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 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.
The Films of Albert Brooks
We can think of no better way to celebrate the holiday weekend then curling up with the hilarious, often touching films of Albert Brooks. All of his directorial features — Real Life, Modern Romance, Lost in America, Defending Your Life, Mother, The Muse, and Looking For Comedy in a Muslim World — have now been added to Netflix. What are you waiting for?
Where to Stream: Netflix
The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson)
Rian Johnson‘s sophomore outing was one of the most criminally overlooked films of the year when it was released half-a-decade ago, but it’s since gained a following. Bursting with energy, as we jump from locations exotic as Johnson’s dialogue, there isn’t a dull moment in this well-crafted caper story. Now available to stream on Amazon Prime, it should be required viewing before his Star Wars: Episode IX. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Amazon Prime
Cemetery of Splendour (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
If it is by now redundant to say that Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (who understands pronunciation troubles and insists people call him “Joe”) is truly in a class of his own, we might blame both the general excellence of his output — a large oeuvre consisting of features, shorts, and installations — and the difficulty that’s often associated with describing them in either literal or opinion-based terms. The further one gets into his work, however, the more his marriage of dense visual style with Thailand’s historical, spiritual, and mystical bedrocks will cohere. These images —often set in nature (with billowing winds and shaking trees adding to the atmosphere); almost always composed in long shot that emphasizes a self-conscious artificiality; and frequently running a few minutes each, sometimes several, to create a laid-back rhythm— are, for viewers Thai and non-Thai alike, a gateway to less-definitive thematic undercurrents. To put this in different terms for neophytes: observing his art is not at all unlike the intellectual stimulation of, say, confidently working through passages of a dense 19th-century novel. On a piece-by-piece basis, Cemetery of Splendour is a bit more straightforward than Joe’s other work. – Nick N. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google
Francofonia (Aleksandr Sokurov)
Who are we without museums? Supposedly a tribute to France’s artistic excellence throughout the centuries, Francofonia quickly reveals itself as an exploration of the Louvre, the role of a museum, and the clash between the abstract notion of artwork and certain inescapable circumstances of the real world. And yet, a French version of Russian Ark this is not. – Tommaso T. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier)
If one appreciated the stripped-down brutality of Jeremy Saulnier‘s Blue Ruin, his follow-up Green Room is a whole other beast. In mostly one location, Saulnier is able to eke out every bit of tension possible and will have one squirming in their seat in a number of sequences. While it features a number of great performances — including a menacing Patrick Stewart and Imogen Poots’ best turn yet — it’s the late Anton Yelchin that carries it with a do-or-die scrappiness. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Rams (Grímur Hákonarson)
Following his 2010 debut, Summerland, Rams marks the second feature film from Icelandic director Grimur Hakonarson. Premiering as part of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard line-up, the film chronicles the tale of two brothers, Gummi (Sigurdur Sigurjonsson) and Kiddi (Theodor Juliusson), in a rural Icelandic valley who both make a living as farmers raising sheep and rams. In fact, they are the sole two breeders of a special stock of rams that are renowned for their excellent and sought-after qualities. However, the two brothers are not on speaking terms, quite literally for the last forty years, due to a divisive incident in the past. A breakout of a degenerative neurological disease which affects sheep, scrapies, affects both brothers in the valley. The government decides that all the flocks in the affected valley must be culled in order to eradicate the outbreak. So begins the central story, as we see how the two brothers must learn to move on from the past in order to salvage whatever little remains of their future. – Raphael D. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Sleeping Giant (Andrew Cividino)
Winner of the Best Canadian First Feature at TIFF and Best Canadian Feature in Vancouver after bowing at Cannes last May, Andrew Cividino‘s feature-length debut Sleeping Giant has earned itself a pretty impeccable pedigree. An expansion of his 2013 short film of the same name, this coming-of-age drama on the summer shores of Thunder Bay, Ontario is a universal tale for viewers of all nationalities. With the time period left ambiguous—cell phones aren’t used and the one video camera seen in this cottage community still uses cassette tapes—it resonates with all ages too, calling back to memories of youthful malaise and rambunctious rebellion. And it pulls no punches as far as love, sex, drugs, or jealousy are concerned. “Fun” possesses many definitions, but even more consequences. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
The Wait (Piero Messina)
Seeing that the film starts in the middle of a memorial service, it doesn’t qualify as a spoiler to reveal that the unseen hero of L’attesa (The Wait) – the subject of both female protagonists’ devotion – isn’t going to show up as claimed/expected. With this mystery gone, the story is firmly set around the dynamic shaped by an absence, an illusion, a lie. Which is a more-than-valid premise, for sure; except the screenplay, adapted from the Italian play La vita che ti diedi by a whopping four writers, can never quite expand on that wistful idea and comes up short at every turn. – Zhuo-Ning Su (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Also New to Streaming
Amazon
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Extended Cut
Buddymoon (review)
Carnage Park
Chasing Niagara
Marauders
Satanic
MUBI
Portrait of Jason
We Were Here
To Kill A Man
Curses
Diary of a Lost Girl
Bill Cunningham New York
Netflix
Back to the Future Trilogy
Bad Boys II
Beavis and Butt-head Do America
Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop II
Big Trouble in Little China
Blade II
Cronies
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gladiator
Insomnia
Lethal Weapon 1-4
Mean Girls
The Painted Veil
Rabin, the Last Day (review)
The Sting
Working Girl