In case you’ve been absorbed in the Holidays, here is my annual Best Movies of 2019, farewells to filmmakers, both those behind the camera and those on screen. And my anniversary tribute to The Wife. And here’s my recent 42-minute podcast with Sara Vizcarrondo of Silicon Valley’s Cinema Club.
OUT NOW
- Roma is an exquisite portrait of two enduring women and the masterpiece of Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men and Y Tu Mama Tambien). Will win multiple Oscars. It is streaming now Netflix.
- Green Book: Tony Lip is a marvelous character, and Viggo Mortensen’s performance is one of the great pleasures of this year in the movies.
- Shoplifters won the Palm d’Or at Cannes. This is a witty, and finally heartbreaking, look at a family that lives on the margins – and then is revealed to be not what it seems.
- Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind and its companion documentaries, all available to stream on Netflix.
- The masterful documentary Monrovia, Indiana is a fascinating movie about a boring subject.
- Pawel Pawlikowski’s sweeping romantic tragedy Cold War is not as compelling as his masterpiece Ida.
- The Favourite: Great performances by three great actresses, sex and political intrigue are not enough; this critically praised film didn’t work for me.
- Skip First Man – a boring movie about a fascinating subject.
ON VIDEO
Along with Roma, you can now stream TEN of my Best Films of 2018 – So Far:
- Leave No Trace: his demons, not hers. Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- The Rider: a life’s passion is threatened. n Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- The Other Side of the Wind: Welles’ brilliance from beyond the grave. Available to stream, along with its two companion documentaries, on Netflix.
- The Death of Stalin: gallows humor from the highest of scaffolds. Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- Custody: the searing essence of domestic violence. Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- Beast: finally unleashed … and untethered. Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- Three Identical Strangers: a Feel Good until we peel back the onion. Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- Quality Problems: a screwball comedy for the sandwich generation. My favorite film from last year’s Cinequest has been released on video this year: Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- Outside In: she finds herself finally ready. Streaming on Netflix.
ON TV
Tomorrow night and Sunday morning, Turner Classic Movies will air one of my Overlooked Noir, this time introduced by the Czar of Noir Eddie Muller. In His Kind of Woman. Robert Mitchum plays a down-and-out gambler who is offered a deal that MUST be too good to be true; he’s smart enough to be suspicious and knows that he must discover the real deal before it’s too late. He meets a on-the-top-of-the-world hottie (Jane Russell), who is about to become down on her luck, too. Top notch.
