Amerika Square (Corinth Films)
Nako, 38 and living with his parents, is the Greek equivalent of an angry white guy. He does the math on the residents of his Athens apartment building, whose residents include Greeks but also Russians, Poles, Albanians, Pakistanis, Africans and Afghans. “We’ve become a minority,” he complains. However, his hipster friend (and fellow tenant) Billy decides to help a couple of refugees slip out of the country and harm’s way. Out now on DVD, Amerika Square, Greece’s 2018 Academy Awards submission, is a frank and engaging examination of a diverse cast of characters troubled by under-employment, economic and social decline, a lawless underworld and the desperation of migrants with nowhere to go. The emotionally involving, eventually heartbreaking film presents multiple perspectives thoughtfully, often with great wisdom. (David Luhrssen)
The Boys in the Band (Streaming September 30 on Netflix)
This examination of gay men in 1968, is adapted from a landmark Mart Crowley play set in NYC. Jim Parsons and other out gay actors (Matt Boomer and Zachary Quinto among them), gather to celebrate Michael’s (Parsons) birthday. Fear, loneliness and frequent self-loathing are among the film's themes, as are their long-lost and current loves. The action, set on lavish Hollywood sets, is stagy. Certain character arcs, inorganic. The notable exception is Quinto’s Harold, a self-described, “pockmarked Jew fairy.” Witty, acerbic, and wildly entertaining, his contribution lends credence to the proceedings, as does three months spent playing their roles onstage by this very same, able cast. (Lisa Miller)
The Glorias (Streaming September 30 on Amazon)
This adaptation of Gloria Steinem's autobiography, My Life on the Road, is a trip through Steinem’s memory. At various points, Steinem (played by four actresses) rides a Greyhound bus as it advances through her life. The film depicts time spent in India as a young adult, where the future activist was touched by the plight of local women. Alicia Vikander portrays Steinem then and as a New Yorker, when she goes undercover as a Playboy Club Bunny. From her forties on, Julianne Moore confidently wears Steinem’s iconic aviator glasses. Bette Midler as Congresswoman Bella Abzug, and Lorraine Toussaint as Florynce Kennedy, are well-cast as influential women inspiring Steinem to found MS. Magazine. Generally lauded by critics, a major complaint is the complete omission of Steinem's intimate relationships with men. (Lisa Miller)
P.J. (Kino Lorber)
The silly storyline of this 1968 movie by director John Guillermin (The Towering Inferno) is delivered with a wink and a nod by its star, George Peppard. He plays P.J. Detweiler, a private eye so hard up that he takes his business calls from the phone at the friendly corner tap. He’s hired as a bodyguard to socialite Maureen Preble (Gayle Hunnicutt), voluptuous mistress to an abusive, skinflint millionaire (Raymond Burr)—and gets framed for murder. P.J. is fun to watch partly for the splashy, colorful interiors by the prolific, underrated art director Alexander Golitzen and a swingin’ ‘60s score by Neal Hefti (best known for writing the “Batman” theme). Out now on Blu-ray. (David Luhrssen)
Two Hundred Thousand Dirty (Corinth Films)
This American indie (out on DVD) starts with an outrageously comedic scene. To pick up extra money, Rob (Mark Greenfield) dresses as a bunny and paddles a stranger in fetish scenario based on racial degradation—only to discover that the person who hired him is his girlfriend. Rob and Manny (in a lively performance by rapper Coolio) work together at a broken-down mattress store in a shoddy strip mall in this comedy of desolation. Everyone is trapped, including the store manager, answering to unseen masters at the Texas-based mattress chain. And then the new employee, Isabelle (Rocio Verdejo), seems to offer a way out of the dead end—a murder conspiracy pieced together from the screenplays of TV shows and movies. Call it Dumb, Dumber and Dead! (David Luhrssen)
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