The Spectacular Now

Movies to See Right Now

by
Jonah Hill in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
Jonah Hill in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

I’m planning to see the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts, which opens today – it’s always worthwhile ( plus it helps me win the Oscar pool). You can also find the Oscar Nominated Short Animated a Films and Short Documentaries. The great thing about sampling the shorts is that, even if one short film isn’t your cup of tea, another one is coming along in 15 minutes and  you might like it a lot more.  I’ve never forgotten the touching and funny God of Love, which earned the 2011 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.  God of Love won that year’s Oscar over Na Wewe, one of the best films about violence in Africa that I’ve seen.  Similar discoveries could be waiting for you this week.

Oscar nominees Nebraska, American Hustle and Her all made my Best Movies of 2013. I also really recommend Best Picture nominees The Wolf of Wall Street and Philomena. And Gravity has been re-released in 3D.

Not nominated, but pretty damn good, is The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, another fine thriller from that franchise, with another amazing performance by Jennifer Lawrence. I also admire the compelling French drama The Past.  And I also like the Mumblecore romance Drinking Buddies, now available on VOD.

I’m not a fan of Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks (sentimental and predictable) or the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis (about an unlovable loser – and I didn’t love the movie, either).

The great Noir City film festival is still running for the next three days, this year with an international flavor. Check it out.

My DVD/Stream of the week is Prisoners. Prisoners is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox video.

Movies to See Right Now

by
her1
Joaquin Phoenix in HER

Oscar nominees Nebraska, American Hustle and Her all made my Best Movies of 2013. I also really recommend Best Picture nominees The Wolf of Wall Street and Philomena.

Not nominated, but pretty damn good, is The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, another fine thriller from that franchise, with another amazing performance by Jennifer Lawrence. I also admire the compelling French drama The Past.

I’m not a fan of Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks (sentimental and predictable) or the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis (about an unlovable loser – and I didn’t love the movie, either).

My DVD/Stream of the Week is number 5 on my Best Movies of 2013.  The Spectacular Now is a spectacularly authentic and insightful character-driven story of teen self-discovery. It’s the best teen coming of age story since…I can’t remember.  The Spectacular Now is now available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, GooglePlay and Xbox Video.

DVD/Stream of the Week: The Spectacular Now

by
THE SPECTACULAR NOW

Here’s number 5 on my Best Movies of 2013. The Spectacular Now is a spectacularly authentic and insightful character-driven story of teen self-discovery. It’s the best teen coming of age story since…I can’t remember.

Sutter (Miles Teller – so good in Rabbit Hole) is the high school’s gregarious party guy. Everybody loves being charmed by Sutter, but it becomes apparent that his compulsive sociability is masking some family related emotional damage. It’s also clear that he will soon face some consequences from his out-of-control and escalating drinking.

When his popular girlfriend dumps him for a guy who is less fun, but a better long-term bet, he is in the market for a rebound relationship and meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley, glammed down from the foxy brat in The Descendants). Aimee is focused, responsible, capable and smart, but has no self-esteem; she has family issues, too. Sutter becomes her first love. At first, it’s a lark for Sutter – until he assesses himself and his potential effect on her.

That’s the crux of the movie. Sutter isn’t just a shallow party guy. He’s smart – and too smart to keep from seeing where he is headed.

The Spectacular Now is directed by indie filmmaker Joe Ponsoldt (director and co-writer of Smashed), who is moving toward Hollywood’s A list. The screenplay is adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber from the novel by Tim Tharp.

Smashed is a remarkably realistic depiction of alcohol abuse, and so is The Spectacular Now. Miles Teller is great in the role. And there’s a second great alcoholic performance – that of Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, Argo) as Sutter’s long-estranged dad; Chandler’s turn is Oscar worthy. Woodley is just as outstanding as she was in The Descendants. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, especially Brie Larson and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

If you see The Spectacular Now with your teen, there will be plenty to talk about afterward – teen drinking, addiction, dating, partying, picking your friends, making choices and what a damn good movie this is.

Every teenager should see this movie, which brings me to this bit of insanity – The Spectacular Now has an R rating because teenagers are DRINKING ALCOHOL in the movie. It doesn’t matter that the movie is ABOUT teen alcoholism. It doesn’t matter that The Spectacular Now is the 2013 movie most likely to help teenagers in their real lives (by sparking discussion of the issues therein). Of course, just last year, the MPAA similarly assigned the R Rating to Bully. Just leave it to the pompous asses at the MPAA to keep those 14- to 16-year-olds out (unless they show the good taste and resourcefulness to sneak in).

