Chip Kaufmann’s Pick:

Charley Varrick (1973)

Since I have referenced director Don Siegel in two of my reviews this month (2 Guns, Paranoia), it seems only fitting that my DVD pick be one of his films. After some deliberation, I chose his 1973 crime caper film Charley Varrick. Siegel is best known for the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the Clint Eastwood pictures Dirty Harry and The Beguiled but he made a number of other high quality movies and Charley Varrick is one of his best.

The plot is very similar to 2 Guns though not nearly as complex. Walter Matthau stars as a stunt pilot down on his luck. Needing money, he and three others knock over a bank in a small New Mexico town which results in the deaths of two of the robbers. Instead of the several thousand they were expecting, they wind up with several HUNDRED thousand. Charley then realizes that they have inadvertently stolen Mafia money.

Before they can give it back, the mob sends a brutal enforcer ironically named Molly (Joe Don Baker) who proceeds to muscle in by killing one of the gang members. In order to save himself, Charley devises a plan involving his stunt plane but will it work?

As the title character Matthau is his usual, dependable self but he’s aided by top flight performances from Baker, Andy Robinson, and John Vernon. Don Siegel’s usual taut direction doesn’t hurt either.

If you admire the movies of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez then you’ll enjoy Charley Varrick. Its influence can be seen in a number of their movies (Resevoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Once Upon a Time in Mexico) and, in an odd aside, Ray Davies of The Kinks says in his autobiography that it’s his favorite movie.

Michelle Keenan’s Pick:

To the Wonder (2013)

Writer / Director Terrence Malick is a profound if not prolific filmmaker. While he doesn’t make many movies, when he does you generally hear about them. I was caught off guard when I came across a title the other day, To the Wonder written and directed by Terrence Malick. My first thought was, “So soon after Tree of Life? That seems odd [for Malick].” My second thought was, “How did I not know about this?”

While I don’t always like Malick’s films I am usually fascinated by them. His eye for photography trumps his sometimes esoteric pretentiousness. Inevitably they are beautiful, poetic spectacles to behold. To the Wonder is Malick’s sixth film and it’s no different in this regard. It does however seem to challenge some of Malick’s own conventions in filmmaking. The result is a heart wrenching essay on emotions and relationships. It doesn’t work perfectly, but for a film geek, it is certainly worth watching.

Neil (Ben Affleck) is an American in France who has an affair with divorced single mother, Marina (Olga Kurylenko). Their affair is beautiful, the kind that moves your soul. After Marina and her daughter move from France to Oklahoma to be with Neil, cracks begin to form in their relationship. They love each other, but they don’t communicate well. Marina seems a bit manic and Neil a bit closed down. Marina’s daughter is not happy and that doesn’t help matters.

The footage of the relationship in France, complete with a trek through Mont Saint Michel, is gorgeous and everything a romantic affair should be. In stark contrast, once in America, more specifically, Oklahoma, the footage is desolate, cold and unsettling; vulnerability and insecurity set in.

As their relationship begins to crumble we are introduced to a priest (Javier Bardem). A committed and dedicated shepherd to his flock, but a desperately sad lonely, he is a man suffering a spiritual crisis. As distance between Neil and Marina grows, Neil reconnects with an old friend from childhood, Jane (Rachel McAdams). While Jane seems happier than the other three, all four are lonely; something is missing in the lives of all four.

Dialogue is minimal to say the least. It’s a stark work in so many ways, but it’s emotional impact is massive. Apparently To the Wonder was minimally received and distributed too, but I found it fascinating, as usual.