Movie Recommendations, Rants and Ruminations
If you’re in the mood for a seasonal scare, I suggest you revisit last year’s Scare Week from The Movie Gourmet. I programmed six horror films from different decades and from different countries. Even folks who normally avoid the horror genre will find someone to enjoy here. I don’t like Gore Horror, so there’s relatively little blood and guts. All six movies are available on home video.
And for more current horror, check out 2015 at the Movies: low-budget, high quality horror.
The Movie Gourmet doesn’t watch many horror movies, but 2015 featured some that were unusually inventive, scary and non-gory. It’s great to see young filmmakers bringing some intelligence and surprise (not just shockers) to this genre.
The Movie Gourmet doesn’t watch many horror movies, but I really liked the inventive, scary and non-gory It Follows. 19-year-old Jay (Maika Monroe) has sex with a guy who then tells her that he has passed on to her a kind of supernatural infection – a monster will follow her and kill her if she doesn’t pass it on to someone else. The monster shambles along at zombie speed and takes the form of a different human being each time. It’s terrifying – there’s a constant sense of dread and a convulsive shock every time It appears.
Writer-director David Robert Mitchell has created a very scary horror film with an excellent soundtrack and a minimum of makeup, special effects and hardly any blood. It’s even more frightening that she’s being stalked by something that usually looks normal.
Before the screening, I had to sit through several trailers from the horror genre. There was NOTHING in those trailers that I hadn’t seen before in The Shining, The Exorcist or a multitude of less elevated films. I have to note the contrast with It Follows, which is definitely something that you haven’t seen before.
The very talented actress Maika Monroe is almost always on-screen and she proves that she can carry a movie. I first noticed her in At Any Price , where she played the son ‘s girlfriend. That role was especially well-written – beginning as a simple teen from a broken family looking for some fun, her journey takes several surprising turn – and Monroe’s performance was memorable. Until fairly recently, Monroe was pursuing a professional career in freestyle kite surfing.
All the acting is good in It Follows, but Keir Gilchrist is especially good at portraying the ACHING sexual frustration of a teenage boy.
It Follows has a wonderful sense of place. It is set and was shot in the Detroit suburbs, the rural lakefront and the decaying inner city. The extraordinary High Lift Building in Detroit’s Water Works Park serves as the exterior for the climactic set piece.
But the key to It Follows is its originality – without expensive f/x or disgusting gore – it’s likely the best horror movie of the year. 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.
Just for Halloween, The Movie Gourmet is presenting a special SCARE WEEK. It’s all horror, all of the time. But even folks who normally avoid the horror genre will find someone to enjoy here. I don’t like Gore Horror, so there’s relatively little blood and guts in this international program. Here’s the lineup.
Monday: Borgman (2014 – Netherlands). This is horror for adults, without the gore and with lots of wit. Borgman is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
Tuesday: The Conjuring (2013 – US). Based on true events, The Conjuring scares without ANY gore. There are a few scary images, but The Conjuring relies on good, old-fashioned surprises and our discomfort with the occult to supply the fright. Women, in particular, who avoid this genre will relate to the performances of Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor. The Conjuring is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixster.
Wednesday: Witching and Bitching (2014 – Spain). Witching and Bitching is a witty comment on misogyny inside a rockin’ horror spoof. Witching and Bitching is now streaming on Amazon Instant, iTunes and Xbox Video.
Thursday: Peeping Tom (1960 – UK). This is the best-ever psycho serial killer movie, better than its contemporary Psycho. It’s so scary and unsettling that it ruined the career of its storied director Michael Powell. It’s undoubtedly the best movie in The Movie Gourmet’s Scare Week program. You can also find it on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
Friday: It Follows (2015 – US). The key to It Follows is its originality – without expensive f/x or disgusting gore – it’s likely the best horror movie of this year. 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.
Also Friday: My Movies to See Right Now will include the ultra-campy The Tingler with Vincent Price.
Saturday: Freaks (1932 – UK) with real circus freaks. If you have teenagers jaded by today’s empty horror flicks, this will knock them for a loop. Only 64 minutes. Freaks is often televised around Halloween. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixster.
So enjoy – and don’t go alone into the darkened basement to investigate that strange sound!
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:
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.
The Movie Gourmet doesn’t watch many horror movies, but I really liked the inventive, scary and non-gory It Follows. 19-year-old Jay (Maika Monroe) has sex with a guy who then tells her that he has passed on to her a kind of supernatural infection – a monster will follow her and kill her if she doesn’t pass it on to someone else. The monster shambles along at zombie speed and takes the form of a different human being each time. It’s terrifying – there’s a constant sense of dread and a convulsive shock every time It appears.
Writer-director David Robert Mitchell has created a very scary horror film with an excellent soundtrack and a minimum of makeup, special effects and hardly any blood. It’s even more frightening that she’s being stalked by something that usually looks normal.
Before the screening, I had to sit through several trailers from the horror genre. There was NOTHING in those trailers that I hadn’t seen before in The Shining, The Exorcist or a multitude of less elevated films. I have to note the contrast with It Follows, which is definitely something that you haven’t seen before.
The very talented actress Maika Monroe is almost always on-screen and she proves that she can carry a movie. I first noticed her in At Any Price , where she played the son ‘s girlfriend. That role was especially well-written – beginning as a simple teen from a broken family looking for some fun, her journey takes several surprising turn – and Monroe’s performance was memorable. Until fairly recently, Monroe was pursuing a professional career in freestyle kite surfing.