I saw The Spectacular Now at the San Francisco International Film Festival in a screening with director Ponsoldt. It’s now available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, GooglePlay and Xbox Video.

Best Movies of 2013

by
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR

Visit my Best Movies of 2013 for my list of the year’s best films, complete with images, trailers and my comments on each movies.  My top ten for 2013 is:

  1. Blue Is the Warmest Color
  2. The Hunt
  3. Before Midnight
  4. Stories We Tell
  5. The Spectacular Now
  6. Mud
  7. Short Term 12
  8. Fruitvale Station
  9. The Act of Killing
  10. Captain Phillips.

The other best films of the year are:  The Great Beauty, Nebraska, American Hustle, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Rendez-vous in Kiruna, The Gatekeepers, At Any Price, Undefeated, In a World… and Me And You.

I’m saving space for these promising films that I haven’t seen yet:  Her, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Past (Passe).

Note:  Undefeated is on this year’s list, even though it won an Oscar a year ago, because it only became available for most of us to see in 2013.

2013 at the Movies: most overlooked

by
Michael Polley in STORIES WE TELL

Evangelizing for wonderful movies that are overlooked is the primary mission of The Movie Gourmet.  These four movies made my Best Movies of 2013. They are brilliant and everyone should see them.

Also on my list of the year’s best, it’s easy to say that Me and You is overlooked because it hasn’t even gotten a US release in theaters , DVD or VOD.

Also flying under the radar were the fine thrillers Prisoners and Shadow Dancer, along with the year’s best comedy, In a World….

Movies to See Right Now

by
SHORT TERM 12

This week’s MUST SEE is the affecting foster facility drama Short Term 12, with its powerful performance by performance by Brie Larson (Rampart, The Spectacular Now). Another good choice is You Will Be My Son, a good French movie with a great ending (and it will likely be in theaters for only another week or so).

Other recommendations from the most current movies:

  • I really liked the absorbing drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
  • In A World… is the year’s best comedy so far – it’s a Hollywood satire, an insider’s glimpse into the voice-over industry, a family dramedy and a romantic comedy all in one.
  • The Family, Luc Besson’s tongue-in-cheek Mafioso-moves-to-France comedy has its moments.

I haven’t yet seen the Joseph Gordon Levitt comedy Don Jon, which opens today. You can read descriptions and view trailers of it and other upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My other top recommendations:

My other recommendations:

Check out my new feature VOD Roundup, where you can find my comments on over twenty current movies available on Video on Demand. There are some good ones, some bad ones and some really, really good ones (including Letters from the Big Man).

My DVD/Stream of the Week is The Sapphires, a Feel Good triumph from Australia. The Sapphires is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, GooglePlay and other VOD outlets.

On September 28, you can watch Trouble Along the Way,
featuring John Wayne as a crooked college football coach who says “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” (years before Vince Lombardi).

Movies to See Right Now

by

 

SHORT TERM 12

This week’s MUST SEE is the affecting foster facility drama Short Term 12, with its powerful performance by performance by Brie Larson (Rampart, The Spectacular Now).  Another good choice is You Will Be My Son, a good French movie with a great ending (and it will likely be in theaters for only two weeks).

Other recommendations from the most current movies:

  • I really liked the absorbing drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
  • In A Word… is the year’s best comedy so far – it’s a Hollywood satire, an insider’s glimpse into the voice-over industry, a family dramedy and a romantic comedy all in one.
  • The Family, Luc Besson’s tongue-in-cheek Mafioso-moves-to-France comedy has its moments.

I haven’t yet seen Prisoners, which opens today.  It’s a thriller from Denis Villenueve, the director of Incendies  (my top movie of 2011).  Other promising movies opening today include the festival hit Museum Hours and the literary bio-documentary Salinger.  You can read descriptions and view trailers of it and other upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My other top recommendations:

My other recommendations:

Check out my new feature VOD Roundup, where you can find my comments on over twenty current movies available on Video on Demand. There are some good ones, some bad ones and some really, really good ones (including Letters from the Big Man).

My DVD/Stream is the brilliant drama Mud, with Michael McConaughey. It’s a great choice to watch and then discuss with your pre-teens and young teens.  Mud, one of my Best Movies of 2013 – So Far, is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, GooglePlay, YouTube and other VOD outlets.

