Lee Winkelman Says

March 21, 2020 – They Came Together (2014) HBO

We wanted to watch a comedy to escape from our painful new reality. It turns out there aren’t many comedies that we haven’t seen that are worth seeing. We settled on this very silly take-off on romantic comedies, directed by David Wain and featuring Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and a ton of great actors. Wain’s very silly sense of humor is an acquired taste. I liked this movie better than Wendey, but neither of us loved it. It is hard to believe The Came Together and Force Majeure — two movies of such varying intention and quality — came out the same year (the first time these two movies have ever been mentioned in the same sentence). 

March 21, 2020 – Force Majeure (2014) Kanoply

I watched this one on my own, and it is just as well. The movie — which focuses on the fallout in a marriage because of a moment of cowardice by the husband — could have led to difficult conversations in our marriage. Force Majeure is often listed as one of the best movies of the 2010s, and I agree with that assessment. It is one of the brightest spots of this streaming film festival so far.  

March 20, 2020 – Little Women (2019) Screener

Wendey and I sheepishly admitted to each other that we confuse Little Women and Little House on the Praire. Perhaps it is because they are both old-timey books with the word “Little” in their name. This movie, directed by Greta Gerwig and based on the book by Laura Ingalls Wilder —  or was it Louisa May Alcott? — manages to be contemporary in style and attitude even though it is set in the 1860s. Henry liked the movie a lot, but I only made it halfway through before falling asleep — perhaps because I was tired or perhaps because it isn’t really my kind of movie. Warning: there is no Michael Landon in this one. 

March 17, 2020 – Oldboy (2003) Kanopy

I watched Oldboy on my own — too violent for Wendey — and I loved this film’s stylish combination of humor and violence in the Tarantino mold. The film by Park Chan-wook is a landmark of the new South Korean cinema. I don’t know what it says about me that I enjoyed this twisted revenge fantasy and recommend it highly.

March 14, 2020 – Atlantic City (1980) Amazon Prime

I love this movie so much and so does Wendey (Henry sat this one out)!  It is the story of an aging small-time gangster (Burt Lancaster) and a struggling young casino worker (Susan Sarandon) trying to get by in a past-its-glory-years Atlantic City.  This movie on paper sounds pretty boring, if not downright creepy: there is a drug deal and an older man secretly watching a younger woman.  But the movie isn’t creepy at all, it is filled with tenderness toward its characters. It is well shot, well written and well acted. People finding redemption through hard choices in a degraded and decaying world — now why does that resonate at this moment? Watch for the cameo by a young Wallace Shawn (“inconceivable!”). 

March 14, 2020 – Cabaret (1972) Amazon Prime

This famous Bob Fosse musical was not my pick. It is stylishly shot, and the musical numbers are well done, but I am in general not a fan of Broadway musicals and in particular not a fan of Liza Minelli, who I find overly broad and unappealing.  Wendey and Henry loved it though. Wendey has seen it a million times. And it gets bonus points because every time I saw Liza on screen, I thought of “Lucille Two” and her extreme vertigo from Arrested Development.  

March 13, 2020 – Landline (2017) Amazon Prime

Today is the first full day of lockdown. I am worried that being home all the time with nothing to do will drive me and my family crazy. In an effort to forestall anxiety, I am organizing the Shelter-In-Place Streaming Festival for me, Wendey and Henry. Leaving nothing to chance, I have given them about 100 choices for films we can watch and encouraged them to add their own choices.  Our film festival started on a low-key note. We watched this small indie film about two sisters — a teenager and a young adult — who discover that their father is having an affair. We enjoyed Landline fine while it was playing, but then it faded away like the wisp of a dream when we finished watching. May this plague fade away as quickly as the memory of this film did. I am already worrying about the success of this streaming festival. It seems that the more people involved in selecting the film, the worse the selected film turns out to be.