All the acting is good in It Follows, but Keir Gilchrist is especially good at portraying the ACHING sexual frustration of a teenage boy.
It Follows has a wonderful sense of place. It is set and was shot in the Detroit suburbs, the rural lakefront and the decaying inner city. The extraordinary High Lift Building in Detroit’s Water Works Park serves as the exterior for the climactic set piece.
But the key to It Follows is its originality – without expensive f/x or disgusting gore – it’s likely the best horror movie of the year. 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.
The two exceptionally good films in theaters are:
Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows. Don’t bother with Slow West, a failed Western that never gets into rhythm.
I really enjoyed the Argentine comedy The Film Critic, which is now available for streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
I really enjoyed the dark comedy Gemma Bovery, in which Fabrice Luchini – a treasure of comic cinema – sees a famous novel being acted out in real lie and jumps right in himself.
My Stream of the Week is the So Bad It’s Funny An American Hippie in Israel, available streaming from Amazon and Xbox Video.
Don’t forget that Turner Classic Movies is filling each Friday in June and July with film noir in its Summer of Darkness series, hosted by Film Noir Foundation president Eddie Muller – the Czar of Noir. The series schedule includes several favorites of my Overlooked Noir.
Turner Classic Movies is playing the unforgettable The Man Who Would Be King (1975) on June 6. 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.
On June 9, TCM is playing some of the greats of early 1970s American cinema: Annie Hall, Shaft, Dog Day Afternoon and Mean Streets. Put on your flairs and tune in.
The two exceptionally good films in theaters are:
Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows. Don’t bother with Slow West, a failed Western that never gets into rhythm.
I really enjoyed the Argentine comedy The Film Critic, which is now available for streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is the the Civil Rights docudrama Selma – an incredibly stirring movie with one significant historical flaw. Selma is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox; you can stream it from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Flixster.
On June 2, Turner Classic Movies airs Key Largo (1948), one of the classic film noirs and still satisfying to this day. Both trapped in a claustrophobic Florida island resort by a hurricane, Humphrey Bogart has to face down sadistic mobster Edward G. Robinson. 23-year-old Lauren Bacall was at her most appealing. Claire Trevor’s heartbreaking performance as a gangster’s moll aging out of her looks is one of her best.
TCM brings another noir on June 3 – The Killers (1946). Burt Lancaster stars in a story adapted (and greatly expanded) from the Hemingway short story. It’s only the only the third leading role for the 24-year-old Ava Gardner. Wonderfully deep noir cast: Edmond O’Brien, Charles McGraw, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, William Conrad. Selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Finally, on June 5, TCM is showing the superb proto-noir M (1931), Peter Lorre stars as a serial killer who preys on children. It’s a masterpiece by master director Fritz Lang (Metropolis), who later fled the Nazis to Hollywood and made several fine film noirs in the 50s. Lorre is compelling as a man plagued with a twisted compulsion. There’s no explicit violence, but you’ve never seen a more chilling solitary balloon. The city’s criminal underclass races with the police to hunt down the monster. The climax is a most unusual courtroom scene. If you’re going to see one pre-war European film – see this one.
The one MUST SEE in theaters is the intensely thoughtful Ex Machina. I really like the thoughtful and authentic dramedy I’ll See You in My Dreams, and it opens more widely next week. Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows. Don’t bother with Slow West, a failed Western that never gets into rhythm.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is the role of character actor Richard Jenkins’ career – The Visitor. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play ad Xbox Video.
Turner Classic Movies always programs a war movie marathon on Memorial Day weekend. I recommend two of the very best Korean War movies – both airing on May 24:
The Steel Helmet (1951) is a gritty classic by the great writer-director Sam Fuller, a WWII combat vet who brooked no sentimentality about war. Gene Evans, a favorite of the two Sams (Fuller and Peckinpah), is especially good as the sergeant. American war movies of the period tended toward to idealize the war effort, but Fuller relished making war movies with no “recruitment flavor”. Although the Korean War had only been going on for a few months when Fuller wrote the screenplay, he was able to capture the feelings of futility that later pervaded American attitudes about the Korean War.
Men in War (1957): An infantry lieutenant (Robert Ryan) must lead his platoon out of a desperate situation and encounters a cynical and insubordinate sergeant (Aldo Ray) loyally driving a jeep with his PTSD-addled colonel (Robert Keith). In conflict with each other, they must navigate through enemy units to safety. Director Anthony Mann is known for exploring the psychology of edgy characters, and that’s the case with Men in War.
The one MUST SEE in theaters is the intensely thoughtful Ex Machina. Far from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper. If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows.
Documentarian Alex Gibney now has TWO excellent films playing on HBO:
Don’t bother with Clouds of Sils Maria – it’s a muddled mess. Insurgent, from the Divergent franchise is what it is – young adult sci-fi with some cool f/x. The romance 5 to 7 did NOT work for me, but I know smart women who enjoyed it.
My DVD/Stream of the Week is The Imitation Game – an Oscar-nominated historical film about the corrosiveness of secrets. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video.
Turner Classic Movies has programmed Cabaret, with Liza Minelli and a stunningly original performance by Joel Grey, on May 17. On May 19, TCM airs Days of Wine and Roses, Blake Edwards’ unflinching exploration of alcoholism, featuring great performances by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (both nominated for Oscars) and Charles Bickford.
