Art and Craft

Movies to See Right Now

by
John Krasinski (right) in A QUIET PLACE

A new cohort of movies is out in theaters and on cable and streaming platforms.

ICYMI, here’s my tribute to the great director Miloš Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus).

OUT NOW

This week’s top picks:

  • The wonderfully dark, dark comedy The Death of Stalin.
  • A Quiet Place is as satisfyingly scary as any movie I’ve seen in a good long time. Very little gore and splatter, but plenty of thrills. I’m not a big fan of horror movies, but I enjoyed and admired this one.
  • Outside In: Now on Netflix (and in one Bay Area theater), this fine Lynn Shelton drama about a man returning to his community after 20 years in prison is an acting showcase for Kaitlin Dever (Justified), Jay Duplass (Transparent) and, especially, Edie Falco. Falco’s performance is stunning.
  • Thom Zimny’s excellent HBO documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher explores Elvis’ artistic journey.
  • I liked Al Pacino’s portrayal of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno as his storied career was killed by scandal in HBO’s Paterno.

 

ON VIDEO

My DVD/Stream of the Week is Art and Craft, a startling documentary about an art fraud. Of prolific scale. And which is apparently legal. By a diagnosed schizophrenic. Art and Craft is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube nd Google Play.

 

ON TV

Tomorrow night, Turner Classic Movies will air the enigmatic Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) by Australian filmmaker Peter Weir. An Australian girls school goes on an outing to a striking geological formation – and some of the girls and a teacher disappear. What happened to them? It’s beautiful and hypnotic and haunting. It’s a film masterpiece, but if you can’t handle ambiguous endings – this ain’t for you.

Weir has gone on to make high quality hits (The Year of Living Dangerously, Witness, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, Master and Commander), but Picnic at Hanging Rock – the movie that he made at age 31 – is his most original work. Besides playing periodically on TCM, Picnic at Hanging Rock is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon and Hulu Plus.

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

DVD/Stream of the Week: ART AND CRAFT – could a sane man devise a con this successful?

by
ART AND CRAFT
ART AND CRAFT

The startling documentary Art and Craft is about an art fraud. Of prolific scale. And which is apparently legal. By a diagnosed schizophrenic.

We start with a guy named Mark Landis. He is very good at photocopying (!) great art works, applying paint to make them seem like the real thing, putting them in distressed frames and donating them to museums in the name of his late (and imaginary!) sister. He has done this hundreds of times, fooling scores of snooty museum curators in the process.

Why does he do this? Why can’t he stop? What’s with the imaginary sister? Those answers probably lie within his schizophrenia, a disease which doesn’t impair his skill or his cunning. Landis himself, once you get over his initial creepiness and become comfortable in his Southern gentility and wry mischievousness, is one of 2014’s most compelling movie characters.

Why doesn’t his fraud constitute a criminal act? Because he doesn’t profit from selling his fakes, he just gives them away. And he doesn’t take the tax write-off.

How come he doesn’t get caught? These are PHOTOCOPIES for krissakes! Those answers are in the self-interest and professional greed of the museum professionals – embodied by one puddle of mediocrity who becomes Landis’ obsessive Javert.

All of these combine to make Art and Craft one of the year’s most engaging documentaries. I saw Art and Craft at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where it was an audience hit. Art and Craft is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Movies to See Right Now

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

Summer is winding down, and we’ll soon see some good September releases (I’ll soon be writing about Meet the Patels and 99 Homes).  The prestige releases will start rolling out in October, but in the meantime, I suggest that you make a special effort to see The End of the Tour, which may only be available in theaters for another week or so.  Here are all three of my suggestions.

  • The End of the Tour is the smartest road trip movie ever, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg. Be sure to see it. It’s the only movie on my list of Best Movies of 2015 – So Far that’s currently playing in theaters.
  • Joel Edgerton’s The Gift is a satisfying thriller – and much more.
  • In Mr. Holmes, Ian McKellen is superb as the aged Sherlock Holmes, re-opening his final case.

Woody Allen’s Irrational Man is not bad, but empty. Skip the failed comedy Mistress America, which IS bad.

No new DVD/Stream of the Week this week, but I recently featured:

  • Ex Machina, another of my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far. It’s available on DVD from both Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
  • The Oscar-winning The Secret in Their Eyes. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixster.
  • The startling documentary Art and Craft, available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Turner Classic Movies is playing the unforgettable The Man Who Would Be King (1975) on September 8. Sean Connery and Michael Caine star as two vagabond British soldiers adventuring in colonial India when one of them is mistaken for a god by the indigenous people. They play the misunderstanding into a kingdom – until hubris, greed and lust causes them to reach a little too high. It’s a great story, well told by director John Huston. Connery and Caine are wonderful.

