In these high times of Quarantine , when the most of us are lying on our couch in the same shorts we’ve had on for three days we can be a little extra grateful for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
So coming to the list :
Steve Jobs
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jeff Daniels
One of the most underrated films of the 2010s, Steve Jobs is not the movie you think it is. Aaron Sorkin has crafted the anti-biopic — the encapsulation of a man’s life without actually showing the highlights of his life. The film is structured in three acts that play out in real time, focusing on three major Apple events. The first is the launch of the Macintosh computer, the second is the launch of NeXT, and the third is the launch of the iMac. Each act is like a mini-play, but the backstage goings-on reveal so much about Steve Jobs the man through Michael Fassbender’s phenomenal performance. It’s a thrillingly inventive way to make a “biopic,” and sadly many missed this one when it hit theaters. Entertaining, funny, and ultimately insightful, Steve Jobs is an underrated gem. — Adam Chitwood
While We’re Young
Image via A24
Directed and Written by: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, Charles Grodin
Starting with Frances Ha, filmmaker Noah Baumbach hit a much more joyous, optimistic stride with his films, and that’s certainly the case of his 2015 movie While We’re Young. This is almost in the vein of a traditional studio comedy for the Squid and the Whale filmmaker, but it’s a very, very good one. Ben Still and Naomi Watts star as a middle-aged couple living in New York City who are having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they’re no longer young. Stiller plays a documentary filmmaker who strikes up a friendship with an aspiring documentary filmmaker played by Adam Driver, who with his very hipster girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) befriend Stiller and Watts’ characters. A culture clash of sorts ensues, as Stiller and Watts struggle to prove they’re still hip while Driver and Seyfried struggle to prove they’re cool. The film has a lot to say about image and the passage of time, but it’s also just incredibly funny. — Adam Chitwood
Creep 2
Image via The Orchard
Director: Patrick Brice
Writers: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice
Cast: Mark Duplass, Desiree Akhavan, Karan Soni
The original Creep, also available on Netflix, is a skin-crawlingly icky found footage horror-comedy about the perils of masculinity, obsession, and storytelling. It is well worth your time. And yet, it’s bested handily by its sequel, a true horror masterpiece for the 21st century. Mark Duplass returns as our identity-hopping serial killer, keen on documenting his crimes as a kind of voyeuristic look into the soul masquerading as an attempt at fostering friendship (the murder portrayed in the cold open is… harrowing). But this time, he’s paired with Desiree Akhavan, the fiercely talented filmmaker/actor who plays a fiercely talented filmmaker interested in documenting odd folks with odd requests. And when Creep 2 locks into its two-handed structure, unsettling sparks fly and ricochet. Duplass and Akhavan are perfect sparring partners, generating the film’s queasy moments of suspense, humor, and even genuine connection. Like many of the best pieces of 21st century horror, Creep 2 sneakily has a lot to say about our modern foibles — all while scaring the ever-living stuffing out of you. — Greg Smith
The Edge of Seventeen
Image via STX Entertainment
Director/Writer: Kelly Fremon Craig
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Blake Jenner, Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Lu Richardson, and Hayden Szeto
When it comes to the coming-of-age genre, traditionally it’s told from a male perspective. Which is what makes The Edge of Seventeen so refreshing. This hilarious and heartfelt R-rated comedy stars Hailee Steinfeld as a high school junior who experiences the ups and downs of teen life in brutally honest fashion. She strikes up a close friendship with a teacher, played by Woody Harrelson, who counsels her through friend, boy, and family troubles. It’s as sweet as it is filthy, but what makes Edge of Seventeen so striking — beyond Steinfeld’s stellar performance — is how true to life it all feels. The anxiety. The self-consciousness. The importance of it all. The Edge of Seventeen is a gem of a movie. — Adam Chitwood
High Flying Bird
Image via Netflix
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Tarell Alvin McCraney
Cast: Andre Holland, Zazie Beets, Melvin Gregg, Sonja Sohn, Zachary Quinto, Kyle MacLachlan, and Bill Duke
What do you get when you combine Oscar-winning Moonlight co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney with genius filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and an A-list cast? A must-see movie. High Flying Bird is a thrilling, delightful drama set in the world of sports that takes place over the course of one 48-hour period as a sports agent (Holland) attempts to find a way to end a basketball lockout that has himself (and many players) hurting for cash. Soderbergh — whose talents range from the glitz and glam of Ocean’s Eleven to the challenging drug trafficking ensemble Traffic — shot the entire movie on an iPhone, which adds another layer of urgency and intimacy to the proceedings. It’s mostly scenes of people talking in rooms, but the writing and performances are so good you’ll be glued to your screen for the entire runtime — which is a brisk 90 minutes. If you’re in the mood for something exciting, cerebral, and refreshing, give this one a go. — Adam Chitwood
