Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Park Ji-min in RETURN TO SEOUL. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – my first coverage of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival – SLO Film Fest is just around the corner. There’s also a new review of Hannah Ha Ha. I’ve launched my Best Movies of 2023 – So Far. And I have a completely refreshed The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

Note: Bill Nighy’s superb performance in Living can now be streamed.

CURRENT MOVIES

  • Return to Seoul: brilliantly crafted and emotionally gripping. In theaters.
  • Hannah Ha Ha: what makes for human value and fulfillment? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Roise & Frank: therapy dog and hurling coach. In theaters.
  • The Lost King: not all cranks are cranky. In theaters.
  • Living: what is it to live? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • A Dark, Dark Man: rounding up the usual suspects in Kazakhstan. MHz.
  • Reggie: it’s not just about Reggie. Netflix.
  • I’m an Electric Lampshade: the final score is Doug 1, Expectations 0. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.

WATCH AT HOME

Adam Gussow and Sterling “Mr. Satan” Magee in SATAN & ADAM. Courtesy JFI

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

  • Satan & Adam: more than an odd couple. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Levinsky Park: refuge for refugees? Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
  • The Speed Cubers: odd, and then profound. Netflix.
  • Rodents of Unusual Size: 5 million orange-toothed critters and a Cajun octogenarian. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • The 11th Green: a thinking person’s paranoid conspiracy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • The Wave: Everything you want in a disaster movie. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Magallanes: some wrongs cannot be righted. AppleTV.

ON TV

Gene Hackman in the 1975 NIGHT MOVES
Gene Hackman in NIGHT MOVES

On April 23, 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 (Susan Clark), 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 right around eighteen-years-old when this was filmed, and had already been living with Don Johnson for three years. Night Moves features an impressive ensemble of supporting actors: Harris Yulin, James Woods, Edward Binns, Max Gail (Wojo on Barney Miller) and the sui generis Kenneth Mars.

SLO Film Fest is just around the corner

by
Photo caption: 100 FOOT WAVE at SLO Film Fest’s Surf Nite. Courtesy of HBO.

The 2023 SLO Film Fest opens on April 25 with its characteristic mix of aspirational cinema and sheer fun. The tagline is Let’s Go Back to the Movies, and it’s hard to guess which event figures to be the most exuberant. Here are some contenders:

  • Opening night: Highlighted with a screening of BlackBerry, the funny true story of Canadian geeks who find themselves suddenly dominating the nascent smartphone market…but not for long. SLO Film Fest Executive Director Skye McLennan calls out BlackBerry as especially fun to see with an audience because of its mix of humor and nostalgia. Popular so far with critics and film festival audiences, this movie should be a surefire audience-pleaser.
  • E.T. at the drive-in: Your opportunity to introduce a carload of kids to E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial at the Sunset Drive-In. It’s a 4K restoration, and this year you can bike in, just like Elliott and his pal in the basket.
  • Surf Nite: In what McLennan calls “the Rocky Horror Picture Show for surfers”, an episode of HBO’s 100 Foot Wave will presented by Big Wave legend Garret McNamara (who set a world record for surfing 78-foot wave at Nazaré, Portugal). With drinks in the lobby and music from the Boomer Surf Band, the Fremont Theater audience should be stoked.

Cinephiles will be drawn to an impressive cohort of international films, each written and directed by a new female director – and each already an award-winner. Any film festival would be proud to present these four films. As McLennan says, this program “brings the world to SLO.”

  • Scrapper: A precocious 12-year-old girl thinks that she is independently living her best life, until the unexpected appearance of the dad she hasn’t known. Won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema/Dramatic at Sundance. First feature for British director Charlotte Regan.
  • Our Father, the Devil: An African immigrant in France is rocked when an African priest shows up in her workplace – and he could actually be the savage warlord who traumatized her in her homeland. Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and has won the best picture award at 13 film festivals so far. First feature for Cameroon-born, American director Ellie Foumbi.
  • Mediterranean Fever: A depressive writer becomes friends with his shady neighbor and the two embark on a dark journey. Won the Un Certain Regard screenplay prize at Cannes. Second feature for Palestinian director Maha Haj.
  • Rodeo: A remarkably fierce young woman invites herself into a crew of dirt riders, Won the Un Certain Regard coup de coeur prize at Cannes. First feature for French director Lola Quivoron.

