The Martian – The Movie Gourmet

Movies to See Right Now

January 29, 2016 by movie gourmet

This weekend 45 Years becomes the final film on my Best Movies of 2015 to have been released in the Bay Area. Don’t miss Charlotte Rampling’s enthralling Oscar-nominated performance. And five more from my 2015 list:

The Revenant, an awesome and authentic survival tale that must be seen on the BIG SCREEN.
Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
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 Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.

Plus two more good choices:

The Hateful Eight, a Quentin Tarantino showcase for Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins and Jennifer Jason Leigh, but a movie that’s not for everyone.
Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.

I’m not a fan of Joy or The Danish Girl.

My Stream of the Week is the riveting German psychodrama Phoenix with its WOWZER ending. Phoenix is one of my Best Movies of 2015. It is available to stream from Netflix Instant, Amazon Video, YouTube and Google Play.

This Sunday, January 31, Turner Classic Movies presents the ultra-suspenseful Diabolique from “the French Hitchcock” Henri-Georges Clouzot and the American film noir Phantom Lady, with Elisha Cook, Jr.’s orgasmic drumming scene – how did they get THAT by the censors?

Also this week on TCM: Lawrence of Arabia, The Sting, The Third Man, Cool Hand Luke, East of Eden, The Dirty Dozen.

Elisha Cook, Jr. and a nice of gams in PHANTOM LADY — Elisha Cook, Jr. and some nice gams in PHANTOM LADY

Movies to See Right Now

January 22, 2016 by movie gourmet

You can see five movies from my final list of Best Movies of 2015 in theaters this week. This is a list of the very best 21 of the 155 2015 movies that I’ve seen.

The Revenant, an awesome and authentic survival tale that must be seen on the BIG SCREEN.
Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
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 Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.
(a sixth top film, 45 Years, will be released in the Bay Area next week.)

Two more choices:

The Hateful Eight, a Quentin Tarantino showcase for Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins and Jennifer Jason Leigh, but a movie that’s not for everyone.
Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.

I’m not a fan of Joy or The Danish Girl.

My DVD/Stream of the week is the space adventure The Martian – with all the best that a Hollywood movie can offer. You can rent The Martian on DVD from Netflix now and from Redbox on February 9. You can stream it on Amazon Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

On January 26, Turner Classic Movies screens Spike Lee’s debut feature She’s Gotta Have It. Watch for Spike himself supplying the comic relief as the unforgettable Mars Blackmon. I still remember going to the theater in 1986 on the recommendation of Siskel & Ebert and feeling so excited about discovering a talented new auteur.

Tracy Camilla Johns and Spike Lee in SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT — Tracy Camilla Johns and Spike Lee in SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT

DVD/Stream of the Week: THE MARTIAN – an entertaining Must See

January 19, 2016 by movie gourmet

The space adventure The Martian delivers what the best big Hollywood movies can offer – a great looking movie that convincingly takes us to a place we’ve never been, inhabited by our favorite movie stars at their most appealing.

In The Martian, Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, a member of a scientific expedition to Mars who is (understandingly) left for dead when his team must make an emergency escape from the Red Planet. The next manned mission to Mars is scheduled to land four years later 1000 miles away and he only has a four months supply of food, so his chances don’t look promising. But Mark Watney is a character of irrepressible resilience, with a wicked sense of humor, and he immediately embarks on solving the many individual problems that stand between him and survival. NASA leadership (Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean and more) and his team en route back to Earth (Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Michael Pena) all try to help.

Directed masterfully by Ridley Scott, The Martian pops along and there’s never a dull moment. It helps that the character of Watney is very funny.

I’m not highly scientifically literate, but the science in The Martian seemed to be at least internally consistent. I do think that – in real life – the NASA team would have immediately come to the solution thought up in the movie by the geek in the Jet Propulsion Lab.

The awesomely desolate Marscapes are fantastic. It’s all CGI, but you can’t tell – it looks like it is shot on location.

Here’s why The Martian isn’t a great movie:

Other than Damon’s Mark Watney, the other characters are types, getting all of their authentic texture from the performances instead of from the writing.
Never for a moment does the audience think there’s any chance that The Martian is really going to kill off Matt Damon.

But, overall, The Martian is so entertaining, it’s a Must See – even for folks that usually pass on science fiction. You can rent The Martian on DVD from Netflix now and from Redbox on February 9. You can stream it on Amazon Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

January 8, 2016 by movie gourmet

This week I’ve got sixteen movie recommendations, beginning with six on my list of Best Movies of 2015.

Mustang, about exuberant Turkish teenage girls challenging traditional repression.
Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
Youth, a glorious cinematic meditation on life with Michael Caine.
Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances.
The Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.

Here are ten more choices. There’s something for everyone.

Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.
Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice, AND it’s a sex comedy.
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 principles.
Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

I’m not a fan of Joy or The Danish Girl.

This week, you can set your DVR for two classic film noir classics on January 9. The 1962 Cape Fear features Robert Mitchum at his most menacing. Kiss of Death includes Richard Widmark’s breakthrough performance as psychopath Tommy Udo.

On January 11, Turner Classic Movies will present Sullivan’s Travels (1941). The great Preston Sturges created this fast-paced and cynical comedy about a pretentious movie director who goes out to be inspired by The Average Man – and gets more of an adventure than he expects. There has never been a better movie about Hollywood. It’s on my A Classic American Movie Primer – 5 to Start With.

Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea in SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS — Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea in SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS

Movies to See Right Now

December 31, 2015 by movie gourmet

Here are my extensive recommendations, beginning with six on my list of Best Movies of 2015. This is the very best time to go to the movies. Scroll all the way down for six bonus picks on video.

