Amy

AMY: emotionally affecting and thought-provoking

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AMY
Photo caption: Amy Winehouse in AMY. Courtesy of A24.

An Amy Winehouse movie (Back to Black) is coming out this weekend, but I’m not aware of any reason to go see it, when you can watch a great Amy Winehouse movie, an Oscar winner, at home. Amy, documentarian Asif Kapadia’s innovative biopic of the singer-songwriter, is heart-felt, engaging and features lots of the real Amy Winehouse.

In a brilliant directorial choice, Amy opens with a call phone video of a birthday party.  It’s a typically rowdy bunch of 14 year-old girls, and, when they sing “Happy Birthday”, the song is taken over and finished spectacularly by one of the girls, who turns out to be the young Amy Winehouse.   It shows us a regular girl in a moment of unaffected joy and friendship, but a girl with monstrous talent.

In fact ALL we see in Amy is footage of Amy.  Her family and friends were devoted to home movies and cell phone video, resulting in a massive trove of candid video of Amy Winehouse and an especially rich palette for Kapadia.

We have a ringside seat for Amy’s artistic rise and her demise, fueled by bulimia and substance addiction.  In a tragically startling sequence, her eyes signal the moment when her abuse of alcohol and pot gave way to crack and heroin.

We also see when she becomes the object of tabloid obsession. It’s hard enough for an addict to get clean, but it’s nigh impossible while being when harassed by the merciless paparazzi.

Amy makes us think about using a celebrity’s disease as a source of amusement – mocking the behaviorally unhealthy for our sport.  Some people act like jerks because they are jerks – others because they are sick.   Winehouse was cruelly painted as a brat, but she was really suffering through a spiral of despair.

The Amy Winehouse story is a tragic one, but Amy is very watchable because Amy herself was very funny and sharply witty.  As maddening as it was for those who shared her journey, it was also fun, from all reports.  Everyone who watches Amy will like Amy, making her fate all the more tragic.

Amy, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature can be streamed from Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube and is included in Max and Hulu subscriptions.

DVD/Stream of the Week: recent Oscar winners for Best Documentary

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AMY

This being the week that the Oscar nominations are released, here’s your chance to see three recent Oscar winning movies. Each was recognized as the year’s best documentary, and each is completely engrossing.

Amy is the heart-felt, engaging and innovative bio-pic of singer Amy Winehouse. DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play

Searching for Sugar Man is about a modest guy who didn’t know that he was a rock star. For real. Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Undefeated is the story of a high school football coaching trying imbue some hope into kids living in crushing poverty. On DVD and streaming from Netflix; also streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

Movies to See Right Now

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Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in CREED
Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in CREED

The Big Prestige Movies are starting to roll out, including several big openings this weekend.  Of the ones I’ve seen, I’m highest on Brooklyn, Spotlight and Creed – the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise. I’ll write about Creed this weekend, but don’t wait for my post.  Here are my other top picks:

  • The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
  • Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances;
  • The Martian – an entertaining Must See space adventure – even for folks who usually don’t enjoy science fiction;
  • Bridge of Spies – Steven Spielberg’s Cold War espionage thriller with Tom Hanks, featuring a fantastic performance by Mark Rylance.
  • Trumbo – the historical drama that reflects on the personal cost of princliples.
  • Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

My DVD/Stream of the week is Amy, documentarian Asif Kapadia’s innovative biopic of singer-songwriter is one of the most heart-felt and engaging movies of the year. It’s available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Saoirse Ronan in BROOKLYN
Saoirse Ronan in BROOKLYN

DVD/Stream of the Week: AMY – emotionally affecting and thought-provoking

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AMY
AMY

Amy, documentarian Asif Kapadia’s innovative biopic of singer-songwriter is one of the most heart-felt and engaging movies of the year.

In a brilliant directorial choice, Amy opens with a call phone video of a birthday party. It’s a typically rowdy bunch of 14 year-old girls, and, when they sing “Happy Birthday”, the song is taken over and finished spectacularly by one of the girls, who turns out to be the young Amy Winehouse. It shows us a regular girl in a moment of unaffected joy and friendship, but a girl with monstrous talent.

In fact ALL we see in Amy is footage of Amy. Her family and friends were devoted to home movies and cell phone video, resulting in a massive trove of candid video of Amy Winehouse and an especially rich palette for Kapadia.

We have a ringside seat for Amy’s artistic rise and her demise, fueled by bulimia and substance addiction. In a tragically startling sequence, her eyes signal the moment when her abuse of alcohol and pot gave way to crack and heroin.

We also see when she becomes the object of tabloid obsession. It’s hard enough for an addict to get clean, but it’s nigh impossible while being when harassed by the merciless paparazzi.

Amy makes us think about using a celebrity’s disease as a source of amusement – mocking the behaviorally unhealthy for our sport. Some people act like jerks because they are jerks – others because they are sick. Winehouse was cruelly painted as a brat, but she was really suffering through a spiral of despair.