There’s plenty more, with over 40 features, workshops and over ten programs of shorts. I’m screening my way through the program, and will post my MUST SEE recommendations before the fest opens.

The SLO Film Fest will be in-person from April 25-30 in San Luis Obispo. The encore week, from April 30 through May 7, will feature both live screenings in Paso Robles and much of the program being available virtually. Peruse the program and get your tickets at SLO Film Fest.

Julie Ledru in RODEO. Courtesy of SLO Film Fest.

HANNAH HA HA: what makes for human value and fulfillment?

by
Hannah Lee Thompson in HANNAH HA HA. Courtesy of Nashville Film Festival.

The indie Hannah Ha Ha is an extraordinary film about an ordinary person. Hannah (musician Hannah Lee Thompson in her first film) is content with her life in a small town – helping her dad (he would be lost without her) and giving music lessons. She touches lives, and townfolks eagerly help celebrate her 26th birthday,  But her brother Paul (Roger Mancusi) points out that she is comfortable with a path that will leave her without a career or, critically, health insurance.

Here’s the rub – Hannah’s family and her community recognize her contributions, but our economic system doesn’t.

Paul wants what is best for Hannah, but every time he talks to her, he makes her feel bad about herself, finally shaming her into finding her place in the conventional economy (which is not at the top of the pyramid). Paul’s advice is sensible – if she wants health insurance and secure housing, she will need a job; it’s just that the entry level jobs in the small town’s fast food chains are so soul-crushing for her. (The movie was filmed in Sharon, Massachusetts.)

Thompson, whose Hannah is smart, witty, capable and utterly ill-suited for life as a corporate pawn, is excellent. With her sarcastic charm, she’s sympathetic and relatable. Thompson perfectly captures how defeated even a talented person can feel when forced into a harsher environment.

Mancusi lets the audience glimpse that Paul himself is not as upwardly mobile as he thinks or portrays. Paul has bought into the “work hard and get rich” ethic, and there’s a hint of desperation and self-loathing that he’s not further up the corporate ladder. He’s like a two-bit insurance salesman who votes Republican because he thinks he’s a “businessman”; in reality, no one in the 1% is going to let Paul control capital.

Filmed in a cinéma vérité style, Hannah Ha Ha is the first feature written and directed by Joshua Pikovsky and Jordan Tetewsky, and it’s masterfully edited by Tetewsky. The 75-minute running time allows for the characters and the plot to meander without dragging.

We are our choices – but who frames those choices? Hannah Ha Ha is a thought-provoking film that explores the profound question of what makes for human value and fulfillment.

Hannah Ha Ha premiered last year at Slamdance, played Tribeca, and I screened it for the Nashville Film Festival, where I featured it in Under the Radar at Nashville. It’s now streaming on Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube. Hannah Ha Ha is one of the Best Movies of 2023 – So Far.

Diversity of love at SLO Film Fest

by

Not everyone experiences love in the same way, and the SLO Film Fest has curated a program of short films that reflect that diversity.  The five films, which total 76 minutes, are:

  • A Real One: As different as night and day, Lauren and Keisha, two 17-year-old girls entering their final weeks of senior year, stand on the cusp of adulthood when Lauren is forced to reveal a secret that threatens their lifelong friendship.
  • Dear Mama…: Set in the 1990s in South LA, a family grieves a recent loss and is forced to confront the emotional aftermath of their own tragedy before taking the first steps to heal.
  • Jahleel & Star: In an intimate portrayal of the effects incarceration has on families, two siblings travel to see their father in prison. World Premiere.
  • The Marigolds Listen: With a shift in perspective, the filmmaker takes on the point of view of a bouquet of flowers that thrives or wilts in reaction to a couple’s relationship.
  • We Were Meant to: In a world where Black men have wings and their first flight is a rite of passage, Akil must defy his own fears, insecurities, and societal barriers while discovering his perfect launch into manhood.

