The Blue Gardenia – The Movie Gourmet

Movies to See Right Now

June 18, 2021 by movie gourmet

Photo caption: Daphne Ruben-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Gregory Diaz IV, Dascha Polanco and Jimmy Smits in IN THE HEIGHTS. Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

This week, five movies in theaters – yes, in theaters. Plus a new documentary to stream.

I also wrote remembrances of actors Ned Beatty and Norman Lloyd.

IN THEATERS

In the Heights: This exuberant musical celebrates immigrant aspirations and Latino subcultures, and it touches on the raw issues of racism and economic displacement. Vibrant, spirited and earnest, it’s perfect for this moment – when we’re emerging from our COVID cocoons. Also streaming on HBO Max.

Summer of 85: Director Francois Ozon reflects on how we remember our youth in this romantic teen coming of age story.

Censor: The premise is interesting – a buttoned-up woman’s day job is watching slasher films to determine how much gore is permissible; one film triggers her investigation of a past crime. Unfortunately, it is less scary and suspenseful than it is unpleasant.

Also in theaters:

The Dry: a mystery as psychological as it is procedural. In theaters and also streaming on AppleTV, YouTube and Google Play
Undine: slow burn, barely flickering.

ON VIDEO

My Name Is Bulger: While incorruptible State Senate President Bill Bulger was dominating Massachusetts politics, his brother James “Whitey” Bulger was the state’s most fearsome crime lord. Yikes. Streaming on discovery+.

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

About Endlessness: Damned if I know. Streaming on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
Bad Tales: perhaps too dark. Virtual Cinema, including Laemmle.
Brewmance: barley, hops, yeast and underdogs. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play .
Billy Graham: the need to pray with Presidents. PBS.
We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company: what they endured. HBO Max.
Hamlet/Horatio: More tragedy, less angst. Amazon, AppleTV, Google Play..
Louder Than Bombs: An intricately constructed family drama. Amazon (included with Prime), Vudu and YouTube.
That Guy Dick Miller: Putting the “character” in “character actor:” Amazon (included with Prime).
Sword of Trust: comedy and so, so much more. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
Run Lola Run: you’ll never see a more kinetic movie. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The Times of Harvey Milk: my favorite political documentary. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, HBO Max and Criterion Channel..
Tab Hunter Confidential: heartthrob in the closet. Amazon.
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street: the origin story of an institution. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play.
The Face of Love: Who is she really in love with? Amazon.
Augustine: obsession, passion and the birth of a science. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The Brainwashing of My Dad: some insight into our national madness. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

ON TV

This Saturday and Sunday, on Turner Classic Movies: The Blue Gardenia presents a 1953 view of date rape, with lecherous Raymond Burr getting Anne Baxter likkered up into a blackout drunk with Polynesian Pearl Divers. There’s a very nice twist on the whodunit: when she wakes up, she doesn’t remember killing him, but he sure is dead. There’s even a cameo performance by Nat King Cole.

The June 19/20 broadcasts are on TCM’s Noir Alley, with intro and outro by the Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller.

Movies to See Right Now

March 8, 2019 by movie gourmet

I’m deep into the 2019 Cinequest, running through March 17. Here’s my Cinequest preview; I’m recommending the world premieres of Mine 9 tonight and Saturday for Auggie. Throughout the festival, I link my festival coverage to my Cinequest page, including both features and movie recommendations. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.

OUT NOW

In They Shall Not Grow Old, Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson has, for the first time, layered humanity over our understanding of World War I. By slowing down the speed of the jerky WWI film footage and adding sound and color, Jackson has allowed us to relate to the real people in the Great War. This is a generational achievement and a Must See.
Roma is an exquisite portrait of two enduring women and the masterpiece of Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men and Y Tu Mama Tambien). It won multiple Oscars. It is streaming now Netflix.
Green Book: This is the Oscar winner for Best Picture. Tony Lip is a marvelous character, and Viggo Mortensen’s performance is one of the great pleasures of this year in the movies.
Vice: in this bitingly funny biopic of Dick Cheney by writer-director Adam McKay (The Big Short), Cheney is played by a physically transformed and unrecognizable Christian Bale. A superb performance, pretty good history, biography from a sharp point of view and a damn entertaining movie.
Stan & Ollie: Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel and John C. Reilly as Oliver Hardy deliver remarkable portraits of a partnership facing the inevitability of showbiz decline.
Pawel Pawlikowski’s sweeping romantic tragedy Cold War is not as compelling as his masterpiece Ida.
The Favourite: Great performances by three great actresses, sex and political intrigue are not enough; this critically praised film didn’t work for me.

ON VIDEO

My Stream of the Week comes from the 2015 Cinequest. The ever-absorbing The Center explores how someone of sound mind and normal disposition can be completely enveloped by a cult. The Center can be streamed from Amazon (included with Prime), Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

ON TV

On March 14 on Turner Classic Movies: The Blue Gardenia presents a 1953 view of date rape, with lecherous Raymond Burr getting Anne Baxter likkered up into a blackout drunk with Polynesian Pearl Divers. There’s a very nice twist on the whodunit: when she wakes up, she doesn’t remember killing him, but he sure is dead. There’s even a cameo performance by Nat King Cole.

Movies to See Right Now

April 13, 2017March 31, 2017 by movie gourmet

I’m getting ready to cover the San Francisco International Film Festival, which opens this coming Wednesday, April 5 and running through April 19. I expect to publish my festival preview on Sunday. In the mean time:

The little British drama The Sense of an Ending, with Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter and Charlotte Rampling, is my current top choice.
Bev Powley is very good in the agreeable comedy Carrie Pilby.
If you’re looking for an unchallenging comedy, then The Last Word, with the force of nature named Shirley MacLaine, is for you.
Kristen Stewart is excellent in Personal Shopper, a murky mess of a movie; don’t bother.
By all means, avoid the epically bad epic The Ottoman Lieutenant, so bad that it provokes unintended audience giggles and guffaws.

My DVD/Stream pick of the past two weeks has been the emotionally devastating Manchester by the Sea, which won Oscars for Casey Affleck (Best Actor) and by Kenneth Lonergan (Best Original Screenplay). Manchester by the Sea is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

On April 2 on Turner Classic Movies: The Blue Gardenia presents a 1953 view of date rape, with lecherous Raymond Burr getting Anne Baxter likkered up into a blackout drunk with Polynesian Pearl Divers. There’s a very nice twist on the whodunit: when she wakes up, she doesn’t remember killing him, but he sure is dead. There’s even a cameo performance by Nat King Cole. Also on April 2, TCM brings us The 400 Blows, François Truffaut’s 1959 explosion into leadership of the French New Wave. The main character is modeled after Truffaut’s own teenage years. It’s a great film, and the final freeze-frame is iconic.