Sundance Selects
September is a weird month for movie watching. All of the summer blockbusters have come and gone, it’s not quite October, so it’s not really time to start binging on horror movies yet, so what’s a movie geek to do? It’s times like these when our Netflix subscriptions become more valuable than ever. For your consideration, here’s a list of good movies that have recently gone up on the service for streaming. As always, click on their titles to be taken to their Netflix pages.
Pick of the Month: Two Days, One Night (2014)
The movies that Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne make are so bleak and realist that watching them should feel like homework, but they’re also so insightful and true to character that they never do. That Roger Ebert quote about movies being machines that generate empathy is pretty much best exemplified by the work that the Dardennes do. When their movies start, they’re slow moving and a little bit depressing, but by the time they’re over it’s next to impossible to not have been moved by the plight of their characters.
Two Days, One Night is a pressure cooker of tension that stars Marion Cotillard as a strapped-for-cash mother who’s put in the position of having to literally beg all of her co-workers to keep her job. You see, it’s decreed that the only way their company is going to be able to give out bonuses that year is if they shed an employee, and Cotillard is on the chopping block. As an audience we’re forced to travel with her as she goes from co-worker to co-worker, asking them to give up much needed money for her benefit in awkward, excruciating fashion. The repetition of the interactions and the way that repetition emphasizes the different ways people respond to her pleas super charge the film’s focus on character and super charges the stakes of the situation, and by their end your head is left swimming with thoughts about empathy, life priorities, income inequality, and a thousand other things. Dardenne movies are always so rich and engaging, and this is one of their most emotionally potent works yet.
Billy Madison (1995)
People have gotten so used to reviling Adam Sandler for the complete lack of effort he’s put into his recent movies that sometimes they forget the movies he made at the beginning of his film career weren’t only legitimately funny, they were actually kind of subversive. The absurdity of the giant penguin that Sandler’s character hallucinates in Billy Madison, the darkness of the clown dying in a tragic accident while little kids point and laugh at him—this stuff was not the sort of stuff you got in a mainstream comedy in 1995, and it’s nothing like the bland sentimentality and corporate sponsorship one has come to expect from Sandler’s modern films. Billy Madison isn’t just pretty good given that it’s a Sandler movie, it’s one of the best comedies of the 90s. That’s why people get so angry at the guy when he releases new movies these days—the fall from his peak to the floor he’s at now wasn’t a short one, and everybody knows he can do better. Re-watch Billy Madison and remember the good times. If for nothing else, do it for Norm MacDonald.
Byzantium (2013)
Not really into these modern movie vampires who wear pleather and fight with katanas? Then director Neil Jordan’s (Interview With the Vampire) film about a more old-school, fancy-pants version of the movie vampire, Byzantium, might be up your alley. It’s got a little bit of the teen romance stuff that made Twilight so contemptible to so many people, but it never gets corny or melodramatic like that series. This is a beautifully shot movie about grizzly death and the curse of immortality that’s been made for an adult audience, which feels kind of refreshing given Hollywood’s recent vampire output. Maybe the best thing about the film is that it features lead performances from Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan though, because they’re both really talented and ridiculously, stupidly stunning to look at. I’d probably watch a vampire movie starring these two even if they sparkled in the sunlight and did wire-fu karate moves through the whole thing. That they don’t is just icing on the cake.
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Any history buff will tell you that, despite the fact that the Western Front of World War II gets most of the attention of modern media, it was the Eastern Front where the truly gruesome stuff was happening. That’s where two power mad dictators with zero regard for human life were throwing huge portions of their populations into war zones that were human meat grinders that created some of the most horrific scenes in human history. Enemy at the Gates is one of the rare cinematic, English-language looks we’ve gotten at the struggle between the Nazis and the Communists on the Eastern Front, which makes it super interesting to watch.
The film is a battle between two snipers that takes place against the backdrop of the Battle of Stalingrad, and it stars Jude Law as young, Russian upstart sniper Vassili Zaitsev and Ed Harris as a grizzled, Nazi sniper named Major König. That’s right, this thing is full of Ed Harris’ gruff dad-face and his piercing wolf eyes, which are some of the best things movies have to offer. Also, it finds roles for amazing actors like Rachel Weisz, Joseph Fiennes, Bob Hoskins, and Ron Perlman, so check it out.
Summit Entertainment
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Full disclosure—though I’m generally a big fan of Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker is her one movie that I’ve never really connected with. Jeremy Renner’s protagonist is just a bit too much of a willful meathead to get behind, and the film’s thematics hit you over the head with a bit too heavy a thud to not feel forced. Most people love this movie though, and the tension Bigelow is able to create in the bomb diffusing scenes needs to be seen to be believed, so don’t listen to me. Are these the best bomb-diffusing scenes in film history? Barring the toilet scene in Lethal Weapon 2 and the entire run time of Blown Away, probably. If you’re a fan of action movies or ticking clock thrillers, then there’s plenty in this movie to hold your attention. You’ll just have to forgive it for the cheesy guitar riffs on the soundtrack.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
On one level Jiro Dreams of Sushi works as an engaging documentary about an interesting personality, but on another level it kind of just works as a really soothing screensaver to put on in the background when you’re feeling stressed. It’s about a famous sushi chef named Jiro Ono who runs a very small but very successful sushi shop in Tokyo, and who has been doing things the same way for many years. The film delves into the zen nature of focusing completely in on one thing, but it simultaneously explores how obsession can poison one’s relationships. There’s lots of interesting stuff about fathers and sons in the story too. Mostly the film is just a lot of really relaxing footage of highly skilled people using razor sharp knives to prepare really fresh food though. If you’ve been missing the ability to sit down, take some deep breaths, and zone out to Jiro Dreams of Sushi after a long day, miss no longer, because it’s now back up on Netflix.
Lord of War (2005)
Even though his name has become synonymous with bad movies and over the top acting, every few years or so Nicolas Cage still stars in a movie that’s worth your time. Lord of War is one of those movies. It’s a flashy and stylish story about a hugely successful arms dealer who uses the fall of the Soviet Empire as an opportunity to get rich while putting weapons in the hands of some of the most dangerous people in the world, and who then has to struggle with the morality of his actions. If you’re looking for crazy Cage, this isn’t the movie for you, because he’s playing things pretty straight and respectable, but the good news is that Jared Leto is also in the film, and he’s absolutely swinging for the fences as the Cage character’s coked up brother. Basically, Leto hits like an 8 on the Cage scale, so with Cage actually trying and Leto doing his usual capital A acting, Lord of War offers up the best of both worlds.
Pariah (2011)
Figuring yourself out in high school is hard enough for the average person. Your viewpoints change, your interests change, and you have to navigate what that means for the relationships you’ve established with your friends and family. How does one maintain an established bond when the very foundation of who you are as a person is in a constant state of flux? When your shifting personality moves you away from someone, do you drop them completely or find some way to recontextualize why you’re connected? Throw confusions about your sexuality on top of all this insanity and things would get even more traumatic and confusing.
That’s what Pariah is about, a young girl from Brooklyn (Adeporo Oduye) trying to figure out who she is and what it means to be a lesbian while all of the people in her life try to pull her in different directions. This coming of age tale is well-acted, insightful, and it tells a specific story while still staying universal enough that anyone can find something to relate to in it. If you’re in the mood for an indie drama, it could very well be your new jam.
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