Once again, I’m left wondering how it’s already Memorial Day weekend and a kickoff weekend to summer — wasn’t it just 2022? The Oscars? Angela Bassett did the thing?
With there inexplicably being just one week left before June, I’ve rounded up ten titles worth watching before they flee their current streaming home. If Mother Nature decides to rain on your holiday parade, these would all make for excellent movie nights.
The Big Lebowski, Amazon Prime Video
Just checking in to see what condition The Big Lebowski’s condition is in. Turns out, this Coen Brothers classic is still as beguiling and bananas as ever. I love the dichotomy of the ultimate stoner movie being as precisely controlled down to every last “yeah” or “umm.” It’s a dense, rich text that never forgets its imperative to just be fun.
Borat, HBO Max
This movie is dated … NAAAAHHHHHT. You might be tired of that one guy you know who bizarrely has to always say “my wife” like Borat, but Sacha Baron Cohen’s pulse-check of American xenophobia in the Bush era is still a brilliant and bawdy unearthing of latent attitudes. Cohen cleverly shifts the object of the joke over time in Borat. This faux documentary paints a vivid portrait of a nation’s prejudices hiding in plain sight, and it’s all the more effective because it avoids scolding.
Fight Club, Hulu
I’m now quickly realizing that while I just arrange these titles alphabetically, I’ve inadvertently lined up three movies in a row that are misunderstood by people who take them entirely at face value. So what I’m saying about Fight Club is … David Fincher’s sardonic take on ‘90s masculinity in crisis has so many layers of irony caked on top of its brutal core that there’s always another one to peel back. Give it another go and see what you discover this time.
I’ll See You in My Dreams, HBO Max
“I think younger filmmakers aren’t interested in older people,” filmmaker Brett Haley told me in 2015, “and I think that’s totally normal. I’m probably a little bit abnormal in the sense that I made this film, and I’m so young. I get it.” I’ll always have somewhat of a soft spot for this sweet movie about Blythe Danner’s widow starting new relationships because it’s the first time I ever did a 1x1 interview with a director. But I do stand by this as being a delightful quasi-rom-com all the same. It’s peak nicecore entertainment. The film is not without struggles or conflict, but the overwhelming feeling is one of pleasantry.
Inception, HBO Max and Netflix
“Nolan’s films are replete with […] pivotal turning points in which a central character is fed a well-meaning lie in order to avoid immediate turbulence,” I wrote in 2018 about a recurring theme in the director’s work. “This might also apply to Inception’s Dom Cobb if you believe the top falls at the end – he would then be actively choosing a dream over reality so long as it means he can stay at home with his children.” What will the good lie be in Oppenheimer? Might as well refamiliarize yourself with this all-timer as we wait!
Million Dollar Baby, HBO Max
I remember scoffing along with the rest of the internet at The New York Times ranking this #3 in their best movies of the 21st century back in 2017. But when I rewatched for my Best Picture project, I was bowled over by the quiet grace of Million Dollar Baby. “Eastwood suffuses this trainer-boxer tale, which also doubles as a surrogate father-daughter narrative, with all the complexities of guilt, regret, and longing,” I wrote earlier this year. It’s stuck with me quite a bit more than I expected. Simple, efficient filmmaking at its best.
Scarecrow, HBO Max
The internet went ablaze recently with a young Pacino vs. young DeNiro ranking…
…I’m just saying, maybe Pacino would have edged this out if more people had seen Scarecrow. This early ‘70s road movie pairing him opposite Gene Hackman is New Hollywood storytelling and acting at its finest. Pacino has yet to become overly conscious of his star image here as he embodies the character of an emotionally stunted young sailor. It’s really quite remarkable to watch.
A Streetcar Named Desire, HBO Max
Tennesse Williams’ epochal American drama A Streetcar Named Desire feels like it could be national mythology at this point. The dichotomies of brutishness and gentility or reality and fantasy embodied by Marlon Brando’s Stanley and Vivien Leigh’s Blanche feel as vibrant as ever. I am still holding out hope that the Paul Mescal stage production can somehow make its way to Broadway…
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Amazon Prime Video
I mean, let’s be honest, who among us actually understood the twisty spy tale Tinker Tailor Solider Spy the first time? I fully appreciated the chilly reserve of Gary Oldman’s intelligence officer on an acting level — it’s one of the most technically accomplished performances I’ve ever seen. But one of these days, I’d like to really understand the full story in which it’s working. That’s not a knock on this movie, mind you, just an acknowledgment that it’s quite twisty and requires repeat viewings!
Written on the Wind, Criterion Channel
If you can’t get enough of sordid tales of wealthy families torn asunder by their complicated web of relationships on Succession, go the studio melodrama route with Douglas Sirk’s Written on the Wind. This scandalous dramatization of a real-life Texas oil family is laden with over-the-top emotionality that’s thick with Sirk’s subversive irony. Below the glossy surface is a complex commentary on American values.
You can always keep up with my film-watching in real-time on the app Letterboxd. I’ve also compiled every movie I’ve ever recommended through this newsletter via a list on the platform as well.
An interesting update on the Hollywood-China relationship, which may be nearing a nadir:
Critics from other disciplines can provide the most fascinating takes writing outside their traditional beat, so it should be no surprise that The New York Times’ food critic Tejal Rao provides an incisive and unique perspective on the new season of Succession. “It’s as if the show has stepped into its Ozempic era,” Rao writes, “and real power can only be found in the total absence of appetite.”
For Crooked Marquee, I took a look at the legacy (or lack thereof) of Bruce Almighty two decades after its release. This faith-forward film is still a unicorn with its contemporary setting and ecumenical attitude. And for shame, I argue.
I had fun interviewing director Zachary Wigon about his fun new erotic thriller Sanctuary for Slant Magazine … in part because he also used to write for them many years ago! Naturally, I brought that up.
For Decider, I said stream it to Kathal — A Jackfruit Mystery (on Netflix) and Broker (on Hulu). I said skip it to Slash/Back and American Murderer (on Hulu).
Subscribers got some podcast and film pairings centered around the great cinematographer Roger Deakins’ show:
You can keep track of all the freelance writing I’ve done this year through this list on Letterboxd.
I’ll have two fun things later for the holiday weekend if all goes according to plan!
Yours in service and cinema,
Marshall