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This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of the charming dramedy Tokyo Cowboy, opening in the Bay Area at the Lark. The fall movies are beginning to cascade into theaters and VOD, and I hope to screening FOUR new movies in the next few days.

CURRENT MOVIES

• Thelma: too proud to be taken. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
• Perfect Days: intentional contentment. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Hulu (included).
• How to Come Alive: addicted to his own turmoil. In theaters.
• Didi: learning to get out of his own way. In theaters.
• Between the Temples: prodded out of his funk. In theaters.
• Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
• I Saw the TV Glow: brimming with originality. Back in some theaters and Amazon, AppleTV; Fandango.
• The Bikeriders: they ride, drink and fight, and yet we care. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Peacock (included).
• Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango (included).movie of Truman Capote’sresearch and wrting of In Cold Blood,
• Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
• La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.

ON TV

On September 30, Turner Classic Movies presents Capote, the 2005 story of Truman Capote’s research and writing of In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman won his Oscar for playing Capote. Capote was the first time I noticed, Clifton Collins, Jr., who is great as the killer Perry Smith.

This week on The Movie Gourmet, as we are on the verge of what looks like a rich fall movie season, I’m recommending another look at an overlooked little movie from earlier this year, the endearing family drama Ghostlight, available to watch at home on Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango (included). The acting in Ghostlight, which won the audience award at SCSW, is superbly authentic. The actors playing the family members are an actual dad, mom and daughter. One of the best movies of the year.

CURRENT MOVIES

• Thelma: too proud to be taken. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
• Perfect Days: intentional contentment. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Hulu (included).
• How to Come Alive: addicted to his own turmoil. In theaters.
• Didi: learning to get out of his own way. In theaters.
• Between the Temples: prodded out of his funk. In theaters.
• Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
• I Saw the TV Glow: brimming with originality. Back in some theaters and Amazon, AppleTV; Fandango.
• The Bikeriders: they ride, drink and fight, and yet we care. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Peacock (included).
• Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango (included).
• Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
• La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.

ON TV

Cynda Williams and Billy Bob Thornton in ONE FALSE MOVE

On September 21, Turner Classic Movies presents the gripping contemporary neo-noir One False Move. This is a fundamentally noir story – there are guys overreaching for greed and ambition, a femme fatale, and a very dark secret. America’s original sin – race – is at the core of One False Move.

The tale begins with a home invasion in Los Angeles. Two vicious professional robbers, with one’s beautiful girlfriend, steal money and cocaine, leaving a trail of corpses. The crime is solved right away – the cops know who did it and that the murderers are headed to a small town in Arkansas. The LA cops fly to Arkansas and lay in wait with the local constabulary. One False Move is a ticking time bomb as we wait for the criminals to drive across the Southwest to the inevitable confrontation. 

One False Move features a great performance by the late Bill Paxton. It’s one of my Overlooked Neo-noir, and can also be streamed from Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube.

While the Nashville Film Festival has its share of high-profile movies, don’t miss the discoveries that are screening under the radar. Here are three films by new directors and an indie doc with 100% African-American voices. These movies are why we go to film festivals. 

• In the Summers: in this remarkably authentic and evocative narrative, two sisters fly to Las Cruces, New Mexico, for annual summer visits with their divorced dad. The father, Vincente, played by Rene Perez Joglar (AKA the rapper Residente) is a spirited and talented underachiever who tries to show them a Disney Dad experience; the girls soak up the fun, but also absorb lessons about Vincente’s less reliable characteristics. Each summer the girls return with additional savvy and sponge up real world lessons from Vincente’s changing circumstances and behavior. It’s a compelling coming of age for the daughters, but the changes each year in the dad, bouncing from unearned swagger to self-loathing distraction to an uneasy humility, are just as forceful. The three sets of actors playing the daughters as they mature are excellent, as is Joglar. In the Summers is a triumphant debut feature for writer-director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio, who coveys so much without spoon-feeding the audience.
• To a Land Unknown: This searing thriller takes us to Athens, into the underground world of Palestinian migrants stuck until they acquire false passports that will get them into Germany. Yasser (Mohammed Ghassan) is a decent family man forced into low level criminality to survive and raise money for the forged passport; he is also burdened by responsibility for his cousin, whose drug addiction is a ticking bomb. Repeatedly exploited and defrauded, Yasser conceives of one very risky way out – to scam the very human traffickers preying on him. Ghassan is excellent, as is Angeliki Papoulis as a fun-loving but clear-eyed Greek woman also living in the margins. To a Land Unknown is the gripping first feature for Dubai-born Mahdi Fleifel, who works between Britain, Denmark and Greece.
• A King Like Me: This fun and thoughtful doc tells the story of the all-African-American Mardi Gras parading organization, Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. A King Like Me traces the journey of this 100+-year-old New Orleans cultural institution as it survives Jim Crow, Hurricane Katrina and COVID-19, and faces a sensitive question – should African-American men continue to publicly parade in black face? This movie is brimming with humanity.
• Endless Summer Syndrome: A professional couple and their two very attractive teenage kids are enjoying August, as upscale Parisians like to do, in a roomy, well-appointed country home. Their idyll is rocked when the mom is tipped off that the dad may be sexually involved with one of the adopted kids. She furtively investigates, trying to find out what is going on with whom. We know that there will be a reckoning once she finds out, but no one in the audience will guess the shattering ending. First-time director and co-writer Kaveh Daneshmand keeps the tension simmering. The performances are superb, and I was surprised to learn that only one of the four actors has substantial film experience.

