George Clooney's SUBURBICON (2017)

The ticky-tacky's thick, the satire's dark,
Production values through the roof. It's all
So on the nose, unsubtle; ev'ry mark
Of '50s archetypes is made. I'd call
Director Clooney out for too much try,
But it all kind of works. Against a real
And ugly integration fable, why,
A standard Cohen Brothers caper reel
Is just the thing, I guess? Not all the crime
Is collared white, but all the bad guys are,
While lily-perfect neighbors spend their time
Harassing black newcomers who have marred
Their fantasy. A movie for our age
Pretends to history, our dumbest stage.

Thor Heyerdahl's KON-TIKI (1950)

Though all is black and white, the contrast low
It's not for artfulness one watches this
A diary on film of how we know
For certain now, 'twas Incas first to kiss
The many islands. Nothing's unexplained.
And while the style is hokey to us now
(A narrator with all the facts, restrained
And clipped, with dotted lines on maps), it's how
They did all this at all that makes this piece
A triumph. And while all is shown in greys
A parrot steals the show! Sure, without cease
Its viewers at the time spent all their days
In wishing they could do what these six men
Had done, despite the troubles now and then.

Katarzyna Gondek's DEER BOY (2017)

Were this a comic book, there'd be no need
For speech balloons; this is sequential art
In motion, as a boy born with the seed
(Well, nubs) for antlers grows up. We see part
Of toddlerhood, young chilhood, then some scenes
As Deer Boy grows to Deer Man, with his pop,
A hunter, sawing off his glories (means
Of pure denial), forcing him to stop
His deering ways. Then deer boy learns to shoot!
Real deer are phantoms, or just shown as meat.
Meanwhile, it's Deer Boy's mother, tired and mute
Who stole the show for me. She goes from sweet
And proud to haggard, then is centered when
Her darling boy begins his life again!

Les Blank's GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS (1980)

I used to think I liked the stinking rose
As much as anybody. Then I learned
That there's a festival done just for those
Who worship it, idolatrous. Though spurned
By others, here, in many tongues, its sung
A gaudeamus, danced with, cooked all ways,
And hipstered on, of course, where'er it's hung.
The captions are delightful. Nowadays
When all of us are garlic-fiends, it seems
A thing near-obvious, but check the year;
I do recall bland flavors were the mean
Back then. Les Blank don't miss a trick, no fear!
It's here. A Herzog cameo, as well,
Means there's just one thing missing here: the smell!

James Ivory's THE WHITE COUNTESS (2005)

Oh, what a cast, and what production -- yet
These stars in gorgeous clothes, just dripping style
As gracefully they flit across each set
Creating for the screen that old Shanghai,
All seem asleep, or near it. Kazuo
And Mister Ivory, together they
Love nothing more than lovers, yes, although
They've yet to let a couple have their way.
A lovely, quiet film is something I
Enjoy, but sometimes it's all too sedate
(But maybe, lulled as always when I spy
A Sanada, I cared less for the fate
Of these romantic leads?). And one real gripe:
A sighted Fiennes, in blindface ain't my type.