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.
A Very Murray Christmas (Sofia Coppola)
Gear up for Christmas by pouring some eggnog, gathering your family, and watching the latest work from Sofia Coppola, featuring Bill Murray, George Clooney, Paul Shaffer, Amy Poehler, Julie White, Dimitri Dimitrov, Michael Cera, Chris Rock, David Johansen, Maya Rudolph, Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Lewis, Rashida Jones, Miley Cyrus, and more. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Best of Enemies (Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon)
This is the kind of documentary that’ll make you long for another a time. A time when television still felt fresh and exciting, and talking heads knew what they were talking about. Directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville, Best of Enemies focuses on the vicious debates between conservative William Buckley Jr. and liberal Gore Vidal during the 1968 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Smart, charismatic men speaking passionately and intelligently about all topics vital to the nation. Feels like wish fulfillment now. – Dan M.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Black Coal, Thin Ice (Yi’nao Diao)
Despite having won the Golden Bear last year at the Berlin Film Festival, writer and director Yi’nao Diao’s acclaimed new film, Black Coal, Thin Ice somehow didn’t receive U.S. theatrical distribution. However, it’s finally available to stream. The modern noir tells the story of an ex-cop and his old parter, who reunite to investigate the chain of murders that brought their careers to an end after a series of identical murders begins to start all over again. I had the great pleasure of seeing this last year at the Tribeca Film Festival and Yi’nao has crafted an incredibly dense picture that requires multiple views to fully comprehend. The lead performances from Wang Xuebing, Liao Fan, and Gwei Lun help elevate the film to another level, so there’s no excuse to not check it out now. – Patrick D.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
When it comes to his representation of New York, Stanley Kubrick’s intentionally facile representation had (rightfully) confounded many upon first contact, but therein lies the gravity of its woozy dream logic; by this token, a common “New York doesn’t resemble New York” complaint misses such a number of precise intentions that it can only feel to be useless in an Eyes Wide Shut discussion. These sets still evoke Manhattan’s spirit and mood with complete force, in its mixture lending the film a disquieting funhouse mirror quality where all feels one or two degrees off from the place itself. And, sure: a resemblance to the single-street Seinfeld set carries separate, possibly equal amusement. – Nick N.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Fifty Shades of Grey (Sam Taylor-Johnson)
Author E.L. James should be ecstatic that the crazy fervor surrounding her trilogy of BD/SM propelled it towards a movie deal because now artists more qualified to bring her kinkiness to life can get their hands on it. I’m not saying she’s a bad writer—I’ll let the myriad commenters on the interwebs too haughty to accept someone who turned a pornographic Twilight fan-fiction into a worldwide bestseller do that. Talent aside, James hit the jackpot. She touched a raw nerve in female readers desperate for an injection of unbridled sex no matter what adjective for penis was used. Now, with Fifty Shades of Grey the film, her faults can be improved. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: HBO Go
Kingsman: The Secret Service (Matthew Vaughn)
Kingsman: The Secret Service, the latest pairing of comic scribe Mark Millar and director Matthew Vaughn, wants to sell itself as a fresh and irreverent take on British spy antics, a silly shot-in-the-arm that harkens back to the campier days of James Bond. With the genre favoring more stoic and gritty explorations as of late, it’s an initial thrill to see Colin Firth decked out in a bespoke suit, umbrella in hand, dispatching bad-guys as if we lived in a world where the most commonly know Avengers were still Emma Peel and John Steed. – Nathan B. (full review)
Where to Stream: HBO Go
Life (Anton Corbijn)
A James Dean biopic told from the perspective of Dennis Stock, the photographer who shot a series of Dean’s most iconic photographs, seems like a perfect fit for director Anton Corbijn, himself a celebrated photographer famed for immortalizing some of the biggest rockstars of the recent past. It was therefore surprising when the world premiere of Life, starring Robert Pattinson as Stock and Dane DeHaan as Dean, was slotted into Berlinale Special, a festival sidebar usually reserved for the premieres of films with more media appeal than artistic merit (this year’s Fifty Shades of Grey being a case in point). Indeed, Life turned out to be as bland as its title. – Giovanni M.C. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer)
When sitting down to watch The Look of Silence – Joshua Oppenheimer‘s follow-up to 2012’s harrowing The Act of Killing – you’re struck by how quickly you can slip back into the particular brand of uncomfortable captured by its predecessor. The laughs, the jarringly playful recounting, the unblinking eye of the camera – it’s like a nightmare you find waiting for you when you go back to sleep, astonishingly unchanged. – Tommaso T. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Tangerine (Sean Baker)
Like a bat out of hell does Tangerine begin, the new film from Sean Baker. Shot entirely on iPhones, this film has a very specific style and Baker is determined to shove it down the viewer’s throat. It’s a bold, visceral piece of work about a certain part of Los Angeles and the people who live there. Our heroes are two transgender prostitutes named Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and Sin-Dee (Kiki Kitana Rodriguez). It’s Christmas Eve and Sin-Dee, just back from a 28-day stint in prison, learns from Alexandra that her pimp/boyfriend Chester (a scene-stealing James Ransone) has been cheating on her with a woman whose name starts with a “D.” And so begins a day-long odyssey for Sin-Dee to find “D” and confront Chester, while Alexandra walks around town inviting anyone and everyone to a solo-singing performance of hers at 7pm. – Dan M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Time Out of Mind (Oren Moverman)
Finding a link between the shared title of Oren Moverman‘s third feature film, Time Out of Mind, and Bob Dylan’s 1997 album took a little effort. Moverman co-wrote the script for Todd Haynes’ fantastic Dylan saga I’m Not There, and perhaps it was here that the title resonated and, to the writer-director’s mind, could be grafted onto his latest, Richard Gere-led drama. – Zade C. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google
Also New to Streaming
Amazon
Christmas Eve
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Racing Extinction (review)
Songs From the North (review)
Ted 2 (review)
The Wannabe
The World of Kanako
Netflix
About a Boy
American Beauty
Darkman
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (review)
Ray
Stations of the Cross