Now Stream This: ‘Chappaquiddick’, ‘Strangers: Prey At Night’, ‘Apostle’, ‘Rope’, ‘RBG’, ‘Dead Man’ And More
(Welcome toNow Stream This, a column dedicated to the best movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and every other streaming service out there.)
It’s that time again! I’ve gathered some not-so-obvious streaming options for you to enjoy this upcoming weekend, and beyond, because I’m just that kind of person. When I put together Now Stream This, I strive to pick titles that might not jump out to you normally. Are movies likeJawsstreaming? Of course they are – but you’ve already seenJaws. In fact, I bet you’ve seen it dozens of times. And that’s great! But if you’re looking for something new and different, that’s where this column comes in.
These are the best movies streaming right now. Let’s get streaming!
Now Streaming on Netflix
Release Date:2018Genre:Historical dramaDirector:John CurranCast:Jason Clarke, Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Jim Gaffigan, Clancy Brown, Olivia Thirlby, Bruce DernChappaquiddickcame and went with very little notice, and that’s a shame, because it’s one of the year’s better films.Jason Clarkedelivers a commanding performance as Ted Kennedy, the heir apparent to the Kennedy political empire now that his brothers Jack and Bobby are dead. During a weekend getaway, Ted meets up with staffers and friends, and then tragedy strikes. While driving with secretary Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara), Kennedy drives the car off a narrow bridge into shallow water. Somehow, Kennedy manages to get free of the car. Mary Jo does not. What happened next remains somewhat of a mystery, but the facts are clear: Kennedy survived, Kopechne did not.Chappaquiddickattempts to explain what happened that fateful night, and how the Kennedy machine went into overdrive to help sweep certain things under the rug. Clarke plays Kennedy as absolutely oblivious to what’s going on, and what makes the actor’s performance so remarkable is the way he keeps our attention. Kennedy should, in theory, be detestable, and we should loathe the time we spend watching him. But Clarke finds just the right balance to somehow keep us wanting more. It’s quite a sight to behold.For fans of:Jackie,The Ides of March,Nixon, New England accents.
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Release Date:2018Genre:HorrorDirector:Johannes RobertsCast:Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman
It took 10 years for a sequel toThe Strangersto materialize. WhenThe Strangers: Prey at Nightopened in March of this year, it didn’t quite seem to have the same impact as the original. But I assure you: this is worth checking out. Is it as effective asThe Strangers? No. That film is a slow-burn horror flick – it builds and builds, and excels at mounting tension. None of that is on display here. Instead,Prey at Nightis a nasty slasher movie throwback, complete with a John Carpenter-esque score so similar to Carpenter’s real music that I’m surprised he hasn’t filed a lawsuit yet. There’s also a killer soundtrack of ’80s tunes to liven things up. Here, a family getaway turns into a massacre as the three masked strangers from the first film target a couple and their two teen children in abandoned trailer park. While you may pine for the original film’s tension-laced chills, it’s hard not to have a good time with the slasher movie mentality on display here.
For fans of:The Prowler,Friday the 13th,The Burning, sick ’80s jams.
Now Streaming on FilmStruck
Release Date:1995Genre:Weirdo WesternDirector:Jim JarmuschCast:Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili Avital and Robert Mitchum
Is it a dream? Is it a nightmare? Is it an acid trip? No, it’sDead Man,Jim Jarmusch’s weird Western that exists somewhere between the waking world and a fever dream.Johnny Deppis a nerdy accountant who ends up in a filthy frontier town, and, through a serious of mishaps, is marked for death. Wounded, and possibly dying, Depp’s character – who happens to be named William Blake, like the famous poet and painter – staggers out into the wilderness, where he joins up with a nameless, mysterious Native American man (Gary Farmer). All the while, bounty hunters are looking for poor William Blake with orders to bring him in dead or alive. This may allsoundlike a perfectly normal Western set-up, but Jarmusch’s film is anything but normal. With gorgeous black and white cinematography from Robby Müller, and a jangling musical score courtesy of Neil Young,Dead Manplays out in unpredictable, fascinating ways.
For fans of:Only Lovers Left Alive,Ghost Dog: Way of theSamurai,The Lone Ranger, poetry.
Now Streaming on Shudder
Release Date:1948Genre:MysteryDirector:Alfred HitchcockCast:James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger
There are far more famous, and even better,Alfred Hitchcockmovies streaming right now. But I wanted to highlightRope, because it’s such a curious experiment. Hitchcock himself would later dismiss his approach to this film as a stunt, but it’s a highly entertaining stunt. Using several tricks – some of which you may spot, some of which you can’t – Hitchcock stagesRopeto appear as if the entire film is unfolding in one long take. The story borrows from the real-life case of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two college students who murdered a teenage boy just for the thrill of it. InRope, two rich snobs commit a murder in their apartment, hide the body in a large wooden trunk, and then proceed to throw a party. The killers want to prove they can get away with the perfect murder, but things don’t go exactly according to plan, especially whenJimmy Stewartshows up. Stewart essentially assumes the role of Hercule Poirot here, trying to solve a locked-room mystery. Hitchcock would go on to bigger and better things, but it’s wonderful to watch him work here.
For fans of:Shadow of a Doubt,Rear Window,Enter the Void, magic tricks in movie form.
