Monday, August 31, 2020

Moviegoing (Pandemic) - August

It is hard to believe that August is here and gone. I have been hobbling around, having torn (or severely strained) a tendon behind my knee, and trying to avoid the heat, as well as Covid-19, which continues its rampage. This month I watched fewer movies and TV shows than any of the prior months, for a variety of reasons (see above), but I did watch at least 20, and here they are:

Bolden (I had been waiting on this one, in part because it starred Gary Carr and because of its long production history, and it was a bit of a bust)

Push Comes to Shove (a Bill Plympton animated feature)

Sun Don't Shine* (an Amy Seimetz film, full of mystery)

The Lonedale Operator* (a Guy Madden short, focusing on none other than John Ashbery, though not his poem of the same name)

Sabotage* (a still compelling thriller)

The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith* (heartbreaking and powerful)

Rafiki* (a gem of African queer cinema)

Snows of Grenoble* (a documentary on the 1968 Winter Olympics, featuring one of the greatest skiers of all time, Jean-Claude Killy)

Suzanne, Suzanne* (Camille Billops's compelling 1982 documentary

Wolf (a bizarre film with lycanthropic elements I'd probably have to watch again)

Happy-Go-Lucky* (Mike Leigh's character study of a relentlessly happy teacher)

Losing Ground* (a Kathleen Collins fave & testament to her originality & talent)

Things to Come* (Isabelle Huppert in one of her better performances)

Personal Problems, Part 1* (Ishmael Reed's highly original series--what if independent series had taken off in this vein rather than the ones they did?)

Bill Gunn Interview*

Foreign Correspondent*

Gohatto* (my favorite Nagisa Oshima film--visually it's exquisite)

Don't Look Now* (haunting 1970s thriller)

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