Last night I saw Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. It’s a masterpiece, so it will take me a few days to write about it. Suffice it to say that many in the audience applauded at the end, and I predict it will receive at least ten Oscar nominations.
Another summer blockbuster with a artistically proven director opens today – Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed.
I won’t be writing about the raunchy comedy Joy Ride, which I found very disappointing. I had high hopes because it was directed and co-written by a co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians, which I loved. Kind of an Asian-American Bridesmaids, Joy Ride has some smart cultural observations, but it’s just not funny enough. For example, if you think about the most alarming potential tattoo location on a woman’s body – that’s funny; but when the image is revealed in Joy Ride, it’s not as funny. Big miss.
REMEMBRANCE
Jane Birkin is remembered as a model, fashion icon, pop singer and a celebrity jet setter in the Mod 60s. She appeared in an extraordinarily good movie, Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-up, but in a cameo playing a Mod Era jet set model. She was the mother of a very gifted screen actress, Charlotte Gainsbourg.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Past Lives: a profound and refreshing romance. In theaters.
- Asteroid City: deadpan, witty, whimsical…and who cares? In theaters.
- Egghead and Twinkie: funny, sweet and genuine. On-screen and streaming at OutFest Los Angeles.
- Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed: leading man in the closet. HBO Max.
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: just a whole lotta fun. In theaters.
- No Hard Feelings: an amusement with Jennifer Lawrence. In theaters.
- The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic: wow – laughs, thrills, love. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Sam Now: a mystery solved…and more questions. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Tetris: corporate thriller amid communist collapse. AppleTV.
- Body Parts: on-screen sex from the female gaze. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Being Mary Tyler Moore: you might just make it after all. HBO.
- Turn Every Page: two masters, two obsessives. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- BlackBerry: woulda, coulda, shoulda. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Piggy: surprising and darkly hilarious. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Revenge: The web is spun. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Blue Ruin: fresh take on the revenge thriller. Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Listening to Kenny G.: derision, devotion and a hard-working guy. HBO.
- Riders of Justice: thriller, comedy and much, much more.
- The Bra: Just your average silent Azerbaijani comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Drinking Buddies: an unusually genuine romantic comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
ON TV
On July 23, Turner Classic Movies the beautiful and intense Deliverance from 1972. It’s one of my all-time favorites – still gripping today – with a famous scene that still shocks. That scene and the Banjo Boy immediately became indelible in the culture, but Deliverance is much more than a thriller with some unforgettable moments.
There has never been a more studly image in the history of cinema than Burt Reynolds, brandishing a bow-and-arrow and clad in a sleeveless neoprene vest. The performances of Jon Voigt, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox fill out other manifestations of masculinity.
Deliverance was beautifully and dramatically shot by the late great cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. John Boorman also directed Point Blank and Hope & Glory, but this was his masterpiece IMO.
