Favorite First Watches of September 2022
South Indian noir, early Doris Day and Brendan Fraser, romance in the Catskills, a throwback to 80s action/romance comedies, and the return of The King + some quick thoughts on two TV fantasy series
What a whirlwind of a month. I spent most of it rehearsing and then performing a Classical play (Seneca’s version of Phaedra) and so most of my movie-watching happened in fits and spurts around that. Plus I have somehow found myself deeply engrossed in House of the Dragon on HBO—despite never watching Game of Thrones—and the new Lord of the Rings prequel series on Amazon, Rings of Power both of which premiered this past month. I am enjoying both for different reasons, but I will say that I’m pretty shocked that I seem to like HotD more than RoP at this point. I think the former does more compelling character work (+ so many fantastic actors like Paddy Considine, Rhys Ifans, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Milly Alcock) but the latter has a richer world because of Tolkien’s obsessive history-building.
Two major things are bothering me about Rings of Power: how little I care about most of the characters and how little time is being spent on the characters/storylines that are most central to the literal title of the show, the forging of the Rings of Power. I like a lot of the actors on RoP, including Morfyyd Clark who plays Galadriel, but what started as such a promising return to the world Tolkien and Peter Jackson built has started to feel a bit clunky in certain ways: the inconsistent pacing, the addition of subplots that add nothing to the larger story or any compelling info about certain characters, the wink wink nod nod creation of Mt. Doom, etc. The storyline that hews closest to Tolkien’s appendices (to my limited knowledge and my bf’s much wider knowledge) is the Elrond/Durin storyline at Khazad-Dum where the Elf/dwarf pair have discovered mithril (you may remember it as the metal Bilbo and Frodo’s armor is made of in the LOTR trilogy) and are probably about to awaken the Balrog. Beyond the larger implications of their storyline, the actors/characters have wonderful chemistry so it’s a joy to watch their too-limited sections.
But anyway, you didn’t come here for some fantasy television bitching, you came for some movie recommendations to get you through the darkening days and colder temperatures. I’ll do a separate fall-centric movie newsletter soon, but for now, here’s a short list of a few things I enjoyed from my limited movie-viewings in September.
*I’m offering a special Spooky Season Discount on annual subscriptions for a limited time only (valid until November 21, the end of Scorpio season) in celebration of this witchy, wonderful season. Subscribe now and get 20% off forever:
Favorite First Watches of September 2022
Andha Naal (1954, dir. S Balachander)
The first film noir in Tamil cinema and also the first Tamil film without songs or dance numbers, Andha Naal is a compelling, twisty thriller that goes to unexpected places. After seeing Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950) at a film festival, director S. Balachander wrote a play in the same narrative style, which eventually became the screenplay co-written with Javar Seetharaman (who also appears as the Investigator in the film). Set in 1943 during the WWII Japanese bombing of Chennai, a radio engineer (Sivaji Ganesan) is found dead in his home under mysterious circumstances. Using multiple viewpoints (like its inspiration, Rashomon), the film takes us through each suspect’s interactions and history with the victim from radical anti-imperialist political rallies in college to shadowy affairs of the heart. There are some beautiful closeup shots and the use of light/shadow is as good as if not better than some of its American counterparts.
Make it a double feature with: Casablanca (1942)
Andha Naal is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
My Dream is Yours (1949, dir. Curtiz)
One of the main reasons I still insist on having cable is to flip over to TCM and discover lesser known gems I’d never be able to find in the labyrinths of streaming site algorithms. My Dream is Yours is a lovely early career Doris Day movie musical where the singer/actress plays a single mother and nightclub singer who’s discovered by an enterprising agent played by Jack Carson. He whisks her away to Los Angeles in search of stardom but romantic complications and a series of mishaps get in the way. Eve Arden is hysterical as Day’s sophisticated roommate/landlady who is also a highly successful music industry professional. The movie has mostly been forgotten except for its notable dream musical number featuring Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird, one of a handful of early examples of the combination of animation with live-action. While the movie doesn’t necessarily set the world on fire with its familiar plot, it is a pleasant escape that also shows more of the realities of how pursuing your dreams can sour relationships. Martin Scorsese called it a “formative film experience” in his book/doc A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies.