The Amy Winehouse story is a tragic one, but Amy is very watchable because Amy herself was very funny and sharply witty. As maddening as it was for those who shared her journey, it was also fun, from all reports. Everyone who watches Amy will like Amy, making her fate all the more tragic.  It’s available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

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Warren Oates in BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA
Warren Oates in BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA

Yesterday I wrote about the actor Warren Oates and the biodoc Warren Oates Across the Border. On Monday, August 24, Turner Classic Movies will show seven, count ’em, SEVEN Warren Oates films: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, The Wild Ones, Chandler, Badlands, There Was a Crooked Man, The Thief Who Came to Dinner and The Split.  Of these, the best two movies are Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (Oates plays one of the treacherous but moronic Gorch brothers)and in Terence Malick’s Badlands (Oates plays Sissy Spacek’s father, blown away by teen punk Martin Sheen).  But the iconic Warren Oates lead performance is in the Peckinpah neo-noir Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.  (TCM will not be screening Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter, Barquero or Peter Fonda’s The Hired Hand – more about the first two on Tuesday).  Set your DVR for Warren Oates.

In the movie theaters, we are in the dreaded Mid August Doldrums, but there are some good choices:

  • The End of the Tour is the smartest road trip movie ever, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg. It opens today more widely, so be sure to see it.
  • Joel Edgerton’s The Gift is a satisfying thriller – and much more.
  • I really liked Amy, the emotionally affecting and thought-provoking documentary on Amy Winehouse.
  • Listen to Me Marlon is the excellent documentary with Marlon Brando’s own words revealing the keys to his life.
  • In Mr. Holmes, Ian McKellen is superb as the aged Sherlock Holmes, re-opening his final case.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is the inventive, scary and non-gory It Follows – a rare horror movie choice from The Movie Gourmet. It Follows is available on DVD from both Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Movies to See Right Now

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Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel in THE END OF THE TOUR
Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel in THE END OF THE TOUR

The End of the Tour is the smartest road trip movie ever, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg. It opens today more widely, so be sure to see it.  Other top recommendations:

  • The chilling and powerful documentary The Look of Silence is not for everyone, but it’s on my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far. It’s unsettling, but it’s an unforgettable movie experience.
  • Joel Edgerton’s The Gift is a satisfying thriller – and much more.
  • I really liked Amy, the emotionally affecting and thought-provoking documentary on Amy Winehouse.
  • Listen to Me Marlon is the excellent documentary with Marlon Brando’s own words revealing the keys to his life.
  • In Mr. Holmes, Ian McKellen is superb as the aged Sherlock Holmes, re-opening his final case.

Alicia Viksander inEX MACHINA
Alicia Viksander inEX MACHINA

My DVD/Stream of the Week is one of my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far, the intensely thoughtful Ex Machina. It’s available on DVD from both Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

On August 16, Turner Classic Movies will present the 1957 Elia Kazan classic A Face in the Crowd,a cynical political thriller.  In his first feature film, Andy Griffith shed the likeability and decency that made him a TV megastar and became a searingly unforgettable villain.

Andy Griffith is the dangerous Lonesome Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd
Andy Griffith is the charming, phony and venal Lonesome Rhodes in A FACE IN THE CROWD

Movies to See Right Now

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THE LOOK OF SILENCE
THE LOOK OF SILENCE

The chilling and powerful documentary The Look of Silence is not for everyone, but it’s on my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far . It’s unsettling, but it’s an unforgettable movie experience.

The End of the Tour is the smartest road trip movie ever, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg. It opens today, but it may be hard to find until next weekend. I really liked Amy, the emotionally affecting and thought-provoking documentary on Amy Winehouse. In Mr. Holmes, Ian McKellen is superb as the aged Sherlock Holmes, re-opening his final case.

Opening today is the  excellent documentary Listen to Me Marlon, with Marlon Brando’s own words revealing the keys to his life.

The coming of age comedy Dope is a nice little movie that trashes stereotypes. This summer’s animated Pixar blockbuster Inside Out is very smart, but a little preachy, often very sad and underwhelming. The Melissa McCarthy spy spoof Spy is a very funny diversion.

On August 12, Turner Classic Movies is presenting The Yazuka, with a tired and world weary Robert Mitchum taking on the Japanese crime syndicate in the 1960s.

My DVD/Stream of the Weeks is the Oscar-winning Argentine mystery thriller The Secret in Their Eyes. Make sure that you see it before the Hollywood remake comes out. The Secret in Their Eyes is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixster.

Ricardo Darin in THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES
Ricardo Darin in THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES

Movies to See Right Now

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Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel in THE END OF THE TOUR
Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel in THE END OF THE TOUR

The End of the Tour is the smartest road trip movie ever, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg. It opens today, but it may be hard to find for two more weeks.

Also out today, the chilling and powerful documentary The Look of Silence is not for everyone, but it’s on my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far . It’s unsettling, but it’s an unforgettable movie experience.

