So here we are with another installment of streaming suggestions to help you sift your way through the algorithms that understand you as well as junk mail. Anyways, here are the top streaming picks for the month of Smarch.
Star Trek (The Original Crew)
The death of Leonard Nimoy hasn’t just sent shockwaves through geekdom but worldwide. Not only is it evidence that the geeks won, but it speaks to the power and the optimism of Star Trek. For Netflix subscribers, they currently have all of the original crew movies and series, including the animated one, streaming. But there’s also the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which features Nimoy as well. Of the Star Trek films, Nimoy directed Search for Spock and The Voyage Home (the whale one). The Wrath of Khan is streaming, but implore everyone in the Orange County area to join me at The Frida Cinema for the March 5th screening to Khan on the big screen.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant – the Original Series is also on Amazon Prime
The Trip to Italy
One of my favorite films of 2014, The Trip to Italy is that rare sequel that surpasses an already excellent first installment. As they did in The Trip (also streaming), Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play fictionalized versions of themselves touring various resturaunts for a series of articles. The only difference this time is the location – Italy. Over the past two decades Steve Coogan has established himself as a comedy staple on both sides of the pond. We know he can be funny. But Rob Brydon once again just fills the film with so many moments that blend humor and heart. There’s no reason that he can’t be just as prevalent as Coogan. The Trip to Italy keeps the eyes focused on its scenic locations while the leads banter back and forth in competing accents. Fans and haters of The Dark Knight Rises alike will be amused by their ruminations on Tom Hardy’s accent and Michael Caine’s sad voice.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant
Locke
Speaking of Tom Hardy, what if I were to tell that was a movie out there where Tom Hardy drives in a car for 90 minutes talking on speakerphone? Before you can answer, though, I have to inform you that it’s really an excellent film. Written and directed by Steven Knight, Locke is the story of a man’s life falling apart while driving – I’m not giving away anything else. But Knight’s writing and direction keeps the plot moving forward and Tom Hardy gives one of the finest performances of an already impressive career. Take a seat, put your seat belt on, because Locke is taking you on an entirely different kind of thrill ride.
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime
Marty
At the 1956 Academy Awards, Marty took home four awards – Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Written by the great Paddy Chayefsky, Marty stars Ernest Borgninie as, well, Marty, a lonely meat cutter longing for love. Dealing with an overbearing mother and his own taunting friends, Marty reluctantly heads out for a night on the town. At one spot, Marty meets Claire, a teacher who, too, has given up hope for romance. For those who view Borgnine as an enduring icon of kitsch, Marty is a must-see in order to be reminded of how much charm and optimism he could convey with wide, gap-toothed smile. In just a few frames, Borgnine could then turn it around and show that the smile was hiding his sadness.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant
The Hustler
As I discussed in my review of McFarland, USA, sports movies suffer from making their conclusion be either win or lose. The Hustler avoids those trappings. Directed by Robert Rossen, The Hustler is much more concerned about the competition within Fast Eddie Felson, played to perfection by Paul Newman. Fast Eddie can beat anyone at the billiards table except his own pride. You want to like Fast Eddie, you want to root for him, but he makes it impossible. Paul Newman gets a number of assists from the great supporting cast including George C. Scott, Piper Laurie, and Jackie Gleason. Nearly a quarter-century later, Martin Scorsese would helm The Color of Money, for which Paul Newman would win the Oscar for Best Actor. With its smoky black and white cinematography and a brilliant character struggle, The Hustler is an enduring classic of personal control and self-will.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime
Open Windows
As I wrote a few months ago, Nacho Vigalondo’s Open Windows channels the spirit of the films of Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma with its voyeuristic suspense story. Starring Elijah Wood and Sasha Grey, Open Windows takes place through the perspective of windows on laptop. It’s not always the smoothest cinematically, but for the most part Vigalondo is able to coax enough suspense from a frantic wood and the story’s central mystery. The flick does run into some problems around the 3rd act, however, Open Windows is more than worth 90 minutes to those who like Hitchcock and De Palma.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant
Cecil B. Demented
It’s a dame shame that John Waters hasn’t made a film since A Dirty Shame in 2004. Over the past 15 years, Waters has made only 2 films: the aforementioned Shame and 2000’s Cecil B. Demented. While not among the finest of Waters’ filthy filmography, Cecil B. Demented is still an entertaining glimpse into the obessions of its filmmaker. The film is (SPOILER ALERT) also my selection for this Wednesday’s THAT’S NOT ROTTEN.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime
Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder’s classic film about faded fame is mandatory viewing. Seriously, if you don’t watch it, I’m gonna have the army of cinephiles come to your house and take you to the secret prison. (Sorry, sometimes I envision myself the dictator of a nation dedicated to cinema.) The film is jam-packed with film history. From its casting of Gloria Swanson as the faded Norma Desmond, but also Erich Von Stroheim as her butler, driver, ex-husband, and former director Max, Wilder is paying homage to the past as the future, William Holden, marches into the frame. Wilder and co-writer Charles Brackett cram Sunset Boulevard with innumerable amounts of memorable lines. Also, Sunset Boulevard has its own little influence on the conclusion of Cecil B. Demented.
