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
The Battered Bastards of Baseball (Chapman Way, Maclain Way)
A well-made though thinly told tale about the Portland Mavericks, a minor-league baseball team that operated independent of Major League Baseball’s rules and regulations. Owned by Bonanza star Bing Russell, father of Kurt, the Mavericks found unbridled success in the mid-70s, revitalizing a once-defunct baseball town. Directors Chapman and Maclain Way don’t dig much into the specifics of the story, relying on the memories of those close to Bing (Kurt Russell especially) and not much else. In short, the story exceeds the documentary, which is just enough to entertain.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Divergent (Neil Burger)
Like it or not, the twenty-first century has brought cultural alterations. For instance, the conversation about futuristic dystopias and/or social upheaval no longer includes 1984, Brave New World, or Fahrenheit 451. Our contemporary equivalents are now The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Divergent. They may not be at the same reading level, target the same demographic, or prove as smart and prophetic as the former trio, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t relevant or effective. All except for one thing impossible to ignore: their delivery method. The trilogy has become a ubiquitous byproduct of our more is better philosophy, unfortunately turning what could be instant classics into timely, flash-in-the-pan homage. Suzanne Collins somehow circumvented this inevitability with Katniss Everdeen’s riveting saga and its subsequent cinematic adaptations. With Divergent, Veronica Roth, however, sadly falls short. – Nathan B. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (Brian Knappenberger)
If you’ve been on the internet, there’s a chance you’ve used a service that Aaron Swartz has had a hand in. A co-founder of Reddit, a developer on RSS, an organizer of Creative Commons, and countless other services, he had a phenomenal impact on what we call the internet today. Sadly, his life was cut short as he committed suicide last January, presumably due to pressure following the efforts of the government to jail him for up to 35 years and fines in the millions because of harmlessly gathering data to academic journals at MIT. Directed by Brian Knappenberger, the documentary chronicling his life and auxiliary efforts around internet freedom is formally standard, but a powerful testament to Swartz’s effort, properly defining him as a hero.
Where to Stream: YouTube
Made In America (Ron Howard)
While he’s currently in between dramas, Ron Howard found the time to hang out with some of music’s most popular acts in Made in America. Spearheaded by Jay-Z, the event took place in Philadelphia around two years ago, featuring acts such as Pearl Jam, Passion Pit, Dirty Projects, Odd Future, Drake, Run-DMC, Skrillex, Rick Ross, Janelle Monáe, Chris Cornell and more. While its focus is a bit sporadic, it does a decent job at taking a look at the festival from a variety of angles, making for an entertaining behind-the-scenes look. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Oculus (Mike Flanagan)
We all know the game in a horror film these days. Something evil is going to prey on our protagonists and likely try to scare the crap out of us in the process. But it’s not often that the protagonists also know the score and what to do to keep from being overtaken. That’s what Oculus is all about: fighting back against a known evil to the best of your abilities. Karen Gillan‘s Kaylie shines here as the woman that has it out for a magic mirror (stay with me here) that has been wreaking havoc on its owners for centuries. She does plenty of research and seems to have been preparing for the last 11 years when her brother Tim (Brenton Thwaites) is finally released from a mental hospital and she asks for his assistance. What she gets is a surprise, as he was once tormented by what happened, but has been through so many psychological evaluations that he is a disbeliever of the clear evil in the same house. – Bill G. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
The One I Love (Charlie McDowell)
The driving force behind the very clever two-handed chamber piece The One I Love is communication. How we talk to those we love and those that love us. Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss play Ethan and Sophie, a married couple at a crossroads. When we meet them, they’re engaging in some silly-looking couples therapy with a very aloof Ted Danson. At the end of one of their sessions, the good doctor recommends that the couple take a retreat to a nearby cottage for the weekend and “reset the reset button.” – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Palo Alto (Gia Coppola)
In the opening shot of Gia Coppola’s feature-length debut, Palo Alto, the camera slowly zooms in from afar on a parked car where two teens, Teddy (Jack Kilmer) and Fred (Nat Wolff), are getting high. The content of the shot, a pair of youths in disarray, and the voyeuristic camerawork echoes the dynamic home robbery sequence in 2013’s The Bling Ring, a film by another member of the Coppola family. – Zade C. (full review)
Where to Stream: iTunes
Southcliffe (Sean Durkin)
To say Southcliffe gets off on the wrong foot would be to realize that beyond the seemingly well-orchestrated images in its opening minutes, there already lies the signs of something deeply systematic and portentous: an oppressively grey color palette, “moody” exteriors of a small English town highlighting its empty rural plains during a seemingly eternal dusk, only to then be interrupted by shots ringing into an old lady. Seems menacing and atmospheric? Well, when — only a few minutes later — we see the contrast of this violent action with the shooter embracing his own frail mother in his home, it reveals not only its non-linear narrative structure, but also the cheapness of it that will ensue over the next three hours. – Ethan V. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
The Strange Little Cat (Ramon Zürcher)
Running a brief 72 minutes, The Strange Little Cat joins the hour-long Viola as 2013′s second feature that will require multiple viewings, but ones which will pass by briskly and pleasurably so. Its aesthetic gambits are at once obvious and yet perplexingly complex, its tone a playful register mixed with sudden moments of melancholy, and its narrative at first shallow, but soon revealed to be densely layered. While some have criticized the Berlin School — the filmmaking movement that has bred terse, methodical directors like Barbara’s Christian Petzold, Everyone Else’s Maren Ade, and In the Shadows’ Thomas Arslan– Ramon Zürcher’s debut feature feels like a bold step towards something much warmer and amiable than any of these noted “contemporaries.” Given the subtlety of its narrative, questions of whether this congeals into something substantial might be up for further debate, but I’m willing to give this unquestionably unique work a very strong benefit of the doubt when the rigor of its filmmaking leads toward so many unexpected pleasures. – Peter L. (full review)
Where to Stream: Fandor
Also New to Streaming:
Hulu Plus
An Ideal Husband
Love is Colder Than Death
Netflix
All Cheerleaders Die
Bad Boys
The Birdcage
The Cable Guy
Chaplin: The Movie
Day Watch
Face/Off
It Felt Like Love
Kinky Boots
The Longest Day
Mad Max
The Mighty Ducks
D2: The Mighty Ducks
The Newton Boys
Rounders
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow