This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of the simmering French drama Endless Summer Syndrome and a highlight of TCM’s broadcast of the rare German neo-noir romance Black Gravel.
Awards are starting to trickle in for movies and performances that I have that I have championed. Slamdance awarded it documentary storytelling award to Sweetheart Deal. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has recognized the film Anora, Anora‘s Yura Borisov and A Real Pain:‘s Kieran Culkin.
REMEMBRANCE
In his second act, Marshall Brickman co-wrote Woody Allen’s two masterpieces: Annie Hall and Manhattan. Brickman had success before (creating Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent and co-writing The Muppets) and after (creating the Broadway shows Jersey Boys and The Addams Family).
CURRENT MOVIES
- Anora: human spirit vs the oligarchs. In theaters.
- Conclave: explosive secrets? in the Vatican?. In theaters and now streaming.
- Blitz: one brave, resourceful kid amid the horrors. AppleTV.
- A Real Pain: whose pain is it? In theaters.
- The Substance: the thinking woman’s Faust, if you can take the body horror. MUBI (free), Amazon, AppleTV.
- Endless Summer Syndrome: there will be hell to pay. In arthouse theaters.
- The Outrun: facing herself without the bottle. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandngo.
- The Remarkable Life of Ibelin: totally unexpected. Netflix.
- The Settlers: reckoning with the ugly past. MUBI.
- Emilia Pérez: four women yearn amid Mexico’s drug violence. Netflix.
- Kneecap: sláinte! Amazon, AppleTV.
- Will & Harper: old friends adjust. Netflix.
WATCH AT HOME
From my Best Movies of 2024 – So Far:
- The Bikeriders: they ride, drink and fight, and yet we care. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- Hit Man: who knew self-invention could be so fun? Netflix.
- Challengers: three people and their desire. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- La Chimera: six genres for the price of one. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- In the Summers: they mature, he evolves. Amazon.
- Ghostlight: a family saves itself, in iambic pentameter. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango (included).
- The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed: is she going to be a loser? Amazon, AppleTV, Hulu.
- Sweetheart Deal: a triumph of cinéma vérité. In arthouse theaters.
- Love Lies Bleeding: obsessions and impulses collide. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- I Saw the TV Glow: brimming with originality. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
ON TV
TODAY, Turner Classic Movies airs the super hard-to-find German neo-noir romance Black Gravel. It’s not streaming, so this is your best chance.