weekend watchlist: a masterpiece celebrates its 15th anniversary, with an unexpected connection to a new release
plus angry rockers, and an even angrier big fish
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Deepest apologies for the extreme lateness of this weekend’s watchlist. I have been riveted — and horrified — by the beginning of World War III. Movies and stories to distract us and uplift us and examine the human condition remain as necessary as ever, especially now… but even I have to keep reminding myself of that…
both sides of the pond
Cinematic coincidence hit this week when director David Fincher’s brilliant Zodiac enjoyed its 15th anniversary, and The Batman, which appears to have drawn some inspiration from it, landed in multiplexes. Or perhaps the new film draws on the real-life story Fincher’s 2007 masterpiece covers: that of the San Francisco serial killer who taunted Bay Area journalists and cops in the 1960s and 70s with cryptic letters sent to the Chronicle newspaper. Fincher utilizes mesmerizing central performances by Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, and Mark Ruffalo, as the men trying to solve the mystery, to create a film that is breathtakingly elemental. As I wrote in my 2007 review, Zodiac
is not about a killer, really, but about how we decent folk relate to the knowledge of his existence — it is, perhaps, an attempt to profile and define and categorize the precise psychosis that drives our grim fascination with serial killers.
US: available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV
UK: streaming on Netflix; available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime (free for members for 11 more days) and Apple TV
US
Prime hidden gem
If singer Johnny Cash were still alive, he would have turned 90 last week. Celebrate by revisiting — or catching for the first time — James Mangold’s terrific 2005 flickWalk the Line. Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely thrilling as the Man in Black, doing his own singing live in front of the camera (movies don’t usually do that!). His transcendent performance is an extraordinary tribute to Cash and the might of his music, and would remind us of the impact Cash had on the course of rock ’n’ roll even if the film on the whole didn’t explicitly do so. (Read my review.)
streaming free for Prime members; also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV
back on Prime
Planning a summer getaway? Remember to avoid SeaWorld parks. Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s horrifying 2013 documentary Blackfish is the heartbreaking story of Tilikum, a 32-year-old orca who was captured in the wild at the age of two, and SeaWorld’s appalling abuse of him and other cetaceans who are forced to live unnatural lives for nothing other than our entertainment. The film is a shocking eye-opener about human inhumanity to other intelligent and emotional beings who share our planet. (Read my review.)
streaming free for Prime members; also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV
UK
on iPlayer for a limited time
I generally do not get on with Hollywood comedies — I simply don’t usually find them funny — so when I tell you that I howled at 2018’s Game Night, you know this is something special. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams have easy charm and massive chemistry as a couple whose regular board-game get-together with friends goes horribly wrong. Part screwball comedy, part romantic adventure, and all pure movie-movie joy, this is an absolutely hilarious flick, full of smart snarksters, comedic suspense, and gleeful smashing of action-movie clichés. (Read my review.)
streaming on BBC iPlayer for 28 days; also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV
on iPlayer for a limited time
Gurinder Chadha’s spiritual sequel to her beloved Bend It Like Beckham is the tale of a sensitive, creative 16-year-old who finds inspiration in the working-class poetry of Bruce Springsteen. Young Javed may be the child of Pakistani immigrants in Thatcher-era Britain, but if the blue collar fits… 2019’s Blinded by the Light is deliciously cheesy and wonderfully goofy, a coming-of-age story set to some terrific tunes and running on a charming adolescent awkwardness that is often missing from such movies. (Read my review.)
streaming on BBC iPlayer for 22 days; also available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple TV
find lots more movies to stream at Flick Filosopher
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