I am between film festivals, and here I sit in the winter of my discontent. I still haven’t found a way to see Women Talking, Turn Every Page or No Bears, the last three 2022 films that I am eager to see. And I am waiting to see Return to Seoul and Full Time, the first really promising 2023 films. Sigh.
Anyway, I’ve got two very cool TCM recommendations below. And check out my Best Movies of 2022 as we await the Oscars.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Broker: in the margins, finding a profound humanity. In theaters.
- Living: what is it to live? In theaters.
- Empire of Light: a woman, revealed. In theaters, but increasingly hard to find.
- The Whale: regret to redemption. In theaters.
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed: justice by erasure. In theaters.
- Madoff: Monster of Wall Street: adding some jawdroppers to a familiar story. Netflix.
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery: skewer the rich. Netflix.
- Babylon: “wanton excess” is inadequate to describe this movie. In theaters.
- The Eternal Daughter: consumed by mom. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Kimi: an adequate REAR WINDOWS ends as a thrilling WAIT UNTIL DARK. HBO Max.
- Aftersun: who’s coming of age is this? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- The Fabelmans: a mom, a dad and their genius kid. In theaters and on Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox..
- Decision to Leave: he’s obsessed, and she asks, “Am I so wicked?”. Amazon, AppleTV, Mubi.
- Causeway: affecting and uplifting. AppleTV.
- The Menu: immune from pretension. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox and included with HBO Max.
- All Quiet on the Western Front: the trauma of war. Netflix.
- Armageddon Time: coming of age – right into a moral choice. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- The Banshees of Inisherin: no limits on stubbornness. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox and included with HBO Max.
- Tar: a haughty spirit before a fall. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Triangle of Sadness: more subtlety, please. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE.
- Truman: how to say goodbye. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Mustang: repression challenged by the human spirit. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Love & Mercy: a tale of three monsters and salvation. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Searching: A ticking clock thriller that captures the Silicon Valley vibe. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Venus: Meeting your kid for the first time while transitioning. Amazon, AppleTV.
- The Sapphires: Here’s a crowd pleaser: Motown meets Aborigines. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu.
- Wind River: “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.” Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Radio Dreams: stranger in a strange and funny land. Amazon, AppleTV.
- Little Dieter Needs to Fly: an unimaginable escape and a quirky guy Project Nim: .Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- We Believe in Science: denying science on a monumental scale. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
On March 21, Turner Classic Movies will present the 1934 screwball comedy Twentieth Century, which holds up as well today as it did 89 years ago. A flamboyantly narcissistic Broadway producer (John Barrymore) has fallen on hard times and hops a transcontinental train to persuade his former star (Carole Lombard), now an A-list movie star, to headline his new venture. Barrymore’s shameless self-entitlement and hyper dramatic neediness makes for one of the funniest performances in the movies.
And, on March 23, TCM airs a milestone in LGBTQ cinema, the 1976 madcap comedy The Ritz. A straight and very square suburban businessman (Jack Weston) is fleeing from his homicidal mobster brother-in-law (Jerry Stiller) and hides out in the very last place one would look for him – a gay bathhouse in Manhattan. The Ritz is a fish-out-of-water farce with lots of comic mistaken identities. Today, it’s plenty dated, and a handsome but squeaky-voiced detective (Treat Williams) falls especially flat. But it’s one of the first movies with a decidedly queer setting, and F. Murray Abraham plays one of the first entirely sympathetic and relatable gay movie characters. Rita Moreno is all in as Googie Gomez, the house entertainer. Watch for John Ratzenburger (Cliff the mailman in Cheers and the voice of many Pixar movies) as a bathhouse patron.
