Movie Recommendations (July 2023)

Editor’s Note: Do you ever make things too hard for yourself? I’m guilty of that here. The goal was to get back to posting here with some regularity even if only to make a few movie recommendations. I let the scope get too big and it ended up stalling me out. It’s all figured out now and to avoid wasting to waste a post, I’ll now get caught up starting with what I watched in July. So here is the list I was going to share back in August and we’ll begin to get things back on track.

I’ve been wanting to resume posting here for a while. I wasn’t sure what form it was going to take. I have plenty of ideas floating around. For now, I think the best way to get back to it is to write about what I’ve been watching. There’s a lot for me to chose from, so each month, for as long as I’m up to it, I’ll give myself this outlet to talk about what’s been on my screen. Given my omnivorous viewing, I think most everyone who parses the titles will find something to enjoy. First, a clear-eyed top ten… the ten best movies I watched in the past month (in this case, July) plus a few more thoughts. Without further ado…

1. Threads (1984)

This BBC film was originally a TV special but became an instant standard-bearer for films depicting nuclear war. Threads offers a chilling vision of the apocalypse and might be the most effective film of its kind for how it strips away the usual science fiction tropes and presents a realistic scenario that still resonates today. Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s way-ahead-of-its-time pandemic drama is a good example of what you’re getting into with Threads.

2. Dancer in the Dark (2000)

This audacious Bjork-led musical from Lars von Trier is about a factory worker losing her sight while trying to save up enough money for her young son’s surgery. It is the second in a spiritual trilogy with Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dogville (2003), each film riffing on similar character arcs with unique audacity and playfulness. They share common themes but Dancer in the Dark is the only part of LVT’s triptych to feature a singing Bjork. It’s one-of-one and quintessential Lars von Trier at his raconteur best. Dancer in the Dark is not a crowd-pleaser, nor is it broadly recommendable in a traditional sense, but it should be on any cinephile’s bucket list.

3. Dune (2021)

Fourth time viewing for me. Beautifully designed. Immaculately cast. It feels like an instant classic. The 150 minute runtime zips by (if you disagree, trust me, I’ve heard it already). I understand reservations from those who want to see what happens with Denis Villeneuve’s sequel(s), but the first film is as good as it can be. A great story well told: Part I.

4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

The story of Hedwig, a gay rocker trying to get out of East Berlin in the waning years of the Cold War and Iron Curtain era. Hedwig has become a cult classic and for good reason. This rock opera musical has some great hooks, memorable characters and is a clear labor of love by writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell.

Though they didn’t crack my top ten, I also watched To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar! and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. These two are not exactly in the same category as Hedwig, but all three share an interest in diversity of sexuality and gender identity and they’re all a great time.

5. Reversal of Fortune (1990)

A legal drama based on Alan Dershowitz’s book about handling the real-life appellate case of Claus von Bulow after he was convicted of murdering his wife. Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close play the von Bulows and Irons’ work here won won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Heavy subject matter, but the movie surprised me with how breezy and entertaining it was. Ron Silver arguably steals the show with his performance as Dershowitz. This one feels a bit lost to time but I expect it will satisfy anyone with interest in the legal genre.

6. The Northman (2022)

I revisited this after seeing it in theaters last year. The story was more straightforward than I remembered. Getting my head around that was the key to enjoying it significantly more the second time. That said, The Northman is still a longish, violent Viking revenge epic – it’s not gonna be for everyone. The Northman takes itself more seriously than 1982’s Conan the Barbarian, but still has a lot of fun garnishing historical authenticity with mythological touches. It packs a few surprises that should keep audiences on their toes.

7. Mission: Impossible (1996)

I had a pretty good time with this summer’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, but an even better time revisiting the original film. Among summer action blockbusters it’s defies convention – dense in some ways while vague and elliptical in others. It forgoes the breakneck pace of its contemporaries (think Speed) but its unusual set pieces (think the Langley heist) are no less riveting. It must be the Brian de Palma factor, but the original Mission had the freedom to be weird in ways that the sequels have not been.

