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ewh111 · 5 years

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Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences of 2019

Happy New Year! All the best to you for a fabulous 2020 and new decade!

2019 was a busy year of traveling. Work took me back to China (three times), Japan, Korea, and first time visits to the Czech Republic and Australia.

I had the opportunity of a lifetime when I helped lead a group of Harvard-Westlake faculty members on a culture and food themed trip to China with James Beard Award-winning food writer/chef Fuchsia Dunlop. As a big fan of hers, I invited her to join us as our culinary tour guide and she accepted, leading us through three regions of China with distinct cuisines (Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai). Over ten days, she curated 19 meals with over 300 different courses! For more, go to my first annual food post: https://ewh111.tumblr.com/post/189972112494/2019-food-lists

And now, here are my favorite film experiences of the past year.

Cheers, Ed

The Best and The Favorite of the Year

Parasite

The less you know before viewing this metaphorical, fiercely dark, genre-bending comedy/horror/social satire of haves and have nots where everyone is arguably a parasite, the better. Korean filmmaker Boon Joon-ho creates a memorable, twisty, thought-provoking film experience with exquisite storytelling, stunning visuals, sudden tonal shifts, unexpected turns, and a terrific cast. Just take the journey and enjoy this masterful work that may be the best film of the year. Trailer: https://youtu.be/isOGD_7hNIY

Jojo Rabbit

Appealing to my affinity for the quirky, this one is my favorite film of 2019. Who knew that a story during the waning days of WWII about a 10 year old Hitler Youth, his imaginary friend Adolph Hitler, and his single mom who is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic would be so sweet and funny. While an absurdist witty satire on the surface, it’s really an anti-hate, coming-of-age story as we experience the world through the eyes of 10 year old Jojo as he confronts and reconciles “the other” he’s been taught to hate in the world around him. Delicately balancing whimsy and seriousness, Jojo Rabbit is a beautiful and soulful film thanks to a great cast, including a terrifically endearing Scarlett Johansson (while likely to garner more attention for Marriage Story, this is the more memorable character to me), the audacious Jewish-Polynesian director Taika Waititi as the sophomoric Hitler bestie, Sam Rockwell as an SS officer with a heart, and a wonderful Roman Griffin Davis in the title role. Trailer: https://youtu.be/tL4McUzXfFI

Racing Against Time

1917

Wow. Daring and bold filmmaking in one of the most realistic and visceral war film experiences since the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. In a role that may be overlooked during awards season, George MacKay is a standout as one of the two soldiers sent on an impossible mission through No Man’s Land to deliver a message to prevent British forces from entering a massive German ambush. Oh, and via pure movie magic, director Sam Mendes and master cinematographer Roger Deakins tell this story in what seems like one continuous shot. I was totally drawn in by the Gallipoli-esque race against time, the real-time pacing of 24, and the immersive POV of a video game. The result is breath-taking as the camera dances around the soldiers, trenches, bunkers, and towns in a beautifully choreographed dance without distracting from the gripping storytelling. Trailer: https://youtu.be/gZjQROMAh_s

Ford v Ferrari

An exhilarating, high octane, crackling thrill ride. The story of two obsessively passionate crazies, ex-racer and car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and British race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), who join forces with American corporate titan Ford to defeat Ferrari at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966. It’s pure adrenaline that non-racing enthusiasts can enjoy because of the well-crafted story and performances. Trailer: https://youtu.be/I3h9Z89U9ZA

Unforgettably Creepy and Disturbing

Joker

Joaquin Phoenix disturbingly and completely transforms himself into the pathologically deranged, downtrodden, and delusional part-time clown/aspiring comic Arthur Fleck in this origin story of Batman’s arch nemesis. Joker is a deeply disturbing character study of how an emotionally fragile individual on the fringes of society gets pushed deeper and deeper into the downward spiral of insanity to the breaking point. Dark, edgy, and unsettling, Joker is not for everyone. But there’s no denying Phoenix’s brilliant, tour de force performance. (Unfortunately, my edginess was heightened in my screening by an audience member who was similarly laughing inappropriately like Phoenix’s character, which had me looking for the closest exit in the event of a disturbance). Trailer: https://youtu.be/zAGVQLHvwOY