Also see my Previewing the Nashville Film Festival. Here’s the Film Guide.

This week on The Movie Gourmet, Turner Classic Movies presents one of my favorite overlooked movies, the extremely hard-to-find THEY ALL LAUGHED. Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 film elevates the entire rom com genre. The middleaged romance between Ben Gazzara and Audrey Hepburn is exquisitely wistful and authentic. John Ritter leads an endearingly funny supporting cast with Patti Hansen, Blaine Novak, Dorothy Stratton and Colleen Camp. Ritter’s comedic performance is itself a masterpiece – right up there with the best of Chaplin, Keaton and Cary Grant. They All Laughed remains an essentially lost film, although you can find the DVD. Set your DVR to record the TCM screening on September 15.

REMEMBRANCE

James Earl Jones’ expressive face, imposing bearing and authoritative voice won him an Oscar for THE GREAT WHITE HOPE. The voice was enough by itself to dominate the STAR WARS franchise as Darth Vader.

CURRENT MOVIES

• Thelma: too proud to be taken. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
• Perfect Days: intentional contentment. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Hulu (included).
• How to Come Alive: addicted to his own turmoil. In theaters.
• Didi: learning to get out of his own way. In theaters.
• Between the Temples: prodded out of his funk. In theaters.
• Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
• I Saw the TV Glow: brimming with originality. Back in some theaters and Amazon, AppleTV; Fandango.
• The Bikeriders: they ride, drink and fight, and yet we care. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Peacock (included).
• Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango (included).
• Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
• La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.

Cinequest, Silicon Valley’s own major film festival, returns live and in-person August 15, back in downtown San Jose, with screenings August 15-24 at the California, Theatre and the Hammer Theater. For August 24-30, the program moves to the ShowPlace ICON Theatre in Mountain View. That means TWO opening nights (San Jose and Mountain View).

Highlights of the 2023 Cinequest include:

• Films from Korea, Poland, China, Iran, Bulgaria, India, Australia, and Mexico, and I’ve already screened Cinequest features from North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Germany, and the UK, too.
• New movies with Timothy Spall, Jennifer Esposito, Anabella Sciorra, Dermot Mulroney, Bradley Whitford, Alice Braga, Harris Dickinson, Abigail Breslin, Ryan Philippe, Mena Suvari and Steve Zahn.
• See it here FIRST: Scrapper is among the movies slated for theatrical release later this year.

And, at Cinequest, it’s easy to meet the filmmakers.

As usual, I’ll be covering Cinequest rigorously with features and movie recommendations. This year, of my top seven films, five are world premieres; six are the first or second films by their director, and the seventh is by an Oscar-nominated, veteran filmmaker.

I usually screen (and write about) over thirty Cinequest films from around the world. Bookmark my CINEQUEST 2023 page, with links to all my coverage (links on the individual movies will start to go live on Sunday, August 13).

Frameline —the world’s largest LGBTQ film festival—is taking place Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 26, 2022. Screenings will take place at the Castro Theatre, Roxie Theater, SFMOMA, Proxy and AMC Kabuki in San Francisco and the New Parkway Theater in Oakland. Many films in the program will also be available to stream from June 24 through June 30.

The program will feature over 130 films from more than 30 countries. There will be 18 world premieres, eight North American premieres, five U.S. premieres, 28 West Coast premieres and 44 San Francisco Bay Area premieres. See it here first.

Highlights include:

• A League of Their Own: the first two episodes of the new Amazon Prime series based on the beloved 1992 movie.
• Mars One: the Brazilian indie hit at Sundance that will be coming to art house theaters later this year.

I haven’t seen either of those two, but I’ve been screening festival films and will post my recommendations on June 16. Stay tuned. Peruse the program and buy tickets at Frameline.