This week on The Movie Gourmet – reviews of two overlooked films now available to watch at home: the breathtakingly original psychological drama Discreet and the lyrical biodoc Without Getting Killed or Caught.
CURRENT MOVIES
- Thelma: too proud to be taken. In theaters.
- Perfect Days: intentional contentment. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, Hulu (included).
- Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
- I Saw the TV Glow: brimming with originality. Back in some theaters and Amazon, AppleTV; Fandango.
- Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- The Grab: important, engrossing and sobering. Amazon, AppleTV, 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, Netflix.
- How to Have Sex: searing and authentic. MUBI.
- Civil War: a most cautionary tale. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango, but still expensive.
WATCH AT HOME
The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:
- Black Bear: ever surprising. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- 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.
- 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 27, Turner Classic Movies airs a WOWZER – the 1960 Korean horror/noir The Housemaid. A couple hires a maid, who turns out to be the domestic from hell. Seduction, deception, threats follow…and who will poison whom? I screened this film for a recent Noir City, and although I can’t say that it’s one of my favorites, it does keeping stunning the audience with ever darker twists. Often considered one of the top Korean films of all time. TCM will present The Housemaid on Noir Alley with intro and outro by Eddie Muller.