What you should be watching this weekend

An emotionally raw take on a young man’s long descent into drug addiction, a disarmingly comic document of a serious time in recent history, and a low-key loveable animated adaptation of a long-running comic strip — here’s what you need to watch.

An emotionally raw take on a young man’s long descent into drug addiction, a disarmingly comic document of a serious time in recent history and a low-key loveable animated adaptation of a long-running comic strips — here’s what you need to watch.

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FIVE SCREAMERS TO STREAM BY STEPHEN KING

JACKMAN AND GALIFIANAKIS UNLIKELY DOUBLE ACT

BACK OF THE NET A NIL-ALL SNORE

Timothee Chalamet and Steve Carell in Beautiful Boy.

THE ONE WITH A HEALING FEELING

BEAUTIFUL BOY (M)

****

AMAZON PRIME

This emotionally raw and unflinching take on one young man’s long descent into drug addiction is an ordeal you may not be inclined to put yourself through. In this case, however, you really should take the plunge. For this masterfully composed and exquisitely acted production has a rare grasp of the explosive impact an inexplicably desperate need for drugs can have on a typical user. Just as importantly, the film does not forget about those watching on helplessly from the edge of the blast zone. This is the true story of Nic Sheff (Timothee Chalamet), a promising student whose tentative dabbles with light drugs eventually morph into a heavy addiction to ice. Perpetually floating in the deep, dark spaces between recovery and relapse, the lifelines cast out by his desperate father David (Steve Carell) become harder to hold on to for long. A must-see for anyone trying to make sense of what an addiction is doing to their loved ones, or looking to make peace with what an addiction has already done.

Margot Robbie during the bubble bath scene from The Big Short. Source: YouTube

THE ONE WITH THE FUNNY MONEY

THE BIG SHORT (M)

****

NETFLIX

A disarmingly comic document of a serious time in recent history. Years ahead of the 2008 global financial crisis, a secretive band of maverick market speculators correctly spotted the US economy was standing on shaky, over-mortgaged ground. So this eccentric band of Wall Street outsiders “shorted” a monster bubble in the property market — in other words, they made a bet that house prices would plummet dramatically — and waited patiently for the big pop. For what is essentially a data-driven story, The Big Short does a fine job finding the humour and the humanity in amongst the numbers. And with actors of the calibre of Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell, you can be rest assured the right cast has been locked, loaded and let loose on the right material here. Directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman).

David Williamson's The Club. Picture: Chris Herzfeld

THE ONE SINKING A TORP FROM OUTSIDE 50

THE CLUB (M)

***1/2

FOXTEL NOW, AMAZON

An Aussie (Rules) treasure from the year 1980. With the footy back, it’s high time David Williamson’s classic tale of boardroom bloodletting and player-coach relations gets to do a new lap of the oval on home streaming. Though best seen in its original incarnation as a play — heck, I once saw a production with Dipper in a starring role, and even that was good — director Bruce Beresford and a cast of colourful dependables (including Frank Wilson, Graham Kennedy and Jack Thompson) make the most of Williamson’s wonderful words. Fun for its heavy-duty cameo component, too. Among those lurking in the background are Lou Richards, Scot Palmer and the Incredible Bulk himself, Rene Kink.

The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy and Charlie Brown is a low-key, sincerely loveable animated adaptation of the long-running comic strips.

THE ONE THAT’S A QUIET ACHIEVER

THE PEANUTS MOVIE: SNOOPY & CHARLIE BROWN (G)

***1/2

GOOGLE, ITUNES

A low-key, sincerely loveable animated adaptation of the long-running comic strips by writer-illustrator Charles M. Schulz. All iconic characters are present, and their defining traits have not been tinkered with in the slightest. The script is largely episodic in structure, allowing a wide selection of everyone’s favourite Peanuts moments to be covered more than satisfactorily. Best of all, the uniquely poignant, bittersweet reflection associated with Schulz’s work is always to the fore.

Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief enters dark and often disturbing territory once it really gets going.

THE ONE THAT TELLS OF THE TRUTH

GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY & THE PRISON OF BELIEF (M)

****

SBS ON DEMAND

After successfully tackling such slippery subjects as Julian Assange, Lance Armstrong and the Vatican, documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney takes on one of the most maligned and intimidating organisations on the planet — the Church of Scientology. In light of Scientology’s infamously aggressive stance towards coverage of its activities, a necessarily cautious approach has been taken. Nevertheless, Gibney’s determination to maintain a balanced, informative context for his work trumps all misgivings. Once Going Clear gets to Scientology leader David Miscavige — and his association with celebrity Scientologists like Tom Cruise and John Travolta — the film really enters dark and often disturbing territory.

Eighth Grade is a revealing journey inside the head of a 13-year-old girl.

THE ONE THAT TELLS OF THE YOUTH

EIGHTH GRADE (M)

****1/2

GOOGLE, ITUNES

A coming of age. A slice of life. The rites of passage. Though any of these tags could be applied here, none of them completely fit. For this exquisitely poignant portrait of a solitary teenage girl is quite unlike anything we have seen before. This is a revealing journey inside the head of a 13-year-old. Someone stuck in that lonely place where the more they try to fit in, the more they feel left out. Kayla (a staggeringly natural performance by newcomer Elsie Fisher) is doing the best she can to move away from that place. Her nightly posts to social media and her daily missions to be noticed — by anyone in any way — are heartbreaking on a surface level, but heroic once we drill deeper into Kayla’s world.

Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool involves two lead actors doing their utmost with source material that gives them bugger all to work with. Picture: Transmission Films

THE ONE WHERE THE ACTORS SAVE THE DAY

FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (M)

**1/2

STAN

What we have here is a slogging stoush between two lead performers giving their all, and source material giving them bugger all in return. This is the true story of Gloria Grahame, a former Hollywood star who saw out her twilight years in England. Keeping her terminal condition a closely guarded secret, Grahame (played with inviting conviction by Annette Bening) instead remains capriciously devoted to reviving her expired career. Meanwhile, her young lover (Jamie Bell, also excellent), steels himself for a painful last goodbye.

Originally published as What you should be watching this weekend