Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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THE LOVEBIRDS

This week: a Hollywood buddy documentary, an all-on-screens horror film, a current Netflix rom com and a sweet, heartfelt indie. Plus the most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find anywhere.

ON VIDEO

Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham in THE BANDIT. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.

The Bandit: The buddies in this buddy documentary are mega-star Burt Reynolds and his stuntman/friend/roommate Hal Needham, who directed the enormously successful Smokey and the Bandit franchise. The Bandit is a hoot, and features some amazing movie stunts., Stream it from Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Unfriended: Teenagers convene via webcams on social media. But their computers are hijacked by an Unknown Force who starts wreaking revenge. It’s a perfect little horror film for a time when we are living our lives on Zoom. Unfriended is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.

The Lovebirds: Issa Rae (Insecure) and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick) star in this rom com. The plot is playful, but the relationship is truthful. It’s streaming on Netflix.

Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie. The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

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

ON TV

On June 18, Turner Classic Movies will air the hard-to-find Pale Flower, one of my Overlooked Noir This Japanese neo-noir is a slow burn that erupts into thrilling set pieces. Writer-director Masahiro Shinoda’s masterpiece is pioneering neo-noir. Don’t miss it.

PALE FLOWER

UNFRIENDED – run from your webcams!!!

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UNFRIENDED

In the very satisfying horror film Unfriended, it’s the one-year anniversary of a teenage girl’s suicide, and her bullying peers convene via webcams on social media. But their computers are hijacked by an Unknown Force who starts wreaking revenge. The kids become annoyed, then worried and, finally, panicked for their lives.

Here’s something I had never seen before this 2015 film: the entire movie is compiled of the characters’ screenshots. The critic Christy Lemire says that “Unfriended is a gimmick with a ridiculous premise, but damned if it doesn’t work”, and she’s right. Writer Nelson Greaves and Director Levan Gabriadze came up with this device, and their originality pays off with a fun and effective movie.

And, just like all-on-screens Searching, it’s perfect for a time when we are living our lives on Zoom.

It’s on both my 2015 lists of I Hadn’t Seen This Before and Low Budget, High Quality Horror. Unfriended is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Lucas Jaye and Brian Dennehy in DRIVEWAYS

The best 2020 movie I’ve seen is the profoundly authentic Driveways. Yes, The Movie Gourmet is finally recommending a movie that can be described as “heartfelt”.

ON VIDEO

Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie. The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

The Lovebirds: Issa Rae (Insecure) and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick) star in this rom com. The plot is playful, but the relationship is truthful. It’s streaming on Netflix.

Wind River: a smart, layered and intelligent thriller and another success from one of America’s fastest-rising filmmakers, Taylor Sheridan. “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.” It’s available to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Jeremy Renner and Gil Birmingham in WIND RIVER

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

John Cho in SEARCHING

ON TV

On June 9, Turner Classic Movies presents the character-driven thriller Woman on the Run (1950). This film is notable for its San Francisco locations, making it a veritable time capsule of the post-war City By The Bay. It’s a taut 77 minutes of an insolent, mouthy Ann Sheridan, the life-or-death manhunt and stellar period San Francisco. Woman on the Run is on my list of Overlooked Noir.

Deenis O’Keefe and Ann Sheridan in WOMAN ON THE RUN

WIND RIVER – another masterpiece from Taylor Sheridan

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Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner in WIND RIVER

With the contemporary Western thriller Wind River, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has delivered another masterpiece, this time in his first effort as director. Wind River was probably my most anticipated film of that year because I pegged Sheridan’s previous movie Hell or High Water as the best movie of 2016. Wind River doesn’t disappoint and was one of the best movies of 2017.

The story is set in and around Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation. Cory (Jeremy Renner) is a professional hunter who finds the body of a native American teenage girl. To find out what happened to her and who is responsible, the tribal police chief Ben (Graham Greene) calls for help from the feds. That assistance arrives in the form of FBI agent Jane (Elizabeth Olsen), an inexperienced city slicker who has no clue how to survive in the lethal elements of the wild country. She is canny enough to understand that she needs the help of Cory, who knows every inch of the back country. He has his own reason – very important to the story – to solve the mystery, and the unlikely duo embark on a dangerous investigation, which they know will end in a man hunt.