1922
Image via Netflix
Director/Writer: Zak Hilditch
Cast: Thomas Jane, Neal McDonough, and Molly Parker
1922 is one of the many original movies that Netflix just quietly releases on its streaming service without much fanfare. I had no idea this movie was even in production until the day it suddenly appeared in my “Movies You May Like” category, an area of Netflix that is generally about as hit-or-miss as blindfolded brain surgery. But the presence of a significantly overalled Thomas Jane and the fact that it was based on a story by Stephen King made me check it out, and I was rewarded with a delightfully creepy supernatural murder story. It’s sort of like A Simple Plan, only it takes place in the pre-Depression American heartlands and features actual ghosts. Jane plays a farmer at the end of his life writing a full confession of a truly unforgivable crime, with the movie told primarily in flashback. Within the opening 60 seconds, you will be slapped in the face with the realization that Thomas Jane is Doing A Thing. His performance is absolutely batshit in the best possible way, and, if I’m being totally honest, he’s really quite good. It’s a tense slow-burn thriller, with a central character so despicable that you almost don’t mind seeing the taint of what he’s done corrupt everything around him. Almost. — Tom Reimann
Sleeping with Other People
Image via IFC Films
Writer/Director: Leslye Headland
Cast: Allison Brie, Jason Sudeikis, Adam Scott, Jason Mantzoukas, Natasha Lyonne, Adam Brody, and Amanda Peet
Sleeping with Other People is the best R-rated romantic comedy you’ve never seen. Filmmaker Leslye Headland broke out in a big way with the raunchy comedy Bachelorette, and her follow-up feature is a straight up romcom — with a bit of an edge of course. Lovingly described as “When Harry Met Sally with assholes,” Sleeping with Other People stars Jason Sudeikis and Allison Brie as a pair of acquaintances who lost their virginity to each other in high school, and reconnect years later in New York City. They quickly become platonic best friends, airing romantic grievances with one another while they both have trouble committing to their respective relationships. It’s a hilarious, sweet, and at times very dirty spin on the romcom formula that’s a pure delight to watch. — Adam Chitwood
John Carter
Image via Disney
Director: Andrew Stanton
Writers: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Moton, Mark Strong, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Willem Dafoe, Ciaran Hinds, and Bryan Cranston
Make no mistake, John Carter is a flawed movie — but it’s a deeply interesting one. Initially billed as the first live-action Pixar movie (director Andrew Stanton made WALL-E and Finding Nemo and co-writer Mark Andrews made Brave), the film ambitiously adapts Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series of novels, which focus on a Civil War soldier who is transported to Mars, which is populated by various races that are embroiled in war. While the result is somewhat muddled, the world-building remains tremendous, and there’s a lot of charm throughout. This one’s worth revisiting if you weren’t crazy about it on first viewing, or if you’ve never seen it and like light, colorful sci-fi fantasy epics, give it a whirl. — Adam Chitwood
A Ghost Story
Image via A24
Director/Writer: David Lowery
Cast: Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara
Right off the bat we’ll say that A Ghost Story is not for everyone, but if you’re into the idea of an indie about the existentialism of life as told via ghost story, this might be for you. This 2017 drama finds Casey Affleck playing a man who dies but then comes back to haunt his wife (Rooney Mara) and her house. There are no big special effects, it’s simply Affleck wearing a white sheet and moping around. But the construction of the film, and the incredible score, drive home the largess of existence and the sorrow of loss. This one’s certainly unique. — Adam Chitwood
Obvious Child
Image via A24
Director/Writer: Gillian Robespierre
Cast: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffman, Polly Draper, Richard Kind, and David Cross
Crudely dubbed an “abortion comedy,” Obvious Child is far more thoughtful and nuanced than its basic logline would have you believe. Jenny Slate stars as a young, struggling comedian who becomes pregnant after a drunken one-night stand, which she had following a bad breakup with her boyfriend. She makes plans to have an abortion, but as the date looms closer, she begins spending more and more time with the would-be father, developing a genuine relationship. This is a film with a lot of heart and humor, but it’s most memorable for affirming that Jenny Slate should be a bona fide star. — Adam Chitwood
It Comes At Night
Image via A24 Films
Director/Writer: Trey Edward Shults
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Riley Keough
