This Week on Netflix (August 17th)

17 August, 2018 William Eguizabal 0 Comments 1 category

We’re back again and this week we’re offering you EVEN MORE picks. Check these out and let us know if you have any recommendations for next week. Or even theme weeks you’d like us to do. Be sure to hit us up on all our platforms and maybe donate to our Patreon or buy shirt both links at the end of the article

ROBERT

Title: Paris is Burning

Rated: R

Directed By: Jennie Livingston

Starring: Dorian Gray, Paris Duprée, Pepper LaBeija

Runtime: 1 hr 16 mins

“I always had hopes of being a big star. But as you get older, you aim a little lower. Everybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world. Then you think, you’ve made a mark on the world if you just get through it, and a few people remember your name. Then you’ve left a mark. You don’t have to bend the whole world. I think it’s better to just enjoy it. Pay your dues, and just enjoy it. If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.”

It’s the late ’80s and New York is on fire. The transgender “drag ball” scene is hitting its stride; the fashion house rivalries are reaching unprecedented levels of notoriety. Paris is Burning takes a very in-depth look at a unique subculture that was somehow stemmed from a wide range of issues transcending sexuality. Long regarded as a milestone in launching gay media into the mainstream, this film covers the economic, racial, and sociopolitical challenges of being different in an era defined more by excess, conformity, and greed. It’s an even better watch now that you can compare the drag scene in today’s climate. In this weird and scary time in America, where transgender culture is deep in the zeitgeist and RuPaul’s Drag Race reruns pervade daytime television, one ponders why we have such an obsession with everything from the ’80s. That era was just bad for a lot of those who dared to be themselves.

CHAI

Title: Heaven Knows What

Rated: R

Directed By: Benny and Josh Safdie

Starring: Arielle Holmes, Caleb Landry Jones, Buddy Duress, Necro

Runtime: 1 h 37 mins

“You ain’t gettin’ rid of me, I ain’t going nowhere.”

This unforgettably gritty drama surrounds Harley (Holmes), a young homeless woman saturated in unhealthy, addictive relationships, whether they be with her dangerous boyfriend Ilya (Jones), heroin, or otherwise. Heaven Knows What is hauntingly realistic due to the direction (the brilliant Safdie brothers of Good Time) and endlessly convincing performances (Holmes herself had endured the same lifestyle as her character). It’s visceral, hard to watch, and refreshingly unique. Some moments of the film are so dark and spiraling it feels surreal and dreamlike, partly due to the synthy, unearthly, and at times appropriately drunk-sounding soundtrack and the strange style of editing and cinematography. The film immerses you into the characters cage-like lives: it is intensely and uncomfortably human. A heavy yet rewarding and inspiring must-watch. It’s difficult to witness. It resonates.

ALEXANDRIA

Title: The Kissing Booth

Rated: TV-14

Directed By: Vince Marcello

Starring: Joey King, Joel Courtney, Jacob Elordi

Runtime: 1 h 45 mins

“Don’t wind up grinding coochies with my brother or I’ll literally never talk to you again.”

I love a good teen romance. There predictable, but very fun– if done correctly of course. So, when I saw The Kissing Booth, I was so surprised at how much I laughed, cried, and gasped while screaming “WTF” at the top of my lungs. The story had some small plot twist while still following your typical teen romance plot. However, what really makes it is the cast. The on-screen chemistry is 100% on the money. You believe the romances and the friendships are legitimate. Unlike some teen romances that seemed so force its gag-worthy. This feels like your looking through the eyes of our characters and understanding their feelings and emotions throughout; that is what makes a great teen romance.

DONOVAN

Title: What Happened to Monday

Rated: TV-MA

Directed by: Tommy Wirkola

Starring: Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close, Willem Dafoe

Runtime: 2 hr 3 mins

“In the last 50 years we’ve doubled our population, tripled the amount of food and water we use, and we have quadrupled the use of fossil fuels. Every four days there’s a million more people on the planet. How is the world going to cope with this explosion in population.”

