Streaming guide: Watch to watch on Binge, Netflix, Google Stan this weekend
Stage four restrictions mean your weekend antics will be very different. After getting your daily dose of exercise, find your favourite spot on the couch and stream these great flicks.
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THE ONE WHERE DIESEL DOESN’T PUSH THE ENGINE
BLOODSHOT (M)
**1/2
rent via FOXTEL STORE, GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES
Weird to think a highly respected thespian of Vin Diesel’s calibre has never graced a superhero movie until now. Vinny D ain’t exactly making up for lost time here. In fact, he barely makes any effort at all. Which is not to say Mr Diesel’s low-to-no energy levels hurt the chances of a rather bonkers, always watchable action movie. Vin plays Ray Garrison, a decorated Marine who starts the movie getting assassinated while on a fancy European holiday with the missus. She also was dispatched to an early grave, something which becomes a real sore point for Ray when he is jump-started back to life by a top-secret team of scientists. They’ve pumped Ray full of creepy-crawly nano-tech devices which can repairs the human body as soon as you blow it to smithereens. Now an indestructible killing machine, Ray spends time between official assignments looking for whoever murdered him and the wife back in the day. A middling burst of mindless mayhem for those wanting such a thing. Co-stars Guy Pearce, Elza Gonzalez.
THE ONE CELEBRATING A SINGULAR DOUBLE ACT
STAN AND OLLIE (PG)
***1/2
STREAM via FOXTEL, or RENT via various services
Poignant, funny and deceptively eloquent, this look at the twilight years of legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy unassumingly gets on your good side and stays there. By movie’s end, you will be sorry it has to go. It is 1953, and the Hollywood boom years for Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) have been over for quite some time. A punishing stage tour of the UK represents the ageing pair’s last chance to get noticed and get back to making movies. The hardworking Laurel is up for anything if it switches on the spotlight once more. The high-living Oliver is not quite as committed to the cause, due to ailing health and a fluctuating bank balance. The gentle pacing of the movie and the flawless work of Coogan and Reilly (whose performances of Laurel and Hardy’s timeless routines are too loving and alive to be classified as mere impersonation) combine for an incessantly delightful tip of the (bowler) hat to one of the great double-acts in showbiz history.
THE ONE THAT CLEVERLY DOESN’T DO IT BY THE BOOK
BOOKSMART (MA15+)
****1/2
STREAM VIA FOXTEL; OR RENT VIA GOOGLE, APPLE TV, YOUTUBE MOVIES
This was clearly one of the best films released in 2019, an achievement magnified by both the fact it stars a cast of relative unknowns, and how the movie draws refreshing new energy from a seemingly tired premise. This is the story of Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), highly intelligent and socially awkward BFFs who could be about to end their secondary education as the most sheltered shut-ins of their generation. Unless they decide to go out for the first time on their last night of high school (which they do) and find the big party everyone else is at (which they can’t). There is real wit, sly creativity and unbridled vitality pulsing from every scene here. Highly recommended.
THE ONE THAT’S ALWAYS PUTTING ITS FOOT DOWN
FINKE: THERE & BACK (M)
***
STREAM VIA STAN; OR RENT VIA GOOGLE, APPLE TV, YOUTUBE MOVIES
This quality motorsport doco missed its shot at a deserved wider audience when released haphazardly into cinemas a while back. Those with a preference for tearin’ it up on wheels of any number should get on to this one right away. The subject is the legendary Finke Desert Race, the biggest off-road motorsport event in the southern hemisphere. Over two days, a multitude of bikes, cars, buggies and quads ramble across the desert from Alice Springs to the tiny outback hamlet of Aputula. Filmed over three years. Good stuff.
THE ONE THAT GOES UP TO ELEVEN
THIS IS SPINAL TAP (M)
*****
BINGE, FOXTEL
Now rightly recognised as one of the great movie comedies of the modern era, the gut-bustlingly funny rockumentary This is Spinal Tap makes a welcome return to streaming after a prolonged absence. The storyline is immediately understood by anyone with a passing knowledge of rock music, or even the most basic air-guitar skills. Spinal Tap are former 70s noise-niks who just won’t go away, despite the ever-increasing selectivity of their popularity. Doco director Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) joins brain-addled Brits David St Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) and their eclectic entourage as they try and finish the live tour that will cement their position at the bottom of the charts. Classic Tap cuts on the soundtrack include Sex Farm and Big Bottom.
THE ONE THAT LEAVES A LOT OF BRUCES
THE BRUCE LEE COLLECTION (M)
***
SBS ON DEMAND
All of a sudden, a sizeable stack of Bruce Lee titles have been added to the SBS online platform, where they will stay for at least the next few months or so. The diminutive martial arts legend was never much of an actor, but he was one hell of a screen presence, as newcomers to his work will learn via HK-made productions such as Game of Death, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon and The Big Boss.
THE ONE CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND AN ART PLACE
ACUTE MISFORTUNE (MA15+)
**1/2
STREAM via STAN, or RENT via various services
This enigmatic biopic of the late Australian artist Adam Cullen is more than a little spooked by its difficult subject, continually backing off whenever close to separating the man from the myth. An intriguing, if incoherent screenplay centres on the bizarre experience of Sydney journalist Erik Jensen (played by Toby Wallace), enlisted by Cullen (Daniel Henshall) to become his official biographer. A mere 19 years old when he took the gig - which necessitated a move to Cullen’s property in the Blue Mountains - Jensen was slow to realise his insider access was indexed to how much outright abuse he could endure. Just why Jensen sticks around after Cullen shoots him in the leg (and later, tosses him off a speeding motorbike) is but one of several riddles the movie daintily dances around. A selectively appealing movie that muddles its motives instead of taking its chances, redeemed only by two undeniably strong and vivid lead performances.
Originally published as Streaming guide: Watch to watch on Binge, Netflix, Google Stan this weekend