In his sophomore directorial effort, Jordan Peele has gone beyond the horror and social commentary of Get Out, and into even deeper, more chilling existential territory. In Us, Peele has created an All-American family terrorized by a creepy scissor-wielding doppelgänger family and spirals into more terrifying and mysterious terrain with a fabulous dual performance by Lupita Nyong'o. Who is Us? Is Us them? I’ll leave the metaphorical debate for later. Trailer: https://youtu.be/hNCmb-4oXJA

**Midsommar deserves notable mention in the creepy category–a slow-burn, dark tale of a young American couple’s vacation in the remote Swedish hinterland at a once-in-lifetime summer festival that goes creepily and morbidly wrong. Trailer: https://youtu.be/1Vnghdsjmd0

Masterworks by Tarantino and Scorsese

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Perhaps Quentin Tarantino’s most mature film, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood beautifully captures in painstaking detail a specific moment in time: Hollywood, 1969. A passionate homage and love letter to Los Angeles and the Hollywood scene, Tarantino blends a concoction of history and fantasy (a la Inglourious Basterds) in a buddy movie with Leonardo DiCaprio as declining TV hero/star and an endearing scene-stealing Brad Pitt as his stalwart stunt double/best friend whose lives fatefully intersect with Sharon Tate and the Manson family. While at times meandering (it’s less plot and more a series of vignettes), it is also at times spellbinding (an on set encounter between DiCaprio’s character and a fellow 8 year old child actor; Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate watching herself on screen inside Westwood’s Bruin Theater). As the title implies, this is a quintessential Tarantino fairy tale: funny, yet warm, and, of course, violent. Trailer: https://youtu.be/ELeMaP8EPAA

The Irishman

An epic, career-capping entry into Martin Scorsese’s mob-themed oeuve, The Irishman appropriately brings De Niro, Pacino and Pesci together in this elegaic saga, complete with de-aging technology to tell the story of mob hitman Frank Sheeran (De Niro) through multiple flashbacks. And for those of us old enough to remember, the story helps to answer the unsolved question, what happened to Teamster head Jimmy Hoffa. Trailer: https://youtu.be/RS3aHkkfuEI

Family Dramas

Marriage Story

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are top-notch in this raw, yet poignant, and ultimately life-affirming journey through the disintegration of a marriage and the logistical mechanics of the divorce process and custody fight seen from both sides as each struggles to reestablish priorities in their lives and redefine family. Trailer: https://youtu.be/BHi-a1n8t7M

The Farewell

We are told the film is “based on an actual lie” in the film’s opening titles; director Lulu Wang’s heartfelt, deeply personal, and charming film stars Awkwafina as a young woman whose grandmother (in China) has been diagnosed with terminal cancer but the entire family has decided to keep it a secret. Under the guise of a hastily planned family wedding, the family gathers to say goodbye to grandma. Capturing the uneasy tension between Chinese and American culture, questioning where one belongs and the role of family in our lives, Awkwafina shines in her first dramatic role, as does the rest of the supporting cast. Trailer: https://youtu.be/RofpAjqwMa8

Little Women

Director Greta Gerwig follows up Lady Bird with another achievement, giving the classic 19th century Louisa May Alcott period piece a thoroughly modern feel with an effervescent cast and 21st century non-chronological storytelling. Saoirse Ronan leads a fantastic cast. Trailer: https://youtu.be/AST2-4db4ic

Two Funny Smart Girls, Two Religious Guys, and Only One Baby Per Family, Please

Booksmart

More than just a female version of Superbad, Booksmart is an impressive directorial debut for Olivia Wilde with the fantastic duo of Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (HW ‘11) as the “study hard” academic besties on a mission to “play hard” on the last night before graduation. Also memorable is the scene-stealing Billie Lourd (HW ‘10). This very funny and delightful coming-of-age pic stands out in the pantheon of teenage comedies not only for its quirky and smart tone, but for its inclusive and diverse three-dimensional characters, including LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming teens whose sexuality don’t define who they are. Trailer: https://youtu.be/Uhd3lo_IWJc

The Two Popes

I didn’t expect a film that is essentially an extended conversation between two people would be so intriguing and gripping. The imagined conversation in 2012 involves two very different men, one the sitting pope who finds himself standing increasingly in the way of progress, and the other, his eventual successor looking to retire from an institution he is increasingly frustrated with. But with spot-on casting and terrific performances from Jonathan Pryce as the ABBA-humming future Pope Francis and Anthony Hopkins as the stoic, humorless intellect Pope Benedict XVI, The Two Popes is a joy to watch. Trailer: https://youtu.be/T5OhkFY1PQE

