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 (or bi-weekly, depending on the worthy selection), 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, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, and more. Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below, and shoot over suggestions to @TheFilmStage.
Bad Milo (Jacob Vaughan; 2013)
Directed by Jacob Vaughan, who co-wrote the film with Benjamin Hayes, Bad Milo follows a man (the always hilarious Ken Marino) who discovers that his chronic stomach problems are due to a demon baby living in his colon. The concept bears some resemblance to the recent Hell Baby, but with different intentions – while Hell Baby pokes fun at films like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, Bad Milo borrows more from It’s Alive orThe Brood, wherein the evil spawn takes revenge on those who wronged their parents. The story also takes a more gruesome turn when the main character’s anus serves as a birthing canal. – Amanda W.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video
Dean Slater: Resident Advisor (Colin Sander; 2013)
A film hoping to become the Sanders Brothers’ Puddle Cruiser to a future career of Super Troopers, Dean Slater: Resident Advisor contains the sort of eccentric Man’s Man sage to earn our attention. Sadly, despite being the titular character, Mitchell Jarvis’ Dean is not the lead. Instead the focus goes towards a trio of college freshmen engaged in a mission to put cell phones and internet away for actual human interaction. That entails the juvenility of fart jokes and public urination—things immature co-eds will probably enjoy watching while ultimately turning off the rest of the population. Thankfully, Jarvis’ regular return to the screen brings laughs worth making and hopefully shows that the Sanders do possess the potential to make a bona fide hit in the future. – Jared M.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video
The Frozen Ground (Scott Walker; 2013)
Sure to be a point of intrigue for Nicolas Cage fans curious to see the actor give a straight-arrow performance, we might nevertheless have to wait until David Gordon Green’s Joe for a reserved Cage to be surrounded by a film that’s his equal. The Frozen Ground is exceedingly well-intentioned: its serial-killer-hunt storyline is based on the Robert Hansen (played here by John Cusack) killings that terrorized Alaska during the early 1980s, and the film’s sincere fidelity to those true-story roots is revealed in its carefully modulated tones, as well as a pre-end-credits sequence that shows photographs of Hansen’s real-life female victims.
Cage, playing the Glenn Flothe surrogate (named Sgt. Jack Halcombe in the film), and his wife (Radha Mitchell) are two weeks away from moving when the Hansen case lands on Halcombe’s desk, thanks to the statement of a victim (Vanessa Hudgens) who managed to escape Hansen’s grasp before he killed her. Walker’s script traces the father-daughter relationship that develops between officer and victim; these scenes are probably the nicest in the film, the two actors finding a rapport with each other that seems to be lost elsewhere. Mostly, though, the movie just feels void of energy: Cusack is as quiet as Cage in the mad-killer role, perhaps unwilling to go into Paperboy mode when embodying a narrative with this much historical weight. But the movie remains too general—the crime details too vague, the characterizations too one-note, the constant misogyny too obvious—for Walker’s devotion to the true story to ever really pay off. – Danny K.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video
Kiss of the Damned (Xan Cassavetes; 2013)
Xan Cassavetes returns the concept of the modern-day vampire to its bloody Euro-trash roots in Kiss of the Damned, a sumptuous, soft-focus erotic thriller that has one hand on the jugular and one flipping the bird to Stephanie Meyers. Sexual politics and genetic legacies are on the menu, backing a tale that bathes itself in all of the genre indulgences formed by its lurid ancestors. These vaunted predecessors include the work of Brit horror studio Amicus and Jean Rollin, who never met a voluptuous bloodsucker he couldn’t douse in amber lighting. Mostly these vampires fight the urge to feed, but when they do, Cassavetes reveals her other inspirational source; Italian giallo movies. The end result is a film short on actual scares, but big on atmosphere and psychological tension and swimming with fake blood. Fans who thought this sort of thing went out of style with the death of VHS will be well pleased. – Nathan B.
Where to Watch: Netflix Instant
The Lords of Salem (Rob Zombie; 2013)
Rob Zombie’s films always strike up controversy; not the kind that’s associated with politics like polemical documentaries, or what the genre he operates in, horror, do because of their often graphic sexuality and violence. Rather, his work divides because they bear the mark of a distinct sensibility. The sensibility containing a bevy of influences; dad rock, early horror, music videos, 70s American new wave, etc. But while homaging long past-modern works can often strike acclaim, there lies a beating heart of originality in Zombie’s work. The Lords of Salem reveals his true intent; to celebrate the images of horror and cast a self-aware light on them. – Ethan V.
