Scenes from the Austin Film Fest
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Austin360 blogs > Austin Movie Blog > Archives > 2009 > June > 05 > Entry
What I’m watching
Wherein our movie critic periodically shares what DVDs he’s been viewing in his spare time …
- “The Strange One” (1957; Jack Garfein): Most notable for being the first film of both Ben Gazzara and George Peppard, this offbeat drama has Gazzara playing a raging jerk in a Southern military academy, who takes his malicious hazing of underclassmen too far. It’s based on Calder Willingham’s play, and feels stagy and literary. It’s fascinating and frustrating, mostly for Gazzara’s compellingly obnoxious performance. Newly out on DVD.
- “Galaxy Quest” (1999; Dean Parisot): A small cult of fans has bloomed around this novel comedy, which shows what happens when the cast of a “Star Trek”-like TV show is mistaken for real space cowboys by admiring aliens. As the head of the cast — the Cptn. Kirk role — Tim Allen is surprisingly smooth and funny. For some of us, he’s a revelation. He can act! (For more on this note, see David Mamet’s “Red Belt.” Allen is terrific.) A pleasant, inventive diversion.
- “My Dinner with Andre” (1981; Louis Malle): Two smart guys having dinner for almost two hours. Talking. The whole time. About themselves. This impossibly eccentric classic of arthouse cinema, starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, is a small miracle. It tinkles with insights about art and life and being. With Louis Malle’s silky, invisible direction and Gregory’s plummy tones, it puts you under its logorrheic spell. Now out on a two-disc set from the Criterion Collection.
“Story of Women” (1988; Claude Chabrol): The fine Isabelle Huppert plays an illegal, back-room abortionist in Occupied France during WWII. As much a portrait of a woman forced to compromise herself in dire times, Chabrol’s film, based on actual events, is a condemnation of the Nazi regime specifically and benighted minds in general.
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