This UPCOMING week on The Movie Gourmet, I’ll have my Best Movies of 2023, and new reviews of Poor Things, The Boys in the Boat and Ferrari. All three are good movies, and the extraordinarily original Poor Things is one of the year’s best.
Here’s my year-end feature coverage so far:
During the Holidays I pause my regular WATCH AT HOME feature The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE) and replace it with the movies from my Best of 2023 list that are already available to stream.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Anatomy of a Fall: family history, with life or death stakes. In theaters.
- Killers of the Flower Moon: an epic tale of epic betrayal. AppleTV (subscription), Amazon.
- The Holdovers: three souls must evolve beyond their losses. In theaters, Amazon.
- Dream Scenario: but it can’t be my fault, can it? In theaters.
- The Lady Bird Diaries: essential history. Hulu.
- Rustin: greatness, overlooked. Netflix.
- Fallen Leaves: two lonely people amid the driest of humor. In theaters.
- Maestro: not what she bargained for. Netflix.
- Napoleon: didn’t they name a complex after this guy? In theaters before it streams on Apple TV.
- The Pigeon Tunnel: a great storyteller’s story, told at last. AppleTV.
- Fremont: self-discovery and a fortune cookie. Amazon, Vudu.
- May December: a seat-squirmer of a psychodrama. Netflix.
- The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial: just what, not who, is on trial here? Showtime/Paramount+.
- The Crime Is Mine: better after Huppert shows up. In theaters.
- Flora and Son: a bad mom turns it around. AppleTV.
- The Disappearance of Shere Hite: revoking one’s own celebrity. In theaters.
- Cypher: the year’s most original movie? Hulu.
- Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy: a movie and its time. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu,YouTube.
- The Killer: interior monologue. Netflix.
- Our Father, The Devil: can revenge extinguish trauma? AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Reptile: a neo-noir showcase for Benicio del Toro. Netflix.
- The Stones and Brian Jones: casualty of rock. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Priscilla: icky, then unpleasant. In theaters.
WATCH AT HOME
From my Best Movies of 2023 – so far:
- OPPENHEIMER: creator of a monster controlled by others. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- PAST LIVES: a profound and refreshing romance. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- THE MAN WHO DID NOT WANT TO SEE TITANIC: wow – laughs, thrills, love. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- RETURN TO SEOUL: brilliantly crafted and emotionally gripping. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- BARBIE: a marriage of the intelligent and the silly. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- FREMONT: self-discovery and a fortune cookie. Amazon, Vudu.
- HANNAH HA HA: what makes for human value and fulfillment? Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
ON TV
On New Year’s Eve, Turner Classic Movies presents the movie that invented the mockumentary: This Is Spinal Tap, co-written by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and the director Rob Reiner. Guest, of course went on to direct the mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, Mascots and his masterpiece, Best in Show. This Is Spinal Tap follows a dim-witted rock band on the decline. Tony Hendra is brilliant as the band’s long-suffering road manager; he downplays their cancelled show in Boston with, “I wouldn’t worry about it though, it’s not a big college town.” Watch for Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal as mimes. It’s difficult to pin down the funniest moment – the Stonehenge-themed stage set, the band’s succession of ill-fated drummers or the guitar amp that goes to eleven.