One Child Nation

This one’s a doc. From 1979 to 2015, China instituted the “One Child Policy” as a means of population control to stave off mass starvation. Documentarian Nanfu Wang, herself an exception to the policy and now a first-time mother, explores the enduring ripple effects of the policy that included forced abortions, sterilizations, abandonment of baby girls, and child trafficking. This powerful and devastating documentary looks at the multi-layered trauma–how it was carried out and the heartbreaking human and societal toll it has taken. Trailer: https://youtu.be/gMcJVoLwyD0

**Other documentaries to check out: Cold Case Hammarskjold, Where’s My Roy Cohn, The Biggest Little Farm, Leaving Neverland.

All Out Pure Fun Movie Experiences

Knives Out

An enthusiastic bundle of joy, Knives Out is Rian Johnson’s stellar, intricately crafted, Agatha Christie-like whodunit with a stellar cast who seem to be having as much fun as the audience. Trailer: https://youtu.be/qOg3AoRc4nI

Rocketman

Can’t help but compare this to Bohemian Rhapsody, but Rocketman is the superior and more entertaining musical biopic (using the term loosely). It’s bold, magical, and fantastical, as befits Elton John. Trailer: https://youtu.be/S3vO8E2e6G0

Other notables: The King, Avengers: Endgame, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Honey Boy, Yesterday, Velvet Buzzsaw.

In the queue: Pain & Glory; Uncut Gems; Bombshell; Richard Jewell, The Last Black Man In San Francisco.

Favorite Binge-worthy TV Shows

Dark, Succession, When They See Us, Chernobyl, Mindhunter, Barry, Veep, Sex Education, Silicon Valley, Stranger Things 3, Don’t F**k with Cats

Special Shout Out to Dark

With elements of the mysterious strangeness of Twin Peaks and Stranger Things (minus the humor and camp) and the intricate intertwined storytelling and compelling characters of The Wire, Dark is the story of four families who live in a tiny German town situated next to a nuclear power plant (add a little of Chernobyl) who are inextricably connected through some strange cosmic phenomenon. Oh, and throw in a big dose of time travel. Dark is incredibly compelling and addictive. It is hands down the most complex and thoughtful (i.e., sophisticated and makes sense) time travel-themed story I’ve seen. Do yourself a favor and resist Googling anything about the show to avoid spoiling the experience. Just watch. There are two seasons worth at Netflix. And one more on the way. Trailer: https://youtu.be/S3vO8E2e6G0

#favoritemovies2019 #favoritefilms2019 #submission

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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The Weekend Warrior Home Edition April 24, 2020 – BEASTIE BOYS STORY, TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, EXTRACTION and More!

Welcome back to this week’s chapter of Ed is Going Crazy and Itching to Watch a Movie Anywhere BUT His Computer and Television. Since EIGCAITWAMABHCAT is way too long a title, I’ll just stick with “The Weekend Warrior” for now.

I hadn’t planned on attending this year’s Oxford Film Festival, which was scheduled to start in March, but I’m happy that after it was postponed, Executive Director Melanie Addington, decided to hold a virtual festival so others outside the Mississippi region can finally experience the wonderful programming that Addington and her programming team deliver every year. The series will run weekly beginning with Brandon Colvin’s A Dim Valley, which was part of the LGBTQ Narrative Features and will get a one-day exclusive U.S. preview on Friday. It’s about a curmudgeon biologist and his slack graduate assistants who encounter a trio of “mystical backpackers” while doing their summer research project in the Appalachian woods. I’m looking forward to the “McPhail Block” which will run from April 24 to May 1, celebrating Oxford’s version of Brangelina, the acting couple, Johnny and Susan McPhail, who you’re sure to have seen in any number of projects from HBO’s “True Detective” to last year’s The Peanut Butter Falcon. The block includes four shorts including the World Premiere of Brian Whisenant’s The Golden Years, starring the beloved local couple, and three other solid shorts including Thad Lee’s adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, All That You Love Will Be Carried Away. I may be biased, but I definitely recommend checking out the McPhail shorts, because you really get a sense of their personalities in these films even if they are acting and playing characters. Also premiering the first week is a pair of regional doc shorts, Getting to the Root and 70 Years of Blackness (another World Premiere), as well as a second block of doc shorts dubbed “Passion Projects,” comprised of five short films. It’s a well-curated festival, so there should be some good stuff across the board.

