What I've Been Watching: April 6-April 14

It's been a busy week so I haven't gotten to watch as much as I usually do. However, this batch of films was fantastic! Let's dive in.

FOX AND HIS FRIENDS (1975), a spectacular German film from legendary auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It follows a working-class man named Fox as he navigates his newfound wealth and a toxic community of gay men who want to drain it from him. Cynical, and ultimately heartbreaking, this may be one of Fassbinder's crowning achievements. Stream on the Criterion Channel, or rent on Amazon Video for $2.99.

GOOD BYE, LENIN! (2003), another German film, this one a modern take on East Berlin during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Smartly blending comic absurdism with intellectual dissections of capitalism, this is a rare romantic comedy that pairs its genre charms with something to think about. And Daniel Bruhl is very good. Rent on Amazon Video for $2.99.

UP IN THE AIR (2009), a charming, if too conventional, film about jet-setters finding love in the sky. One will likely swoon for the performance of George Clooney, and Anna Kendrick is remarkable as his young protegee. It falls very much in like with the cinema of Jason Reitman, though Juno and Young Adult make their mark a bit more powerfully. Stream on Amazon Prime, Hulu, or DirecTV, or rent on Amazon Video for $2.99.

LE CORBEAU (1943), a French whodunit from the 40s surrounding a mysterious character named "The Raven," who writes letters to residents of a French town exposing the townspeople's' secrets. Director Henri-Georges Clouzot imbues the film with an eerie atmosphere, and the suspense mounts calculatingly throughout. A great, old French picture with an abundance of style. Stream on the Criterion Channel.