Make it a double feature with: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)
‘My Dream is Yours is available to rent on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
School Ties (1992, dir. Mandel)
Not sure if you’ve heard, but Brendan Fraser is back, courting Oscar buzz and general public goodwill. In my house, he never left! Anyway, it would be easy to compare School Ties with its 1989 predecessor, Dead Poets Society given both films share a 1950s prep school setting and the same composer (the late great Maurice Jarre), but School Ties takes a decidedly different turn by focusing on antisemitism, bigotry, and jealousy. Fraser plays David, a Jewish star football player recruited from a rural high school to be the senior captain of St. Matthews Prep School in 1959 where his fellow teammates are largely anti-Semitic. Not wanting to make waves, David decides to keep his identity hidden. When a drunken teacher accidentally reveals the truth to jealous, entitled teammate Charlie Dillon (played with gleeful villainy by Matt Damon), Dillon conspires to get David thrown out of St. Matthews. The movie is riveting enough with standout work by Fraser and Damon, but the climax feels more like a three-point conversion instead of a touchdown.
Make it a double feature with: Gods and Monsters (1998), one of Fraser’s most soulful performances
School Ties is currently streaming on HBO Max.
A Walk on the Moon (1999, dir. Goldwyn)
I’m not sure what I expected when I finally gave into my Amazon Prime recommendations and hit play, but it definitely wasn’t this lovely tug on the heartstrings from actor and sometime director Tony Goldwyn. A possibly forgotten entry in the Movies About Forbidden Romances at Jewish Summer Resorts canon (which obviously includes Dirty Dancing), A Walk on The Moon follows a lower middle-class Jewish family from New York City on their annual summer trip to Dr. Fogler’s Bungalows in the Catskills in 1969. Pearl (Diane Lane), who got pregnant at 17 with daughter Alison (Anna Paquin) and hastily married television repairman husband Marty (Liev Schreiber), finds herself attracted to free-spirited blouse salesman Walker Jerome (Viggo Mortensen). Set against the backdrop of the moon landing and Woodstock Festival, the film is about people at a crossroads in life and how love can shatter and repair families. Lane (who earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress), Schreiber, Mortensen, and Tovah Feldshuh give aching, tender performances. A wonderful little movie.
Make it a double feature with: Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
A Walk on the Moon is currently streaming on Starz and available to rent on Apple TV.
The Lost City (2022, dir. Nee/Nee)
The epitome of a great 3 1/2 star movie: dumb, fun, and with star performances all around from Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Daniel Radcliffe (who is an absolute hoot as the villain). It’s a little middling at times as uptight romance writer Loretta (Bullock) and her himbo book cover model Alan (Tatum) search for the real life ancient city and lost treasure that are the subject of her latest book after being kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Radcliffe), but it has a kind of kookiness akin to the 80s psychic adventure comedy Vibes starring Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum. We need more silly stuff like The Lost City that isn’t trying to win Oscars or launch a franchise; it’s just something fun you can get lost in on a Sunday afternoon of day-drinking. Plus, Tatum and Bullock have great chemistry. It’s a kind of spiritual successor to Romancing the Stone.
Make it a double feature with: Vibes (1988)
The Lost City is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Elvis (2022, dir. Luhrmann)
Baz Luhrmann ain’t for everyone, but he is mostly for me—even his duds have more style and vision than a lot of his contemporaries. His maximalist approach works like gangbusters here in depicting the shadowy monster responsible for crafting the myth of Elvis. There’s so much glitz, glam, and frenetic energy; it’s all just a big carnival, and Elvis is the geek. I can see why some might think the flash here rings hollow, but I think it underscores how much surface-level stuff goes into making a star. The undercurrent—which Baz always brings the film back to again and again—is Elvis’ earth-shattering voice and singular talents. But the film is just as much about the world’s first great/evil merchandising man, the guy who turned Elvis into a product and ignored his actual talents/wishes: Colonel Tom Parker. Tom Hanks is giving a fascinating performance here as Parker, the evil devil on Elvis’ shoulders. While his Dutch accent never clicks, nonetheless he’s doing a different kind of magic trick, transforming his infamous charm into something cold and malicious. I’d love to see more of this kind of thing from him. As for Elvis, Austin Butler is doing no mere imitation; he’s found the icon’s soul and sexual charisma. He’s a star, and you can’t take your eyes off of him. It’s riveting. I haven’t stopped thinking about the movie.
Make it a double feature with: Elvis’ comeback special (1968) - available to rent on Apple TV
Elvis is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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I have watched A Walk On The Moon every Valentine's Day since 2005