The man hunt leads to a violent set piece that Sheridan directs masterfully. There’s a sudden escalation of tension, then apparent relief and then an explosion of action. Deadly chaos envelops several characters, but we’re able to follow it all clearly, while we’re on the edges of our seats.

Jeremy Renner’s performance as Cory is brilliant. Cory is a man whose life has been redirected by a family tragedy. He’s a Western stoic of few words, but – unusual for his type – an individual who deals with his grief in a very specific and self-aware way. Playing a character who reloads his own rounds, Renner is able to deliver hard-ass, determined efficiency along with some unexpected tenderness.

Olsen is also very good as Jane who understands that she may appear to be the bottom of the FBI’s barrel because she is a woman and very green and tiny. Resolute and spunky, she moves past what others might take as a slight because no unaided outsider is going to be able to navigate the harsh environment and the culture of the reservation. She isn’t trying to make a name for herself, but just to take responsibility in the old-fashioned way that we would expect from characters played by Glenn Ford, Gregory Peck, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. She’s got to do the right thing.

As Martin, the dead girl’s father, Gil Birmingham (Hell or High Water) has two unforgettable scenes. His first scene is phenomenal, as he processes the worst possible news with an outsider, Jane, and then with his friend, Cory. Graham Greene and Tantoo Cardinal are also excellent. Kelsey Asbille and Jon Bernthal are also stellar in a flashback of the crime.

Sheridan and cinematographer Ben Richardson (Beasts of the Southern Wild) make great use of the Big Sky country, with the jagged topography of its mountains and the feral frigidity of its forests. Wind River opens as Cory hunts in spectacular postcard scenery; when we first see the reservation, we are jarred – this is a very bad place.

Taylor Sheridan has a gift for writing great, great movie dialogue:

      “Who’s the victim today? Looks like it’s gonna be me.”

and

     “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.”

When Cory says, “This isn’t about Emily”, we know that this is precisely about Emily. When Cory says, “I’m a hunter”, we know exactly what his intentions are – and so does Martin.

Sheridan hates that, in much of our society, people are disposable. He has explored that theme in Sicario, Hell or High Water and now Wind River. Wind River begins with a title explaining that the story is inspired by actual events, and ends with a particularly horrifying non-statistic.  I’ve also written an essay on Sheridan’s filmmaking signatures, the films of Tayler Sheridan.

Smart, layered and intelligent, Wind River is another success from one of America’s fastest-rising filmmakers. It’s available to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

THE LAST FULL MEASURE: pedestrian, except for the oldsters

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Christopher Plummer and Diane Ladd in THE LAST FULL MEASURE

The Last Full Measure tells the true story of a slain military hero who, due to the efforts of those who survived the battle, finally get a deserved Congressional Medal of Honor decades after his death. It’s a pedestrian movie periodically enlivened by excellent supporting performances.

The Last Full Measure is set in 2000, 32 years after the battle, when a selfish Pentagon career-climber (Sebastian Stan) is stuck with the unwanted assignment of validating the act of valor (it ain’t going to help him advance his career). He bitterly visits geezer after geezer to find out why the medal is deserved and why it wasn’t awarded earlier.

I’m not convinced that Sebastian Stan brings anything to non-action movies, and his parts of the film drag (which is bad, because he’s the main character).

Remarkably, the supporting cast of William Hurt, Christopher Plummer, Diane Ladd, Samuel L. Jackson, Amy Madigan, Peter Fonda and Ed Harris have combined for two acting Oscars and sixteen nominations. Christopher Plummer ia absolutrly radiant here; it’s some of his best work. Peter Fonda, in his final movie, also gives an indelible performance. Amy Madigan’s part is perfect matched to Madigan’s piercing eyes. And every Social Security-eligible actor is very, very good.

The battle scenes in the flashback are well-crafted, and Jeremy Irvine is very good as the hero. But this won’t make any list of top 20 Vietnam War films.

If you must watch The Last Full Measure, which is available on most of the streaming platforms, just fast forward until you see somebody old.

THE LOVEBIRDS: plot playful, relationship truthful

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Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani in THE LOVEBIRDS

In the Netflix comedy The Lovebirds, Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani star as a couple, once passionately in love, who have reached the breaking point. At the very moment that they call it quits, they are plunged into a dire situation – to clear themselves of a murder, they must evade the cops and find The Real Killer.

