Streaming guide: What to watch this weekend

With the Oscars happening Monday, what better time to reacquaint yourself with last year’s upset winner? Or the classic five-star gangster movie Goodfellas might be more your style. Here’s what to watch this weekend.

Green Book was the surprise winner of Best Picture at last year’s Oscars and it’s available to stream.

THE ONE THAT TURNS THE PAGE … AND THE OTHER CHEEK

GREEN BOOK (M)

****

AMAZON

With the Oscars happening Monday, what better time could there be to reacquaint yourself with last year’s upset winner? All that Green Book delivers is two blokes with short fuses on a long road trip. A white guy sits upfront, making all the small talk. A black guy sits in the back, doing his best not to listen or respond, and inevitably failing miserably at both. This is the true story of venerated African-American jazz pianist Don Shirley (a majestic display from Moonlight’s Mahershala Ali) and his brawny Italian-American driver Tony Vallelonga (a lovably lug-headed Viggo Mortensen). Together they undertake a dangerous concert tour of the Deep South in 1962, a region that seems like another planet to both men for different, yet bonding reasons. A genuinely irresistible feel-good film of the highest calibre, capturing a rare spark between two great actors while maintaining a fire in its belly when it comes to matters of acceptance, tolerance and understanding.

Colin Firth is superb as Donald Crowhurt in The Mercy.

THE ONE THAT CUTS YOU ADRIFT

THE MERCY (M)

***1/2

FOXTEL

In 1968, British yachting enthusiast Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth) entered the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. A little over a year later, Crowhurst disappeared off the face of the earth, never to be seen again. What exactly happened out there on the water has been pieced together over the years from logs left behind on Crowhurst’s vessel, which was found floating intact several thousand kilometres away from his perceived position in the race. If you are unaware of the strange and troubling facts surrounding the Donald Crowhurst affair, do try and keep it that way until you have seen The Mercy. Though this eerie, unsettling biopic does go about its saddening, maddening business effectively enough for those familiar with the finer points of the story, the movie swells in sorrowful magnitude when viewed without knowing what lies ahead. A superb Firth plays Crowhurst with an initially modest, then incrementally worrying presence that stays with you well after the end. Co-stars Rachel Weisz

Emma Thompson makes light work of a heavy role in The Children Act.

THE ONE CALLING FOR ORDER IN THE COURT

THE CHILDREN ACT (M)

****

NETFLIX

This gripping adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel of the same name is well worth checking out, as Emma Thompson makes light work of a heavy role in very impressive fashion. She plays Fiona Maye, a conscientious judge who must rule on a life-and-death situation facing a strictly religious family. Their faith prohibits a blood transfusion that could reverse a terminal diagnosis for Adam (Fionn Whitehead), a gravely ill teenage boy. Fiona takes some uncharacteristic measures in determining Adam’s fate, moves which could be influenced by her crumbling relationship with a dissatisfied and neglected husband (Stanley Tucci). A fiercely intelligent and quietly provocative drama for mature audiences.

Detective Pikachu is on the case.

THE ONE PLAYING GAMES WITH YOU

POKÉMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU (PG)

***

FOXTEL

While devotees of the Pokémon gaming experience will largely love what happens here, the non-converted will also walk away relatively non-disenchanted. The setting is the Blade Runner-esque metropolis of Ryme City, where that cuddly little yellow fellow Pikachu (voiced by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds) is helping a troubled young man, Tim (Justice Smith), come to grips with the death of his father. Sporting a little Sherlock Holmes hat, Pikachu is just the right combination of adorable and all-knowing. The plotting, of course, is of little consequence, but the overall vibe remains much more enjoyable than it should be.

Foxtel has picked up the original gangster movie Goodfellas.

THE ONE THAT’S AN ALL-TIME CLASSIC

GOODFELLAS (MA15+)

*****

FOXTEL

Foxtel have just picked up one of the great all-time gangster films after a period of being unavailable on the major streaming platforms. A telling reminder of why Martin Scorsese is regarded as one of the great filmmakers of our time. GoodFellas is the true story of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), who rose swiftly through the ranks of US organised crime, only to blow it all by contravening the mob’s code on dealing in illicit drugs. Liotta’s powerhouse performance is matched in turn by former Raging Bull buddies Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, and Scorsese’s integration of a hit-driven soundtrack with some audacious camera and editing manoeuvres remains a pure master class in movie direction.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Kevin Hart star in buddy movie Central Intelligence. Picture: Universal

THE ONE WHERE THE ROCK IS ON A ROLL

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE (M)

***1/2

FOXTEL

If Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in heavy-duty he-man mode doesn’t rock your boat, why not double back to this surprisingly strong buddy comedy which has just dropped on Foxtel? The party starts early, and never lets up once two former high school classmates are reunited in the days leading up to their alma mater’s 20-year reunion. One is a former star athlete now going through life’s motions as an accountant (Kevin Hart). The other was once a tubby trainwreck, but is now a deceptively dangerous undercover agent (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson). While not the most promising set-up you could have for a typical comedy of opposites, Johnson and Hart immediately click as a comic duo. So much so that the warped repartee of their characters becomes the most addictive and effective component of the film. File under surprisingly, consistently funny.

Brad Pitt stars in war movie Fury.

THE ONE WHERE BRAD PITT TANKS YOU VERY MUCH

FURY (MA15+)

***1/2

AMAZON

All that can be said of Fury is that it is what it is: a brutally basic war picture. If you like your military combat cut through with outlandish humour (Inglorious Basterds) or historically verified heroics (Saving Private Ryan), you’ve come to the wrong place. This is just five men stuck inside the one artillery tank, trying to survive what little is left of WWII as the Allies advance across Germany in 1945. Brad Pitt stars as tank commander Don Collier, the sole reason why his close-knit team has survived a hellish odyssey all the way from North Africa. Though much takes place within the tank, it is what could happen outside at any moment that defines a vicious, visceral screen experience. No German citizen can be trusted. The Americans have a licence to kill, and are compelled to use it. These narrow storytelling parameters give Fury a near-biblical simplicity that goes quaintly, yet bravely against the grain of a majority of today’s war movies.

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Originally published as Streaming guide: What to watch this weekend