Matt writes: 1987’s “Back to the Beach,” director Lyndall Hobbs‘ cheerful send-up of the teen movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, received three-and-a-half stars from Roger Ebert before abruptly drifting into obscurity. Now the picture has been released for the first time on Blu-ray, and our contributor Donald Liebenson has published a new interview with Hobbs, who admits that she has mixed feelings about the picture herself. Be sure to read their conversation along with Roger’s original rave review, which is excerpted below, just above the embedded “Siskel & Ebert” episode in which both critics give the film “thumbs up” (skip to the 3:11 mark to watch their review).
“Director Lyndall Hobbs, an Australian making her feature debut, has a good eye and a good ear, and the movie is filled with satirical angles from beginning to end. No one was more surprised than I was. I walked in with a sinking heart, because the studio, Paramount, had so little confidence in the picture they enforced various embargos on review deadlines. I guess the studio missed the point. This may be the most entertaining comedy on its summer schedule, a quirky little gem filled with good music, a lot of laughs and proof that Annette still knows how to make a polka-dot dress seem ageless.”
Trailers
Triangle of Sadness (2022). Written and directed by Ruben Östlund. Starring Harris Dickinson, Woody Harrelson, Vicki Berlin. Synopsis: A cruise for the super-rich sinks thus leaving survivors, including a fashion model celebrity couple, trapped on an island. Debuts in the US on September 28th, 2022.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). Written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan. Synopsis: Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them. Debuts in the US on October 21st, 2022.
Devotion (2022). Directed by J.D. Dillard. Written by Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart (based on the book by Adam Makos). Starring Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Joseph Cross. Synopsis: A pair of U.S. Navy fighter pilots risk their lives during the Korean War and become some of the Navy’s most celebrated wingmen. Debuts in the US on November 23rd, 2022.
Emily (2022). Written and directed by Frances O’Connor. Starring Emma Mackey, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Fionn Whitehead. Synopsis: Emily imagines the transformative, exhilarating, and uplifting journey to womanhood of a rebel and a misfit, one of the world’s most famous, enigmatic, and provocative writers who died too soon at the age of 30. Debuts in the US on October 14th, 2022.
Do Revenge (2022). Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Celeste Ballard. Starring Maya Hawke, Camila Mendes, Austin Abrams. Synopsis: Drea and Eleanor agree to go after one another’s bullies. Debuts on Netflix on September 16th, 2022
The Good House (2022). Directed by Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky. Written by Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky and Thomas Bezucha (based on the novel by Ann Leary). Starring Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Morena Baccarin. Synopsis: Life for New England realtor Hildy Good begins to unravel when she hooks up with an old flame of hers from New York. Debuts in the US on September 30th, 2022.
Petrov’s Flu (2022). Written and directed by Kirill Serebrennikov (based on the novel by Alexey Salnikov). Starring Semyon Serzin, Chulpan Khamatova, Vladislav Semiletkov. A day in the life of a comic book artist and his family in post-Soviet Russia. While suffering from the flu, Petrov is carried by his friend Igor on a long walk, drifting in and out of fantasy and reality. US release date is TBA
Hold Me Tight (2022). Written and directed by Mathieu Amalric (based on the play by Claudine Galea). Starring Vicky Krieps, Arieh Worthalter, Anne-Sophie Bowen-Chatet. Synopsis: A woman one day simply walks out on her family. Or does she? US release date is TBA.
Vesper (2022). Directed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper. Written by Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper and Brian Clark. Starring Raffiella Chapman, Eddie Marsan, Rosy McEwen. Synopsis: After the collapse of Earth’s ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed father, meets a woman with a secret who will force her to use her wits, strengths and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of having a future. Debuts in the US on September 30th, 2022.
Saloum (2022). Written and directed by Jean Luc Herbulot. Starring Yann Gael, Evelyne Ily Juhen, Roger Sallah. Synopsis: 2003, three mercenaries extracting a druglord out of Guinea-Bissau are forced to hide in the mystical region of Saloum, Senegal. US release date is TBA.
House of Hammer (2022). Directed by Elli Hakami and Julian P. Hobbs. Synopsis: The definitive inside story of the rise and fall of the notorious Hammer family. Debuts on Discovery+ on September 2nd, 2022.
