Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, no one should be going to movie theaters right now. The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) made the right decision and cancelled, as did the famed Cannes Festival. So, there will be no “OUT NOW” recommendations from me for a while, but I’ll try to double up on movies to WATCH AT HOME.
ON VIDEO
My video pick this week – for St. Paddy’s Week – is the warmly funny The Commitments (1991), the affectionate tale of an unlikely aspiration and an unnecessary fiasco. The Commitments can be streamed from Amazon, iTunes, YouTube and Google Play, usually for less than the cost of a pint of Guinness.
Here are my comments on the Best Movies of 2019, all of which are now available to stream.
ON TV
On March 21 and 22, Turner Classic Movies will present one of my Overlooked Noir, Elevator to the Gallows – such a groundbreaking film that you can argue that it’s the first of the neo-noir. It’s the debut of director Louis Malle, shot when he was only 24 years old. It’s more difficult now to appreciate the originality of Elevator the Gallows; but in 1958, no one had seen a film with a Miles Davis soundtrack or one where the two romantic leads were never on-screen together. The Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller, will provide his famous intro and outro,
