scientology is playing on HBO; and
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, an especially well-researched and revelatory biopic of Frank Sinatra.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is the drama Wild, with its wonderful performances by Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixter.

On April 27, Turner Classic Movies is airing the 1975 character-driven neo-noir Night Moves, with Gene Hackman as an LA private eye who follows a trail of evidence to steamy Florida. Hackman shines in the role – the detective is deeply in love with his estranged wife, but unsuited for marriage. Night Moves also features Melanie Griffith’s breakthrough role as the highly sexualized teen daughter in the Florida family; Griffith was eighteen or nineteen when this was filmed, and had already been living with Don Johnson for three years.

And TCM is also showing one of my very favorite films, the Sam Peckinpah 1973 Western Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (April 30), featuring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson in the title roles. Peckinpah takes us into a realistically dusty world of 1880s New Mexico and makes the story operatic in its sweep. Pat Garrett is a revisionist Western, with Billy representing the have-nots and his old pal Garrett hiring out to do the bidding of the capitalist one-percenters. It’s a near-great movie; if the unfortunate “Paco” story line were excised, it would rank among the greatest three or four Westerns of all time. (Another minor flaw: Richard Jaeckel has to wear a Paul Revere wig. )

Pat Garrett also features the Peckinpah repertory company of Luke Askew, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, Gene Evans, Dub Taylor, Emilio Fernandez and, in one his most memorable roles, R.G. Armstrong. The stellar cast also features Harry Dean Stanton, Jason Robards, Elisha Cook Jr., Chill Wills, Richard Jaeckel, Jack Elam, Barry Sullivan, Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague in The Andy Griffin Show), Richard Bright (Al Neri in The Godfather), and Charles Martin Smith (Terry the Toad in American Graffiti).

The sound track is by Bob Dylan, and Dylan has a small acting role, too; this is the origin of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, which perfectly underlines a heartbreaking scene with two greats of the Western genre, Slim Pickins and Katy Jurado.

DVD/Stream of the Week: WILD

December 22, 2020April 21, 2015 by movie gourmet

Based on the popular memoir by Cheryl Strayed, Wild is the story of how Strayed dealt with her own emotional collapse. Suffering from the death of her mother, among other issues, Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) had become a red-hot mess, playing around with heroin and destructive serial sex and, in the process, dooming her marriage to a solid guy (Tomas Sadoski from The Newsroom). To cleanse herself from her demons, Strayed embarked on a solitary thousand mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail is a mighty quest – both an ordeal and an achievement. But walking it alone as a woman – that’s a whole different deal. The camera is on Reese Witherspoon in every scene, and she carries the movie with her performance – both as Cheryl implodes in the flashbacks and as she overcomes her fears and inexperience on her hike. It’s been eight years since Witherspoon won the Oscar for Walk the Line. Recently, she’s been reinventing her career with high quality fare like Mud, Devil’s Knot, Wild and the upcoming Inherent Vice. Her work in Wild is top rate.

Laura Dern’s performance may be even better than Witherspoon’s. She plays Strayed’s mom, a woman who has been dealt a shit sandwich every day of her life, but who relentlessly insists on appreciating life’s small pleasures. It’s a compelling and heartbreaking performance.

Now I have done some back country hiking and I know what it’s like to walk for 15 miles in a day. It can be pretty damn monotonous. But not this movie. Writer Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy) and director Jean-Marc Vallée do a fine job in presenting the scope of a thousand mile journey by pulling out the most compelling components – the moments that illustrate the impressiveness of the feat and the depths of Strayed’s emotional damage and healing.

It’s pretty fine piece of filmmaking overall, and I’m going to start looking for the work of Jean-Marc Vallée. As he did in Dallas Buyers Club, here he tees up extraordinary performances while avoiding what could have become trite and sentimental audience manipulation. Watching Witherspoon and Dern in Wild is a good use of anyone’s time.

Wild is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixter.