Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024): Time is a fickle thing. I was pretty sure that it had only been a decade since the passing of CR, but it turns out it’s been twenty years. This documentary is outstanding, a heartbreaking personal story of loss and acceptance, rife with tragedy and hope. It frames the trajectory of Reeve in the difficult familial circumstances he grew up, as well as in the group of exceptional people he came of age with in the acting community. His close friendship with Robin Williams adds another dimension of grief for fans, but overall the story looks to leave room for the things that makes life worth living. 8
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938): I stumbled into this via Home Alone. Why, you might ask? Well, because its title inspired the name of the movie that Kevin watches and uses to great effect throughout HA. The thing is, that one (“Angels with Filthy Souls”) is not a real movie, but just a scene shot particularly for the 1990s Christmas staple. Angels with Dirty Faces, on the other hand, is directed by Michael Curtiz, of Casablanca fame, and stars James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. It tells the story of two childhood friends who take very different paths in life, as one becomes a priest and the other a career criminal. You’ll say it sounds almost morally pedantic, but the movie is pretty great. It captures all sorts of interesting elements of its time, frames its characters with care and manages to hit hard emotionally as well. 8
Heretic (2024): A typical A24 production, Heretic is a cool and intriguing thriller. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it horror, though. But also like most A24 productions, it isn’t that consistent in delivering something groundbreaking. Instead, it seems content in executing an elaborate concept with solid production value. There are definitely weakness to Heretic, which seriously leans on genre tropes. That said, a convincing (if frustratingly clever) leading duo, Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher, pair up to good effect against Hugh Grant. It’s impressive to see how Grant employs his familiar, quirky antics, but they hit completely different. If we try to focus on the bigger questions the movie poses, it seems too willing to provide its own conclusions. Nonetheless, they are interesting question pertaining to faith and religion, which make for an ultimately cool flick. 7
Hello Ladies: The Movie (2014): I skipped the season available on HBO Max, because I had memories of trying to watch it back in the day, but it just struck me as too awkward. The way the movies starts, I feared this would also be the case, but it slowly grew on me, to the point where it even struck a chord. I’ve been a Stephen Merchant fan since Extras, so it was easy to feel for his clumsy character here. When clumsiness heads towards something truthful, even as it seems a tad rushed, I thought the story really built up to something. Of course, we ultimately get an easily digestible happy ending, but I would have probably cared for it even more had Stuart not had his. 7
In the Gloaming (1997): I was curios about this Christopher Reeve directed TV movie, particularly given its exceptional cast: Glenn Close, David Strathairn, Bridget Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg and Robert Sean Leonard. Clearly, way bigger caliber than the level of this understated drama production. When the gay son returns home to his parents, dying of AIDS, all their untalked realities take center stage. It’s not a compelling story and the movie is awkward, if not outright clumsy at times, but it does prod at something I have often discussed with friends and family: how open are the relationships we have with our parents? How often do we manage to see them as people? The same thing with children, I presume. Ultimately, the movie kind of works because Glenn Close is and has always been special, but it’s not required viewing. 6
tributary stu 