With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’re highlighting the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Chiwetel Ejiofor)
The phrase “important film” covers all manner of cinematic sins. If a narrative speaks to a specific issue or disenfranchisement, it can make critique a little complicated. Thankfully, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind plays more like entertainment than education while teaching its viewer something all the same. Written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, adapted from the book by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, the film’s set in Wimbe, a village in the Southeast African country of Malawi. It concerns the life of a family trying their best to survive both extreme weather and a government that will offer no help. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
The Guilty (Gustav Möller)
The Guilty is an exhilarating, minimalist thriller that effectively sinks its hooks in, despite its bland, melodramatic title. In the vein of Locke and My Dinner with Andre, it isn’t exactly a one-man show fronted by Jakob Cedergren, but works as well as it does thanks to director Gustav Möller’s taut editing, voice cast, and sound effects that create a haunting scene halfway through the film without a drop of onscreen blood. – John F. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu
O.G. (Madeleine Sackler)
Set in a maximum-security prison, O.G. gets many of the details right about incarceration, from the mutual respect amongst inmates who have accepted why they’re there, and the guards and vocational staff who have a job to do. The opening exchange is startling for a prison picture; as the doors of Louis’ (Jeffrey Wright) cell open a corrections officer makes small talk with him, asking him if he’s seen the game. Later, when he’s the subject of an investigation he’s pressed for information by Danvers (William Fichtner), a special investigations detective with whom he’s had a long history. They banter like old friends until he crosses a line, admitting to a consensual sexual relationship with a vocational staff member that Danvers will pretend he didn’t hear. Prisons are indeed a strange place, where the violent offenders break off into packs. Louis was once the mayor of the place with a payroll that included inmates and guards. His advice for new fish Beech (Theothus Carter) is that what will get you through your time is “dignity, self-respect, grace.” – John F. (full review)
Where to Stream: HBO Go
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Peter Ramsey, Robert Persichetti Jr., Rodney Rothman)
Everything about this new–and markedly different–Spider-Man feels like a revelation, but in particular, it is the visuals; uniquely comic-book inspired while also leaving behind that medium completely, they get the rare recommendation of even seeking out the 3D version. Is it another Spider-Man origin story? Sure, but it knows this is a yawn-inducing trope and plays with those conventions while also giving us a person of color under the mask. The influences are worn on its sleeve–or in this case, a hoodie–with the Swae Lee and Post Malone jam Sunflower featuring prominently and a Spider-Man that opts for Jordans on his feet. This is a rare film that is able to blend bombastic action, laugh-out-loud humor, a smirking knowing meta-commentary on the genre, and some strong emotional beats all in one ecstatically entertaining package. – Bill G.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wardle)
Three Identical Strangers tells an interesting story well, without too much artistic flourish but at the same time not getting in the way of that story or overstaying its welcome. Director Tim Wardle lays a lot on the strength of the events he’s covering, and they are indeed compelling enough on their own to hold your interest. The flipside of this is that the film has little power outside of a first viewing. It’s the kind of doc you’re best off walking into knowing as little as possible about, because possessing key details could legitimately lessen your enjoyment. – Dan S. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu
Thunder Road (Jim Cummings)
Jim Cummings directs like an actor: the frame often wide with a zoom lens prowling in on its subject, his remarkable lead performance guiding the camera. This weight of distance between subject and camera endows his turn as an unhinged small-town police officer with an anything-could-happen sense of freedom and spontaneity. It’s also interesting how the lack of score/non-diegetic music in certain scenes helps in navigating that difficult tonal shift from comedy to tragedy. It’s a successful tactic more often than not, exceptions being an odd Sandler-esque attempt at bodily humor. What plays as tragedy to some might feel darkly funny to others. By mostly limiting the use of music to transitional sequences, Cummings imparts to his audience the same freedom with which the zoom lens endows his lead performance: just as there is no wrong way to grieve, as one character states early in the film, there’s no wrong way to digest these scenes. Laugh, cry… it’s all good on Thunder Road. – Tony H.
Where to Stream: Amazon Prime
To Sleep with Anger (Charles Burnett)
Arriving on The Criterion Collection just this week, Charles Burnett’s To Sleep with Anger has been on my to-see list for some time, and now it just got far easier as it is Criterion Channel’s movie of the week. As Criterion describes, “In a towering performance, Danny Glover plays the enigmatic southern drifter Harry, a devilish charmer who turns up out of the blue on the South Central Los Angeles doorstep of his old friends. In short order, Harry’s presence seems to cast a chaotic spell on what appeared to be a peaceful household, exposing smoldering tensions between parents and children, tradition and change, virtue and temptation.”
Where to Stream: Criterion Channel
Also New to Streaming
Amazon
Amazon Prime
Capote
Donnie Darko
Milford Graves Full Mantis
Sadie (review)
MUBI (free for 30 days)
The Maidens of Fetish Street
Two Years at Sea
Female Human Animal
Black Magic
Neighbouring Sounds
Barbara
The Blue Room
Netflix
A Clockwork Orange
Apollo 13
Blue Ruin
Junebug
Music and Lyrics
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Our Idiot Brother
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Hurt Locker
The Notebook
Wet Hot American Summer
Winter’s Bone