Turner Classic Movies will broadcast the riotously funny screwball comedy Twentieth Century on September 23.

TWENTIETH CENTURY

Movies to See Right Now

by
AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS

This week’s top two picks:

  • I really liked the absorbing drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
  • In A Word… is the year’s best comedy so far – it’s a Hollywood satire, an insider’s glimpse into the voice-over industry, a family dramedy and a romantic comedy all in one.

I haven’t yet seen Short Term 12, the drama set in a group home with a reputedly star-making performance by Bree Larson (Rampart, The Spectacular Now). Same goes for The Family, Luc Besson’s tongue-in-cheek Mafioso-moves-to-France movie.  You can read descriptions and view trailers of it and other upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

The powerfully authentic coming of age film The Spectacular Now and the emotionally powerful Fruitvale Station are both on my list of Best Movies of 2013 – So Far.

My other top recommendations:

My other recommendations:

Check out my new feature VOD Roundup, where you can find my comments on over twenty current movies available on Video on Demand. There are some good ones, some bad ones and some really, really good ones (including Letters from the Big Man).

My Stream of the Week is the documentary How to Make Money Selling Drugs, a dispassionate critique of the Drug War. How to Make Money Selling Drugs is available streaming from Amazon, iTunes and Vudu.

On September 17, Turner Classic Movies will air the very trippy Un Chien Andalou, made in 1929 by the then very young absurdist director Luis Buñuel with surrealist painter Salvador Dali. If you’ve never seen the famous eyeball-slicing scene, here’s your chance.

Movies to See Right Now

by
Lake Bell in her IN A WORLD...

In A Word… is the year’s best comedy so far – it’s a Hollywood satire, an insider’s glimpse into the voice-over industry, a family dramedy and a romantic comedy all in one. 

The powerfully authentic coming of age film The Spectacular Now and the emotionally powerful Fruitvale Station are both on my list of Best Movies of 2013 – So Far.

My other top recommendations:

  • The jaw-dropping documentary The Act of Killing, an exploration of Indonesian genocide from the perpetrators’ point of view, is the most uniquely original film of the year.
  • Woody Allen’s very funny Blue Jasmine centers on an Oscar-worthy performance by Cate Blanchett.
  • The very well-acted civil rights epic Lee Daniels’ The Butler.

My other recommendations:

Also out right now:

You can read descriptions and view trailers of it and other upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

Check out my new feature VOD Roundup, where you can find my comments on over twenty current movies available on Video on Demand.  There are some good ones, some bad ones and some really, really good ones (including Letters from the Big Man).

My DVD of the Week is the riveting IRA thriller Shadow Dancer, with Clive Owen.  Shadow Dancer is available on DVD from Netflix.  Also check out my newest movie list: Best Movies About The Troubles (Northern Ireland).

On September 10, Turner Classic Movies is broadcasting the great French heist movie Rififi. And on September 12, TCM will air one of the greatest examples of film noir, Out of the Past with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas.

OUT OF THE PAST

Movies to See Right Now

by
Lake Bell in her IN A WORLD...

In A Word… is the years best comedy so far – it’s a Hollywood satire, an insider’s glimpse into the voice-over industry, a family dramedy and a romantic comedy all in one.

The powerfully authentic coming of age film The Spectacular Now and the emotionally powerful Fruitvale Station are both on my list of Best Movies of 2013 – So Far.

My other top recommendations:

  • The jaw-dropping documentary The Act of Killing, an exploration of Indonesian genocide from the perpetrators’ point of view, is the most uniquely original film of the year.
  • Woody Allen’s very funny Blue Jasmine centers on an Oscar-worthy performance by Cate Blanchett.
  • The very well-acted civil rights epic Lee Daniels’ The Butler.

My other recommendations:

Also out right now:

  • The American porn star biopic Lovelace, more of a soap opera.
  • The British porn kingpin biopic The Look of Love.
  • The Irish horror comedy Grabbers, which fails to deliver on a great premise.
  • The astonishingly bad shocker The Rambler, with its 58 second vomit scene.

I haven’t yet seen the indie criminal-on-the-run story Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, which opens today. You can read descriptions and view trailers of it and other upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is the New Zealand cop miniseries Top of the Lake, starring Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss. You can catch Top of the Lake episodes on the Sundance Channel or watch all seven episodes on DVD or streaming from Netflix, and it’s perfect for a Labor Day Weekend marathon.