Movie of the Week: ‘Aguirre, the Wrath of God’

“Aguirre, the Wrath of God” (1972) – Director/writer Werner Herzog travels to the Amazon to tell the tale of Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski) and his quest to find the Lost City of Gold.  Set in the 16th century, Aguirre and his Spanish contingent mire in the muck, rain and unforgiving wilderness on their foolish errand. As prospects grow dim, Aguirre becomes increasingly irrational, and Kinski – with his infamously unpredictable persona – might be the perfect actor to play this outrageous explorer. This is a purposely-troubling picture that…

Movie of the Week: ‘Dave’

“Dave” (1993) – U.S. President Bill Mitchell suffers a stroke and lies in a coma, so Chief of Staff Bob Alexander (Frank Langella) and Communications Director Alan Reed (Kevin Dunn) have a local employment agency manager, Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline), impersonate the president…for a while.  You see, Dave is Bill Mitchell’s uncanny doppelganger, but pretending to be the leader of the free world?  That sounds frightening, but not as scary as attempting to convince First Lady Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), who carries the gravitas of a U.S. president herself.  While…

Movie of the Week: ‘Croupier’

“Croupier” (1998) – Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is a writer, a struggling one.  Yes, that’s the seemingly eternal and cliché story for writers, but there’s a long thread of truth and history with such claims.  While Jack grapples with putting pen to paper or typing on his antiquated (by 2022 standards) word processor, his dad finds him a lead for a job.   Jack interviews for a card dealer and roulette position, a croupier, at London’s Golden Lion Casino.  It’s a hot spot that looks fancy on the surface, but Jack’s…