With stormy weather still in the forecast, these two options both appeal: depositing yourself into a dry movie theater or simply staying at home to catch a flick.
Here are five suggestions to get you out of the rain and keep you entertained:
- “Broker”: If you’ve never seen a Hirokazu Kore-eda film, his latest is a great starting place, as it poses a question he frequently ponders: What exactly constitutes a family? The 60-year-old Japanese filmmaker’s “Broker” digs into that topic, and while it isn’t as adventurous or emotionally powerful as his 2018 movie “Shoplifters,” it remains an utter delight, hewing closely to the “family” theme. In it, baby brokers (“Parasite’s” Song Kang-Ho and Gang Dong-won) try to help a mother (Lee Ji-eun) who dropped off her infant in a “baby box” and wants to search for the ideal parents for her child. (In select theaters now, opening Friday at the Smith Rafael Film Center)
- “Out of the Vault: Everything’s Ephemeral”: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive celebrate the impermanence of our very existence in this mind-expanding series of experimental works provoking thought and reflection. The 4:30 p.m. Saturday program – “From the inside out” – is a collection of shorts exploring the hidden treasures of inner and outer landscapes. Of particular Bay Area interest is the three-minute 1978 short from Bruce Baillie called “California Report #6: Berkeley Murals and Mudflats.” Another film that has me scratching my head in wonderment is Dorothy Wiley’s 1972 nine-minute “Cabbage,” which, as programmer Adrianne Finelli describes, takes viewers on “an everyday journey through a head of cabbage.” Can’t resist that. (https://bampfa.org/event/inside-out)
- “A Man Called Otto”: Tom Hanks gets seriously surly in this delightful American remake of the Swedish film and novel “A Man Called Ove.” As Otto in Marc Foster’s bittersweet crowd-pleaser, Hanks inherits the throne of the late grump Walter Matthau, grousing with skill few can do as well. Bounced from his job at 60, Otto plots his own permanent exit, but his plans continuously are interrupted by neighbors and even a cat. “Otto,” which asks audience members to assess their lives and life to the fullest, is a sweet-tempered Hollywood production that works, while not going overboard with manipulation and sentimentality. (In theaters now)
- “Last Year at Marienbad”: If your cinematic tastes align with the esoteric and ambiguous, the Roxie in San Francisco has something for you. Expect to be befuddled while immersing yourself into this 4K restoration of Alain Resnais’ black-and-white 1961 French New Wave classic. It will have you puzzling through not only grand intentions, but what it all means. Giorgio Albertazzi and Delphine Seyrig star in the shifty feature, whose characters have no names, that reminds us of the unreliability of elusive memories. It screens 4:30 p.m. Saturday. https://roxie.com/production/last-year-in-marienbad/
- “The Afterparty”: Those who liked “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Rian Johnson’s sly mystery and teardown of today’s disruptor culture, will want to grab a cozy blanket and binge on this hilarious “Rashomon”-like high school reunion murder mystery. Palo Alto native Dave Franco shows his gift for comedy as an annoying pop star who takes a fatal plunge off a balcony. Was he pushed? Or was it an accident? A detective (Tiffany Haddish) questions his classmates, portrayed by Sam Richardson, Zoe Chao, Ike Barinholtz, Ben Schwartz and Ilana Glazer. It’s perfect viewing to clear the clouds of a gray day. (Streaming on Apple TV+)