This is a rom com where the characters have ALREADY met cute. As they endure ever more outrageous indignities, they remember why they fell in love in the first place, despite the other’s foibles. The plot is playful, but the relationship is very truthful.

Rae (Insecure) and Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick), both so appealing, are pitch perfect.

The Lovebirds is successful as a light diversion with plenty of LOL moments, and it’s streaming on Netflix. Here’s the trailer.

Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani in THE LOVEBIRDS

Movies to Watch Right Now (at home)

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Lucas Jaye and Brian Dennehy in DRIVEWAYS

I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than the charming, character-driven Driveways . The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it – it’s one of the Best Movies of 2020 – So Far. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy.

Moment after moment of authenticity keeps Driveways from being corny. There’s not a hint of manipulation from director Andrew Ahn. That’s why Driveways is that rarity, a recommendation from The Movie Gourmet that can be described as”heartfelt”. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

ON VIDEO

TOUCHING the VOID

The gripping documentary Touching the Void the worst quandary a mountain climber can face – what happens if you must cut your partner’s line to survive yourself? Touching the Void can be streamed from Amazon and iTunes.

The excellent ticking clock thriller Searching captures the Silicon Valley vibe. And, perfect for a time when we are living our lives on Zoom, the movie is entirely on the character’s screens – those of his computers, but also on smartphones, television, a security video and a live funeral cam.  Searching can be streamed from Amazon (Starz channel), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

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

RADIO DREAMS

ON TV

On June 3, Turner Classic Movies presents the documentary Peckinpah Suite (which I haven’t seen), followed by the Sam Peckinpah movies, Ride the High County, The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and The Getaway. You can’t go wrong with any of these, but the best is the iconic and influential The Wild Bunch, with stellar performances by William Holden, Robert Ryan and Ernest Borgnine.  Watch for two of my favorite character actors, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson, as the Gorch brothers.  Other beloved members of Peckinpah’s repertory company in The Wild Bunch include L.Q. Jones, Dub Taylor and Strother Martin. The great Mexican director Emilio Fernández plays the villain con mucha fuerza.

Peckinpah tells the story of men who have outlived their time, as the Old West gives way to the 20th Century. These are men who Lived By A Code, which leads to the finale, featuring the slow motion bloodletting for which Peckinpah was renowned.

Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, William Holden and Ernest Borgnine in THE WILD BUNCH

TOUCHING THE VOID: when you must do the unthinkable

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TOUCHING THE VOID

Mountain climbing partners tie a line between themselves so – if one of them falls – he can be saved by the other. But what if an accident puts BOTH of them at mortal risk? What if the fallen climber can’t be pulled up? What if one climber’s fall has doomed the other? The gripping documentary Touching the Void retraces that situation in real life – what happens if you cut your partner’s line?

In 1985, this happened to expert climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates in the Peruvian Andes. The 2005 film Touching the Void re-enacts the incident with the reflections of participants.

There’s no more life-or-death decision than “Should I cut the rope?” Although the issues of betrayal and guilt naturally arise, it turns out to be lot more complicated than that.

That moment of decision is dramatic, of course, but it’s only one segment of Touching the Void, which includes multiple survival stories in one adventure. One of them is absolutely epic.

Touching the Void was directed by Kevin Macdonald, who won the Best Documentary Oscar for 2000’s One Day in September, about the terrorist attack at the 1976 Munich Olympics. Touching the Void has been acclaimed as “the most successful documentary in British cinema history”. Touching the Void can be streamed from Amazon and iTunes.

SEARCHING: more than a gimmick

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John Cho in SEARCHING

In the thriller Searching, a Silicon Valley engineer David (Jon Cho) has been single-parenting his daughter since the death of his wife. The daughter, now sixteen, doesn’t come home.  Has she run away?  He she been abducted?  Is she even still alive?  Searching is a ticking clock thriller as David and the investigating police detective Vick (Debra Messing) race against time to solve the case.  There are several red herrings, a couple major plot twists and one mega-surprise.

Here’s what is really different about Searching – the movie is entirely on the character’s screens – those of his computers, but also on smartphones, television, a security video and a live funeral cam.  The sixteen year-old flashbacks are shown on a sixteen-year-old version of Windows desktop.