Now Streaming on Netflix
20,000 Days on Earth
Nick Cave has made his mark on the cinematic landscape, writing screenplays for The Proposition and Lawless. He even wrote an unproduced screenplay for a Gladiator sequel. I’m not making that up. It sounds crazy. Red Right Hand, from the album Let Love In, has been played to death in non-Hellboy related movies. But now Cave is the subject of a documentary, 20,000 Day on Earth. Having missed it in theaters, I just discovered that it was streaming so I can’t comment on the film’s quality, though I’m confident that Cave has reasons to trust directors Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth.
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime
Wings of Desire
But I left out one cinematic accomplishment of Nick Cave’s – his appearance in Wings of Desire, one of the greatest films of the 20th Century. Wings of Desire is a love story concerning an angel longing to connect with a human. Sadly, it was remade in 1998 as City of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. Remember? The one with that awful fucking Goo Goo Dolls song. Anyways, the remake does a disservice to the brilliance of Wim Wenders’ film. The versatile Bruno Ganz brings the proper sense of wonder to Damiel, though he gets a bit of an assist from Peter Faulk playing himself…kinda. This is a great movie with heart, humor, and an incomparable cinematic feel. More importantly, Wings of Desire has Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, not the fucking Goo Goo Dolls.
Now Streaming on HuluPlus
The French Connection
You ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie? Well, have you? William Friedkin’s The French Connection still plays as an urgent police thriller. The film is able to draw suspense from the story, the characters, and the pure visceral thrill of the chase. Whether talking about the foot chases or the car chases of the 1972 winner of Best Picture, we’re talking about a cinematic form that is wonderfully effect yet rarely seen anymore. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider play off each like seasoned vets. And Hackman’s Popeye Doyle is one of the most fascinating characters to ever grace the screen. Like Newman’s Fast Eddie, you know Popeye is good at what he does, but it can make it hard to root for him. The sequel by John Frankenheimer, a fine action director is his own right, is worth skipping.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime
Joe
As much as Nicolas Cage has had an unpredictable career, David Gordon Green’s has been just as strange. After breaking out as an indie darling with 2000’s George Washington, Green made a startling transition in 2008 when he directed the Seth Rogen and James Franco stoner comedy Pineapple Express. He would then direct Your Highness, The Sitter, and episodes of Eastbound & Down. Then Green retuned to indie fare with Prince Avalanche. With Joe, Nicolas Cage and David Gordon Green’s star-crossed paths converge to provide each with their best work in years. Cage plays a world weary worker. He’s had troubles with the law. He drinks too much. He probably spends too much money at the local brothel. At work, where he leads of a group of men to poison trees to clear the field, he brings Gary (Tye Sheridan), a young man desperate for work, on the crew. But there’s an imminent collision in the personal lives of both Joe and Gary. When Nicolas Cage is starring in middling Chinese-Canadian-American productions, it’s nice to see once again a glimmer of Cage’s brilliance again.
Now Streaming on Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime