The Idle Rich
Are the very rich different from the rest of us? The films in this week’s Spotlight certainly make it look that way. They satirize and skewer the one percent in merciless detail — their greed and gluttony, moral failings, mental shortcomings, and spectacular, soul-killing selfishness.
The Menu
A couple encounters shocking surprises at an exclusive island restaurant.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- • 2022
- Director Mark Mylod
- Cast Emma Stone, Ralph Fiennes
- Genre Comedy, Horror
- Available on HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel, DIRECTV, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Redbox, AMC on Demand, Spectrum On Demand, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Triangle of Sadness
A cruise for the ultra-wealthy goes awry when the ship sinks, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, France, United Kingdom • 2022
- Director Ruben Östlund
- Cast Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Zlatko Burić, Dolly de Leon, Vicki Berlin, Henrik Dorsin
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Redbox, AMC on Demand, Spectrum On Demand, Google Play Movies, YouTube, DIRECTV
The Good Boss
(El buen patrón)
A CEO meddles in the lives of his employees in order to prepare for an inspection by a national committee.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2021
- Director Fernando León de Aranoa
- Cast Javier Bardem, Manolo Solo, Almudena Amor, Óscar de la Fuente, Sonia Almarcha, Fernando Albizu
- Genre Comedy
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, Kino Now, YouTube, Apple TV
Get Duked!
Four boys find themselves fighting for their lives while trying to earn their Duke of Edinburgh award.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2019
- Director Ninian Doff
- Cast Samuel Bottomley, Viraj Juneja, Rian Gordon, Lewis Gribben, Eddie Izzard, Georgie Glen
- Genre Action, Comedy, Horror, Music
- Available on Amazon Prime Video
We Are the Nobles
(Nosotros los nobles)
Three spoiled siblings are forced to get jobs as their father's successful company weathers a scandal.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2013
- Director Gary Alazraki
- Cast Gonzalo Vega, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Karla Souza, Juan Pablo Gil, Ianis Guerrero, Mario Haddad
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Vudu, Spectrum On Demand
Swept Away
(Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto)
A spoiled rich woman and a brutish Communist deckhand become stranded on a desert island.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1974
- Director Lina Wertmüller
- Cast Mariangela Melato, Giancarlo Giannini, Riccardo Salvino, Isa Danieli, Aldo Puglisi, Eros Pagni
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, OVID, Kino Now, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
La Grande Bouffe
Four middle aged men retire to a villa for a weekend of culinary and sexual excess.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1973
- Director Marco Ferreri
- Cast Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret, Andréa Ferréol, Solange Blondeau
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Alamo on Demand, Tubi TV, YouTube
PlayTime
The clumsy Monsieur Hulot gets into various mishaps in Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1967
- Director Jacques Tati
- Cast Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden, France Rumilly, France Delahalle, Valérie Camille
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Apple TV
Weekend
(Week End)
A bourgeoisie couple's weekend getaway to the French countryside goes bizarrely awry.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1967
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Mireille Darc, Jean Yanne, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Valérie Lagrange, Juliet Berto
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Drama
- Available on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
The Exterminating Angel
(El ángel exterminador)
A high society party devolves into chaos when the guests are mysteriously unable to leave the room.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 1962
- Director Luis Buñuel
- Cast Silvia Pinal, Jacqueline Andere, José Baviera, Augusto Benedico, Luis Beristáin, Antonio Bravo
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Apple TV
Divorce Italian Style
(Divorzio all'italiana)
How do you end a marriage when divorce is illegal? It's easier than you think.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1961
- Director Pietro Germi
- Cast Marcello Mastroianni, Daniela Rocca, Stefania Sandrelli, Leopoldo Trieste, Odoardo Spadaro, Margherita Girelli
- Genre Comedy
- Available on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
L'Avventura
(L'avventura)
A new adventure in filmmaking...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1960
- Director Michelangelo Antonioni
- Cast Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, Lea Massari, Dominique Blanchar, Renzo Ricci, James Addams
- Genre Drama, Mystery
- Available on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kanopy, Apple TV, HBO Max
The Rules of the Game
(La Règle du jeu)
A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut aristocratic acquaintances.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1939
- Director Jean Renoir
- Cast Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost, Mila Parély, Odette Talazac, Claire Gérard
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kanopy, YouTube, Pantaflix, Apple TV