Movies@Home
My favorite TV show is RuPaul’s Drag Race. Why? Because it’s RuPaul! And who doesn’t love RuPaul? I love this TV show because it’s the greatest TV show ever made. I mean, who wouldn’t want …
I can watch Paris Is Burning and Frances Ha on repeat but for entirely different reasons. Paris Is Burning (USA, 1990, Academy Entertainment) is a documentary centered on the intricate, underground Ball culture. While the …
Donnie Darko (USA, 2001, New Market Films) is a psychological thriller. Jake Gyllenhaal is Donnie, a very attractive yet very troubled young man. Donnie has visions of Frank, a large demonic bunny rabbit who guides …
As with many great artists, Paul Taylor has a lovely eccentricity. Dancemaker (USA, 1998, Artistic License) follows his company through one season from creation of a new dance to performance. Behind-the-scenes clips show Taylor as …
Despite the salacious title of A Virgin Among the Living Dead ((France/Italy, 1973, Wizard Video), this Jess Franco film is actually quite artsy and unnerving. A young woman returns from boarding school after her father’s …
Chinatown (USA, 1974, Paramount), set in the mid-1930s, is reminiscent of today’s issues of the rich and powerful. Inspired by real people and events, it’s Polanski’s homage to the golden age of film noir and …
Straight Time (USA, 1978, Warner Brothers), directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Dustin Hoffman, is a quintessential ’70s movie of the New Hollywood, a period I regard as the best in film history. I love …
My first pick is The Thing, by John Carpenter (USA, 1982, Universal). I love the horror and suspense that permeates this movie. It generates the feeling of paranoia and a Lovecraftian feeling of hopelessness. The …
I have two go-to movies. First, there’s Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (USA/England, 1982, Warner Brothers), the director’s cut version, which removes the voice-over narration by Harrison Ford. Blade Runner’s dark, brooding style is like moving …
Netflix recommended Blue Ruin by Jeremy Saulnier to me (USA/France, 2013, Radius). I’d been on a roll of finding gems in the Net-flix catalog and decided to approach this viewing by avoiding any reviews, summaries, …
What’s there not to love about Pink Flamingos? It’s pure John Water’s B-movie gold with bad acting, horrible (but oh-so-good) dialogue, the late and fabulous Divine, the egg lady, and the strangest chicken sex scene …
The Monster Squad is Goonies meets every Universal Monster movie, and it doesn’t apologize for how it deals with it. It’s a combination of the macabre and the genre of kids getting shit done, with …
For TV shows, I really fell in love with Orphan Black. Not only is the show suspenseful and compelling but also, as an actress, I’m blown away by the performance that Tatiana Maslany gives. It’s …
Idris Elba is fantastic as the title character in Luther, a homicide detective. Ruth Wilson (who many people know from The Affair) is wickedly brilliant! Luther is a well-written show with great pace and sublime …
If you’re a Gen Xer as I am, chances are your life has been greatly influenced by Ian Curtis. Control is a film directed by photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn. He brilliantly depicts troubled life, rise to …
The right to a peaceful, humane death has been the subject of several dozen excellent films that the Hemlock Society of San Diego has been showing for free (usually at the La Jolla Library) every …