#streaming picks

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Unfollow the Rules is Rufus Wainwright’s first original solo album in 8 years, coming out next month. So far, he’s released three tracks from it: the operatic pop of “Trouble In Paradise”, the Laurel Canyon-sound Joni Mitchell tribute “Damsel in Distress”, and the gorgeously strummed, orchestral, swaying “Peaceful Afternoon”. “There’s always trouble in paradise,” goes the chorus of the opener. “Don’t matter if you’re good or bad or mean or awfully nice.” Ain’t that the truth!

Hear Wainwright play some (hopefully new) songs over at his Instagram at 12 P.M. CST!

@cdurham99 -  Much Ado About Nothing (2013)

Joss Whedon’s modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic play is stylish and funny. It’s shot in black and white (at Whedon’s actual home) and takes place in the present day; however, the characters speak in Shakespeare’s language. Though it shares that characteristic with Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, that is where these two projects differ. Whedon’s version is intimate and mature, while allowing for moments of silliness. Alexis Denisof is hysterical as the pompous Benedick, while Amy Acker matches him wit for wit as the put-upon Beatrice. Nathan Fillion also adds smarmy laughs as the malaprop-spouting Dogberry. I’ll allow that there really was no reason to revisit Much Ado after Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 masterpiece, but Joss Whedon never does something just to do it. There is substance here. He and his friends had done “Shakespeare nights” together for a few years and he wanted to turn their fun times into a movie. (Plus, he wanted to take a break from big budget filmmaking after The Avengers.) The result is charming, retro-cool, and worth your time.

@cdurham99 -  The Silence of the Lambs

Jonathan Demme’s 1991 horror-thriller still has the distinction of being the only horror movie ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture. It is also one of only three movies to ever win the “Big Five” Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress). It is especially impressive given the subject matter of the film: A young FBI agent named Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) tries to hunt down a serial killer named Buffalo Bill with the help of a charismatic and manipulative incarcerated serial killer named Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). The movie is a marvel of sustained suspense and features one of my favorite performances of all-time, in Hopkins’ creepy but strangely sympathetic Lecter. (Dustin Hoffman’s turn in Rain Man is my other favorite, detailed in our streaming pick HERE.) I have detailed my first experience with the movie on this site before (HERE) but suffice to say, the movie is a masterpiece. And it is leaving Netflix in ONE WEEK. So, if you haven’t seen it before and you are looking for an effectively terrifying and adrenalizing movie, you have seven days to catch it before it’s gone. You won’t be sorry, except perhaps when you dream at night.

@cdurham99 -   Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) - Featuring two of the greatest actresses we have working today, Frances McDormand and Amy Adams, Miss Pettigrew is a delightful romantic-comedy (with hilarious screwball elements) that soars high above the usual rom-com drivel that often passes for cinema. Based on a 1938 novel, it tells the story of a middle-aged, down on her luck nanny that happens upon a job as a social secretary for a wannabe singer-actress. Through that job, she finds confidence, openness, and love. The story is charming, well-told, and, eventually, very moving. McDormand is perfect, as always, and Adams gives a live-wire performance, taking what could have been an annoying role and making it endearing and indelible. I loved what the movie had to say about friendship, creating art, and finding out who you really are. It’s not necessarily a movie that is going to blow people’s minds, but it is a gorgeous one. If you have a loved one to curl up with, sit them down for this flick.

@cdurham99 - Rain Man (1988)

Barry Levinson’s Best Picture winner is an old school drama, telling a very straightforward, somewhat square story that is anchored and elevated by fantastic performances. Most notably, the movie features an all-time great acting job by Dustin Hoffman (who also won Best Actor) as Raymond Babbitt, an autistic savant who is kidnapped from the group home where he lives by his selfish, hot-tempered older brother Charlie (Tom Cruise). Charlie is upset that all of his father’s inheritance was left to Raymond, especially since Charlie didn’t even know he had a brother. It’s true that one can guess where the movie is going practically from the first 20 minutes. That doesn’t lessen its impact. Rain Man has stuck with me for years. First of all, Hoffman’s performance is basically perfect. It has been endlessly parodied and lauded for years, but it still mesmerizes. Every time I see another actor take on the role of a mentally challenged person, I am let down because, for me, nothing compares to what Hoffman did here. There’s no vanity in it, it never feels calculated, and it never feels false. And, though the movie’s sentimentality has a tinge of condescension to it, that cannot change the fact that it is immensely moving. It’s a family drama, an thoughtful examination of a mental challenge, and a celebration of life. I love that Levinson (and his producers) trusted the story to be enough without embellishment or over-adornment. It’s funny, it’s exciting, and it’s a classic.

With the Olympics taking centre-stage, The Batman casting a shadow over cinema and studios chickening out on putting anything up against it, I've resorted to a theme completely unrelated to this weeks releases. Instead, I'm keeping it simple and looking at some new flicks that have hit Netflix this week that I myself am yet to see. Check them out:

Some superhero movie comes out today, it sounds like kind of a big deal and it's got all these awesome performers in it. You might want to check out their previous work, they're pretty good.

This week sees the release of Tony Kaye's Detachment, about a school teacher who blah blah blah, the review will be up this afternoon. instead of spending your time watching that cloud of depression, why not give these Mentor based dramas instead? Trust me, they're a far better option.