You can get tickets to most of the first few weeks’ programming at Eventlive.

Also, the virtual Tribeca Film Festival is underway, and honestly, I wish I could tell you more about it, but I haven’t had a chance to watch anything, as of this writing, and I’m not even sure what is involved in terms of pricing and access… but apparently, it will only run through this weekend? I really just have no idea. The lack of information is frustrating.

Also, it looks like Film at Lincoln Center is adding to their Virtual Cinema schedule, which currently includes Béla Starr’s Sátántangó, the Brazilian thriller Bacurau and more. Starting on Friday, you can also watch Cédric Klapisch’s Someone, Somewhere (Distrib Films), which was going to play the Rendezvous at French Cinema series that was abruptly cancelled, and that’s FilmLinc’s first-week NYC exclusive. Also, the Icelandic film A White, White Day (Film Movement) from Hlynur Pálmason will be available to watch starting this Friday. They’ll be available to rent for $12.00 and $2.00 off if you’re a member. You can learn more about these on the Film at Lincoln Center site.

I usually wouldn’t make a streaming film my “Featured Movie” of this column, but we’re living in different times, so there are no longer any “rules.” This week’s Feature Movie (and in line to be one of my favorites for the year) is BEASTIE BOYS STORY, which will debut on Apple TV+ this coming Friday.

Originally, the concert documentary (of sorts) was going to get a short IMAX run, which would have been brilliant since it was recorded by director Spike Jonze – yes, that one – at a series of live dates out at Brooklyn’s Kings Theater simply billed as “Beastie Boys Story.” The multimedia show had Beasties Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz talking about the storied history of the group, their roots as a pretty lame punk act in a grungier New York, to achieving fame as the childish white rappers all over MTV… to growing as humans and losing their best friend Adam Yauch aka MCA to cancer.

When I moved to New York City in 1987, the Beasties were just exploding with “Licensed to Ill” but it still took me over a decade to take them seriously. I had a chance to do an interview with the guys when Oscilloscope released the concert movie and spoke to Yauch again when he directed a basketball documentary that was at Tribeca. It was pretty obvious that Yauch was the genius behind the band, and the other two guys confirm this during the show. The movie also has a good amount of sentimentality and regrets for some of the decisions, such as booting original drummer, Kate Schellenbach, and how badly they treated her (but still signing her new band, Luscious Jackson, to their label).

Now I get that not everyone is into the Beasties and maybe they only know them from those early days, but let me tell you that Beastie Boys Story does a great job dispelling any myths or misconceptions about the group. In other words, if you’re not a fan of the Beastie Boys before this movie, you most definitely will be the end. This is one of the few movies I could watch online in one sitting without being distracted by other things, and I would totally rewatch it in a second. It’s a bit of a bummer this won’t get a theatrical release even by something like Fathom Events since it would play beautifully with an audience. Hopefully, Oscilloscope, the indie involved with the production will try to give the movie some sort of theatrical release when theaters reopen, because not everyone has Apple TV+ at this point.

I’ve been looking forward to watch Justin Kurzel’s TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG (IFC Films) since I first heard the movie was getting made. I was such a big fan of the Heath Ledger-Orlando Bloom movie Ned Kelly, directed by Gregor Jordan and co-starring Geoffrey Rush and Naomi Watt. I mean, that wasn’t the greatest movie despite that exemplary cast, but I also thought it should have done a lot better than the way it was dumped and forgotten by Focus Features. It’s just such a great story and a piece of Australian lore and culture that deserved a better movie.

If you haven’t heard of Ned Kelly or the Kelly Gang, they were Australia’s most notorious bank robbers, whose myth and legend grew as big in that country as that of Al Capone or others became here in the States. During the late 19th Century, the Kelly Gang famously wore plated armor and even dresses to throw off the authorities who were constantly in pursuit of them.

Unlike Ned Kelly, this begins more of an origin with Ned as a child, as played by Orlando Schwert, dealing with a father in prison and a mother (Essie Davis from The Babadook) who is trading sexual favors with his jailer, a sergeant played by Charlie Hunnam. After Ned’s father is executed, Russell Crowe’s Harry Power enters the picture as his mother’s new suitor, and he soon takes the teenage Ned under his wing to show him his ropes. Ned also learns that his mother sold him to Harry Power as someone to groom to be part of his gang. The story eventually shifts to the older Ned (played by George MacKay from 1917) who returns home to find that his mother has taken another suitor in Sean Keenan’s Joe Byrne, and he eventually gets Ned on board to conduct a number of elaborate robberies.