Mustang, about exuberant Turkish teenage girls challenging traditional repression.
Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
Youth, a glorious cinematic meditation on life with Michael Caine.
Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances.
The Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.

Here are ten more choices. There’s something for everyone.

Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.
Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice, AND it’s a sex comedy.
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 principles.
Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

Today Turner Classic Movies is presenting an entire day of the irresistible William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home and Song of the Thin Man. And on New Year’s Day, TCM is showing the superb proto-noir M (1931) – if you’re going to see one pre-war European film – see this one.

And to binge watch on this Holiday weekend, here are six more movies from my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far that are available to stream or to rent on DVD:

The smartest road trip movie ever, The End of the Tour. It’s available streaming from Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The unforgettable coming of age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It’s available streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play and now available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox.
The extraordinary Russian drama Leviathan, a searing indictment of society in post-Soviet Russia. Leviathan is available streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.
The hilariously dark Argentine comedy Wild Tales. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.
The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, the story of an extraordinarily gifted person’s escape from torment. Love & Mercy is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and Vudu.
The gentle, thoughtful and altogether fresh dramedy I’ll See You In My Dreams with Blythe Danner, available to stream from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Best Movies of 2015

December 31, 2015 by movie gourmet

Visit my Best Movies of 2015 for my list of the year’s best films, complete with images, trailers and my comments on each movie – as well as their availability to rent on DVD and to stream. My top ten movies for 2015 are:

Ex Machina
Wild Tales
Leviathan
Brooklyn
Youth
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Creed
Spotlight
Phoenix
The Martian

The other best films of the year are: The End of the Tour, Love & Mercy, The Big Short, Corn Island, Mustang, I’ll See You in My Dreams, ’71, The Look of Silence and The Grief of Others.

I’m saving space for these promising 2015 films that I haven’t seen yet: The Revenant, Joy, The Hateful Eight and 45 Years.

Movies to See Right Now (Holiday edition)

December 24, 2015December 24, 2015 by movie gourmet

If you’ve been waiting all year for excellent cinema, you’re in luck. This week, I have SIXTEEN recommendations, with SIX of them on my list of Best Movies of 2015. Scroll all the way down for six bonus picks on video.

Mustang, about exuberant Turkish teenage girls challenging traditional repression. You can find Mustang in San Francisco and San Rafael, and it’s opening in San Jose on January 1.
Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
Youth, a glorious cinematic meditation on life with Michael Caine.
Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances.
The Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.

Here are ten more choices. There’s something for everyone.

Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.
Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice, AND it’s a sex comedy.
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 principles.
Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

Turner Classic Movies brings us the recently restored film noir Too Late for Tears on December 29. On New Year’s Eve, TCM is presenting an entire day of the irresistible William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home and Song of the Thin Man.

And on New Year’s Day, 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.

And for the Holidays, here are movies from my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far that are available to stream or to rent on DVD:

The smartest road trip movie ever, The End of the Tour. It’s available streaming from Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The unforgettable coming of age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It’s available streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play and now available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox.
The extraordinary Russian drama Leviathan, a searing indictment of society in post-Soviet Russia. Leviathan is available streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.
The hilariously dark Argentine comedy Wild Tales. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.
The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, the story of an extraordinarily gifted person’s escape from torment. Love & Mercy is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and Vudu.
The gentle, thoughtful and altogether fresh dramedy I’ll See You In My Dreams with Blythe Danner, available to stream from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

December 21, 2015December 18, 2015 by movie gourmet

If you’ve been waiting all year for excellent cinema, you’re in luck. This week, I have THIRTEEN recommendations, with four of them on my list of Best Movies of 2015:

Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
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; the DVD releases in early January, so it’s going to be hard to still find The Martian in theaters.

Here are nine more choices. There’s something for everyone.

Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice AND a sex comedy.
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 principles.
Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

Getting Biblical just in time for Christmas, on December 23 Turner Classic Movies is broadcasting the 1959 sand-and-sandal classic Ben-Hur, adapted from the novel Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ. Its star Charlton Heston was advised by the stunt supervisor, “Don’t worry, Chuck. Just stay in the chariot and I’ll make sure you win the race.”

And for the Holidays, here are movies from my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far that are available to stream or to rent on DVD:

The smartest road trip movie ever, The End of the Tour. It’s available streaming from Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The unforgettable coming of age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It’s available streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play and now available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox.
The extraordinary Russian drama Leviathan, a searing indictment of society in post-Soviet Russia. Leviathan is available streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.
The hilariously dark Argentine comedy Wild Tales. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.
The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, the story of an extraordinarily gifted person’s escape from torment. Love & Mercy is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and Vudu.
The gentle, thoughtful and altogether fresh dramedy I’ll See You In My Dreams with Blythe Danner, available to stream from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

December 11, 2015 by movie gourmet

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.

Movies to See Right Now

December 4, 2015 by movie gourmet

I really like Bay Area filmmaker Ryan Coogler’s Creed – the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise. I’ll write about it soon, but don’t wait for my post.

Also in theaters now:

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.
Sicario – a dark and paranoid crime thriller about the drug wars.
3 Left Standing – the wistful stand-up comedy documentary.
Trumbo – the historical drama that reflects on the personal cost of princliples.
Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

My Stream of the Week is the raucous and raunchy high energy comedy Tangerine (which you can’t tell was shot on an iPhone). You can stream Tangerine on Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and some cable/satellite PPV. (Or you can buy the DVD from a retailer.)

On December 12, there is a real curiosity on Turner Classic Movies, the 1933 anti-war movie Men Must Fight, which predicts World War II with unsettling accuracy. Then, on December 14, TCM will screen Anatomy of a Murder, with its great courtroom scene, great performances by James Stewart, George C. Scott, Ben Gazzara and Lee Remick and for its superb jazz soundtrack.