By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week sees the return of some honest-to-goodness star power to streaming- the type of films that would be no-brainer theatrical releases. Where have you been?
341. Confession
This Korean thriller about a man who just got out of his coma with an erased memory and a loving wife he can’t quite feel comfortable with for some reason does all the boring melodramatic mystery things you think it will… until it doesn’t. I hesitate to recommend this just for the ending… but boy what a beautifully, special nonsensical mess of a twist ending it is (well, two truly awful twist endings, actually). For fans of a truly awful twist… this one is hard to beat. Five Beers.
342. The Search
Fred Zinneman’s 1948 drama set in post-War Germany is one of those rare films about a place and time actually filmed in that place and time. It’s far from a documentary, but its drama is aided infinitely by the real settings and apparently real extras it makes use of. The heart and soul of the film, though, is the relationship between the young boy played with preternatural subtlety by 9 year old Ivan Jandl and a young GI played by Montgomery Clift. A film unafraid to go to some extremely dark places but ending in the most genuinely hopeful, best earned catharsis I’ve seen on screen in many a year. A Toast.
343. 360
This Fernando Meirelles Crash-like drama of interconnected stories populated with recognizable faces drew some rather poor reviews when it came out, perhaps due to critics and audiences being just about done with the style at that point. For my money, it’s a rather well-done example of the form, full of moments of human connection that are plenty impactful in their shortened form and excellent performances all around. If you look at Rottentomatoes these days you see a somewhat nicer rating, but unless my memory fails me, maybe this one is finally starting to get the reevaluation it deserves. Three Beers.
344. A Slight Case of Murder
This rollicksome 30s comedy starring the incomparable James Cagney holds up surprisingly well in its mile-a-minute comic patter and surprisingly risque hijinks. Cagney stars as a Prohibition gangster who finds out that after the repeal his lousy beer isn’t the cash cow it used to be. His daughter gets engaged to a state trooper, a incredibly alcohol-tolerant orphan scalawag is brought over by his wife, and oh, four corpses are in an upstairs bedroom. Enter, hijinks. Three Beers.
345. In the Beginning (A L’Origine)
This based on a true story drama about a French con artist who travels to a small town impersonating a government road construction project manager is a fascinating one. The real inspiration for the story, as well as Francois Cluzet’s masterful interpretation of him, actually pulled together the community, suppliers, and workers to successfully build a section of the road- a dedication to the work that goes beyond the potential criminal gains of it. As played by Cluzet and directed by Xavier Giannoli, he’s a soulful cipher- a man perhaps for the first time participating in an act of creation rather than destruction. Two Beers.
346. The Greasy Strangler
I’m going to stand by my original rating for this film, and I’m going to stand by insisting that it’s actually a compliment. Jim Hosking & co very much want to repulse you, to push you right over that line, and it’s somewhat magical how they utilize what may be described by some as psychological warfare techniques to accomplish it. Anti-humor of the most anti-hilarious order; you’ll either be in or out pretty much immediately. Count me in, still. Six Pack.
347. Palm Springs
An honest-to-God must-see, woulda been a Friday night at the theater comedy has landed! Hulu shelled out record bucks at Sundance for this one, and according to them their gamble was very much a success. I can believe it- everybody I know has loved it, and it’s easy to see why. Andy Samberg and Christin Milioti radiate chemistry and the Groundhog Day-esque shenanigans are just plain fun even if you shouldn’t think about them too hard. Samberg choreographed dancing to the drunken stumblings of the wedding dance floor he’s pretty much memorized at this point is enough. Two Beers.
348. Homemade
There’s a definite upside to watching this collection of 17 short films from prominent world directors shot during the COVID pandemic quarantines in place across the planet. Even though no short is alike (well, besides the “hey, ain’t my kid cute” that are a few of the directors could come up with), they build cumulatively to the capper by Ana Lily Amirpour- bike ride down an eerily abandoned Sunset Blvd that rivals any disaster movie you’ve seen. Two Beers.
349. The Old Guard
Here’s another high profile release from a streaming service with an A-lister to sell it and good reviews to back it up. Unlike Palm Springs, though, I couldn’t see this being equally successful in a theatrical context. Despite Theron’s ferocious performance and some pretty quality action direction from Gina Prince-Bythewood, this is still the same pretty generic evil corporation vs action hero plot from a liked-by-some indie comic template that landed with a relative thud back when Vin Diesel tried it right before COVID hit. Better, but… not that much so. Three Beers.
350. Waiting for the Barbarians
Speaking of A-list actors, how do Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, and Mark Rylance sound? This is one of those arthouse flicks, though, which explains why it might have snuck up on you- an adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s celebrated magic realist novel about a frontier bureaucrat of some unspecified empire and the secret police who come looking for an insurrection he knows well is nowhere to be found. Ciro Guerra directs an utterly beautiful, thematically complex film that immediately ranks among my favorite of the year, and his best in an already impressive resume. Two Beers.