I really liked Amy, the emotionally affecting and thought-provoking documentary on Amy Winehouse. In Mr. Holmes, Ian McKellen is superb as the aged Sherlock Holmes, re-opening his final case.

The coming of age comedy Dope is a nice little movie that trashes stereotypes. This summer’s animated Pixar blockbuster Inside Out is very smart, but a little preachy, often very sad and underwhelming. The Melissa McCarthy spy spoof Spy is a very funny diversion.

In case you missed it, I recently wrote about the BBC’s list of 100 greatest American films and why I cancelled my Netflix DVD service.

Could a sane man devise a con this successful? That’s the question posed by my DVD/Stream of the Week, the documentary Art and Craft. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Tonight is the final evening of Turner Classic Movies wonderful Summer of Darkness series of film noir. I particularly like Beyond a Reasonable Doubt and While the City Sleeps, one of my Overlooked Noir. In Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, an anti-death penalty campaigner gets himself framed for a capital crime, but does too good a job – and then there’s a shocker of an ending. In While the City Sleeps, the noir cynicism is so deep that the GOOD GUY uses his girlfriend as bait for a serial killer.

Next, week on August 4, TCM plays the The Best Years of Our Lives, an exceptionally well-crafted, contemporary look at American society’s post WW II adaption to the challenges of peacetime. Justifiably won seven Oscars. Still a great and moving film.

Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine in BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT
Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine in BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

Movies to See Right Now

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Amy Winehouse in AMY
Amy Winehouse in AMY

Here’s one more plaintive final plea: Do yourself a very, very, very big favor and see the coming of age masterpiece Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.

I really liked Amy, the emotionally affecting and thought provoking documentary on Amy Winehouse. In Mr. Holmes, Ian McKellen is superb as the aged Sherlock Holmes, re-opening his final case.

Besides Me and Earl, two more of my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far are still playing in theaters: Love & Mercy, the emotionally powerful biopic of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and the thoughtful and authentic dramedy I’ll See You in My Dreams.

In case you missed it, I recently wrote about the BBC’s list of 100 greatest American films and why I cancelled my Netflix DVD service.

The coming of age comedy Dope is a nice little movie that trashes stereotypes. This summer’s animated Pixar blockbuster Inside Out is very smart, but a little preachy, often very sad and underwhelming. The Melissa McCarthy spy spoof Spy is a very funny diversion. Mad Max: Fury Road is a rock ’em sock ’em action tour de force but ultimately empty-headed and empty-hearted.

My DVD of the Week The compelling and affecting true-life drama Omagh, available on DVD from Netflix.

We’re in the final eight days of Turner Classic Movies’ wonderful Summer of Darkness series of film noir. Tonight, of course, TCM plays the groundbreaking French Elevator to the Gallows.

Set your DVR for next Friday’s (July 31) featured noir on TCM.  I particularly like Beyond a Reasonable Doubt and While the City Sleeps, one of my Overlooked Noir. In Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, an anti-death penalty campaigner gets himself framed for a capital crime, but does too good a job – and then there’s a shocker of an ending. In While the City Sleeps, the noir cynicism is so deep that the GOOD GUY uses his girlfriend as bait for a serial killer.

Ian McKellen as MR. HOLMES
Ian McKellen as MR. HOLMES

AMY: emotionally affecting and thought-provoking

by

AMY
AMY

Amy, documentarian Asif Kapadia’s innovative biopic of singer-songwriter is one of the most heart-felt and engaging movies of the year.

In a brilliant directorial choice, Amy opens with a call phone video of a birthday party.  It’s a typically rowdy bunch of 14 year-old girls, and, when they sing “Happy Birthday”, the song is taken over and finished spectacularly by one of the girls, who turns out to be the young Amy Winehouse.   It shows us a regular girl in a moment of unaffected joy and friendship, but a girl with monstrous talent.

In fact ALL we see in Amy is footage of Amy.  Her family and friends were devoted to home movies and cell phone video, resulting in a massive trove of candid video of Amy Winehouse and an especially rich palette for Kapadia.

We have a ringside seat for Amy’s artistic rise and her demise, fueled by bulimia and substance addiction.  In a tragically startling sequence, her eyes signal the moment when her abuse of alcohol and pot gave way to crack and heroin.

We also see when she becomes the object of tabloid obsession. It’s hard enough for an addict to get clean, but it’s nigh impossible while being when harassed by the merciless paparazzi.

Amy makes us think about using a celebrity’s disease as a source of amusement – mocking the behaviorally unhealthy for our sport.  Some people act like jerks because they are jerks – others because they are sick.   Winehouse was cruelly painted as a brat, but she was really suffering through a spiral of despair.

The Amy Winehouse story is a tragic one, but Amy is very watchable because Amy herself was very funny and sharply witty.  As maddening as it was for those who shared her journey, it was also fun, from all reports.  Everyone who watches Amy will like Amy, making her fate all the more tragic.