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, 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, and shoot over suggestions to @TheFilmStage
The Eagle (Kevin Macdonald)
Led by Channing Tatum, The Eagle is a vivid and at times lucid action adventure, a step above Ridley Scott‘s Robin Hood, owing more to Terrence Malick with a nod to Italian neorealism than anything else. The true star of the production is Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography, capturing with a sense of spontaneity light and dark, interior and exterior and especially moonlight, beautifully. – John F. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
The Family (Luc Besson)
There’s no question that Luc Besson has a grasp on stylish thrillers. The French writer and director can claim responsibility for a few exceptional titles in this category, including La Femme Nikita, The Professional, and, more recently, the beatdown fest Taken. After decades of producing action-packed cinema – a job that he’ll continue to do, based on his connection to a number of planned Transporter sequels – he ventures into comedy with The Family, an experiment for which he appears poorly equipped. – Amanda W. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (Jon M. Chu)
Don’t get me wrong: G.I. Joe: Retaliation is one of the most unabashedly dumb movies of 2013. But if you’re looking for mindless entertainment, this sequel is ahead of its predecessor, as well as a great deal of other actioners in the same vein this year. Director Jon Chu, showing off his talents for kinetic editing in Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (I’m not kidding — give it a watch), transfers it effectively to this tightly paced, silly action vehicle. While Channing Tatum only shows up briefly, one also has last year’s mega-star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson riding things out until the end. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Netflix
The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino)
Having directed Il Divo, Paolo Sorrentino is no stranger to extravagant Italian filmmaking that packs a punch of bravado and boldness. With The Great Beauty he may be channeling this aesthetic on overdrive, creating a vast tapestry of Italian elitism that is both breathtaking and audacious in its vision; featuring a vast array of characters — including politicians, artists, social climbers, aristocrats, and intellectuals — the wide variety of personalities are, on their own, as fascinating as they are overwhelming. Balancing all these elements — including high-value production design and fashion straight off the runway — and wrapping them in a virtuoso package is a daunting challenge which, for the most part, Sorrentino pulls off. With the feeling of a modern-day Fellini picture, La Grande Bellezza proves an opulent tale of life, love, and loss set against the backdrop of beautiful Rome. – Raffi A. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu Plus
Hannah Arendt (Margarethe von Trotta)
Author Mary McCarthy (Janet McTeer) describes the titular Hannah Arendt (Barbara Sukowa) best when berating an emotionally blinded detractor vehemently slandering the German-Jewish philosopher in absentia in response to her reporting on the Adolf Eichmann trial in Jerusalem forThe New Yorker. McCarthy dresses him down by saying his “being smarter” is easy while her courage is what sets her apart. No truer words are conjured while watching Margarethe von Trotta’s biographical depiction because Arendt’s internal struggle to reconcile feeling and understanding is visible at every turn. She and her husband Heinrich Blücher (Axel Milberg) spent time in French internment camp Gurs before escaping to America and thus know the horrors wrought by the Nazis. While such personal connection allowed so many to biasedly lust for revenge, she used it to look closer and seek answers. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Here Comes the Devil (Adrián García Bogliano)
If ever a horror film begged for multiple viewings, Here Comes the Devil (Ahí va el diablo) makes a good case. In fact, until a little over halfway through I was completely checked out. I saw what writer/director Adrián García Bogliano was doing, but the on-the-nose sexual juxtapositions of womanhood, devil rape, and a lust for violence lost me. Highly carnal, full of allusions to demonic possession, and presented so matter-of-fact that it becomes discomforting, a streak of cruelty without justified reason introduces how evil exists in us all. However, when Sol (Laura Caro) decides to follow her children as they skip school, what she discovers changes the dynamic of the film by adding a concrete chain of events revealing the eccentric Tijuana cast of characters’ true motivations. The Devil isn’t coming; he’s already here. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni)
La Notte is, perhaps, edging closer and closer to representing a modern-day horror story. Antonioni remains so canonized in terms of what came to be considered “modernist” cinema that pinpointing his sense of “originality” now appears almost trite. (Though, oddly enough, he became a source of derision for a number of major film critics, including Manny Farber, Pauline Kael, and, depending on the picture, Andrew Sarris.) What strikes yours truly, seeing these films, is the huge source of anxiety they create within nothing more than the mise-en-scène of individual shots. The opening image — a camera tracking down the reflection of a city found on a building’s side — with its collection of both traffic noises and something otherworldly, suggests the film might as well be science fiction, or at least a precursor to Tati‘s Playtime (though mostly without the laughs). – Peter L. (full review)
Where to Stream: Hulu Plus
Labor Day (Jason Reitman)
If anyone asked if Jason Reitman was truly a great director or, rather, someone with excellent luck in choosing projects — I remember thinking his Best Director nod for Juno was premature, myself — Labor Day should set the record straight. This is very much a different beast than his previous works, pushing comedy to the side for poignant drama and a surprising romance formed in the face of an impossibly difficult situation. He consistently gets stellar performances from a lineup, has an impeccable rhythm when pacing stories, and, no less, finds a way to make even the most contrived situations drip with authenticity. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google Play
