This week, there are a few good choices in theaters, and it may be your last chance to catch The Lost Leonardo until it streams. Plus more watch-at-home choices. Stay tuned for my preview coverage of the Nashville Film Festival – both in-person and virtual cinema.
IN THEATERS
The Eyes of Tammy Faye: Jessica Chastain’s powerhouse performance in humanizes and brings dignity to the disgraced, over-made-up televangelist.
Also in theaters:
- The Card Counter: a loner, his code and his past.
- Best Sellers: orneriness goes viral.
- Respect: struggling to take command of her own artistry
- The Lost Leonardo: is it a hustle? Does it matter? SEE THIS NOW – probably not long for theaters.
ON VIDEO
Kansas City Bomber: self-discovery at the roller derby track. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube.
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael: the remarkably thorough and insightful biodoc of the iconic film critic Pauline Kael and her drive for relevance. On TCM on September 26, and rentable from Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu and YouTube.
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- The Unknown Saint: a shrine to really bad luck. Netflix.
- CODA: a thought-provoking audience-pleaser. AppleTV.
- Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed: Improbability squared. Netflix.
- Searching for Mr. Rugoff: the best movie taste of any barbarian. Roxie.
- Curiosa: erotic, but do we care? Laemmle.
- 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.
- The Neutral Ground: the supremacist legacy of old statues. PBS.
- Mama Weed: it’s always fun when Huppert gets outrageous. Laemmle.
- Summertime: no longer invisible and unheard, giving voice through verse. Roxie and Laemmle.
- Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation: Two gay Southern geniuses, revealing themselves. Roxie and Laemmle.
- The Dry: a mystery as psychological as it is procedural. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
88 years ago, only four years into the Talking Picture Era, there were dramedies (even though the word dramedy had yet to be coined). On September 26, Turner Classic Movies airs George Cukor’s Dinner at Eight, an all-star 1933 Hollywood dramedy that mostly still stands up today. Jean Harlow is hilarious as the trophy bride of the course noveau-millionaire played by Wallace Beery. Marie Dressler is at least as funny as a former star yearning to relive an old romance. John Barrymore adds a heartbreaking performance as a man facing disgrace. If all this weren’t enough, we also get Lionel Barrymore, some ditziness from Billie Burke and a splash of sarcasm from quick-patter artist Lee Tracy. Harlow, who died at 26, is usually remembered as a platinum blonde sex symbol, but Dinner at Eight reminds us of her comic brilliance.