Widow Clicquot (2023)

 Inspired by the true story of Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who ran her husband's champagne winery after his death in 1805, and is credited with the invention of pink champagne and a double fermenting process still used today. An interesting enough story they wait until about half way through the film before addressing the mental unraveling of her husband in the years before his death. In flash backs he is at first portrayed as very loving and of a progressive temperament, seeing his decline makes the story and Barbe's accomplishments all the more moving and impressive. Haley Bennett is both strong and radiant in the lead. ***

The Old Way (2023)

 This is a Nicolas Cage western, and being able to say you have seen a Nicolas Cage western is about the only reason to watch this movie, other then a strong performance from young Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Cage's daughter. This is a revenge movie, a shitty variant on 'Unforgiven' that feels like it's adapted from a pulp western paperback from the 1950's, but was actually written for the screen by a man who likely read a bunch of pulp western paperbacks from the 1950's. This movie radiates cheapness and only on rare occasion do its various clichés elicit some amusement. I admire Nick Searcy's commitment to his exposition heavy role as a Marshall. *1/2

Naked Vengence (1985)

 'Naked Vengence' is a kind of female lead varient on a 'Death Wish' movie, and I wish they'd made more. Staring the beautiful Deborah Tranelli, a television actress in her only film role, she plays an aspiring actress in a very happy marriage to a successful architect. After a dinner to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary the husband tries to stop an assult on a woman in the parking lot only to be killed for his trouble, the assailant getting away. After the funeral Deborah decides to spend some recoup time with her parents in the small California town where she grew up, only other then them everyone in town (with a very few exceptions) turns out to be a real asshole. She is gang rapped in her parents home, her folks killed in an attempt to help her. While in the hospital she decides to seek her revenge, while at first she appears to be near catatonic she sneaks out at night and begins a killing spree against her attackers. The film puts its lead through some real harrowing stuff in order to make the subsequent revenge killings as satisfying a possible. This America shot, Phillipines produced film is sleazy explotation, but shot with soom real sheen. **1/2

The Color of Pomegranates (1969)

 Armenian writer/director Sergi Parajanov's treatment of the life of the 18th century poet and musican Sayat-Nova is so abstract, that Soviet censors wouldn't let him advertise it as a bio-pic. Abstract and intensely visual the movie is a kind of visual poem that can't really be done justice in words, it is worth seeking out at least clips of online, in order to understand just how unconventional this film is. There are only bits of biography you can suss out in the film, but you come away with a real sense of the person even as you learn few facts about the man. I suspect this movie will benefit from repeat viewing. ***

Spin Me Round (2022)

 As of this writting it's been less then an hour since I learned of the passing of this films co writer and director Jeff Beana. I just watched 'Spin Me Round' on Monday night. Alison Brie is a manager at a chain Italian restaurant in Bakersfield California who is selected to participate in a company retreat in Italy. Once there she quickly finds things kind of off with both the retreat its self and with the odd assortment of Tuscon Grove employees she is more or less stuck with. A quirky, kinda mystery with some good payoffs. The cast is loaded with a kind of stock company of players Beana had accumulated over the years, including Brie, Debby Ryan, Molly Shannon and his wife/ co writer Aubrey Plaza. I really enjoyed this, Beana certainly had a unique style of dry humor and unusual subject manner in his storytelling; I'm sad we won't be hearing his unique voice anymore. ***

Under the Silver Lake (2018)

 Andew Garfield is a charmastic slacker living in his rent overdue Los Angeles apartment in 2011 (why set this in 2011 I don't know). He hits to off one night with neighbor Riley Keough, but when he goes to visit here the next day finds her apartment empty. As Garfield searches for her he interacts with various charactery characters and becomes increasingly enmesshed in improbable conspiracy theories, at least some of which turn out to be true. He also completes a nice arc leading to greater self reliance. There is an awful lot going on in this movie, both on the surface and in subtext, but to me it never felt like they were trying to do too much, which is no easy feet. ***

Tough Guy's Don't Dance (1987)

 'Tough Guy's Don't Dance' is the subject of arguably the greatest episode of the YouTube series 'Welcome to the Basement'. I tried to read the book a number of years ago but didn't finish; perhaps I'll give it another chance. Novelist Norman Mailer adapted and directed  his own novel for Cannon Pictures, who in the 80's were open to just about anything. It is a Cape Code set neo-noir with lots of eccentric characters and odd directing choices. A gonzo kind of movie held together by lead Ryan O'Neal playing it straight while those around him turn the melodrama up to 11. I would rewatch this. **1/2