Joey Magidson
Welcome back to my Home Movies! This week, we have the hilarious and uniquely oddball comedy Friendship leading the way. Today also features a bunch of 4K re-releases, including another comedy I love in Better Off Dead. Plus, the Criterion Collection has a pair of titles they’re featuring as well. Read on for more…
Joey’s Top Pick
Friendship
Tim Robinson is one of a kind. Friendship is a perfect vehicle for his comedic sensibilities. Alongside a great Paul Rudd as the straight man, this film showcases what makes Robinson such a beloved figure in some corners of the the comedy world. Plus, the movie is just plain hilarious, in all of its weirdness. My review here on the site began like so:
You almost immediately know if the humor of Tim Robinson is up your alley or not. Whether it’s through I Think You Should Leave or elsewhere, Robinson presents like no one else. Personally, I find him hilarious and strange, in equal measure. Watching him, especially here in Friendship, there’s this alien quality to him that so few comedians even attempt. Robinson’s characters are always just missing this little bit to have them understand a given situation. Here, not only is that the case, but the loneliness of being a modern adult man is layered on to it. There’s more going on here than you might expect, though obviously couched in some of the biggest laughs I’ve had in some time.
Friendship is easily one of the funniest movies of the year, while also being among the weirdest. Every scene just plays out a little different than you might expect, even when you go in assuming things are going to be strange. Whether it’s the reaction to a new Marvel, a drug trip, or just about anything in between, a Tim Robinson character does things like no one else. Provided you’re on his wavelength, this is going to be an absolute riot.
Also Available This Week
Better Off Dead (4K)
Late Night with the Devil (4K)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (4K)
Sunset Boulevard (4K)
We Are Still Here: 10th Anniversary (Blu-ray)
Wolf Children (4K)
Criterion Corner
The Burmese Harp
From The Criterion Collection: “An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close of World War II and finds harmony through song. A private, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. Magnificently shot in hushed black and white, Kon Ichikawa’s The Burmese Harp is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema’s most overwhelming antiwar sentiments, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan’s wartime legacy.”
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Fires on the Plain
From The Criterion Collection: “An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion. Denied hospital treatment for tuberculosis and cast off into the unknown, Private Tamura treks across an unfamiliar Philippine landscape, encountering an increasingly debased cross section of Imperial Army soldiers, who eventually give in to the most terrifying craving of all. Grisly yet poetic, Fires on the Plain is one of the most powerful works from one of Japanese cinema’s most versatile filmmakers.”
Stay tuned for more next week…
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