Since the COVID-19 pandemic
has found many of us stuck at home for the unforeseeable future, many have
taken the time to catch up on the various shows and movies they may not have
had the chance to see. Since this blog was partially started as a way to let people
know what new stuff is worth seeing, and since all the major streaming services
dumped a slew of new releases at the beginning of the month, I thought I’d do
my part in letting people know what’s worth watching during this extended
staycation. I will be covering new releases on the three major streaming
services (Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime) that have or will be coming out this
month, and this only applies to new releases in the U.S., so results may vary
in other countries. And if reception is good and we end up doing this for
longer, I might do another one next month.
Netflix
Cheech and Chong’s Up in
Smoke
If you’re not familiar with the comedy stylings of Cheech
Marin and Tommy Chong, then Up in Smoke isn’t a bad place to start.
Widely credited to be the first stoner comedy.
Community Seasons 1-6
One of
the cleverest and most innovative shows of the last ten years, this sitcom
following the antics of a study group at a community college who do pretty much
everything but study features an all-star cast including Joel McHale, Alison
Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong and Chevy Chase, and was created by Dan Harmon,
the future co-creator of Rick and Morty.
It’s exactly what it says on the tin. This
brilliantly written political comedy covering the power struggle for control of
the Soviet Union’s after Joseph Stalin’s death features brilliant performances from
Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor and Jason Isaacs, and was written and directed by
Armando Iannucci, the creator of similarly volatile political satires like The
Thick of It and Veep. If you want your comedy with a biting edge,
this is an easy recommendation.
Killer Klowns from Outer
Space
If you like so bad it’s good movies, then this right here
is prime riffing material. It has clowns, popcorn ray guns, people wrapped in
cotton candy cocoons having their blood sucked through silly straws, and the
best clown make-up outside of a Batman movie that doesn’t feature Batman. What
more could you ask for?
Lethal Weapon 1-4
This
series finds Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a pair of cops who must put aside
their differences to catch criminals, and is widely considered some of the best
action movies of the 80’s. (The 90’s, not so much.)
The Matrix Trilogy
Speaking
of groundbreaking action movies that went downhill as soon as they entered a
new decade, The Matrix series also made its Netflix debut this month.
Featuring revolutionary special effects and fight choreography along with deep
explorations of consciousness, humanity and man’s relationship with technology,
if you haven’t seen this before, now’s a good time to start. Just watch the
sequels at your own discretion.
The Perks of Being A
Wallflower
I’m a sucker for a good coming-of-age story,
and Perks is definitely one of the more underrated. Following a shy high
school sophomore who befriends two seniors who help him come out of his shell,
the movie deals with some pretty dark subject matter, but also features
brilliant performances from Emma Watson, Ezra Miller and Logan Lerman, and has a
killer soundtrack.
The Social Network
What can
I say about this movie that hasn’t been said a thousand times over? Even before
we knew everything we know now about Facebook and its ironically antisocial
founder Mark Zuckerberg, this movie following its creation where he revolutionized
social media by betraying his friends in real life is considered the best work
of both David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin’s careers.
Amazon Prime
The James Bond series
Seeing
many of us suddenly found ourselves with more free time than we know what to do
with, Amazon saw fit to help us kill it by releasing the classic James Bond films (everything
between Dr. No and Die Another Day) in 4K Ultra. Some aspects of
the series haven’t aged well and there are definitely a few duds in there, but
if you have time to plow through 21 movies (which you probably do), you have
plenty to work with.
The
Lighthouse (available April 16th)
I’ve
spared no amount of energy singing this movie’s praises, seeing as it was my
favorite movie of last year, and now I have the opportunity to sing them
again. Shot like a forgotten horror movie from the 40’s and featuring the
greatest performances of Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson’s careers, this
story of two men trapped in a lighthouse off the coast of Maine going mad
either from each other’s company or some supernatural force is equal parts
weird, hilarious and horrifying, and the perfect movie for those staving off
their cabin fever.
Hulu
Future Man Season 3
Future
Man,
a series about a video game nerd who’s been recruited by an organization from
the future to prevent the extinction of the human race (think a gritty version
of The Last Action Hero), has amassed a cult following during its short
life. Unfortunately, the upcoming third season will be its last.
Misery
By
now, Misery doesn’t really need an introduction. This close-quarters
thriller about an author who’s held captive by a mentally unstable super-fan is
widely considered one of the best Stephen King adaptations, and won Kathy Bates
an Oscar. If The Lighthouse doesn’t somehow satisfy your need for a
cabin fever fix, Misery just might do the trick.
Parasite
(available April 8th)
Hulu hit the jackpot this
month by gaining the streaming rights to Parasite, one of the most
talked about movies of last year. This genre defying take on class disparity
and the perils of late-stage capitalism where a poor family cons a rich family
into giving them jobs made history by becoming the first non-English speaking
film to with the Oscar for Best Picture. If you know nothing about this movie,
it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible, as it contains one of the
best midpoint plot twists in recent memory.
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