Current Streaming Recommendations - 4/7/20
As we are all trapped inside these days, here are some recommendations for movies you might have missed that are currently streaming on one of the major platforms.
Snowpiercer (Netflix)—Many have now become familiar with Bong Joon-ho based on last year’s Best Picture winner, Parasite (which, if you haven’t seen, stop reading now and do whatever you can to watch that TONIGHT!), but his catalogue is filled with gems. Snowpiercer is a sci-fi allegory that manages to find inventive ways to comment on the class structure we all live within. Chris Evans leads a star-studded cast you are sure to love, but the real treat here is the way Director Bong uses blockbuster plating to serve up art house eats. Universal recommendation.
Eighth Grade (Amazon Prime Video)—I have personally never been a teenage girl. But the portrait Bo Burnham’s debut feature paints is so acutely in tune with what it is like that it is hard not to be transfixed. There are moments when the awkwardness is so intense that it has more in common with a thriller than a teenage drama, but the overall package is imbued with warmth, heart and genuine care for its subject. You will not see a more well-crafted take on what’s it’s like to be a teenager in a largely digital age.
The Laundromat (Netflix)—Having Meryl Streep in your film is a cheat code. She is a walking magic trick. And in this stylish dramatization of real life events, she is given room to roam. Told as an anthology of sorts, Steven Soderbergh’s film weaves together three tales from the Panama Papers and manages to make the complex digestible. There is a lot to love, but be warned, this is not a conventionally told story. Soderbergh plays with the form in ways most reminiscent of 2015’s The Big Short. If you like that brand of ‘edutainment,’ this one is definitely worth checking out.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Netflix)—This documentary is for the foodies, but deals with themes of work and family that everyone can relate to. Along with the sumptuous visuals of his world class cuisine, it will surely challenge your notions of what you do and how that informs who you are. Jiro’s singular drive to be the best at what he does comes at the expense of things he can’t always see. Are three Michelin Stars worth fractured relationships with your children? It depends on who you ask and what phase they are in.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Netflix)—In this moment of unparalleled confinement, this offers an infinite universe of boundless realities. But don’t think this is merely a blast of juvenile kinetic energy. The film is deeply invested in exploring the identities we create and those that are foisted upon us. With a decidedly fresh face for the familiar super-hero, we get to consider the ways our perceptions of ourselves can unnecessarily hamper what we are meant to do. The world didn’t need another Spider-Man movie, so it’s a good thing they gave us so much more.
The Shawshank Redemption (Netflix)—Sometimes, it is the familiar that can be most comforting at moments like this. Let Morgan Freeman’s dulcet tones guide you through a tale of hope, friendship and wit. Generally regarded as one of cinema’s universally beloved entries, there is something for everyone. If you have already seen it, perhaps spend this viewing focusing on the work of the greatest cinematographer of all time, Roger Deakins.
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