Release Date:1995Genre:ThrillerDirector:Jon AmielCast:Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, Will Patton, Harry Connick Jr.Copycathad the bad luck to hit theaters not too long after David Fincher’sSeven.By then,Sevenwas the only serial killer thriller audiences wanted to focus on, andCopycatgot lost in the shuffle.Sevenis a better movie, butCopycatshouldn’t be forgotten.Sigourney Weaverplays a serial killer expert with agoraphobia. When a murder goes on a killing spree by copying the work of famous serial killers, tough copHolly Hunterrecruits Weaver to help. The thrills and mystery on display here are top notch, but the real draw ofCopycatis the performances and chemistry between Weaver and Hunter. Weaver spends most of the film near a nervous breakdown before reclaiming herself, and Hunter is funny and feisty, a tiny woman who doesn’t take shit from anyone. You almost wish this had launched a franchise where Weaver and Hunter continued to solve crimes for several more movies.For fans of:Basic Instinct,Zodiac,Mindhunter, Holly Hunter’s accent.
Release Date:2000Genre:Sci-Fi Horror ThrillerDirector:Tarsem SinghCast:Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D’Onofrio
Visually stunning, frequently terrifying and sometimes just downright weird,The Cellis an art film with a thriller sensibility.Jennifer Lopezis a child psychologist who uses experimental virtual reality (or something – it’s never really clear) to literally go inside the mind of a serial killer (Vincent D’Onofrio). One of D’Onfrio’s potential victims is still alive, and in danger of drowning very soon if copVince Vaughncan’t use Lopez to get some answers. This set-up allows directorTarsem Singhto craft one nightmarish landscape after another, as Lopez wanders through the twisted halls of D’Onfrio’s warped mind. Most critics didn’t care forThe Cellwhen it arrived in 2000, but in the years since its release, it’s attained a kind of cult status thanks to how inventive and different it is. More filmmakers should take risks like this, even if they don’t entirely pay off.
For fans of:The Fall,Inception,Dark City, muttering “That’s fucked up” to yourself every ten minutes.
Streaming on Netflix October 12
Release Date:2018Genre:HorrorDirector:Gareth EvansCast:Dan Stevens, Lucy Boynton, Mark Lewis Jones, Bill Milner, Kristine Froseth and Michael SheenThe RaiddirectorGareth Evanstrades hardcore action for hardcore horror withApostle, a particularly brutal slice of folkloric terror.Dan Stevensplays a constantly frowning man who travels to an island in the early 1900s in search of his sister. She’s been kidnapped by a cult who hope to ransom the young woman to save their failing community. Once on the island, Stevens begins to discover there might be more to the cultists' crackpot religion than previously thought. I’m recommendingApostleeven though I don’t think itentirelyworks. For one thing, at 129 minutes, it’s about 10 or 15 minutes too long. For another, Stevens' main character is far too much of a blank slate for my liking. And there are a few subplots that easily could’ve been trimmed. But! WhenApostleworks, it works exceedingly well. Evans really is a cracker-jack director, and he brings his kinetic action movie sensibility to the proceedings here, moving his camera around in exciting ways. And whenApostledescends into full-blown Lovecraftian horror tinged with gore, it’s well worth watching.For fans of:The Wicker Man,Kill List,The Raid, Dan Stevens frowning.
Release Date:2018Genre:Paranormal Docu-Series
Want to get into the Halloween spirit, and don’t feel like re-watching the same old horror movies again? Then you should check outTrue Horror, a super quick – four episodes in total – UK series abouttrueghost encounters. Real-life people recount their paranormal experiences, and then we watch them unfold in well-produced, surprisingly creep re-enactments. I won’t sit here and tell you all these stories happened exactly as they’re depicted here, and whether or not you believe in the supernatural is entirely up to you. But the cinematic re-enactments here depicting ghosts and ghouls lurking in people’s homes give most modern horror movies a run for their money. The folks at Blumhouse should watch this show and learn a thing or two.
For fans of:Unsolved Mysteries,The Haunted,A Haunting, very loud ghosts.
Now Streaming on Hulu
Release Date:2018Genre:DocumentaryDirector:Betsy West and Julie CohenCast:Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Recent terrible events may have eroded your faith in the Supreme Court, and if so, I can’t blame you. That said, if you’d like a nice reminder that not everyone involved in the great American experiment is a total monster, check outRBG, a pleasant, often emotional documentary aboutRuth Bader Ginsburg. As far as documentary filmmaking goes,RBGis a bit boiler-plate, running through Ginsburg’s life and career in predictable fashion. What makes the film special, however, is the access to Ginsburg herself, who seems just as sharp and lively as ever even at the age of 85. There are no answers or solutions here – things are still going to be pretty bad even after you get done watchingRBG. But at least while you watch it, you can be reminded that there are still some people in positions of power who strive to do good.
For fans of:Won’t You Be My Neighbor,Man on Wire,Life Itself, Ruth Bader Ginsburg watching SNL.
Release Date:2017Genre:DocumentaryDirector:Alexandre O. PhilippeCast:Guillermo del Toro, Bret Easton Ellis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eli Roth, and Peter BogdanovichAlexandre O. Philippe’s engrossing documentary78/52starts off telling the story of Alfred Hitchcock’sPsycho– the origins of the novel, how Hitchcock and company turned it into a movie, and so on. But that’s just set-up. This film isn’t aboutPsychoitself – instead, it’s about one specific scene inPsycho: the shower scene. Using 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits, Hitchcock crafted one of the most iconic scenes in film history.78/52trots out a parade of filmmakers, artists, actors and more to talk about what makes this scene so damn incredible. Even if you’ve seenPsychocountless times, and feel like you know the shower scene by heart,78/52manages to enlighten and educate, and reveal things you may have never caught before. It’s a film nerd’s dream.For fans of:Psycho,Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy,Dangerous Days: The Making of Blade Runner, obsessively talking about one movie scene over and over.
