We’re still watching our movies at home, so here are plenty of choices. Of the recently released, I am still recommending The Whistlers.
I also wrote about The Dark Horse, an extremely cynical and hilarious comment on American politics from 88 yer ago (and still timely), If you missed it yesterday on TCM, at least watch the clip in my post.
ON VIDEO
In the absorbing crime thriller The Whistlers, a shady cop and a mysterious woman are walking a tightrope of treachery. The Whistlers, was a hit at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, but COVID-19 impaired its 2020 theatrical release in the US. You can stream it from Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
And here’s one that I KNOW you haven’t seen – the droll comedy Radio Dreams. This indie set in the Bay Area explores the ambivalence of the immigrant experience through the portrait of a flamboyant misfit, a man who rides the roller coaster of megalomania and despair. Radio Dreams is available to stream from Amazon, iTunes and kanopy.
Other recent streaming recommendations:
- The Lost City of Z
- The Wild Goose Lake
- Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
- Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache
- Rojo
- Panic in the Streets
- Buck
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
- Gone Girl
- The Commitments
- Short Term 12
ON TV
On April 29, Turner Classic Movies airs The Unknown, a Lon Chaney silent, and I think that Chaney’s charisma is worth sampling. And as a fun experience, not a “this is good for you” experience.
REMEMBRANCE
The actor Brian Dennehy stood a bear-like 6’3”and could have filled his career by playing menacing heavies (and he had his share of those). But Dennehy had uncommon range, as evidenced by his most well-remembered roles – Rambo’s nemesis in First Blood and the alien in Cocoon. My favorite Dennehy movie roles were the crooked sheriff in Silverado and Harrison Ford’s morally complicated boss in Presumed Innocent. Dennehy was even a bigger star on stage – he won Tony Awards for his Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and his James in Long Day’s Journey into Night (the role Ralph Richardson played in the movie).
