It's Time To Wrap Your Head Around Robert Altman's 'popeye,' Plus The Week's Best Films

Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to different version of your regular section guideline to a world of Only Good Movies.

This newsletter is astir going to nan movies, of course, but it’s astir penning and reference astir movies, too. And truthful it was breathtaking news this week that Film Comment, nan venerable but shuttered publication that helped foster cinephilia successful America, would return arsenic a quarterly online publication.

A complete archive is now disposable online, going each nan measurement backmost to nan earliest issues successful 1962. Looking for landmark writings by Manny Farber, Paul Schrader, Richard Corliss, Amy Taubin, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kent Jones aliases countless others? It’s each location and good worthy digging into. I began my profession arsenic an intern astatine Film Comment, publishing immoderate of my ain earliest pieces, and still see it a North Star for penning astir movies. Its return is astir welcome.

Agnès Varda’s bruising brilliance

Sandrine Bonnaire successful nan 1985 movie “Vagabond.”

(Criterion Collection)

Though she became amended known for her free-spirited, pixie-ish persona later successful life, French filmmaker Agnès Varda was besides tin of nan bruising emotions of 1985’s “Vagabond,” arguably her top fabrication characteristic and victor of nan Golden Lion astatine Venice and nan César for champion character for prima Sandrine Bonnaire. Opening pinch nan lead characteristic recovered dormant successful a ditch, nan movie flashes backward to portion together her life from nan memories of others, creating a fragmented image of an enigmatic young woman’s life.

Mezzanine will surface nan movie connected Saturday astatine 2220 Arts + Archives, followed by a speech betwixt creation professional Megan O’Grady and erstwhile Times staffer Carolina Miranda. Writing astir nan movie successful 1986, Sheila Benson said, “Just really Agnes Varda has kept ‘Vagabond’ from being a monumental downer is interesting, but she has. It is haunting. It is melancholy … but ultimately, beyond its cardinal tragedy, it is an exhilarating film, nan benignant you time off burning to talk astir pinch friends.”

A animation comes to life

Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall successful nan 1980 movie “Popeye.”

(Paramount Pictures / Getty Images)

It is 1 of nan astir deranged in installments blocks imaginable: an adjustment of “Popeye” directed by Robert Altman, produced by Robert Evans, pinch a screenplay by Jules Feiffer, euphony by Harry Nilsson and starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall. When it was first released successful December 1980, it was seen arsenic excessively weird for kids and excessively naive for adults, but it has since been reconsidered arsenic a unsocial snapshot of intersecting talents — a strange, wonderful, one-of-a-kind movie.

Vidiots will surface nan movie connected Saturday day pinch actors Paul Dooley and Donovan Scott, who played J. Wellington Wimpy and Castor Oyl. In our original 1980 reappraisal that is much affirmative than 1 mightiness expect, Charles Champlin wrote, “Its difficulties originate not from a deficiency of ambition and invention but from excesses of them.”

Neil Young + Devo = gloriously weird

Neil Young successful nan 1982 movie “Human Highway.”

(Shakey Pictures)

Neil Young’s spot arsenic a singer-songwriter and musician is unassailable — he’s an irascible, restless troubadour. But his sidebar activity arsenic a filmmaker, typically nether nan sanction Bernard Shakey, has had much sporadic and unpredictable output.

Young’s 1982 movie “Human Highway” is astir apt nan pinnacle of his activity arsenic a director, starring Young himself successful an offbeat communicative of a mini organization successful nan protector of a atomic powerfulness plant. Dennis Hopper, Dean Stockwell, Devo and moreover erstwhile Times euphony professional Robert Hilburn each appear. Now Instant Image Hall will beryllium screening nan movie connected Saturday and Sunday on pinch a action of Devo euphony videos successful ceremony of an accumulation astatine nan MutMuz gallery.

After Young premiered a caller trim of “Human Highway” a decade aliases truthful ago, I someway recovered myself sitting crossed from him astatine a diner connected a rainy midnight successful downtown Toronto. (This occupation does person its moments.)

“My films are not ace commercial, but they mean thing to me,” Young said.

An Oscar-winning debut

Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson successful nan 1983 movie “Terms of Endearment.”

(Paramount Pictures)

Part tearjerker, portion family play and portion comedy, 1983’s “Terms of Endearment” trademarks a definite bittersweet reside that is still conscionable axenic magic. The communicative of a mother (Shirley MacLaine) and girl (Debra Winger) crossed galore years of ups and downs successful their relationship, nan movie was nan characteristic debut for James L. Brooks arsenic writer-director and won 5 Oscars, including 3 for Brooks. The Academy Museum will play nan movie successful a caller 35mm people connected Sunday afternoon.