It Comes at Night boasts a miserable D CinemaScore, the tracking device the industry uses to measure “movie appeal among theatre audiences.” To an extent, I can understand why a movie audience might find this film unappealing, especially given that its title and trailer promise an elevated creature feature where a family must fight against some kind of monsters. That is, decidedly, not what is on filmmaker Trey Edward Shults’ (Waves) mind in It Comes at Night. Yes, there is technically “something” that comes at night for the family of Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr., but it’s a sensitive, nuanced amalgam of disease, paranoia, delusions, human intruders (Christopher Abbott and Riley Keough), and only maybe actual creatures. As such, the real monsters at the center of It Comes at Night prove to be the humans inhabiting the frame. Shults’ film is an agonizing psychological chamber drama in a visceral horror film’s clothes. It’s bitter, heartbreaking, nerve-wrenching, and morally complicated — it features one of the most downbeat “choices” I’ve ever seen made in a modern genre film. If you can check your expectations at the door and get yourself on Shults’ particular wavelength, It Comes at Night will wreck you in the best way possible, CinemaScore be damned. — Greg Smith
About Time
Image via Universal Pictures
Director/Writer: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lindsay Duncan, Tom Hollander, and Margot Robbie
The 2013 film About Time is not just an absolute gem of a romantic comedy, it’s also one of the best time travel movies ever made. Oh yeah, and it’s a total tearjerker. Written and directed by Love, Actually filmmaker Richard Curtis, the film stars Domhnall Gleeson as a young man who learns at the age of 21, from his father (Bill Nighy), that the men in their family have the ability to time travel. This comes in handy when he misses his chance with a charismatic American girl (Rachel McAdams) and goes back to the night they first met to start their relationship off right. But what begins as a delightful, grounded, and romantic romp soon turns emotional, as About Time slowly reveals itself to be a gut-wrenching father-son story at heart. — Adam Chitwood
Under the Skin
Image via A24
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Writers: Walter Campbell and Jonathan Glazer
Cast: Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy McWilliams
If you’re in the mood for a really weird sci-fi indie movie and you haven’t seen Under the Skin yet, now’s your chance. The film hails from filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, who previously directed the arresting features Sexy Beast and Birth. In Under the Skin, Scarlett Johansson plays an otherworldly being who preys on men in Scotland. This is a very ethereal, visually stunning movie, but if you’re looking for a complex plot or a lot of dialogue, it may not be for you. Johansson’s stalking and subsequent attacking of men is violent and strange and oddly beautiful, and indeed the film is rich with theme and subtext that are up for the viewer’s interpretation. Oh yeah, and Mica Levi’s original score is phenomenal. — Adam Chitwood
The End of the Tour
Image via A24
Director: James Ponsoldt
Writer: Donald Marguiles
Cast: Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Anna Chlumsky, Joan Cusack, and Mamie Gummer
The End of the Tour is less a film about notorious author David Foster Wallace and more a chronicle of depression, and the toll it takes. Jason Segel gives a haunted, phenomenal performance as Wallace, and the story covers a 12-day interview conducted by writer David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) during a tour for Wallace’s book Infinite Jest. It’s a road movie of sorts, as the two Davids discuss life, death, literature, philosophy, and so much more along the way, and it’s made all the more tragic given that the story is framed around Wallace’s suicide. The End of the Tour is a true hidden gem of a film. — Adam Chitwood
The Endless
Image via Well Go USA
Directors: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
Writer: Justin Benson
Cast: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington, Lew Temple, and James Jordan
The third feature from outside-the-box filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead is part cosmic horror, part comedy, part weird cult thriller, and part paradoxical mind-fuckery. The co-directors star in The Endless as brothers who escaped a commune called Camp Arcadia as children, only to return years later as adults and discover that all of the people they knew as kids are still there and don’t appear to have aged whatsoever. Without spoiling too much, the members of the commune convince the two brothers to hang out for a day or two and give Camp Arcadia another chance, with things growing increasingly bizarre and ominous the longer they stay. It’s one of the most impressive low-budget sci-fi horror movies I have ever seen, with two truly original filmmakers behind the wheel. (If you haven’t seen their previous film Spring, I recommend you do so immediately.) The Endless is one of those movies that you start texting your friends about the second the credits roll to tell them all to watch it. It’s a real Pay It Forward situation, only this time nobody stabs Haley Joel Osment. — Tom Reimann
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Recomended :Netflix For Free Working Method — MAY 2020
