say hello to Weekend Watchlist, delivered to subscribers’ in-boxes every Friday
In which I hope to save you from endlessly scrolling Netflix, Amazon, and other VOD services and point you to the best new films and hidden gems to stream.
Netflix
loaded question: which streaming services do you have regular access to… and watch regularly?
I’m very curious to hear what you all have to say about this, because the streaming environment has gotten a bit out of hand: there are so many services, and it would be absurd — and expensive! — to subscribe to all of them.
question of the weekend: do you miss video-rental stores?
If you’re too young to have had experienced them, what do you imagine you might have missed?
hidden gems from Amazon Prime, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu
Passion, creativity, and suspense in stillness… [A teaser of an essay for Patreon patrons and Substack subscribers only.]
have you found a new movie normal?
I’d love to hear how, as a movie fan, you’re coping with this new entertainment environment.
13th documentary review: American slavery never ended; here are the receipts (#Netflix)
Brutal, necessary watch for all who want to understand why America operates with impunity re its horrendous treatment of Black people. Incisive and shocking, moreso now than when it debuted in 2016.
The Lovebirds movie review: breaking up on the run (#Netflix)
The hugely appealing Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani share terrific comic and romantic chemistry and work their everywoman and -man charm to the max. Go-to goofy escapism for, say, a pandemic lockdown.
Becoming documentary review: hope floats (#Netflix)
Verges on an ad for Michelle Obama’s memoir, but a sincerely warm one. We glimpse a woman authentically funny, self-aware, down-to-earth. Like spending time with a friend you didn’t realize you had.
Extraction movie review: meet the sociopathic white savior (#Netflix)
Who are we rooting for in this accidental parody of the empty absurdity of modern action films? Everyone is awful, or a human macguffin. This is soulless technical wankery bereft of humor or humanity.
The Platform (El hoyo) movie review: bold and bitter food for thought (#Netflix)
This sci-fi dreadfest immerses you into a shocking mystery, punches you in the gut, then grips you with a wisdom that transcends its obviousness, daring you to deny that its open savagery is our own.