The tale of a dystopian land facing impending overpopulation is not a new one in the realm of science fiction. Such a film was released in the summer of last year, What Happened to Monday, shining a new light onto an old stage. In a world where families are allowed only one child, a family of septuplets must learn how to live in secret, for their very existence is a crime. Movies such as these hold a mirror against our society, giving us a glimpse at a possible future should we continue our destructive ways. The film offers an insanely unique twist as to how the siblings hide from the system and implement an even greater shocking ending. For those that are into the typical sci-fi thriller with loads of action and a jaw-dropping splash of reality and truth to a very real-world problem, this is the film for you.

CHANSE

Title: Circle

Rated: Not Rated

Directed By: Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione

Starring: Allegra Masters, Cameron Cruz, Aimee McKay, Jay Hawkins Ashley Key

Runtime: 1 h 27 mins

“Do you think there are other people? Doing this?”

From writers to the director, film students, critics and all those in between, we all know how hard it is to tell a complete story is not just one location but one room. And still, I’m not even sure the film actually told a complete story. What I couldn’t get enough of was each characters’ rationale over who should live and the amount of time it took to get there. 50 strangers wake up aboard what we later find out is a UFO, where they are forced to pick each other off one-by-one. The film itself is quite boring. You know there is only going to be one survivor, so it’s a lot of who gets to survive for the next 30 seconds. Close-ups of disgruntled faces and the use of heavy dialogue (persuasion and manipulation) are the only two elements that really keep it moving. But I stand by the idea that this is a good, bad film with a great premise for those into the human psyche, tension, and could be real-life scenarios (minus the aliens).

KWESTIN

Title: The Dark Knight

Rated: PG:13

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Runtime: 2 hrs 32 min

“Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight.”

The entirety of this classic superhero movie is absolute fantastic storytelling at its finest. Christopher Nolan made a masterpiece of a film and it will go down as one of the greatest films made of all time. This film is a comic book film, but at the same time, it is not. This film when you really break it down is a gritty, crime thriller drama film. Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is hands down the greatest performance in a comic book film ever. He stole the show every time he appeared on the screen. This movie really makes you sit back and think sometimes and you actually truly understand what the main antagonist is doing and why he is doing it. The screenplay is absolutely fantastic and you can see in the film the great lines of dialogue Nolan used for his masterpiece of a film. It is a truly dark film that will have you sit there and think for a long time.

MIRLANA

Title: Kubo and the Two Strings

Rated: PG

Directed By: Travis Knight

Starring: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

“If you must blink, do it now. Pay careful attention to everything you see and hear, no matter how unusual it may seem. And please be warned: If you fidget, if you look away if you forget any part of what I tell you – even for an instant – then our hero will surely perish..”

Ah, my soft spot for animated films definitely shows during this week’s Netflix Picks! Kubo and The Two Strings encompasses everything I love to see in animated films: fantasy, love, culture, and adventure. Kubo (voiced by Parkinson) is a curious, innocent young boy who seeks answers about his late father while desperately trying to avoid a vengeful, familial spirit. The Japanese folk-tale style that this story is told in is what really puts me in trance. It’s a classic adventure story that’s told with modern twists and unexpected themes. Don’t let the PG rating turn you off, either; there’s plenty of euphemism, as well as the tragedy that pulls on anyone’s heartstrings, not just children. The fantasy aspect is new and refreshing to watch because of its deep ties to East Asian culture, something not often explored in American filmmaking. Overall, this is a wholesome, culturally unique film that is suitable to watch with the whole family. Make this your next family’s movie night, for sure!

WILLIAM

Title: Blue Jay

Rated: Unrated

Directed By: Alex Lehmann

Runtime: 1 hr 20 mins

“Are you going to be the first female white rapper to open for Public Enemy?”

“But there is this sadness… and I don’t know where it comes from.”

Not only does this film feature stunning performances from both its leads (Srah Paulson and Mark Duplass) but the cinematography from director of photography/director Alex Lehmann is GORGEOUS. Duplass’ script feels real and the characters feel like tangible people and not characters in a fictional film. The unrequited nature of everything palpable throughout every single beautiful black and white frame. Even Julian Wass’ subtle score and music feel authentic and like they belong. I cannot stress enough just how wonderful and brilliant and painful everything in this film is. It’s raw, its real and it does things that traditional “RomCom” don’t have the stones to.

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Category: Reviews