The moderated in-person screening is sponsored by the City of San Luis Obispo. Before the screening, R.A.C.E. Matters SLO is hosting a brunch mixer with appetizers, bubbles, and exciting updates.

The $30 brunch begins at 10:30 AM at Saint’s Barrel; purchase brunch tickets here. The film program, which is free, starts at 1 PM at the Fremont; register for the free screening here.

Movies to See Right Now

by

This week on The Movie Gourmet – I’ve been covering the San Francico International Film Festival, now underway: First look at the 2023 SFFILM and Under the radar at the 2023 SFFILM. But I still have new reviews of the enjoyable Sally Hawkins vehicle The Lost King and the Kazakh neo-noir (yes, a neo-noir from Kazakhstan) A Dark, Dark Man. The best movie in theaters remains Return to Seoul.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

Brit Marling in THE EAST. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

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

  • The East: how do we punish corporate crime? HBO, Amazon, AppleTV, redbox.
  • Radio Dreams: stranger in a strange and funny land. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Mustang: repression challenged by the human spirit. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Truman: how to say goodbye. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Love & Mercy: a tale of three monsters and salvation. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Searching: A ticking clock thriller that captures the Silicon Valley vibe. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Venus: Meeting your kid for the first time while transitioning. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • The Sapphires: Here’s a crowd pleaser: Motown meets Aborigines. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu.
  • Wind River: “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.” Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Little Dieter Needs to Fly: an unimaginable escape and a quirky guy Project Nim: .Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • We Believe in Science: denying science on a monumental scale. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.

ON TV

Humphrey Bogart and Martha Vickers in THE BIG SLEEP

On April 17, Turner Classic Movies presents Humphrey Bogart as Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled LA detective Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep. Bogart’s performance is iconic, and The Big Sleep is famous for its impenetrably tangled plot. It’s also one of the most overtly sexual noirs, and Lauren Bacall at her sultriest is only the beginning. The achingly beautiful Martha Vickers plays a druggie who throws herself at anything in pants. And Dorothy Malone invites Bogie to share a back-of-the-bookstore quickie.

Speaking of the plot, I recently heard Eddie Muller say that, after filming, the studio bosses had more scenes written for Bogart and Bacall (and we thank them for that); to make room for those new scenes, some exposition was cut, leaving at least one loose end. I have to say, though, that I enjoyed watching The Big Sleep many times over the decades before I learned about the supposed hanging plot thread. You probably won’t notice it, either.

Dorothy Malone and Humphrey Bogart in THE BIG SLEEP

A DARK, DARK MAN: rounding up the usual suspects in Kazakhstan

by
Photo caption: Daniyar Alshivnov in A DARK, DARK MAN. Courtesy of MHz.

In the Kazakh neo-noir A Dark, Dark Man, a provincial detective is stationed in a place that is remote, even by the standards of Kazakhstan. The authorities are unaccountable and utterly corrupt, and human life isn’t so much cheap as it is valueless. A boy has been murdered and wheels having no relation to justice begin to grind.

The cop is Bekzat (Daniyar Alshivnov), a smart guy whose moral compass drives him to solve the crime, not to cover it up. But he’s also practical, and he understands that he doesn’t have the power to undermine his bosses, who have decided that Pukuar, a mentally disabled local, is the suspect.

The sordid order of things is rocked by the arrival of a nosy journalist Ariana (Dinara Baktybaeva), who uncomfortably points out that 11 suspects have died in police custody in the past year, and that this murder shares convincing similarities with a series of local murders over the past decade. It appears that someone has been getting away with serial murder while the cops “round up the usual suspects”.

In a compelling performance, Alshivnov has us hanging on Bekhat’s moral decision. Which choice will he make, and at what risk? How can he survive?

Yes, this is my first Kazakh film. Director and co-writer Adilkhan Yerzhanov uses absurdism to depict the incompetence of the rural police. The violence in A Dark, Dark Man is anything but stylized – Yerzhanov makes it up-close-and-personal and messy.

Teoman Khos is superb as the innocent Pukuar, both half-witted and pranksterish, and understanding more of what is going on than it seems.

