With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. 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, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson)
Kirsten Johnson brings us her memoirs by way of a videographic scrapbook. Bits and pieces of the numerous documentaries she’s shot in her years as a DP have been woven together into a travelogue / ethnographic study / commentary on the nature of cinematic framing. What was an establishing shot in one doc becomes, here, a study of the vagaries of a camera operator’s job. Documentary editing is already a frustratingly ignored art, and Cameraperson‘s assemblage of scenes from the cutting-room floor into a new narrative is a masterwork. – Dan S.
Where to Stream: FilmStruck
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo)
Whether the existence of time travel or an alien invasion, writer/director Nacho Vigalondo has proven king at dealing with large-scale concepts affecting small-scale characters. Always looking to portray how genre catastrophes are handled by nobodies on the ground without government credentials or scientific degrees, he continues this trend again with his latest monster movie Colossal … for the most part. After certain truths are revealed, it’s easy to discover how two former classmates in a sleepy city with one watering hole may have more to do with the chaos wrought by a giant Godzilla-sized humanoid creature in Seoul, South Korea than anyone would believe. Gloria (Anne Hathaway) and Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) have unfinished business together that’s ready to be unleashed and not even they know it’s there. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-wai)
Much like Ashes of Time, Wong’s fifth feature, though a slight stumble, is nevertheless a lovely mess, and a crime picture whose (otherwise-intentional) disorganization is never not something of a pleasure to bask in. How many filmmakers can manage that? If the tethers of Fallen Angels are thin, the confidence with which Wong drives forward remains electrifying, while continued onscreen manipulations of Hong Kong — judging purely by the metropolitan aesthetics, it’s little surprise that this neon-lit tale would, originally, have made for a certain selection’s third segment — still carries with it a type cultural stimulation that’s nearly impossible to replicate. Had this hitmen-oriented romance maintained those highs, it’d be an outright classic — but, as far as lesser career entries go, we could always do worse. – Nick N.
Where to Stream: FilmStruck
The Human Surge (Eduardo Williams)
To put it upfront, Eduardo Williams’ The Human Surge is pretty much a film that, by nature, is unlovable. Often blatantly ugly or boring, it’s not so much deliberately confrontational in the way so many experimental films are (or pride themselves on being), but rather risk-taking for the sake of something almost impossible to articulate — even if based in something obvious. – Ethan V. (full review)
Where to Stream: iTunes
Kuso (Flying Lotus)
Sick and twisted for the sake of being sick and twisted, Kuso is a certainly not a film for everyone, or perhaps anybody. I imagine the experience is like being high on something spiked with an agent that can induce awful nightmares. Though I’m not sure being drunk or high will make Kuso a delightful experience. Having seen the film stone-cold sober with an Earl Grey Tea Latte at an afternoon press-and-industry screening, I can confirm that, indeed, many critics and acquisition executives gave up at various points throughout. It’s a film that won’t been seen at a theater near you anytime soon, as it may, in fact, be in violation of many lease agreements, edging towards pornographic. But, if you came for the blood, sweat, tears, semen, and amniotic fluid, then Flying Lotus will give you your money’s worth in a nasty piece of work that would make Matthew Barney cringe. – John F. (full review)
Where to Stream: Shudder
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards)
There will be a lot of praise for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story predicated on it being “dark,” as some sort of return to the tone of The Empire Strikes Back. (To this day, a film program classmate declaring that Empire was the best Star Wars film “because it’s the darkest” echoes in my head.) But while the first in the “Star Wars anthology” films certainly aims for more moral ambiguity than any of the main series, it only goes so far, and it still doesn’t feel terribly different. When a space battle sequence features a Rebel commander who is a fish-man like Admiral Ackbar but not the same kind of fish-man as Admiral Ackbar, it sets my teeth on edge. When there are cameos by those two dudes Obi-Wan carved up in the Cantina (yes, really), it makes me wonder how low these movies can stoop for cameos. When the universe “expands” in this way, it actually makes it seem so much smaller. – Dan S. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Sleight (J.D. Dillard)
After his mother dies, teenaged Bo (Jacob Latimore) is left to look after his little sister Tina (Storm Reid), which not only thrusts him into sudden adulthood, but also forces him to give up a scholarship and become a salesman for notorious drug dealer Angelo (Dulé Hill). But Bo is a caretaker in more than one way: besides devoting himself to his younger sibling, he also seems keen in bringing joy to the world through his performance. Bo happens to be a street magician whose impressive card tricks and gravity-defying coin illusions bring a smile to the people he meets. Destiny might have dealt him the wrong cards, but he’s fierce in his determination to maintain a sense of wonder. – Jose S. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky)
Loosely based on the novel Roadside Picnic, the story deals with a trio of metaphorical characters wanting to access a mysterious Zone where your innermost dreams can come to life. The Stalker serves as a guide to the Writer and the Professor as they take a metaphysical journey from a fascist neo-future to a nature sanctuary of surrealism as only Tarkovsky could do. It also eerily foreshadows the Chernobyl disaster that happened seven years later, which created a ‘zone of Alienation.’ Further evolving from the style of The Mirror, Stalker is also beloved by many as their favorite Tarkovsky film for its mystical cinematography (switching from brown monochrome to vibrant color), trippy soundtrack by Eduard Artemyev (who also scored Solaris) and mind bending mise en scene. – Raffi A.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Suspiria (Dario Argento)
Generally considered the ultimate giallo film, Suspiria is a boldly stylized horror thriller set at a lavish dance academy on the edge of Germany’s Black Forest. Susi (Jessica Harper), a new student, finds herself under the thumb of the school’s grinning, diabolical staff, who assure her nothing unusual is happening. Quite the opposite: this school is merely a front, concealing the lair of a coven of spiteful witches who kill anyone who offends their tastes. Suspiria‘s tone is pitched at a level of beatific surreality, one which heedlessly ignores narrative sanity in favor of Dario Argento‘s trademarked twisted dream logic. Even the densely colorful production design stands out as lushly and profanely ostentatious, stylishness bordering on hedonistic excess. Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro lovingly referred to the art design, inspired by the work of MC Escher, as “the most deranged in cinema history.” – Tony H.
Where to Stream: Amazon Prime
The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan)
The finest portrayal of tragedy and grief I’ve ever witnessed on screen, Atom Egoyan‘s tale of a horrific bus crash and its ripple effects on a small community is an immensely affecting experience. As answers are slowly provided through our director’s peerless structure, we get further absorbed meeting each new character and learning how they fit into this quaint masterwork’s puzzle. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Amazon Prime
Also New to Streaming
Amazon
The Endless River (review)
Killing Ground (review)
FilmStruck
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Asparagus
Chinese Odyssey
Miao Miao
The Eagle Shooting Heroes
The Rocking Horse Winner
The Thin Blue Line
MUBI (free 30-day trial)
Essays
Mardan
By the Dike Sluice
Darling
Billy Liar
A Kind of Loving
Eldorado XXI