This is NOT a “gimmick movie”. It is a complete movie that writer-director Aneesh Chaganty has chosen to tell through this device. For example, Chaganty barely gives a glimpse of the comments on on-line news reports – and no character comments on them – but the audience finds them maddening and suffers the indignities along with David. In the same vein, I also enjoyed the recent teen horror Unfriended, also told on a computer screen, and the claustrophobic drama Locke, set in the driver’s seat of an auto.

Detective Vick asks David, “Who is your daughter and who does she talk with?”, which puts the spotlight on the movie’s theme.  He’s her dad, and he was certain that he knows his daughter – but he finds out that, as a teenager, she has developed into an entirely new and unrecognizable person.  Obviously, that revelation brings him enormous guilt to go along with the shock, but he throws himself into the search by grabbing her laptop and hacking her social media.  As any good Silicon Valley parent, he opens a spreadsheet and starts filling it with what he finds out from the trail she has left online.

John Cho’s performance is pretty much perfect.  Of course, he’s already achieved popular success in two movie franchises – as Harold in the Harold and Kumar stoner series and Sulu in Star Wars.  Here, he gets a full-out, adult dramatic role and knocks it out of the park.  Cho modulates David’s increasing tension and desperation through the story, and he is perfect in the flashback scenes, too.

Aneesh Chaganty is a San Jose native.  Although he says that only two percent of the movie was actually filmed in San Jose, Searching really nails the vibe of Silicon Valley in 2018.  Locals will unmask the very slight name changes to recognize the Sharks, the SJPD, Oakridge Mall, Evergreen/Silver Creek Highs and more.  (The only egregious misstep is one character referencing Highway “101” in LA-speak as “the 101” .)

Searching can be streamed from Amazon (Starz channel), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

DRIVEWAYS: authentic, heartfelt, brilliant

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Brian Dennehy, Lucas Jaye and Hong Chau in DRIVEWAYS

I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than the charming, character-driven Driveways. It’s a modest little indie, and it’s one of the Best Movies of 2020 – So Far.

Kathy (Hong Chau) and her nine-year-old Cody (Lucas Jaye) arrive in a small town to clean out and flip the house of Kathy’s late sister. Kathy and her much older sister had lost touch,and Kathy is surprised and disheartened to discover that the sister had become a hoarder, making the clean-up job monumental. The octogenarian next-door neigbor Del (Brian Dennehy) watches from his porch.

All three are facing life challenges. Kathy is a single mom trying to navigate a career change; now she has an unwanted chore and some guilt from not reviving the relationship with her sister. Cody is a sensitive kid who isn’t comfortable in many situations and who has an embarrassing reaction to anxiety. Del is grieving the loss of his wife and facing the loss of his independence. Things do not go as the audience expects.

Hong Chau in DRIVEWAYS

Director Andrew Ahn, by dropping subtle clues, lets the audience connect the dots about the characters and their back stories. We learn about the mom-son relationship when she discards a cigarette on the ground and he wordlessly grinds it out with his shoe. We learn about Del’s fears about his independence when he glances at an increasingly forgetful buddy.

Driveways is a three-hander and all three actors, Hong Chau, Lucas Jaye and Brian Dennehy are superb. 91-year-old character actor Jerry Adler is brilliant in a few very brief scenes.

This was the final performance for Brian Dennehy (scroll down to bottom for my remembrance). His performance – so remarkably genuine and subtle – in Driveways is award-worthy. Dennehy’s facial expression, in one fleeting moment, conveys Del’s profound regret about a mistake that he made with his own daughter.

Brian Dennehy and Lucas Jaye in DRIVEWAYS

Driveways played at Cinequest 2020 with an in-person appearance by Hong Chau, which I skipped because I sized it up as too sappy. I was wrong.

You know how children are drawn to some kids and not to others? Driveways perfectly captures the joy of making friends when a kid discovers another kid with common interests.

That authenticity is exactly what keeps Driveways from being corny. There’s not a hint of manipulation from Ahn. That’s why Driveways is that rarity, a recommendation from The Movie Gourmet that can be described as”heartfelt”.

Cody is as much the lead character as are the mom and the old guy. The Wife thinks that the movie is too slow for kids. But I’d give it a try and challenge the kids. It’s only 83 minutes, and I think kids will be drawn to the portrayal of a kid that is so real-world and unlike the stock characters spoon fed them by the likes of the Disney Channel.

Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.