New movies to stream this week: ‘Clerk,’ ‘Bruised’ and more
FILMMAKER and famous film school dropout Kevin Smith is the subject of ‘Clerk,’ an affectionate documentary about the life and career (and, eventually, 2018 heart attack) of the comics-and B-movie-obsessed auteur of such proudly lowbrow films as ‘Clerks,’ ‘Mallrats’ and ‘Tusk.’ The film is studded with interviews with many who sing his praises, or at least reminisce about their association with Smith, who comes across as smart, funny and likable: the late Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee; longtime Smith cast member Jason Mewes; Matt Damon; directors Richard Linklater and Jason Reitman (“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”), the latter of whom claims that Smith is one of the reasons he became a director.
(‘You grew up on the set of ‘Ghostbusters’, Smith says, expressing bewilderment as to why Reitman would need him to inspire a career in film.) At times, ‘Clerk’ seems a little overly fond of its subject, suggesting that Smith – a vocal proponent of sometimes-spurned corners of pop culture, including horror and other so-called ‘genre’ cinema – was integral in the rise of Marvel to become the Hollywood powerhouse it is today.
But Smith himself – also known as an entertaining podcaster and public speaker – makes for an ever-self-deprecating raconteur, and seems to have an assessment of his cultural impact that is more clear-eyed than the film itself presents.
One ends up wishing there were more Kevin Smith in ‘Clerk,’ and a little less drooling over the esoteric, undefinable yet recognizable genre that has been become known as ‘the Kevin Smith movie.’
Unrated. Available on demand.
Contains crude and sexual language and a rude gesture. 116 minutes.
Also Streaming: A disgraced mixed martial arts fighter (Halle Berry) has a chance for redemption after the son she abandoned re-enters her life in ‘Bruised.’ IndieWire calls the film, which marks Berry’s directorial debut, an ‘intense, if familiar, sports drama.’ R. Available on Netflix. Contains pervasive crude language, some sexuality, some nudity and violence. 132 minutes.
Oscar and Emmy-winning documentarian Eva Orner looks back at the catastrophic Australian bush fires of 20192020, known as ‘Black Summer’ in ‘Burning.’ According to the Guardian, “This is a tremendously well-made film with a burning vitality: without question one of the most important Australian documentaries of the 21st century so far.
One of its many messages is the point that now is the time to talk about the climate crisis.
As it will be tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that.” Unrated. Available on Amazon. 86 minutes.
In the holiday rom-com ‘A Castle for Christmas,’ Brooke Shields plays a best-selling American writer who escapes a scandal by moving into a castle in Scotland, where she falls in love with the grouchy aristocrat (Cary Elwes) who owns it. TV-G. Available on Netflix. 99 minutes.
‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas’ is a documentary about Jeremy Morris, an Idaho lawyer whose intense affection for Christmas – and what some have called over-the-top Christmas decorations – has run afoul of his neighbours’ more restrained tastes. R. Available on Apple TV Plus. Contains some sexuality and strong language. 91 minutes.