Seen in July

Some kinds of encounters are better than others.

July had torrential rain, extreme heat, wildfire smoke and these entertainments.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Crave
After seeing Spielberg’s latest film, Disclosure Day, I thought it would be fun to revisit his previous version of close encounters. Close Encounters of the First Kind is a classic Spielberg film full of broken families, curious kids and inquisitive adults, along with government conspiracies and car chases. The film focuses on Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), Jillian (Melinda Dillon) and her young son Barry (Cary Guffey), who have experiences with UFOs that leave Roy and Jillian with visions of a mysterious mountain. Meanwhile, two government experts (curiously enough played by François Truffaut and a very young Bob Balaban) are chasing down connected phenomena that lead them to believe an alien race is attempting contact with humanity. The whole thing is wrapped up in human consciousness (artworks created by those who can’t get the images out of their heads), wonder (the mesmerizing special effects), and human connection (scenes of a mass gathering in India). Interestingly, Spielberg likes to recreate genuinely scientific-looking moments alongside the arts like paintings, sculpture, and music as equal explorations into the unknown. It’s not just a nostalgic trip to enjoy this older film but one that is also simply a great piece of filmmaking.

The view from the summit.

The Summit of the Gods
Netflix
A beautifully animated film of a mountaineering mystery based on a graphic novel by Jiro Taniguchi, which is based on a novel by Baku Yumemakura. The story blends the fictional with the real. A photojournalist, Makoto Fukamachi, tracks down a reclusive but talented climber, Habu Joji, who may be in possession of the camera of George Mallory. Mallory, along with Andrew Irvine, may have been the first to have reached Everest’s summit, but both disappeared and were believed to have perished during the attempt in 1924. It’s a tale of feats of daring, of man versus nature as the film attempts to capture the obsession of climbers who tackle the world’s tallest mountains. It is stunning and captivating in its beauty.

Better Go Mad in the Wild
Welcome to the weird world of documentary. In this doc, we meet two eccentric brothers, Frantisek and Ondrej Klisik. The two live on a decrepit farm on the Czech-German border. Decades earlier, they were involved in the printing and distribution of influential pamphlets and manifestos supporting the Czech revolution from the Soviet Union. Now they spend their days trying to run their meagre farm, arguing, drinking, smoking weed, reciting poetry and philosophical diatribes on love and loss. It’s a wild time and not for the faint of heart.

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
A silly film that knows how silly it is (maybe not quite Naked Gun territory but closer to Wet Hot American Summer). Gail (Zoey Deutch) is a small-town hairdresser about to marry her high school sweetheart when the pair discover for the first time the “Celebrity Sex Pass”. Her fiancé somehow remarkably and immediately takes advantage of the marital loophole, leading Gail to want to even the score. She joins a friend on a trip to L.A. to find and bag her own celebrity sex pass, actor Jon Hamm. It’s a madcap adventure taking knocks at Hollywood clichés along the way. Mostly harmless fun.

Trevor Noah: Joy in the Trenches
Netflix
Trevor Noah’s latest standup special implores us to resist the darkness and find joy wherever we can. His own experience of dissecting a peculiarly personal attack on social media from the President of the United States is a particularly funny tale of the odd times we live in.

Marty: life is short
Netflix
Another documentary about a beloved Canadian comedian who has found that making “funny” is a legitimate way to deal with grief while living life “at the speed of joy”. A lot of time is spent showing the loving family life Martin Short enjoyed with his kids and late wife, Nancy (using a lot of home video shot by Short himself). A supporting role in the documentary is Short’s Muskoka holiday home where he regularly hosted a cavalcade of Hollywood pals who are genuine friends (people like Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Lawrence Kasdan, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas).

Erin Doherty as Mary Carr.

A Thousand Blows S02
Disney+
We find Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham) and Hezekiah Moscow’s (Malachi Kirby) stories continue in London’s hardscrabble Wapping neighbourhood.