Make sure you watch the interview with star Daniyar Alshivnov (embedded below the trailer). You will be surprised.

A Dark, Dark Man is streaming on MHz. MHz has split it into 3 episodes, but it’s a coherent 2 hour, ten minute movie that is easy to binge.

Under the radar at SFFILM

by
Photo caption: Francisco Reyes in Lorena Padilla’s MARTINEZ. Courtesy of SFFILM.

This year’s San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) opens tomorrow. SFFILM presents a wide-ranging slate of films from 37 countries. Here are four under the radar recommendations. Each has a female director. Each of the three narratives is the first feature film by its director, two from Mexico and one from Turkey.

  • Martinez: In this sly portrait of a man isolated by his own routine, the titular character (Francisco Reyes of A Fantastic Woman) cannot suffer fools. That is a curse because no one can meet his standards, and he loathes every human interaction. His employer decides that forty years of Martinez is enough and decides to push him out the door. Then, a neighbor he has met only once dies, and Martinez unleashes some unexpected curiosity. The two co-workers who are his biggest irritants become more sympathetic as we – and Martinez – can see their vulnerabilities. Eventually, a life is changed. First-time director Lorena Padilla also co-wrote the docu-fable 499, a highly original contemplation of Mexico’s Original Sin of colonialism.
Merve Dizdar in Selcen Ergun’s SNOW AND THE BEAR. Courtesy of SFFILM.
  • Snow and the Bear: Asli (Merve Dizdar) is a young nurse assigned to a tiny village in the most remote mountains of northeast Turkey. She’s both compassionate and fearless, and a thoroughly modern woman plopped into a decidedly backward community. It’s brutally cold, isolated after every snowfall, and the menfolk spend the nights at noisy bonfires to ward off a human-hunting bear that they imagine lurks in the forest. The village’s blustery and selfish butcher reacts with hostility when Asli reinforces his pregnant wife’s need for bedrest. Asli finds the kindnesses proffered by the village’s animal-loving simpleton too creepy. The butcher disappears, setting up a slow-burn mystery. In her first feature, director Selcen Ergun brings us exteriors that will chill a California audience and moody, barely lit interiors – all visually captivating.
Daniela Marín Navarro in Valentina Maurel’s I HAVE ELECTRIC DREAMS. Courtesy of SFFILM.
  • I Have Electric Dreams: In this coming-of-age narrative brimming with authenticity, the spirited 16-year-old Eva (Daniela Marín Navarro) and her longsuffering mom are on each other’s very last nerve. Eva decides to go live with her father, who is decidedly not Parent of the Year material. For the first time, she gets an up-close-and-personal look at his inner demons, and an increasingly harsh immersion in human behavior. Daniela Marín Navarro’s performance in her first screen credit is incendiary, and she’s been piling up festival awards for best actress.
Penny Lane in her CONFESSIONS OF A GOOD SAMARITAN. Courtesy of SFFILM.
  • Confessions of a Good Samaritan: Documentarian Penny Lane is known for her choice of offbeat subjects (Nuts!, Hail Satan?) and her unexpected takes on the familiar (Our Nixon, Listening to Kenny G). Here, she turns her camera upon herself as she decides to donate one of her kidneys to a person that she doesn’t know and will never meet. An in-depth exploration of both kidney transplants and altruism ensues – all from the very personal perspective of a person about to go under the knife herself. Lane is a delightful subject, and she courageously shares her most intimate feelings, making Confessions of a Good Samaritan ever more engrossing.

All my SFFILM coverage, including eventual full reviews, will be linked on my SFFILM 2023 page.

THE LOST KING: not all cranks are cranky

by
Photo caption: Sally Hawkins in THE LOST KING. Courtesy of IFC Films.

In the The Lost King, an otherwise unfulfilled woman becomes a history hobbyist and literally digs up a British monarch. That monarch is the Shakespearean villain Richard III. The woman in question is Philippa (Sally Hawkins), who joins a cadre of misfits obsessed with rehabilitating Richard III’s image, which has suffered from the view that he murdered his own 12- and 10-year old nephews to cement his claim on the throne.

