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.
About Time (Richard Curtis)
A word of caution to the romantically inclined sci-fi buff: About Time is not a time travel movie — it’s a Richard Curtis movie. If you have ever entertained the possibility of swimming against the current of your own time stream and remaking key choices therein, then you’ve likely put more thought into this premise than Curtis did. The very conceit of the time displacement is treated with about the same speculative rigor as the remote control in Adam Sandler’s Click. This doesn’t make it a bad movie, but it is a real missed opportunity. This is one of those times Curtis might want to replay and fine tune. – Nathan B. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Afternoon Delight (Jill Soloway)
You’ve seen her in a handful of comedies (Step Brothers, Wanderlust) and perhaps even a drama (Revolutionary Road), but Kathryn Hahn finally got a deserved leading role with this Sundance premiere. The directorial debut of Jill Soloway, Afternoon Delight finds Hahn as a wife who, looking for some adventure, befriends a local stripper, played by Juno Temple. Soloway’s authentic direction provide a canvas for Hahn to work with a fully formed character, something all too rare in today’s Hollywood. As the relationships between our main characters deepen, what starts as a high-concept drama turns into something dark, discomforting and thoroughly impressive. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
All is Lost (J.C. Chandor)
The hurdles in making a film with a single actor, virtually no dialogue and, while you’re at it, also setting action in the middle of the ocean sounds like a daunting, if not impossible feat for a filmmaker to successfully accomplish. Yet, miraculously, All Is Lost, the second feature film fromMargin Call director J.C. Candor, is an uncommonly effective piece that acts as a complete reversal from his previous feature. Starring the timeless Robert Redford as a nameless man — in what might be a pinnacle performance that he could happily retire after — the film rests entirely on his shoulders, and he carries it with grace and class. Moreover, the nuanced details in his performance anchor All Is Lost without exaggerating the direness of his own predicament. – Raffi A. – (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass)
To draw an easy comparison, Captain Phillips is this year’s Argo. Ben Affleck‘s Best Picture winner, though a highly suspenseful thriller, was also one in which very few bad things actually happened. There’s no doubt it was a life-or-death situation for all involved, but, with very few exceptions, things went according to plan — and, as the film ended, America was not just great, but exceptional, having successfully pulled its citizens out of hostile territory with no casualties. It’s a good film, but complex politics were not on its checklist — as its problematic treatment of extensive Canadian involvement would tell you. – Forrest C. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
The Counselor: Unrated Director’s Cut (Ridley Scott)
Ridley Scott‘s newest title, The Counselor, is a more special matter than an annual offering might initially suggest, if only for having been scripted by none other than living American legend Cormac McCarthy. It doesn’t hurt (or help) that expectations saddled with the name have been at their peak in recent years — these things happen when your most recent novel nabbed a Pulitzer Prize, while the preceding text was adapted into a tremendous, now-iconic awards magnet — nor can we be so sure that Scott would transform written-for-the-screen text with necessary aplomb, as much as we might hold out hope. – Nick N. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
The Croods (Chris Sanders and Kirk De Micco)
There is genuine heart and an intriguing theme inside of The Croods, the latest from DreamWorks Animation. Directors Chris Sanders and Kirk De Micco have an odd confidence that oozes throughout, even during the film’s most lackluster moments. There is a darkness lingering just underneath the surface that one expects to rear up and fully reveal itself at any time. Yet, again and again, it dances away before things become too scary or too dreary. – Bill G. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Ender’s Game (Gavin Hood)
The blockbuster season has now officially passed, and gone with it are the nauseating evocations of the September 11th terrorist attacks that were present in some form or another in Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, World War Z, and Star Trek Into Darkness. With a budget about half of those films, it’s debatable as to whether or not Ender’s Game, an adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Hugo and Nebula Award winner of the same title, qualifies as a “blockbuster” or a tentpole — but, in any case, it’s not above a 9/11 allusion or two, even if they are a tad more subtle. – Forrest C. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Grand Piano (Eugenio Mira)
