Searching

Movies to Watch Right Now (at home)

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Lucas Jaye and Brian Dennehy in DRIVEWAYS

I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than the charming, character-driven Driveways . The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it – it’s one of the Best Movies of 2020 – So Far. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy.

Moment after moment of authenticity keeps Driveways from being corny. There’s not a hint of manipulation from director Andrew Ahn. That’s why Driveways is that rarity, a recommendation from The Movie Gourmet that can be described as”heartfelt”. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

ON VIDEO

TOUCHING the VOID

The gripping documentary Touching the Void the worst quandary a mountain climber can face – what happens if you must cut your partner’s line to survive yourself? Touching the Void can be streamed from Amazon and iTunes.

The excellent ticking clock thriller Searching captures the Silicon Valley vibe. And, perfect for a time when we are living our lives on Zoom, the movie is entirely on the character’s screens – those of his computers, but also on smartphones, television, a security video and a live funeral cam.  Searching can be streamed from Amazon (Starz channel), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

RADIO DREAMS

ON TV

On June 3, Turner Classic Movies presents the documentary Peckinpah Suite (which I haven’t seen), followed by the Sam Peckinpah movies, Ride the High County, The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and The Getaway. You can’t go wrong with any of these, but the best is the iconic and influential The Wild Bunch, with stellar performances by William Holden, Robert Ryan and Ernest Borgnine.  Watch for two of my favorite character actors, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson, as the Gorch brothers.  Other beloved members of Peckinpah’s repertory company in The Wild Bunch include L.Q. Jones, Dub Taylor and Strother Martin. The great Mexican director Emilio Fernández plays the villain con mucha fuerza.

Peckinpah tells the story of men who have outlived their time, as the Old West gives way to the 20th Century. These are men who Lived By A Code, which leads to the finale, featuring the slow motion bloodletting for which Peckinpah was renowned.

Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, William Holden and Ernest Borgnine in THE WILD BUNCH

SEARCHING: more than a gimmick

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John Cho in SEARCHING

In the thriller Searching, a Silicon Valley engineer David (Jon Cho) has been single-parenting his daughter since the death of his wife. The daughter, now sixteen, doesn’t come home.  Has she run away?  He she been abducted?  Is she even still alive?  Searching is a ticking clock thriller as David and the investigating police detective Vick (Debra Messing) race against time to solve the case.  There are several red herrings, a couple major plot twists and one mega-surprise.

Here’s what is really different about Searching – the movie is entirely on the character’s screens – those of his computers, but also on smartphones, television, a security video and a live funeral cam.  The sixteen year-old flashbacks are shown on a sixteen-year-old version of Windows desktop.

This is NOT a “gimmick movie”. It is a complete movie that writer-director Aneesh Chaganty has chosen to tell through this device. For example, Chaganty barely gives a glimpse of the comments on on-line news reports – and no character comments on them – but the audience finds them maddening and suffers the indignities along with David. In the same vein, I also enjoyed the recent teen horror Unfriended, also told on a computer screen, and the claustrophobic drama Locke, set in the driver’s seat of an auto.

Detective Vick asks David, “Who is your daughter and who does she talk with?”, which puts the spotlight on the movie’s theme.  He’s her dad, and he was certain that he knows his daughter – but he finds out that, as a teenager, she has developed into an entirely new and unrecognizable person.  Obviously, that revelation brings him enormous guilt to go along with the shock, but he throws himself into the search by grabbing her laptop and hacking her social media.  As any good Silicon Valley parent, he opens a spreadsheet and starts filling it with what he finds out from the trail she has left online.

John Cho’s performance is pretty much perfect.  Of course, he’s already achieved popular success in two movie franchises – as Harold in the Harold and Kumar stoner series and Sulu in Star Wars.  Here, he gets a full-out, adult dramatic role and knocks it out of the park.  Cho modulates David’s increasing tension and desperation through the story, and he is perfect in the flashback scenes, too.

Aneesh Chaganty is a San Jose native.  Although he says that only two percent of the movie was actually filmed in San Jose, Searching really nails the vibe of Silicon Valley in 2018.  Locals will unmask the very slight name changes to recognize the Sharks, the SJPD, Oakridge Mall, Evergreen/Silver Creek Highs and more.  (The only egregious misstep is one character referencing Highway “101” in LA-speak as “the 101” .)

Searching can be streamed from Amazon (Starz channel), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

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The year’s best movies are about to flood the theaters.

OUT NOW

  • Lady Gaga illuminates Bradley Cooper’s triumphant A Star Is Born. Don’t bring a hankie – bring a whole friggin’ box of Kleenex.
  • Spike Lee’s true story BlacKkKlansman is very funny and, finally, emotionally powerful.
  • The first-rate thriller Searching is more than just a gimmick (it entirely takes place on computer screens) and is filled with authentic Silicon Valley touches.
  • Jane Fonda herself spills her most intimate secrets in the irresistible HBO biodoc Jane Fonda in Five Acts.

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week is the Norwegian suspense thriller Revenge, one of the world cinema high points of the 2017 Cinequest. Revenge can be streamed from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

ON TV

On October 22, Turner Classic Movies brings us Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, another film noir from the great Fritz Lang: seeking to discredit capital punishment, a reporter (Dana Andrews) gets himself charged with and CONVICTED of a murder – but then the evidence of his innocence suddenly disappears! Crackerjack (and deeply noir) surprise ending.

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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Lady Gaga illuminates Bradley Cooper’s triumphant A Star Is Born.  Don’t bring a hankie – bring a whole friggin’ box of Kleenex.  For an under-the-radar pick at the Mill Valley Film Festival , check out one of the most optimistic movies I’ve recently seen, the documentary One Voice: The Story of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir on October 13.

