Make plans for Mill Valley Film Festival, the best opportunity for Bay Area film goers to catch an early look at the Big Movies.
Now is a good time to catch up on films from my list of Best Movies of 2019 – So Far. The Last Black Man in San Francisco, They Shall Not Grow Old, Amazing Grace and Booksmart are all available to be streamed. And, of course, to see Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood if you haven’t.
OUT NOW
- Downtown Abbey is a satisfying wrap-up for fans of the beloved PBS series.
- David Crosby: Remember My Name is a rock star bio that reflects on relationship carnage.
- Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is a Must See – one of Quentin Tarantino’s very, very best.
- The family dramedy The Farewell is an audience-pleaser.
- Bay Area filmmaker John Maringouin’s inventive satire Ghostbox Cowboy, skewers white entitlement and sneaks a peek inside the shadiest corners of the Chinese boom economy. Ghostbox Cowboy earned a NY Times Critic’s Pick and can be streamed on Amazon (included with Prime).
ON VIDEO
My stream of the Week is San Jose native Matt Sobel’s impressive directorial debut, Take Me to the River. Not one thing happens in Take Me to the River that you can predict, and it keeps the audience off-balance and completely engaged. It made my Best Movies of 2016. You can stream Take Me to the River on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play or rent the DVD from Netflix.
ON TV
On September 15, Turner Classic Movies presents one of the greatest ever courtroom dramas, Stanley Kramer’s brilliant Inherit the Wind from 1960. The story is taken from the real-life Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925, so it has elements of the culture wars and politics that resonate today. Spencer Tracy and Fredric March are superb as the warring thought-leaders (based on Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan).