Okay, that’s the basic premise, and Kurzel has put together another great cast for a movie that works far better than his take on Macbeth and (shudder) Assassin’s Creed, both starring Michael Fassbender. (Granted, I’d probably give both of these a rewatch after seeing Kurzel’s Kelly Gang movie.) Although from the very beginning, it’s said that the film’s title of being a “True History” is a bit of a misnomer as a lot of it feels like hearsay from a quite deranged older Ned to an English teacher who claims the story as his own. That said, it is an interesting dive into Kelly’s backstory and what turned him into the violent criminal he became. Oh, I should also mention his relationship with Mary (played by the wonderful Thomasin McKenzie), a single mother living in a brothel who Ned bonds with. There’s a lot to enjoy in the movie including Russell Crowe’s rousing ditty about what Harry Power thinks about the authorities. (It’s not safe for work, if you can’t guess.)

It’s tough to watch at times, similar to last year’s The Nightingale – Australia in those days was not a particularly nice place – but this is by far Kurzel’s best film to date, and it’s a shame that so few will have a chance to see it on the big screen, because it’s definitely a big screen movie. A fine film by Kurzel and one that will make me rethink his previous movies and intrigued in what he does next.

It will be available On Demand, Digitally and in exactly two Drive-Ins, the Mission Tiki 4 Drive-In in Montclair, California and another in Ocala, Florida. If you’re in Orlando, it might be worth the hour trip to see it. Otherwise – and I’m not sure if you’ve heard this advice any time in the last month – but STAY HOME! (Since you can watch it that way, too.)

Martha Stephens’ period coming of age drama, TO THE STARS (Samuel Goldwyn), stars Kara Hayward as Iris Dearborn, a shy farmer’s daughter in 1960s Oklahoma who befriends Liana Liberato’s worldly Maggie Richmond, a city girl who tends to embellish the truth. The two of them navigate the local high school run by a number of snobbish bullying girls, while dealing with some of the real-life drama of growing up in a small town. I was hoping I’d like To the Stars more since I heard good things about it out of Sundance, where it was screened in black and white. It’s generally decent, although it definitely hits some rough and almost unnecessary patches as it builds toward a somewhat obvious climax and dark ending. The script doesn’t really offer that much that’s new or original from other small-town tales set during this period, but Stephens does a decent job getting solid performances out of most of the cast including Tony Hale and Malin Akerman in somewhat rare dramatic roles, Jordana Spiro and Shea Whigham. There are just some of the other younger characters who were annoyingly obvious clichés and the mostly bad Southern accents started getting to me after a while. I also hear lots of raves about the movie’s cinematography, but in color, it didn’t really do much to warrant such praise, and it was hard to even tell what was happening in a few of the darker scenes, one of the bummers about watching movies on a laptop. I’m sure some might like this movie more than I did, and those who enjoy films like this will be able to watch To the Stars on Digital this Friday.

Now playing on Digital and Demand is the first of a three-part documentary, called Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time (Quiver Distribution), the first volume being subtitled: “Midnight Madness.” Directed by Danny Wolf and hosted by Joe Dante, John Waters, Ileana Douglas and Kevin Polack, the first chapter includes a pretty impressive array of talent, including Jeff Bridges, Pam Grier, Rob Reiner, Barry Bostwick, Michael McKean, John Turturro, Gary Busey, Jeff Goldblum, Fran Drescher, Penelope Spheeris and Peter Bogdanovich. It covers everything from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to The Big Lebowski in a deep dive of 105 minutes. Now I’ve never been the biggest midnight movie guy when going to festivals, because to be honest, I just can’t stay up that late. I’m an old man. But I do love genre and cult films, the weirder the better, and while I’m not sure I’d consider Lebowski a “midnight movie,” the movie is pretty thorough in covering all but the most esoteric films. The first volume is a lot of fun with Jack Hill, Pam Grier and the late Sid Haig talking Coffey and similar “mini-docs” on so many great movies. Other great films covered include David Lynch’s Eraserhead, Tod Browning’s Freaks, and of course, Waters was gonna talk about Pink Flamingos. I’ve seen most of the movies, and I knew quite a bit about them, but the film is still a great entry into cult movies, and I definitely recommend it whether you’re already a fan of this movie subgenre or not.

