Self-Quarantine Movies – There aren’t many benefits to closures, cancellations, and postponements that have crippled our ordinary pop culture life to a standstill. But perhaps it is the discovery that great movies are streaming online, some of them hidden in plain sight for years. More and more titles are available in local theaters, which find economical lifelines by selling “virtual tickets”. If possible, obtain your digital links through the art houses’ websites in your neighborhood; when we finally get back to the cinema, we want to make sure they are still on.
Phoenix, Oregon
James Le Gros plays a disgruntled graphic designer struggling with a crippling midlife crisis in this humble but kind-hearted 2019 comedy. Sure, we’ve already seen the grumpy, grumpy archetype. Still, Le Gros addresses his character with a deadpan face, and his scenes of potential love interest, played by Lisa Edelstein, hiss with humor and mutual attraction.
Saint Frances
This charming coming-of-age comedy began just before the coronavirus affects closed theaters; Thankfully, the Washington area Avalon and Cinema Arts theaters in the Washington area, as well as theaters across the country, make it available for in-home viewing. Star and co-author Kelly O’Sullivan play a lost soul in her mid-thirties who suffers from a summer babysitting job and receives unexpected life lessons from her 6-year-old charge, played with electrifying confidence by Ramona Edith Williams.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
In 1999, comedian Jim Carrey played Andy Kaufman in Milos Forman’s biopic “Man on the Moon,” a notoriously troubled production. In this weird and beautiful 2017 documentary, Carrey pulls the veil away from what happened during the shoot, in which the habit of staying in character has taken on ever more bizarre and disturbing dimensions of channeling Kaufman and his anti-social alter ego, Tony Clifton. Bizarre, confessional, and ultimately deeply moving, this chronicle transcends the Hollywood backstage meal to become a poignant meditation on fame, creativity, and the fine line between insanity and spiritual inspiration.
Lemon
If you haven’t heard of Janicza Bravo, you’ll know it: Her new movie “Zola”, due out later this year, has been one of Sundance’s liveliest titles. “Lemon” was his directorial debut in 2017, a Hollywood satire co-written by Brett Gelman, which is as edgy and sometimes off-putting as the title suggests. Gelman plays a drama teacher struggling with art, love, career, and every other category of life you can mention. Recalling “Barry”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and other inexpressive views of LA life in its most envious and counterproductive form, “Lemon” isn’t always pretty, but it’s always bold and uncompromising in its style. Stylized aesthetic and adamant interpretation.
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore.
The title may sound pretentious, but this Wackadoodle 2017 mystery is anything but. Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood play the role of two unlikely detectives who embark on a rougher and rougher challenging dog journey recover her character’s stolen silver; over time, they are confronted with all the fishness and social ills that make America more and more unlivable. Written and directed by Macon Blair (“Blue Ruin”), this trifle gonzo indulges in the kind of bloody chaos for which he and his frequent collaborator Jeremy Saulnier are known for; but also the same share of sincerity and impeccable satirical zing.
The Confirmation
Clive Owen delivers a wonderfully low-key performance as an abandoned, divorced father in this stunning film, the 2016 debut of screenwriter Bob Nelson (“Nebraska”). Throughout an eventful weekend – which should culminate in his 8-year-old son’s confirmation – Owens’ character is breaking it down in almost every way, which will result in what is sure to be a permanent break with anyone from whom he keeps. . . or redemption. “The Confirmation” is funny and finely observed, with Maria Bello, Patton Oswalt, and the late Robert Forster with stunning supporting performances.