Michael Caine and Sean Connery in THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING
Michael Caine and Sean Connery in THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

Movies to See Right Now

by
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

by
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

DVD/Stream of the Week: ART AND CRAFT – could a sane man devise a con this successful?

by
ART AND CRAFT
ART AND CRAFT

The startling documentary Art and Craft is about an art fraud. Of prolific scale. And which is apparently legal. By a diagnosed schizophrenic.

We start with a guy named Mark Landis. He is very good at photocopying (!) great art works, applying paint to make them seem like the real thing, putting them in distressed frames and donating them to museums in the name of his late (and imaginary!) sister. He has done this hundreds of times, fooling scores of snooty museum curators in the process.

Why does he do this? Why can’t he stop? What’s with the imaginary sister? Those answers probably lie within his schizophrenia, a disease which doesn’t impair his skill or his cunning. Landis himself, once you get over his initial creepiness and become comfortable in his Southern gentility and wry mischievousness, is one of 2014’s most compelling movie characters.

Why doesn’t his fraud constitute a criminal act? Because he doesn’t profit from selling his fakes, he just gives them away. And he doesn’t take the tax write-off.

How come he doesn’t get caught? These are PHOTOCOPIES for krissakes! Those answers are in the self-interest and professional greed of the museum professionals – embodied by one puddle of mediocrity who becomes Landis’ obsessive Javert.

All of these combine to make Art and Craft one of the year’s most engaging documentaries. I saw Art and Craft at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where it was an audience hit.  Art and Craft is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Movies to See Right Now

by
THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY
THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY

The successful period thriller The Two Faces of January sets a dark-hearted and shadowy story in sunny Greece. The Two Faces of January is in theaters and also available streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

Also in theaters:

  • The poignant and compelling documentary Last Days in Vietnam with its story of folly, desperation and heroism.
  • The startling documentary Art and Craft, about an art fraud of prolific scale by a diagnosed schizophrenic.
  • The exceptionally well-acted dramedy The Skeleton Twins contains several inspired moments.

I also recommend The One I Love – a relationship romance, a dark comedy and a modern-day episode of The Twilight Zone rolled into one successful movie.  It remains available streaming from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is the funniest movie of the year, the Canadian comedy The Grand Seduction. It’s a MUST SEE howler. The Grand Seduction is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.

There’s a varied set of classics on Turner Classic Movies this week.

  • On October 21, there’s the especially nasty noir Detour, in which poor Tom Neal is practically eaten alive by Ann Savage as perhaps the most venal and vicious of film noir’s femmes fatale.
  • On the 22nd there’s one of my favorite manly adventure sagas, The Vikings from 1958; a one-eyed Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis bare their chests over Janet Leigh and swill mead with full-bearded Ernest Borgnine – it’s rip-roaring and silly and just a whole lot of fun.
  • Then on October 23, TCM airs the chilly Nicole Kidman ghost story The Others from 2001.
Ann Savage and Tom Neal in DETOUR (Hint - she's trouble!)
Ann Savage and Tom Neal in DETOUR (Hint – she’s trouble!)

ART AND CRAFT: could a sane man devise a con this successful?

by
ART AND CRAFT
ART AND CRAFT

The startling documentary Art and Craft is about an art fraud.  Of prolific scale. And which is apparently legal. By a diagnosed schizophrenic.

We start with a guy named Mark Landis.  He is very good at photocopying (!) great art works, applying paint to make them seem like the real thing, putting them in distressed frames and donating them to museums in the name of his late (and imaginary!) sister.  He has done this hundreds of times, fooling scores of snooty museum curators in the process.

Why does he do this? Why can’t he stop? What’s with the imaginary sister?  Those answers probably lie within his schizophrenia, a disease which doesn’t impair his skill or his cunning.  Landis himself, once you get over his initial creepiness and become comfortable in his Southern gentility and wry mischievousness, is one of this year’s most compelling movie characters.

Why doesn’t his fraud constitute a criminal act?  Because he doesn’t profit from selling his fakes, he just gives them away.  And he doesn’t take the tax write-off.

How come he doesn’t get caught? These are PHOTOCOPIES for krissakes!  Those answers are in the self-interest and professional greed of the museum professionals – embodied by one puddle of mediocrity who becomes Landis’ obsessive Javert.

All of these combine to make Art and Craft one of the year’s most engaging documentaries. I saw Art and Craft at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where it was an audience hit.