This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of The Critic and a capsule recommendation (below) of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, along with two recommendations to DVR on TCM. Next week: A Complete Unknown, the ballyhooed Bob Dylan biopic.
And my year-end coverage is about to begin: Farewells, Best (and Worst) Movie-going Experiences and, of course, The Best Films of 2024. Watch this space.
CURRENT MOVIES
I’m not writing a separate post about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice because it’s neither an overlooked movie or an important one. But The Wife and I finally got around to streaming it for free from Max, and, boy, is it entertaining. We were reminded that so much of Beetlejuice’s gleeful misbehavior is Michael Keaton’s brilliant invention. Jenna Ortega adds a refreshing note. There’s an homage to the original movie’s hilarious use of Banana Boat (Day-O) and the comic possibilities of MacArthur Park are fully realized. There’s even some smart mockery of our self-help heavy culture Beetlejuice Beetlejuice can be streamed from Max (included), Amazon and AppleTV.
- Anora: human spirit vs the oligarchs. In theaters.
- Conclave: explosive secrets? in the Vatican?. In theaters.
- Blitz: one brave, resourceful kid amid the horrors. AppleTV.
- A Real Pain: whose pain is it? In theaters.
- The Outrun: facing herself without the bottle. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandngo.
- The Critic: who’s on top now? 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.
- Chasing Chasing Amy: the origins of love, fictional and otherwise. In theaters.
- 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
On December 27, Turner Classis Movies airs Three Strangers, with Geraldine Fitzgerald’s indelible performance, which I wrote about last week. If you missed it, you can stream it from Amazon or AppleTV.
On December 28, TCM will present The Last Detail, featuring one of 30-something Jack Nicholson’s iconic embodiments of alienation and rebelliousness (Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, The Passenger, Onne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest).
Two non-commissioned Navy lifers (Nicholson and Otis Young) are ordered to escort a court-martialed 18-year-old seaman (Randy Quaid) from Norfolk to a naval prison in Maine. The kid is very dumb, very inexperienced and very, very, very unlucky. He faces a long, disproportional for a petty theft; he didn’t know he was stealing from the base commander’s wife’s pet charity. Because he hasn’t had many adult experiences, the older guys decide to show him a good, completely unauthorized, time on the trip.
Carol Kane and Michael Moriarty add superb supporting performances.
Co-written by Robert Towne (Chinatown) and directed by Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude, Being There), this is a prime example of New Hollywood cinema.