351. Black Money
This Korean blockbuster from last year is an atypical thriller- a screed against big corporations and the laws they bend to breaking with the help of all involved. A somewhat dodgy prosecutor accused of sexual harassment uncovers a massive financial and governmental conspiracy involving the cut-rate sale of a bank to a foreign investment group and layers upon layers of cover-up. Based on a very true story, as at least I learned in the closing seconds, and a fitting companion to Netflix’s & Soderbergh’s underrated The Laundromat, this will make you the right kind of mad. Two Beers.
352. Greyhound
Not to be left out in the cold, Apple TV + had their own star vehicle to debut. Tom Hanks stars in his own screenplay about a WWII destroyer captain trying to protect his fleet of merchant vessels from German U-boats on the prowl. Short and to the point, this film is basically a procedural about naval warfare and the pressures and hundreds of small but incredibly consequential decisions this entails. Completely engrossing, and beautifully acted by all involved. Two Beers.
353. Moonwalkers
Another Gauntlet recommendation, this comedy about two losers with very different personalities (Rupert Grint and Ron Perlman) in league to make a fake moon landing film on the hurry is a smorgasbord of 60s-era nonsense and Guy Ritchie-aping toffness that works far better than it should. Goofy drug humor followed immediately by horrific gunshot splatter? Why not, indeed? Three Beers.
354. Irresistible
Jon Stewart took another stab at directing with this political comedy that ostensibly is the best kind of material for him to helm. The cast of ringers doesn’t hurt, and in hindsight the premise and motivations behind the film are predicated on a pretty good idea that’s not terribly executed. The real problem? It’s just not that funny, and the satire isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, de-fanging it almost completely. Certainly a pleasant enough time in the “I guess this is on cable right now so I’ll watch it but not pay too much attention” sorta way… so wait for that kind of time to watch it, I suppose. Four Beers.
355. Amulet
Romola Garai makes her directorial debut in this horror film that starts as a fairly standard fish out of water in a creepy house type of film but soon becomes a viciously edged feminist fairytale with some of the most serious body horror I’ve seen in awhile. It’s clear she’s absolutely bursting with ideas, which makes the jumbled structure she adapts especially disappointing. But as a debut, it’s a damn exciting harbinger of things to come. Three Beers.
356. I’m No Longer Here
This is a social realist tale of a young Mexican man who tries to start a new life in the United States after fleeing his beloved Monterrey and his image-defining Kolombia gang/dance crew under the threat of death from local drug dealers. He finds the so-called promised land far from the easy street so many Americans assume foreigners expect and to some extent receive when they immigrate. He and his flamboyant hairstyle and clipped accent don’t even find kinship in fellow Mexican immigrants, to whom he’s nearly as foreign as the multicultural streets around them. A perceptive, realistic, and achingly tragic film from Netflix’s rich vaults. Three Beers.
357. Vitalina Varela
As is the case with many Pedro Costa joints, plot is almost incidental in this tale of a new widow who travels from Cape Verde to Portugal to attend the funeral of her husband- who was never able to get his act in order enough to send for her since leaving 25 years ago. Based on the to some extent on the real experiences of its non-professional lead of the same name, who acts brilliantly, the real draw here is Leonardo Simoes ebony-drenched frames that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Throughout the long night that comprises much of the film, the interplay of shadow, scant light, and darkness put Gordon Willis to shame. Simply extraordinary-looking film. Two Beers.
358. Welcome to Chechnya
This chilling but hopeful documentary is about a Russian activist organization who helps smuggle gay people out of Chechnya, the Russian republic that per crackpot leader Ramzan Kadyrov has no gay people, which he and many of his citizens very transparently are trying to make happen through whatever awful means necessary. It plays like the most bone-chilling thriller of the year, evoking a tension no fiction can. Yes, there are still places like this in the world- so many- but thankfully there are also truly brave individuals working to change things however they can. A Toast.
359. Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado
This Netflix documentary is a paean to a true superstar of the Latin world, the gloriously flamboyant astrologer and flim-flam man Walter Mercado. Seeing Lin Manuel Miranda reduced to tears by getting to meet one of his childhood television heroes underscores how much of a big deal this man was to so many in the world, even if I have to profess my own complete ignorance towards his career. Part of that is due to his disappearing act in the early 2000s, and while that’s a selling point of the film in the marketing, there’s not too much mystery there. Still, a good-hearted, if somewhat misguided (the man believed in the power of love, and then also a bunch of goofy self-patched-together nonsense… this is no comprehensive philosophical system, folks) monument to someone who brought pleasure to millions. Three Beers.
360. Burden
This based on a true story drama about a young, dumb Klansman (Garrett Hedlund) and the black preacher who helps him break free from the shackles of hate (Forest Whitaker) may feel like it’s a bit too focused on that white man’s story until you realize that, well, the movie is about him, and that furthermore Hedlund is playing him so damn opaquely that he’s actively resisting the spotlight that Whitaker and Usher (in a rare dramatic role- also, this man just does not age, eh?) get plenty of in their scenes. It’s not until the end when we realize we see him smile for the first time that Hedlund’s long game is revealed. Overall admirable in its intentions and just above solid in its execution. Three Beers.