The story is based on fact. The real Phillipa didn’t succeed in turning Richard into a popular Good Guy, but she led a successful campaign that located Richard’s long-lost remains, buried under a parking lot in Leicester, and reinterred them in a historically more appropriate setting. Along the way, she had to battle lots of snooty academics and officials who “knew better”.

It’s a standard underdog story with two enhancements:

  • Sally Hawkins is a singular, irrepressible actress who gets to shine in a lead role, as she did in her art house hit Happy-Go-Lucky and the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.
  • The character of Philippa is interestingly and unexpectedly textured, with her chronic fatigue syndrome and her unusual relationship with her ex-husband (Steve Coogan, who also co-wrote).

The little cadre of Richard III cranks is especially funny.

Steven Frears is famous for directing movies like The Grifters and The Queen, for which he received Oscar nominations, and Dangerous Liaisons and High Fidelity. But it’s worth remembering that he has also made made many much smaller, but satisfying, movies: My Beautiful Launderette, Dirty Pretty Things, The Hit, Tamara Drewe, Philomena. The Lost King is one of these.

This is an enjoyable, non-challenging movie. It may not be a Must See, but it’s not a waste if time.

First look at the 2023 SFFILM

by
Photo caption: Steph Curry in Peter Nick’s STEPHEN CURRY, UNDERRATED. Courtesy of SFFILM.

This year’s San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) opens this coming Tuesday, April 13, and runs through April 23. The fest is in-person, centered at the CGV San Francisco (the former AMC multiplex on Van Ness). Other venues include the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market, the Castro Theatre, the Premier Theater, The Walt Disney Family Museum, and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA).

The menu at SFFILM includes films from 37 countries from over 5,000 submissions and invitations. Peruse the program and buy tickets at SFFILM.

Here are more special elements of this year’s SFFILM:

  • The festival opens with the hometown premiere of the documentary Stephen Curry: Underrated.
  • Closing night features a major sneak of the anticipated Prime Video series I’m A Virgo from Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You).
  • Again, SFFILM has highlighted a cross section of movies and events as Family-friendly, something that more film festivals should do. Introduce the kids to good cinema! The highlight is a free community screening of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. starring Academy Award winner Kathy Bates, and Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams

As usual, I’ll be looking for under-the-radar gems and posting my recommendations just before the fest’s opening. My coverage will be linked on my SFFILM 2023 page.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Photo caption: Bríd Ní Neachtain in ROISE & FRANK. Courtesy of Juno Pictures.

This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of the delightful Gaelic dramedy Roise & Frank, the gotta-see-it-to-believe-it I’m an Electric Lampshade and the surprising Reggie Jackson doc Reggie. And a totally refreshed CURENT MOVIES section.

CURRENT MOVIES

WATCH AT HOME

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

RADIO DREAMS
  • Radio Dreams: stranger in a strange and funny land. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • Mustang: repression challenged by the human spirit. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Truman: how to say goodbye. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Love & Mercy: a tale of three monsters and salvation. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • Searching: A ticking clock thriller that captures the Silicon Valley vibe. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Venus: Meeting your kid for the first time while transitioning. Amazon, AppleTV.
  • The Sapphires: Here’s a crowd pleaser: Motown meets Aborigines. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu.
  • Wind River: “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.” Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
  • Little Dieter Needs to Fly: an unimaginable escape and a quirky guy Project Nim: .Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
  • We Believe in Science: denying science on a monumental scale. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.

ON TV

Mary Astor in DODSWORTH, the subject of SCANDAL: THE TRIAL OF MARY ASTOR

On April 11, Turner Classic Movies airs the recent documentary Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor. It’s worth a watch for its tale of America’s Victorian social mores running headlong into the emerging celebrity culture. In 1936, movie star Mary Astor suffered through a humiliating child custody trial; her vindictive ex-husband stole her diary, in which she had documented her sex life with the playwright George S. Kaufman and others, and leaked it to the press. The trial was held at night so Astor could shoot Dodsworth during the daytime. And, in another bizarre twist, Astor won over the court on the stand by channeling her extremely sympathetic character in Dodsworth!