Right now, you can see three of my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far:
- Love & Mercy, the emotionally powerful biopic of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.
- the intensely thoughtful Ex Machina.
- the thoughtful and authentic dramedy I’ll See You in My Dreams.
The Melissa McCarthy spy spoof Spy is a very funny diversion. Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a costume bodice ripper.
My DVD of the Week is Frederick Wiseman’s 2010 brilliant and mesmerizing 2010 documentary Boxing Gym. One of the few boxing movies that will appeal to most women, Boxing Gym is available on DVD from Netflix.
Don’t forget that Turner Classic Movies is filling each June and July Friday with film noir in its Summer of Darkness series, hosted by Film Noir Foundation president Eddie Muller – the Czar of Noir. The series schedule includes several favorites of my Overlooked Noir.
Speaking of which, I’m telling you NOW so you can set your DVRs. On June 19, TCM brings us an unusually rich menu of classic film noir: Cornered, Crack-up, Gilda, The Big Sleep, The Killers, Nocturne and Crossfire. The most famous – and my favorite – of these is The Big Sleep, with its iconic performance by Humphrey Bogart as the hard-boiled detective Philip Marlow and 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.
For something different, try out the early psychological thriller Crack-up, with Pat O-Brien as an art expert who is framed for a crime. As he tries to prove his own innocence, O’Brien is handicapped by a gap in his memory and repeated hallucinations of being in a head-on train collision.