Rarely does a hostage thriller go so far off the rails and, yet, remain genuinely refreshing all at once. Appropriately, Grand Piano, the latest film from director Eugenio Mira, almost feels like a dare taken to its full conclusion — because, even with a significant skillset, how one can make playing the piano a thrilling and wild event? Answering this question paves the way for a truly filmic picture that embraces the chaos of reality and how well-laid plans can consistently disintegrate once the human element is added. – Bill G. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Kid-Thing (David Zellner)
The Austin based Zellner brothers are known for their particular brand of off-beat dead-pan humor and eccentric worldview. With their new film Kid-Thing the duo continue this tradition with a quiet fable about a restless young girl who has an endless appetite, setting out to do bad things. Shot in a rural part of Texas, they employ a simplistic style, with scenes often comprised of carefully composed static shots. It lends itself to a particular brand of subdued cinema where nothing much happens and the smaller nuances are supposed to keep you interested. Depending on how much you enjoy this subtle variation in genre will effect how much you read into the parable, but Kid-Thing still does little to nothing that makes all the waiting worthwhile. – Raffi A. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu
Man of Tai Chi (Keanu Reeves)
Like a ride straight out of the Hong Kong cinema of yesteryear, Man of Tai Chi is a silly entertainment that, alternately, plays with serious themes in an engaging manner — not that these have much effect when the fights and stunt choreography in Keanu Reeves‘ directorial debut are superb. You’d expect that from legendary fight coordinator Yuen Woo-ping, yet it’s more worthwhile to note that how the actor, nearly fifty, has become even more nimble as years go by. Reeves directs, too, building up a character who, though the ultimate boss you simply don’t want to say no to, is also an embracing of the silly, semi-serious persona much of his career has been built upon; a few lines are so silly and shockingly odd that, instead of detracting, they only add to the mystique of what’s been achieved. – Bill G.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Metallica Through the Never (Nimrod Antal)
There’s no getting around Metallica‘s status as legends, even if, over the years — after millions upon millions of the group’s albums have sold since they broke out of the heavy metal scene — they’ve garnered an increasing reputation for not being quite what they were in the old days. One thing is certain: these guys can still put on a hell of a show. Enter Metallica Through the Never, a hybrid of the concert film and traditional narrative that utilizes IMAX 3D to be bigger, badder, and louder than ever before. For a loyal fan, this is something of a godsend. – Bill G. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google Play
Run & Jump (Steph Green)
While this past fall saw the release of Nebraska, a dramatic effort from Saturday Night Live‘s Will Forte, it wasn’t his first. Earlier in 2013, Tribeca Film Festival hosted the premiere of Run & Jump, which features the actor in a supporting role. As we said in our review, it’s a film that will grow on you, slowly and subtly absorbing you into its world. With an observant structure, we are the third wheel in a tested marriage, following an American therapist, Ted (Forte) who arrives to a Ireland to document the recovery of Conor (Edward Macliam), a family man whose suffered a stroke. ” – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google Play
Tomorrow Night (Louis C.K.)
Despite his recent years of popularity, Louis C.K. has been working as a comedian for nearly three decades, first taking the stage in 1984 in Boston. Along the way he’s gotten his own TV shows, comedy specials, starred in high-profile films from Woody Allen, Rickey Gervais, and David O. Russell, and even directed his own features. Although his most notable helming work is the 2001 Chris Rock-led comedy Pootie Tang, he actually debuted his first film a few years prior and for the first time, it’s now available to download. Titled Tomorrow Night, the black-and-white comedy premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 1998 and while it went to tour other festivals, it never got distribution. Featuring Steve Carell, Amy Poehler, JB Smoove, Matt Walsh, Wanda Sykes and a brief appearance by Conan O’Brien, the film tracks a loner who attempts to get a social life. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: LouisCK.net
Also Available to Stream:
Bull Durham
Informant
Mitt
Sepideh
Unfinished Song
What are you streaming this week?