This week, we have a new period drama, but the best bets in theaters are still Roadrunner and Summer of Soul. I’m off to see The Green Knight and the Cannes winner Annette, so stay tuned.
IN THEATERS
Casanova, Last Love: In another of Benoît Jacquot’s visually sumptuous powered-wig-and-harpsichord movies, Casanova gets his comeuppance. The seducer is seduced and it’s well, pathetic.
Also in theaters:
- Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain: Bad ass romantic. Best Movies of 2021 – So Far.
- Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised): concert with context. In theaters and streaming on Hulu. Best Movies of 2021 – So Far.
- Mama Weed: it’s always fun when Huppert gets outrageous.
- Zola: the road trip is not what it seems, (and neither is this movie).
- In the Heights: Vibrant, earnest and perfect for this moment. Also streaming on HBO Max.
ON VIDEO
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Riders of Justice: Thriller, comedy and much, much more. It’s the year’s best movie so far. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube. #1 on my Best Movies of 2021 – So Far
- Dirt Music: a gorgeous bodice-ripper with a WTF ending. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- No Sudden Move: Steven Soderbergh’s neo-noir thriller has even more double-crosses than movie stars – and it has plenty of movie stars. HBO Max.
- Neutral Ground: the supremacist legacy of old statues. PBS.
- Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation: Two gay Southern geniuses, revealing themselves. Laemmle.
- The Dry: a mystery as psychological as it is procedural. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Brewmance: barley, hops, yeast and underdogs. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
- 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, YouTube and Google Play.
- Run Lola Run: you’ll never see a more kinetic movie. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
ON TV
Tune into Turner Classic Movies on August 10 for director Robert Altman’s underappreciated California Split. Elliott Gould plays a guy deep in the throes of gambling addiction, and George Segal plays another guy well on his way. The two join up and play the LA-area card clubs before heading to Reno for a poker game that may be too big for them. Gould is at his manic, wise cracking best, and plays off the more reserved Segal in a very funny adventure. Of course, their decision-making is influenced by their addiction.
Actor Joseph Walsh wrote the screenplay about his own gambling addiction and plays the bookie you don’t want to owe money to. Real card club and casino patrons play the poker players, so the verisimilitude of the poker games is unmatched. The real Amarillo Slim elevates the big game.
California Split was the first non-Cinerama movie to use eight tracks for sound, which was perfect for Altman’s style of overlapping dialogue and tidbits of side and background conversations.
The poker is both authentic and entertaining. The two guys “read a table”, analyzing the other players in one particularly funny moment.
Reliable character actor Bert Remsen has a memorable bit in drag. Mickey Fox is memorable as a suspicious poker loser. Look for a young Jeff Goldblum, too.
