Okay, here’s the first Must See of 2015 – the hilariously dark Argentine comedy Wild Tales, a series of individual stories about revenge fantasies becoming actualized. The Russian Leviathan, which I’m gonna see tonight, has been universally praised. Both Wild Tales and Leviathan were nominated for this year’s Best Foreign Language Picture Oscar.
If you can make it to Cinequest, there are some great movie choices. Here is my extensive Cinequest coverage.
Other choices in theaters and elsewhere:
- Clint Eastwood’s thoughtful and compelling American Sniper, with harrowing action and a career-best performance from Bradley Cooper.
- The cinematically important and very funny (and, of course. Oscar-winning) Birdman.
- And the movie that is better than all of these: Boyhood. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
Here are some great choices for movies coming up on TV this week – all on Turner Classic Movies on March 8.
- Billy Wilder’s 1957 Sweet Smell of Success contains Tony Curtis’ most subtly acted role. Curtis is a Broadway press agent who is completely at the mercy of Burt Lancaster’s sadistically nasty columnist. Many of us have experienced being vulnerable to the caprice of an extremely mean person – Curtis perfectly captures the dread and humiliation of being in that position.
- To Kill a Mockingbird, with the iconic character of Atticus Finch and its great courtroom scene.
- If you like your film noir tawdry, then Gun Crazy (1950) is for you. Peggy Cummins plays a prototypical Bad Girl who takes her newlywed hubby on a crime spree.
Just saw Leviathan last night. A beautifully done dark tale with a no so subtle commentary on life in Russia. I Really liked it, and the story kept me engrossed the whole 2 hrs. plus.