Pick of the week: “Timbuktu“ (Amazon Prime) — My full review is here. A small town in Mali chafes under the ironclad rule of fundamentalist Muslims in this Oscar-nominated drama which makes both oppressors and oppressed into three-dimensional human beings.
“Wild Canaries” (Netflix) — My full review is here. It’s like Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery” set among the artisanal cupcake set, as a Brooklyn couple try to figure out who killed the elderly lady in their building. It’s lightweight, fizzy fun, an homage to screwball comedies of the days of yore.
Pick of the week: “The Deep Blue Sea“ (Amazon Prime)— My full review is here. Not a super-intelligent shark to be found in Terence Rattigan’s beautiful film about a woman in post-World War II London (a wonderful Rachel Weisz) leaving the security of her older husband for a handsome but shallow pilot (Tom Hiddleston).
Pick of the week: “Listen Up Philip” (Amazon Prime) — My full review is here. Jason Schwartzman is hilariously awful as an arrogant young writer who finds that success only feeds and confirms his misanthropy in this acerbic comedy from Alex Ross Perry.
Pick of the week: “20,00o Days on Earth“ (Amazon Prime) — My full review is here. Nick Cave’s baroque fictionalized documentary mixes the mythos and the man to create a film that both celebrates his larger-than-life and provides surprising insight into his creative process.
Madison Movie 