When nan movie came retired connected 4K disc successful 2023, I said to Brooks astir it. He talked about really moreover though it does person moments of awesome affectional weight, it was intended to play pinch a lighter reside overall.

“The full point was to make it arsenic a comedy,” Brooks said. “The full point was to timepiece laughs. You had to, successful bid to do it right. And of course, erstwhile nan assemblage leaves and it has its afterlife, it’s a play because group are watching it alone. But I committedness to you, successful nan theaters it was a comedy.”

A ’90s noir ripe for rediscovery

Jason Patric, left, Bruce Dern and Rachel Ward successful nan 1990 movie “After Dark, My Sweet.”

(Kino Lorber)

Set successful nan Coachella Valley pinch nan woozy consciousness of a time drunk and a consciousness of uneasy menace, 1990’s “After Dark, My Sweet” is an adjustment of nan caller by pulp icon Jim Thompson, directed by James Foley.

Jason Patric, past only 23, stars arsenic Kevin Collins, known arsenic Collie, a erstwhile boxer who escapes from a intelligence institution and is now conscionable drifting. He falls successful pinch Fay (Rachel Ward), an enigmatic, lonely alcoholic widow, who successful move introduces Collie to a shady man known arsenic Uncle Bud (a delightfully sleazy Bruce Dern). Soon Collie is ensnared successful a crippled to kidnap a sickly rich | boy that instantly goes disconnected nan rails.

On Tuesday astatine Vidiots, location will beryllium a screening of Patric’s individual 35mm people of nan movie — a gift he received immoderate 20 years agone and has ne'er watched before. (It is said to beryllium successful pristine shape.) Along pinch a video preamble from character and filmmaker Alex Winter, location will beryllium a Q&A afterward pinch Patric moderated by professional and clever clever Travis Woods, who contributed a commentary way to a caller Australian Blu-ray merchandise of nan film.

Patric organized nan screening arsenic a tribute to head Foley, who died successful May 2025 astatine property 71. “After Dark” landed successful betwixt Foley making “Who’s That Girl” pinch Madonna and nan David Mamet adjustment “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Among his different credits are “At Close Range,” “Fear” and nan past 2 “Fifty Shades” movies.

“He was a bully friend of excavation astatine nan time,” says Patric connected a caller telephone telephone from Santa Monica. “I cognize this was his favourite movie and it was closest to him. It’s nan only movie that he had really written that he directed. And I thought nan champion measurement to do that is conscionable to show nan movie.”

Patric, who says Collie is his favourite characteristic successful a profession that besides includes “The Lost Boys,” “Rush” and “Your Friends & Neighbors,” was first fixed nan book and successful move gave it to Foley; developed it further together, trying to clasp nan connection of Thompson’s novel. (The screenplay is credited to Foley and Robert Redlin.)

“It’s really a subjective portion of filmmaking,” says Patric. “So arsenic Collie’s figuring things out, nan assemblage is figuring things out.”

In her original reappraisal of nan film, Sheila Benson wrote that “Collie is 1 of those roles actors lust after, nan damaged dreamer, possibly dumb, possibly dangerous, and Patric demolishes nan conventions of nan domiciled pinch breathtaking skill.”

“After Dark, My Sweet” landed conscionable up of nan Tarantino-inspired crime movie roar of nan mid-’90s, alongside specified noir-influenced precursors arsenic Dennis Hopper’s “The Hot Spot,” John Dahl’s “Kill Me Again” and Stephen Frears’ Thompson adjustment “The Grifters.”

“This is conscionable specified an breathtaking movie to want to reintroduce to audiences,” said Woods successful a call. “And to get nan opportunity to spot this movie connected nan large screen, which astir group haven’t had that opportunity for 36 years, it’s conscionable 1 of those really cool, really only successful Los Angeles cinematic moments.”

New this week

Argentinian head Lucrecia Martel, photographed astatine nan Sunset Marquis successful April.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

• The improbable duo of James Cameron and Billie Eilish co-directed a 3D performance movie drawn from Eilish’s 2025 tour, “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live successful 3D).” Film professional Amy Nicholson and popular euphony professional Mikael Wood traded their thoughts connected nan movie.
• Argentinian head Lucrecia Martel is among nan world’s astir accomplished filmmakers and nan existent crime communicative “Our Land (Nuestra Tierra)” is her first documentary. Carlos Aguilar spoke to Martel about it.
• “Mad Bills to Pay” expands to aggregate Laemmle venues aft a play tally successful nan Vidiots microcinema. Carlos Aguilar said to director Joel Alfonso Vargas astir portraying nan Dominican American organization successful nan Bronx.