Volume 2 (available May 19) is about Horror and Scifi, while Volume 3 (available June 23) is Comedy and Camp, and I’ll cover those more fully in the weeks they’re available.

I was vaguely intrigued by ROBERT THE BRUCE (ScreenMedia), which as you might imagine from the title (words that are said almost every five minutes but one of a dozen characters), it’s meant as a thematic sequel to Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. Actor Angus Macfadyen, who played the title character in Gibson’s movie, cowrote and stars in this movie set in the early 14th century (1306, to be precise) where it sort of follows his character. Robert the Bruce has crowned himself King of Scotland after the death of William Wallace, and he takes over Wallace’s mission to win Scotland’s freedom and immediately puts a target and price on his head as his army is dispersed. He’s discovered by an 11-year-old boy, the son of one of his soldiers, who along with his mother and two orphans help nurse Robert the Bruce back to health.

This movie makes you wonder how long Macfadyen must have waited for Gibson or anyone involved with Braveheart to give him his own movie before he gave up and made it himself. Doing some quick math: he waited 25 years, and clearly, that’s just been too long, because even as a fan of those historical battle epics, I was just so effin’ bored by Robert the Bruce, especially after seeing True History of the Kelly Gang. Macfadyen has a decent cast around him, including Jarred Harris and Patrick Fugit, but I’m not sure I’ve ever been more bored watching a movie as I was watching this one.

Robert the Bruce will be on Digital and On Demand in conjunction with the 700th anniversary of Robert the Bruce’s Declaration of Arbroath, declaring Scotland a free land.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Premiering on Netflix this Friday is the new Chris Hemsworth crime thriller, EXTRACTION, produced by the Russos (Avengers: Endgame) and directed by Sam Hargrave, the Russos’ stunt coordinator making his feature directorial debut. In the movie, Hesworth plays Tyler Rake, a black market mercenary hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an international crime lord who has been jailed, as he gets involved in the underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers trying to save the boy.

This wasn’t a bad action movie really, and nothing like the loads of bad action movies made in the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s, compared to the actually decent and memorable ones like Die Hard, Aliens, the early films of Luc Besson, etc. This is a pretty simple premise, but Hemsworth has clearly found his stride as an action hero when not playing Thor, and this has all the momentum and kinetic violence of a Bourne movie, as Hemsworth wisely plays Tyler Rake more as the strong and mostly silent type with his young liege, played by Rudhraksh Jaiswal, the two being a strong combo that keeps you entertained throughout. I definitely like Hemsworth more as an actor than others who may have played this sort of role, such as Bruce Willis or Jason Statham, etc. There’s also a great supporting role for Golshifteh Farahani, who you may remember from her role in Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson or The Pear Tree, and David Harbour has a great, very physical fight with Hemsworth in one scene. I’m really liking the way that Netflix is exploring international cinema not just from the hit foreign language films regularly on the streaming network but also a worldly action-thriller like Extraction. Like True History of The Kelly Gang, I would have loved to see this on the big screen, even if it was a press screening at Netflix’s newly-managed Paris Theater. It’s just so much more fun seeing movies like this one with an audience. This may be a running and recurring theme in this column over the next few months, by the way.

Also this week, the new improvised comedy special Middleditch & Schwartz (as in Thomas and Ben) will premiere on Tuesday on Netflix – heard about this on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and I’m intrigued – as well as the animated feature, The Willoughbys, featuring the voices of Will Forte, Maya Rudolph and Ricky Gervais, will debut on Wednesday. The latter is about four kids with selfish parents and their plans to get rid of them. Also, the second season of After Life and third seasons of The House Of Flowers, neither show which I’ve seen, begin this week, so if you’re a fan, there’s those to watch, too.

Also, Lionsgate will include its series of free movies with this Friday night’s offering being the ‘80s classic, Dirty Dancing.

It looks like the exceptional Maysles Cinema up in Harlem has started some virtual programming and Friday, it will launch its “Made in Harlem” programming with Looking for Langston. You can go to the Maysles’ websiteto learn more about the program.

Next week, more movies not in theaters!

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

#TheWeekendWarrior #BeastieBoysStory #TrueHistoryOfTheKellyGang #Extraction #RobertTheBruce #Movies #Reviews #ToTheStars

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