This week: my experience returning to theaters, the best movie of the year so far, and a marathon of Alfred Hitchcock.
I finally went to a movie theater for the first time in an unimaginable 473 days – and I was a little rusty. On a 92 degree day, I slipped into the air conditioned theater and, while trying to adjust my recliner, inadvertently turned on the seat heater. Everything else went well.
I found the Astronaut Pen that The Wife gave me, which fits easily in my pants pocket. And I still had my unlined notepad from Muji, so I can scrawl notes in the dark. (the downtown San Jose Muji did not survive COVID, so I’ll need another source.)
Incidentally, in that 473 days of COVID hermitage, I had watched 328 films at home – streaming, broadcast, DVD and screeners.
IN THEATERS
The Sparks Brothers: This affectionate documentary profiles a 54-year-old pop band, still tirelessly living their art. Both the subject band and the movie about them are very funny.
Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation: Two giants of American literature in their own words.
Also in theaters:
- In the Heights: Vibrant, earnest and perfect for this moment. Also streaming on HBO Max.
- Summer of 85: Director Francois Ozon reflects on how we remember our youth in this romantic teen coming of age story.
- The Dry: a mystery as psychological as it is procedural. In theaters and also streaming on AppleTV, YouTube and Google Play
- Undine: slow burn, barely flickering.
- Censor: less scary and suspenseful than it is unpleasant.
ON VIDEO
Riders of Justice: It’s the year’s best movie so far. A character-driven comedy thriller embedded with deeper stuff. Marvelous. Also AppleTV.
Summertime: This ever vibrant film is about giving voice, the voice of mostly young Los Angelenos, expressing themselves mostly through poetry. Stream from Frameline through Sunday night, June 27.
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE
- About Endlessness: Damned if I know. Streaming on Amazon, Vudu and YouTube.
- My Name Is Bulger: Two brothers, two paths to power. discovery+.
- Bad Tales: perhaps too dark. Virtual Cinema, including Laemmle.
- Brewmance: barley, hops, yeast and underdogs. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube.
- Hamlet/Horatio: More tragedy, less angst. Amazon, AppleTV.
- Louder Than Bombs: An intricately constructed family drama. Amazon (included with Prime), Vudu and YouTube.
- That Guy Dick Miller: Putting the “character” in “character actor:” Amazon (included with Prime).
- Sword of Trust: comedy and so, so much more. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube.
- Run Lola Run: you’ll never see a more kinetic movie. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube.
- Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street: the origin story of an institution. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- The Face of Love: Who is she really in love with? Amazon.
- Augustine: obsession, passion and the birth of a science. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube .
- The Brainwashing of My Dad: some insight into our national madness. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
Starting Saturday, June 26, and continuing through early Monday. Turner Classic Movies will be airing FORTY-EIGHT HOURS of Alfred Hitchcock. The 23 different movies (Shadow of a Doubt plays twice on Eddie Muller’s Noir Alley) range from Hitchcock’s 1927 silent The Lodger to his 1976 Family Plot. The program includes Hitchcock’s best eight films: Vertigo, Psycho, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Rope, The Birds and Shadow of a Doubt.
