With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we believe it’s our duty to highlight the recent, recommended titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below, and shoot over suggestions to @TheFilmStage.
After Tiller (Martha Shane, Lana Wilson)
Although documentaries often present real-life people working in risk-filled areas, the results can be quite banal. Half of reality television is filled with potentially exciting subjects: ER surgeons; truckers crossing thin sheets of ice; Alaskan crab fishers; or cops working some of world’s most dangerous streets. The problem with these shows is that, more often than not, their content boils down to one simple idea: “pretty crazy stuff!” In a breath of fresh air, After Tiller actually explores the psychology of four late-term abortion doctors, a group whose work is not inherently dangerous, but whose professional embroilment in political controversies have made them potential targets. Instead of gaping at this profession and the dangers surrounding it, directors Martha Shane and Lana Wilson have crafted a nuanced psychological portrait of why the set would fight for women on these front lines, as well as the ethical, political, and moral decisions they face every day. – Peter L. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Alan Partridge (Declan Lowney)
He may be getting attention for his acclaimed drama Philomena, as well as the recent Sundance debut of his entertaining sequel The Trip to Italy, but Steve Coogan also recently returned to perhaps his most iconic role, the fictional talk show host Alan Partridge. The new feature-length film was released in the U.K. last year and now it’s available on VOD ahead of a theatrical release. The project, coming from television director Declan Lowney (Little Britain, Father Ted), follows hostage crisis of a disgruntled employee (Colm Meaney). Showing at NYFF, I actually got the chance to check it out last fall, and as my first introduction to the character, it was quite an entertaining time. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Bottled Up (Enid Zentelis)
Bottled Up, the second feature from writer/director Enid Zentelis, is a noble piece of independent filmmaking, determined to explore oft-examined dramatic situations from a new perspective. The situations on display here, at their most basic, are drug addiction and environmentalism. Fay (Melissa Leo) is a quiet small business owner living in a quiet town in the Hudson River Valley, burdened with a pill-addicted daughter named Sylvie (the superb Marin Ireland) and a relatively uninteresting life. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Blue Is The Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche)
Lovely as the title is, Blue is the Warmest Color ought to have been released under its French title, La Vie d’Adele Chapitres 1 & 2. The American title, in referencing Emma’s blue hair, emphasizes the love story that unfolds over the course of three hours, and that story is certainly one of the better ones to grace the screen in 2013, but the film’s real treasure, as suggested by the connection between the French title and an early scene in which Adele and her boyfriend discuss the unfinished novel The Life of Marianne, is in its depiction of life’s tendency to imitate art. It was a common theme in 2013, but none said it quite so elegantly. Oh, and it also has the best performance of 2013, courtesy the young Adele Exarchopoulos. – Forrest C.
Where to Stream: Netflix, Amazon, iTunes
Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee)
Disney’s Frozen probably didn’t need to break from the traditional princess mold to be a hit for the studio. So the fact that this long-coming interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen takes the time and patience to expertly turn that image on its head is both welcome and laudable — and directly opposite any marketing might suggest. Spinning a testament to true, unconditional love, unpacking the fool’s gold of ‘waiting for my prince to come,’ and asking big questions about the effect of fear on a young person’s sense of individuality and self wouldn’t count for much, if the package delivering it weren’t a strong story, passionately told. Fortunately for Disney and its fans—heck, even its critics can breathe easy this time—Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have made one of the snappiest and most endearing Disney animated products in some time. – Nathan B.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Odd Thomas (Stephen Sommers)
It’s August 14th in Pico Mundo, CA and the world is about to end. Well, not the world per se, but the community young Odd Thomas (Anton Yelchin) resides. Sort of. He sees ghosts of dead people with unfinished business, a gift passed down by his crazy mother wielded in secret from everyone besides Police Chief Porter (Willem Dafoe) and girlfriend Stormy (Addison Timlin). But while it allows him to help the tragic, helpless souls wandering around him to find peace and justice, it also saddles him with the evil, slithering demons called bodachs who hover around those about to inflict carnage. There’s a swarm of them today surrounding the haplessly awkward “Fungus” Bob (Shuler Hensley) and their path through town is about to lead Odd towards potential mass murder that only he has the power to stop. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
2014 Oscar-Nominated Shorts: Live-Action (Various Directors)
After a theatrical run, all the 2014 Oscar-nominated Live-Action short films are now available on VOD. See our reviews of them all here, while one can find documentary short reviews here and animated short reviews here.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes
The Pervet’s Guide to Ideology (Sophie Fiennes)
Few (if any) modern intellectuals have the public profile of Slavoj Žižek, a man whose long-form thoughts on everything from The Wire to modern Marxisim are consumed in equal amounts — and, no less, with as many lengthy responses. Those occasional dips into moving images come to this writer’s attention more strongly than, say, a battle with Noam Chomsky, so what follows, here, is of genuine interest: The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, a sequel of sorts to 2006′s The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema — i.e., a reunion with director Sophie Fiennes — that, again, brings the philosopher into recreations of famous films. – Nick N.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes
Twice Born (Sergio Castellitto)
Adapted from the 2008 novel by Margaret Mazzantini of the same name, Twice Born (Venuto al mondo) isn’t quite what it seems. When an aged Italian woman named Gemma (Penélope Cruz) receives a phone call from her past, we infer certain facts via hers and her husband’s (director Sergio Castellito‘s Giuliano) reactions. The mystery man in a photo on their fridge seems more important than a simple friend for who’s work is showing in Sarajevo. And as Gemma and son Pietro (Pietro Castellito) exit the plane in Bosnia, flashbacks of her first visit begin to unfold. It’s 1984 when she meets the lifelong friend Gojko (Adnan Haskovic) who called and its then that she falls for her one true love Diego (Emile Hirsch). Authentic to a fault in their love for one another and the struggle to be the person they believe their partner needs, we watch both grow tired from the strain and constant need to assuage any and all assumptions they have about what the other is thinking. Forever bonded, the journey life takes them on is full of unspeakable tragedy no attempt at optimism can hope to prevail against. Hardened by their experiences, it’s their duty to keep fighting for life, love, and happiness. Through the make-up putting close to two decades on Cruz’s face, still her vitality never dies. Hope will be born from darkness; good created from evil. And when you experience the defining cruelty driving her journey, you’ll know exactly what I mean. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Also New to Streaming
Inequality for All
Narco Cultura
The Wait
You Will Be My Son
What are you streaming this week?