Dos Estaciones (2022). Directed by Juan Pablo González. Written by Juan Pablo González, Ilana Coleman and Ana Isabel Fernández. Starring Rafaela Fuentes, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Teresa Sánchez. Synopsis: In the bucolic hills of Mexico’s Jalisco highlands, iron-willed businesswoman Maria Garcia fights the impending collapse of her tequila factory. US release date is TBA.
I Used to Be Famous (2022). Directed by Eddie Sternberg. Written by Eddie Sternberg and Zak Klein. Starring Ed Skrein, Eoin Macken, Lorraine Ashbourne. Synopsis: Follows Vince, a desperate former popstar who dreams of making a comeback. An impromptu jam session with autistic young drummer Stevie sparks an unexpected friendship between the two misunderstood musicians. Debuts on Netflix on September 16th, 2022.
Glorious (2022). Directed by Rebekah McKendry. Written by Joshua Hull, David Ian McKendry and Todd Rigney. Starring Ryan Kwanten, J.K. Simmons, Sylvia Grace Crim. Synopsis: After a breakup, Wes ends up at a remote rest stop. He finds himself locked inside the bathroom with a mysterious figure speaking from an adjacent stall. Soon Wes realizes he is involved in a situation more terrible than he could imagine. Debuts on Shudder on August 18th, 2022.
Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022). Directed by David Poag. Written by Billie Bates. Starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Christopher Lloyd, Marla Gibbs. Synopsis: When a Halloween store opens in a deserted strip-mall, three friends, thinking they’ve outgrown trick or treating, decide to spend the night locked inside. But their night of spook-filled fun soon turns to outlandish survival. Debuts in the US on October 11th, 2022.
Tell Me Lies (2022). Executive produced by Meaghan Oppenheimer, Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss. Starring Grace Van Patten, Tyriq Withers, Jade Fernandez. The story of a young woman’s obsession with a man who is good at being charming. Debuts on Hulu on September 7th, 2022.
Lost Ollie (2022). Created by Shannon Tindle. Starring Jonathan Groff, Mary J. Blige, Tim Blake Nelson.Synopsis: A lost toy, searching across the countryside for the boy who lost him, and the story of the boy who lost more than a best friend. Debuts on Netflix on August 24th, 2022.
Daisies (1966), 4K restoration. Directed by Vera Chytilová. Written by Vera Chytilová and Ester Krumbachová. Starring Ivana Karbanová, Jitka Cerhová, Marie Cesková. Synopsis: After realizing that all world is spoiled, Marie and Marie are committed to be spoiled themselves. They rip off older men, feast in lavish meals and do all kinds of mischief. But what is all this leading to? US release date is TBA.
Mary Sweeney on “Lost Highway“
Matt writes: I recently had the great honor of interviewing one of David Lynch’s most important collaborators, editor Mary Sweeney, about the brilliant 1997 film she made with him, “Lost Highway,” which is now screening around the country in a 4K restoration prior to its home release via The Criterion Collection in October. Click here to read our full conversation.
Alli Haapasalo on “Girl Picture“
Matt writes: The latest installment of Marya E. Gates’ essential column, Female Filmmakers in Focus, features an interview with Alli Haapasalo, director of one of the best films I saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “Girl Picture.” Click here to read their full conversation, and here to read Katie Rife’s three-and-a-half-star review of the film.
Free Movies
The Marriage Circle (1924). Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Written by Paul Bern (based on the play by Lothar Schmidt). Starring Florence Vidor, Monte Blue, Marie Prevost. Synopsis: Professor Stock and his wife Mizzi are always bickering. Mizzi tries to seduce Dr. Franz Braun, the new husband of her good friend Charlotte.
Watch “The Marriage Circle”
Reg’lar Fellers (1941). Directed by Arthur Dreifuss. Written by Arthur Dreifuss, Arthur Hoerl and William C. Kent (based on the cartoon strip by Gene Byrnes). Starring Billy Lee, Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer, Buddy Boles. Synopsis: The “Reg’lar Fellers”, and one girl-feller, tinker with building a land/water machine, form a kid-band and go on the radio, celebrate a birthday, get involved with gangsters…and reunite a wealthy recluse with her baby granddaughter and estranged daughter-in-law.
Watch “Reg’lar Fellers”
Behave Yourself! (1951). Written and directed by George Beck. Starring Farley Granger, Shelley Winters, Lon Chaney Jr.. Synopsis: When a cute Welsh terrier follows Bill Denny home, little does he know that all gangland has its eye on that dog. Who will be bumbling Bill’s undoing – the gangsters, the cops, or his suspicious mother-in-law?
