You know it’s a good week when you can see Ghostlight, The Bikeriders and Thelma in theaters, and you can stream Challengers, La Chimera and Hit Man at home. This week on The Movie Gourmet – new reviews of Jeff Nichol’s superbly character driven The Bikeriders and the unabashedly surreal comedy Mother Couch, and the disgustingly self-indulgent Kinds of Kindness.
REMEMBRANCE
Robert Towne is best known, justifiably, for his Oscar-winning screenplay for Chinatown, one of my Greatest Movies of All Time; but director Roman Polanski perfected the script by changing the ending over Towne’s objections. However, Chinatown was only one of a string of brilliant screenplays penned by Towne between 1973 and 1982 – The Last Detail, The Yakuza, Shampoo and Personal Best. Starting in 1967, Towne was also the uncredited script doctor who polished Bonnie and Clyde, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Godfather and Heaven Can Wait.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. In theaters.
- The Bikeriders: they ride, drink and fight, and yet we care. In theaters.
- Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
- Thelma: too proud to be taken. In theaters.
- Mother Couch: obstreperous mom, surreal situation. In theaters, primarily arthouses.
- Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
- La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- The Grab: important, engrossing and sobering. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Run Lola Run: still sprinting after 25 years. In theaters and Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.
- Relative: a loving, but insistent investigation. Amazon (included with prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube.
- Wicked Little Letters: a sparkling Jessie Buckley and an interesting take on repression. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- How to Have Sex: searing and authentic. MUBI.
- Civil War: a most cautionary tale. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
- The Dead Don’t Hurt: such a bad movie. In theaters.
- Kinds of Kindness: disgustingly indulgent. In theaters, primarily arthouses.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Headhunters: from smoothly confident scoundrel to human piñata. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
- Very Semi-Serious: glorious The New Yorker cartoons. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- John Adams: the most overlooked giant of our Founding Fathers. MAX included), Amazon, AppleTV.
- Black Bear: ever surprising. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Ruby Sparks: be careful what you ask for. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary: ordinary humans enabling monstrous acts. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Much Ado About Nothing (2013): it’s not homework, it’s a screwball comedy. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Midnight Family: an all-night race for pesos. YouTube.
- I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore: a schlub goes postal. Netflix.
ON TV
On July 8, Turner Classic Movies will play the less well-known 1940 version of Gaslight. In GASLIGHT, GASLIGHT and gaslighting in domestic violence, I wrote about this film, the more familiar 1944 version and gaslighting itself. This original 1940 version is also especially well-acted. Anton Walbrook is suave and evil as the hubbie and Dyana Wyngard is unforgettably haunting as the wife. Only 19 minutes in, we see his duplicity, manipulation and control. Frank Pettingell is very good as the detective, and the cast includes Robert Newton (Long John Silver in the 1950 Treasure Island). Cathleen Cordell plays the oversexed maid Nancy in a less nuanced performance than Angela Lansbury’s in 1944. This 1940 film version is reportedly the most faithful to the stage play source material.