Where to Watch: Amazon Video
Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend (2013)
Last year, comedian Mike Birbiglia debuted his hilarious, relatable first feature, Sleepwalk With Me (see it on here on Netflix), but if you are looking to see more from the talent, we’ve got another treat today. After touring the country with his latest stand-up, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, a filmed version is now available to screen, but it may not be the last we see of it. According to a recent interview he’s adapting it into a screenplay, but still hasn’t decided if it’ll properly translate to the big screen. Regardless, one can enjoy this iteration of it now.
Where to Watch: Netflix Instant
The Other F Word (Andrea Blaugrund Nevins; 2011)
Watching Generation X turn 40, facing the consequences of a drop-out lifestyle lies a contradiction. How to you keep your edge while putting food on the table for your family? The problem with the punk ethos is a fear of selling out – which, having a family may require such a change. If you are going to raise your children in a middle class suburb, you have to tour. And tour these guys do – often spending over 100 nights of the year on the road. Academy award winning documentarian Andrea Blaugrund follows several famous punk rockers – “father” and “family” are “other F-Words.” The style of the documentary is electric, opening with Against Me!’s “I was a Teenage Anarchist” (looking for a revolution). The punk icons here are currently active, including skateboarder Tony Hawk, rockers Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Lars Frederiksen (Rancid), and Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) to name a few. – John F.
Where to Watch: Netflix Instant
Our Idiot Brother (Jesse Peretz; 2011)
Social critique and satire is rarely charming, however Our Idiot Brother, directed by Jesse Peretz, is a relaxed tight-rope walk. Structurally the film is aloof for some segments, much like Paul Rudd’s titular Ned. Also like Ned, once the film finds its footing, it’s a pleasure to be a part of. Ned is a carefree organic farmer who makes the mistake of selling pot to a uniformed officer; he’s a likable and trusting guy who later makes the mistake of treating his parole officer as a counselor, whom he wins over. – Dan M.
Where to Watch: Netflix Instant
Rewind This! (Josh Johnson; 2013)
With all the vitriol VHS has garnered over the years to deem it a format we’re glad to finally be rid of, Josh Johnson’s documentary on its fifteen year reign may force even the worst haters to think twice. Rewind This! reminds us how the videotape ushered in a revolution of home video that made it possible for today’s concepts of digital streaming and iCloud consumption to become distribution avenues studios could embrace. Collectors, filmmakers, critics, and more talk about the history behind VHS technology as well as its lasting importance to cinema at large. And with the industry using these new formats as a way to regain full control of their content’s availability, looking back on this paradigm shift of the 80s can only help us figure out new ways to wrestle it back. – Jared M.
Where to Watch: iTunes
The Road (John Hillcoat; 2009)
Faithful to the novel, John Hillcoat has crafted an austerely dark look at the bleak voyage of a father and son with The Road. While this is the furthest from the feel-good film of the year one can get, Hillcoat’s take is approaching impeccable beauty. There are moments of sheer suspense, desperation, and pure heartache in this story set in the not-so-distant future where humanity is nearly extinct. The film is certainly not for everyone, but those who can handle the dreadfully dreary tale, will find something to love and contemplate with this 2009 adaptation. If you are looking for something a bit more loose from the director, check out last year’s Lawless. – Jordan R.
Where to Watch: Netflix Instant
Solomon Kane (Michael J. Bassett; 2009)
A suitably grim atmosphere, an invested lead and a lack of a knowing wink are what Solomon Kane has going for it. That may scare people away from this sword-and-sorcery flick, as some may have the idea that this stuff shouldn’t be taken too seriously. However, in a world with Game of Thrones, one would hope an audience is out there. Written and directed by Michael J. Bassett, Kane was originally released overseas in 2009 but was held back from U.S. distribution. Now, it is available for those in the U.S. on Netflix. In the interim, star James Purefoy still hasn’t become a household name, though it’s no fault of his talent. – Bill G.
Where to Watch: Netflix Instant
What are you streaming this week?