Pick of the week: “A Very Murray Christmas” — Wes Anderson movies excepted, can Bill Murray just play Bill Murray from now on? While his last couple of movies (“Rock the Casbah,” “St. Vincent”) were underwhelming, Murray is his charming, funny self in this affectionate goof on old celebrity Christmas specials, playing himself snowbound in New York’s Carlyle Hotel and putting on an ad hoc holiday special with the help of Jenny Lewis, Jason Schwartzman, Maya Rudolph — and, oh yeah, Miley Cyrus and George Clooney. It’s a smooth, silly, after-the-kids-are-tucked-in-their-beds kind of holiday special.
Monthly Archives: December 2015
“The Quay Brothers: Collected Short Films”: Nightmares reproduced in miniature
If the “FREE” box at an estate sale became possessed by a demon and began to make art, the result might look something like a Quay Brothers short film. The famed brothers work in miniatures, bringing broken dolls and misshapen puppets to chilling life in a pocket universes of rusty gears, peeling paint and dirty mirrors.
Instant Gratification: “Tangerine” and four other good movies to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime
“Tangerine” (Netflix) — My full review is here. You might think a film about two transgender prostitutes working the streets of Los Angeles on Christmas Eve might be a bit of a downer, but Sean Baker’s film is bright, kinetic and awfully funny, even as it poignantly shows the power of friendship among those living on the margins of society.