OUT NOW

  • Spike Lee’s true story BlacKkKlansman is very funny and, finally, emotionally powerful.
  • The first-rate thriller Searching is more than just a gimmick (it entirely takes place on computer screens) and is filled with authentic Silicon Valley touches.
  • Jane Fonda herself spills her most intimate secrets in the irresistible HBO biodoc Jane Fonda in Five Acts.
  • Crazy Rich Asians is wildly popular for a reason – it’s damn entertaining and probably the year’s most appealing date movie. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll wait for the chance to see Awkwafina in her next movie.

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week is the alternatively jaw-dropping and visually amazing documentary Brimstone & Glory, about fireworks manufacturing and the National Pyrotechnical Festival in Tultepec, Mexico. Brimstone & Glory can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime), iTunes and Vudu.

ON TV

On October 14 Turner Classic Movies presents the John Sturges masterpiece Bad Day at Black Rock with Spencer Tracy investigating a disappearance in an especially hostile, racist and sinister town. Besides having Tracy at his best and being a great looking movie, Bad Day at Black Rock is notable for its menacing crew of Bad Guys – Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin.

Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK
Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK

Movies to See Right Now

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Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in A STAR IS BORN[/caption]

I just saw A Star Is Born last night – and you should, too. I’ll be writing about it this weekend. I’ll also be heading to the Mill Valley Film Festival to see three of the most exciting Prestige Season releases: Cold War, Roma and Shoplifters.

OUT NOW

  • Spike Lee’s true story BlacKkKlansman is very funny and, finally, emotionally powerful.
  • The first-rate thriller Searching is more than just a gimmick (it entirely takes place on computer screens) and is filled with authentic Silicon Valley touches.
  • Jane Fonda herself spills her most intimate secrets in the irresistible HBO biodoc Jane Fonda in Five Acts.
  • Crazy Rich Asians is wildly popular for a reason – it’s damn entertaining and probably the year’s most appealing date movie. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll wait for the chance to see Awkwafina in her next movie.

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week is the appealing transgender dramedy Venus, which won the Cinequest award for best narrative feature. Venus is available for streaming from Amazon and iTunes.

ON TV

Tune into Turner Classic Movies on October 6 for director Robert Altman’s underappreciated California Split.  Elliott Gould plays a guy deep in the throes of gambling addiction, and George Segal plays another guy well on his way.  The two join up and play the LA-area card clubs before heading to Reno for a poker game that may be too big for them.  Gould is at his manic, wise cracking best, and plays off the more reserved Segal in a very funny adventure.  Of course, their decision-making is influenced by their addiction.

Actor Joseph Walsh wrote the screenplay about his own gambling addiction and plays the bookie you don’t want to owe money to.  Real card club and casino patrons play the poker players, so the verisimilitude of the poker games is unmatched.  The real Amarillo Slim elevates the big game.

California Split was the first non-Cinerama movie to use eight tracks for sound, which was perfect for Altman’s style of overlapping dialogue and tidbits of side and background conversations.

The poker is both authentic and entertaining.  The two guys “read a table”, analyzing the other players in one particularly funny moment.

Reliable character actor Bert Remsen has a memorable bit in drag.   Mickey Fox is memorable as a suspicious poker loser.  Look for a young Jeff Goldblum, too.

Elliott Gould (center left) and George Segal (center right) in CALIFORNIA SPLIT

SEARCHING: more than a gimmick

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John Cho in SEARCHING

I regret that I’m a latecomer to the thriller Searching, which has been in theaters for a while – this is a damn good movie.  A  Silicon Valley engineer David (Jon Cho) has been single-parenting his daughter since the death of his wife when the daughter, now sixteen, doesn’t come home.  Has she run away?  He she been abducted?  Is she even still alive?  Searching is a ticking clock thriller as David and the investigating police detective Vick (Debra Messing) race against time to solve the case.  There are several red herrings, a couple major plot twists and one mega-surprise.

Here’s what is really different about Searching – the movie is entirely on the character’s screens -those of his computers, but also on smartphones, television, a security video and a live funeral cam.  The sixteen year-old flashbacks are shown on a sixteen-year-old version of Windows desktop.

This is NOT a “gimmick movie”. It is a complete movie that writer-director Aneesh Chaganty has chosen to tell through this device. For example, Chaganty barely gives a glimpse of the comments on on-line news reports – and no character comments on them – but the audience finds them maddening and suffers the indignities along with David. In the same vein, I also enjoyed the recent teen horror Unfriended, also told on a computer screen, and the drama Locke, claustrophobicly set in the driver’s seat of an auto.

Detective Vick asks David, “Who is your daughter and who does she talk with?”, which puts the spotlight on the movie’s theme.  He’s her dad, and he was certain that he knows his daughter – but he finds out that, as a teenager, she has developed into an entirely new and unrecognizable person.  Obviously, that revelation brings him enormous guilt to go along with the shock, but he throws himself into the search by grabbing her laptop and hacking her social media.  As any good Silicon Valley parent, he opens a spreadsheet and starts filling it with what he finds out from the trail she has left online.

John Cho’s performance is pretty much perfect.  Of course, he’s already achieved popular success in two movie franchises – as Harold in the Harold and Kumar stoner series and Sulu in Star Wars.  Here, he gets a full-out, adult dramatic role and knocks it out of the park.  Cho modulates David’s increasing tension and desperation through the story, and he is perfect in the flashback scenes, too.

Aneesh Chaganty is a San Jose native.  Although he says that only two percent of the movie was actually filmed in San Jose,Searching really nails the vibe of Silicon Valley in 2018.  Locals will unmask the very slight name changes to recognize the Sharks, the SJPD, Oakridge Mall, Evergreen/Silver Creek Highs and more.  (The only egregious misstep is one character referencing Highway “101” in LA-speak as “the 101” .)