This month’s off-the-grid streaming offering is an even more eclectic mix than usual. A handful of indie dramas, genre treats for your late-night needs, and thoughtful documentaries on cinema and the economy.
“Goat” (2016)
Harry Styles’ big acting moment has generated a lot of press (for better or worse) this fall, but let’s not forget the boyband member-turned-actor that preceded him.At least here. One of the best in years is Nick Jonas, who took a hiatus in his music career in the mid-2010s to land a supporting role in this film adaptation of Brad Land’s harrowing memoir. . Ben Schnetzer stars as a young man entering college who promises the same fraternity as his brother (Jonas), but finds their elaborate haze ritual to be brutal and abusive. Neil coordinates the actions for maximum impact, making this one of the insidious effects of toxic masculinity not only in Rand’s story, but on campuses across the country.
Writer-director Rick Famuyiwa’s “The Wood” and “Brown Sugar” are two of the most insightful snapshots of youth released in the late 1990s and early 2000s. For his Sundance sensation “Dope,” the filmmaker made his three teenage friends (played enthusiastically by his charismatic Shameik Moore, Kiersey Clemons, and Tony Revolori) Create a fun and energetic story. He has a backpack full of stolen drugs and a loaded gun. Famuyiwa sets the tone with levity, keeping the story moving like a locomotive, though it occasionally slows down for a charming flirtation between protagonist Moore and the girl of his dreams, played by Zoe Kravitz. .
“Support Girls” (2018)
Regina Hall — now Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul — is hilariously flustered and deeply sympathetic as the manager of a Hooters-style sports bar in this top-notch comedy-drama from writer-director Andrew Bujalski. Lisa (Hall) fills the roles of boss, den mother and support her staff equally, keeping a team of charming young waitresses on the ball and at a safe distance from reluctant customers. It’s a relatively low-key (and not heavily plotted) hangout movie, but the script is shaggy and funny, and the ensemble cast is ace.
“Tekken Man” (2012)
Since bursting onto the hip-hop scene in the early 1990s, the Staten Island Wu-Tang Clan have sung kung fu movie hymns and borrowed album samples and member myths. So it was perhaps inevitable that founding member RZA would make his own martial arts film, directed, co-written, and starred as a blacksmith in a 19th-century Chinese village that has been taken over by an evil clan. Aided by a witty madam (Lucy Liu) and a hedonistic employer (Russell Crowe, who is clearly having a blast), the blacksmith performs a thrilling series of choreographed by Hong Kong film legend Corey. counterattack in an action scene. Yuen.
“Piranha” (2010)
Joe Dante’s original 1978 version of “Piranha” sat somewhere between a “Jaws” spoof and an exploitation movie rip-off. Alexandre Aja’s remake tells Spielberg’s classic more clearly. Thanks to his sequence in the opening, Richard shows Dreyfus himself fishing and singing “Show Me the Way to Go Home” before being attacked by his creature. , a bloodthirsty fish unleashed by an earthquake beneath Lake Victoria on the eve of spring break. The result is bikini-clad babes, venerable character actors, and cartoonish stews of murder, culminating in a literal bloodbath on the beach. It’s both gloriously silly and embarrassingly funny, with stars Elisabeth Shue and Adam Scott miraculously finding the right, straight notes for all the ridiculousness.
“The China Hustle” (2018)
“There are no good guys in this story,” explains investor Dan Davis. “Including me.” Davis is for documentarian Jed Rothstein the gateway to the story of what he calls “a huge worldwide fraud” after the 2008 financial crisis, which is completely It was a legit, highly overvalued stock “reverse merger boom.” About illegal business in China. Telling that story involves a fair amount of detective work that Rothstein carries out with flair.It’s clever as a whip without alienating less knowledgeable viewers, explaining the story’s intricate financial dealings without (too much) disdain, and knocking down some pretty sacred cows in the process.・General Clark No Fall well. )
When the great French-Belgian filmmaker Agnès Varda died in 2019 at the age of 90, she left behind a rich and diverse filmography. She left behind her more than 50 credits over the years, including her heartbreaking dramas, surrealist short films, and freewheeling documentaries. In this, her final film, Varda reflects on her own career, summarizes her work and shares her philosophy on filmmaking, life and love. It’s a chatty, warm synopsis, featuring a wealth of clips from her films, as well as insights from various public talks and her Q. It’s becoming a thing.