Laurence Anyways (Xavier Dolan)
Having not seen any of Xavier Dolan‘s previous work, I wasn’t sure the best starting point would be his third film, a three-hour drama that was little-seen in the United States. However, I’m glad I snuck it before the end of the year, as Laurence Anyways proved to be one of my favorite films of last year. Tracking the ten-year relationship between Laurence Alia (Melvil Poupaud) and Fred Belair (Suzanne Clément), Dolan’s film explodes with passion and color, perhaps the best ode to French New Wave in recent cinema.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Omar (Hany Abu-Assad)
Omar, the latest from Paradise Now helmer Hany Abu-Assad, is quick to establish its own take. Following several close calls on the Israeli side of the West Bank (the titular character lives on one side, his friends on the other) and a brutal scene in which Omar (Adam Bakri) is tortured, one would find it impossible to side or sympathize with Israel. And while, thankfully, Omar is entirely devoid of long-winded speeches about how one side of the conflict is especially oppressive, unfair, or wrong, that doesn’t prevent the film in question from sticking out as an obvious political thriller which consistently, insistently attempts to steer us in a particular direction. With a couple third-act twists up its sleeve, Omar is, at least, almost saved from political simplicity, leaving space to be read as a tale of how paranoia and mistrust beget violence. – Forrest C. (full review)
Where to Stream: iTunes, Google Play
Mother of George (Andrew Dosunmu)
Fertility is a cruel beast. By now, science has progressed to the point where we can understand what can keep us from having offspring or not. But in cultures that have yet to embrace the advancements of science, they can cause some tremendous pain. Enter Mother of George, a film about the struggles of a Nigerian couple in America. – Bill G.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Night Train to Lisbon (Bille August)
Sometimes a well-written story is all you truly need to make a successful film and I believe author Pascal Mercier‘s novel Night Train to Lisbon provides one. Adapted by Greg Latter and Ulrich Herrmann with Bille August as director, the cinematic version of this look back at romance in a time of revolution unfolds with its melodic Annette Focks score as though we’re sitting over a cup of tea across from each character as they tell their part in the mystery of Amadeu de Prado’s (Jack Huston) too-short life. Devoid of action sequences, shrouded in a cloud of elegiac reverence, and guided by a self-proclaimed bore out of his depth with curiosity striking for the first time ever in his sixty-plus years, I have to admit I was riveted by each new discovery and revelation. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Scoop (Woody Allen)
With actors as charming as Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johannson, it’s a shame that Scoop remains one of Woody Allen’s lesser works, even with its generally amusing tone. Predictable from the outset, the comedy rarely works, despite some entertaining farcical situations. It was produced between two excellent Johannson-led features (Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona); you’re better off checking out either of those instead.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Short Term 12 (Destin Cretton)
There are two bookend moments in Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12 that highlight this warm yet hard-hitting indie drama’s immense appeal. In both, John Gallagher’s shaggy, likable Mason is regaling his fellow foster home workers with colorful anecdotes from his tenure, each sunny myth interrupted by the reality of the job. Cretton, once a foster care worker, has much of Mason in him, illuminating the power of what a shared hug, hand on the shoulder, or simple impromptu birthday card may do for those who feel rudderless and alone. For all of that, he’s also got a quality that Mason, and his pregnant girlfriend Grace (Brie Larson), the real focus of Term, learn along the way; that the harsh reality of life is just as integral to our journey’s meaning as the brighter moments. Term is filled with brilliant performances, undeniable truths and an unwavering—and yes, brave—belief that there’s boldness in optimism and sophistication in unconditional kindness. – Nathan B.
Where to Stream: Netflix
A Teacher (Hannah Fidell)
While we must assume the how of high school English teacher Diana Watts (Lindsay Burdge) and senior Eric Tull’s (Will Brittain) union, it isn’t hard to understand the why. For him lies that carnal fantasy of seducing a mature woman with authority and subverting that dynamic by wresting control of not only the relationship but her professional career too. And for her lies the escape from a reality of familial hardship she ran away from to Austin four years prior. Watching her clam up in response to talk about her dementia-ridden mother by estranged brother Hunter (Jonny Mars) before retreating into Eric’s teenage embrace for a sexual rendezvous helps explain her own fantasy of dangerous excitement far-removed from the adult responsibilities she’s all but pushed aside for present and complete physical satisfaction.
Where to Stream: Netflix
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is one of the coolest titles to come in a long time. This critically acclaimed entry from the often overlooked Thailand cinema scene is the latest from auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul who won the Palme D’Or, the highest honor at the Cannes International Film Festival for the drama. It is film filled with mystery and beauty, touching on a myriad of themes ranging from reincarnation to animals entwined with spiritual mythology among others. – Raffi. A
Where to Stream: Netflix
Also New to Streaming
The Artist and the Model
Breathless
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
G.B.F.
Interior. Leather Bar.
The Invisible Woman
Leap Year
Leprechaun
On the Job
Zaytoun
What are you streaming this week?