We Are the Best!
One of the best movies of the year, We Are the Best! is a gem out of Sweden. In the ‘80s, three 13-year old girls in Stockholm form their own punk band. The film is an effortless blend of humor and drama, encapsulating the trials of youth with the gleeful rebellion of punk rock. A film of seemingly endless charm, We Are the Best! is not to be missed.
Streaming on Netflix Instant
Killing Them Softly
One of the films to receive the rare F Cinemascore, Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly is a different kind of crime drama. With its deliberate pacing and strong political allegory, Killing Them Softly failed to align with its marketing, leaving viewers disappointed. Despite its lukewarm reception, the film is beautifully shot and features a number of excellent performances, namely by James Gandolfini and Scoot McNairy.
Streaming on Netflix Instant
The Graduate
A few weeks ago, the great director Mike Nichols passed away. A legend of stage and screen, Nichols’ first feature, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, took home 5 Oscars out of 13 nominations. For his follow up, Nichols would take home the statue for Best Director with a film that would leave a lasting mark on the cultural consciousness – The Graduate. To this day, numerous scenes from The Graduate are echoed in comedy parodies. I can’t hear Simon and Garfunkel without thinking to this film. The Graduate is classic that is worthy of its lofty reputation.
Streaming on Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime
Under the Skin
Another one of the year’s most interesting films, Jonathan Glazer’s striking film leaves a lasting impression. While I’ve yet to revisit the film since its initial theatrical run, Under the Skin has gotten under my skin and my thoughts often return to the cold world onscreen. This odd piece of sci-fi isn’t for everyone, it’s enigmatic and open for interpretation. This is a film that I think has more in common with 2001 than Interstellar, and it’s better than Interstellar, too.
Streaming on Amazon Prime
Witness for the Prosecution
Alfred Hitchcock said that Billy Wilder’s 1957 courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution was often mistaken for his work, 1947’s film The Paradine Case. According to Wilder, a number of people mistook the minor Hitchcock work as his. The Paradine Case is an inferior Hitchcock, the overreaching fingerprints of David O. Selznick all over it. Based on the play by Agatha Christie, Witness for the Prosecution has Wilder doing a Hitchcock thriller better than the master himself. Starring Marlene Dietrich in one of her last starring roles, Tyrone Power in his last starring role, and Charles Laughton just killing it, Witness for the Prosecution is an all-time great.
Streaming on Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime
Assault on Precinct 13
I love me some John Carpenter, and you can see why he would become a genre icon with his second feature Assault on Precinct 13. Heavily influenced by the works of Howard Hawks, the film feels like a minimalist Rio Bravo. As per usual, Carpenter seasons his film with a pulsating synthesizer soundtrack, intensifying the film’s natural urgency. Not to be confused with the mediocre and forgettable remake.
Streaming on Netflix Instant
Pootie Tang
Loving Louis CK is all the rage right now. Before he was the auteur of a beloved show and everyone’s favorite stand up, Louis CK wrote and directed Pootie Tang. A dual spoof of kung-fu and Blaxploitation films, Pootie Tang was critical and commercial bomb. Before the film was released, Paramount executives booted Louis from the project. Even before Louis CK became the biggest name in comedy (at least according to some magazine cover I saw that one time), Pootie Tang was building its devoted cult. Sa da tay.
Streaming on Netflix Instant and Amazon Prime
Riki-O: The Story of Ricky
If you’ve never seen Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, drop what you’re doing and check out this absolutely insane flick. It’s like a movie from another planet. But it’s definitely not for the squeamish. Riki Oh might be the most violent film ever made. If I’m not mistaken, this film may contain the most what-the-fucks-per-minute than any other movie.
Streaming on Crackle
