A biopic about Paul McCartney that does everything right and a provocative, sexually charged San Francisco-set shocker that couldn’t be more timely top our roundup of what to watch (or skip) this week.
Here goes … .
“Man on the Run”: Think you know everything about Paul McCartney and the Beatles? Guess again. Morgan Neville’s documentary sheds little light on the birth and the breakup of the iconic band (although you do get dish on that) but — as its title implies — centers on McCartney’s solo career with the band Wings as well as on his life with Linda McCartney and his children.
Neville might not dig up any new revelations or eyebrow-raising moments, but it does elevate the voice of McCartney and relates how some naysayers have discounted his post-Beatles work while others — including John Lennon’s son, Julian — consider some of his so-called misfires to be ingenious. What makes “Man on the Run” such a warm and needed embrace for McCartney fans is the voice-over by Paul himself and the treasure trove of archival images and videos (the snaps and tapes of him with his family and the band in Scotland are priceless) along with snippets from some of his most beloved classics — “Silly Love Songs,” “Band on the Run,” “Maybe I’m Amazed” and so on. And what a wise decision by Neville, a director who knows his way around music-based documentaries (“20 Feet From Stardom,” “Piece By Piece”), to dedicate the bulk of his film on McCartney’s time away from the Beatles. What results in that more limited time frame is an unabashedly joy-filled invite into the life, love and career of one of the world’s most popular entertainers. Now this is the way to make a music documentary. Forget the maybe, you’ll be amazed at how good this one is. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; available on Amazon Prime on Feb. 27.
“Dreams”: Michel Franco’s sexually explicit provocation makes you squirm more and more as it progresses from hot to not. It’s another of the kind of discomforting experience Franco’s noted for, and your tolerance for what happens will get tested. But that’s the tact he’s taking and he achieves that goal by unmasking so-called “liberals” and pushing them out of their comfort zones on the hot-button topic of immigration. As his film hammers home, there’s rot at the core of some well-heeled Americans who grow to feel superior and act as if they own someone who crosses the border to seek a better life and place. So expect walkouts while watching the cruelty unfold.
Set mostly in what many consider the liberal haven of San Francisco and its upper-crust social circle, “Dreams” centers on the explosive love-hate romance between a wealthy woman named Jennifer who sees herself as a do-gooder (Oscar winner Jessica Chastain) and Fernando (dancer Isaac Hernández making an impressive acting debut), a younger undocumented ballet performer from Mexico. Franco drops you directly into Fernando’s harrowing trip after crossing the border as he gets out of the back of a claustrophobic semi full of bodies. Meanwhile, Jennifer, her brother (a smarmy Rupert Friend) and her father (Marshall Bell) hobnob with the Bay Area elite during one of their ritzy arts and dance foundation’s announcements.
Without much background, it’s evident that Fernando and Jennifer have been in a passionate love affair, and the two immediately have some very hot sex. But the relationship evolves into a power play as Jennifer, who confronts sexism at every turn within her family dynamic, feels snubbed when Fernando starts pursuing a more fulfilling, robust career as a ballet dancer — on his own merits. It is here where things start to crumble and Franco exposes the harsh truths of the prejudices that lie behind the high-thread-count life of Jennifer. Franco’s film is designed to outrage and shock and it paints a cold-plunge portrait of condescending Americans who want to control the narratives and lives of those they extend a helping hand to. When the benefactor of that so-called goodwill bites back, as Franco’s film so icily lays forth, that milk of human kindness turns rancid. With bravura and fearless performances from Chastain and Hernández, this is an unsparing descent into the maw of cruel behavior that draws blood and exposes the hypocrisy behind so-called “good deeds.” Details: 3½ stars; opens Feb. 27 in theaters.
“Operation Taco Gary’s”: There’s an underappreciated art to making a film that’s silly and off the cuff but manages to never lose control, even if it follows a rather ridiculous plot and lays it comedy on the foundation of Russian doll jokes. The comedy by director/writer Michael Kvamme (a Santa Clara native) is a scream and a cult movie in the making. Why it works is due in no small part to the leads — San Francisco native Simon Rex (“Red Rocket”) and Dustin Milligan (“Hot Frosty” and “Schitt’s Creek”). They’re perfect foils for each other as odd-couple brothers who grow more and more at odds with each other while on a road trip to Canada. It lampoons our conspiracy culture and gets stranger the more it proceeds, a good thing. All that, and an abundance of taco consumption. It’s a can’t miss. Details: 3 stars;. opens Feb. 27 in select theaters.
“Murder in Glitterball City”: Who’s responsible for the buried body of a drag queen decomposing in the basement of a rundown Victorian in Louisville, Kentucky? That question keeps you watching this compelling two-episode, true crime series directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (“Inside Deep Throat,” “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures”). The 2009 murder and ensuing investigation sent shockwaves through “Glitterball City” — a nickname for Louisville due to its prominence in the disco ball industry — and led author David Dominé to write a book about the case, which led to this HBO series. As you’d suspect, it is stuffed with colorful, eccentric Southern characters along with the two men and lovers who became the lead suspects of the heinous crime. Bailey and Barbarto give us a real sense for the Louisville area and those who are clinging to the fringes of it. They gradually reveal the callous lies, the thorny pasts and the kinky behavior associated with Joey Banis and Jeffrey Mundt, two lovers falling in and out of one unhealthy relationship. They also allow space to eulogize the victim, James Carroll, who hooked up with the wrong guys. Details: 3 stars, now available on HBO and HBO Max.
“Crazy Old Lady”: Limited and shackled by its own limitations once one of its main characters gets tied to a chair and tortured, “Crazy Old Lady” is also stuck and hog-tied. Pedro Almodovar regular Carmen Maura gives her all and then some as the titular old lady, Alicia, whose mind is deteriorating. Living in a ramshackle mansion in Argentina, she takes her daughter’s ex-boyfriend Pedro (Daniel Hendler) prisoner thinking he is a monster from her past. Both upsetting and grotesque, “Crazy Old Lady” gets stuck when Pedro gets stuck — sounding the same notes as Alicia tortures and humiliates her captive. While director and screenwriter Martín Mauregui does work in elements of dark comedy and reflects on how the dark chapters in history leave a lasting bloody imprint, all the wickedness wears thin near the end even if Maura and Hendler keep us watching. Details: 2 stars; drops Feb. 27 on Shudder.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.
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