8. The World According to Garp (1982)

First time viewing. Fascinating that Robin Williams was pretty much just Popeye or “the Mork & Mindy guy” prior to this. He was an amazing actor and Garp is one of his best roles. Adapted from a novel, it spans many years in the life of T.S. Garp and a variety of the colorful people in his life. The World According to Garp defies easy categorization. It’s got laughs, heartbreak, dysfunctional family, and when it’s all said and done, one of Robin Williams’ finest performances. A delight.

9. Barbie (2023)

Billion dollar Barbie. That we got a hilarious and authentic Greta Gerwig film from what must have started as notes from a Mattel executive meeting feels like minor miracle. The sets and overall design of Barbieland, plus the maniacally committed performances by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling make Barbie a real gem and legitimate laugh riot.

10. Babylon (2022)

More for the Margot Robbie fans. She’s just as amazing in Babylon as in Barbie. This is an epic of early Hollywood set in the era when the business was transitioning to sound films. With crass, R-rated glee, Babylon underlines the idea that Hollywood was never a particularly quaint or chaste environment. Damien Chazelle’s ambition is on earnest display. There are sequences that boggle the mind with how much in-camera movie magic they capture. Babylon has flaws, but the craft here puts practically every other modern production to shame. Babylon majorly disappointed at the box office but I suspect that it will gain many appreciative fans now that it’s making the home video rounds.

Odds and Ends (no particular order)

Night Moves (2012)

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard, Night Moves details a radical environmentalist plot to blow up a damn. Kelly Reichardt is one of our greatest living filmmakers and Night Moves may be a good entry point to her filmography for the uninitiated. It combines her unflashy, emotionally intimate style with some of the hallmarks of a modern genre film.

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Robert Altman’s final film, A Prairie Home Companion is a warm, loving tribute to the idea of radio as the theater of the mind. It’s a musical comedy and fictional story about the final days of the real-life radio show of the same name. The cast combines versatile movie stars like Meryl Streep and John C. Reilly with the actual cast of the radio show.

The Batman (2022)

Like Dune, I’ve watched this one a handful of times now and it’s pretty strong stuff. Rewatching allows the Seven homage to feel less like a crutch. It’s pretty scary – and not Batman-scary, more like ripped-from-actual-headlines scary. It’s a little surprising The Batman is not R-rated; Matt Reeves got away with a lot here creating a distinctive and compelling Bat-world. Don’t tell anyone but I might like this more than The Dark Knight. Looking forward to the sequel.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

This movie is good. Always has been. Sorry it didn’t make $400-million dollars or whatever it needed to be taken more seriously. I watched it again this month for the umpteenth time and it was a joy as it always is.

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

You’ve probably seen this one. I don’t have anything new to say about My Cousin Vinny other than: if you need a laugh, it still delivers the goods.

The Villainess (2017)

If you know this one, you probably know John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ripped off one of the key action sequences. Sure, John Wick dates back to 2014 and arguably shifted the whole action movie paradigm, but the point is that The Villainess, a legit action thriller out of South Korea, brings its own brand of innovative action spectacle.

Hoodlum (1997)

Wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity to mention Bill Duke. The iconic actor is also an accomplished director and Hoodlum is his 1930s gangster saga. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but does deliver the genre thrills while telling a familiar story of pulpy American corruption from the perspective of Black communities. The stacked cast is headlined by a great Laurence Fishburne performance as Bumpy Johnson just two years before he played Morpheus in The Matrix.

Impulse (1990)

An obscure one directed by Sondra Locke, who was primarily known as an actress. A hidden gem. The great Theresa Russell plays an undercover vice officer who gets in over her head. I had never heard of Impulse but it was a pleasant surprise – just a solid, old-fashioned thriller with a good premise. I’ll leave it at that. If it sounds like something you might like, then you probably will. Check it out.

Howard the Duck (1986)

Amazing how this movie – commonly flogged as one of the worst ever made – got an instant credibility boost after Howard made a cameo in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Howard the Duck hasn’t become a good movie, but don’t be surprised if you eventually hear it being touted as a cult classic. That person won’t be me. But it’s probably already happening. It’s fine. Everything is fine.