What to watch: The Farewell a gem that offers up the most perfect movie ending

The Farewell is a gem of a movie that should always be treasured, with an ending so perfect it’s hard to top, and you can stream it this weekend. Here’s what else to watch.

THE ONE YOU NEED TO SAY HELLO TO SOON

THE FAREWELL (PG)

****1/2

AMAZON; or rent via GOOGLE PLAY, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES

This utterly beautiful movie is the embodiment of a small gem to be always treasured. You would not call it polished, but The Farewell never fails to catch the light. And oh, how it can sparkle when you least expect it. (If there has been a more perfect ending to a movie in the past year, I would be genuinely surprised.) Walking the thinnest imaginable tightrope between heart-lifting humour and heart-sinking poignancy, the movie tells a true story of an extended Chinese-American family who conspire not to tell their matriarch – a beloved mother, grandmother and mentor to all – that she is soon to die from a terminal disease. Instead, the clan improvise a wedding from within their ranks, using the occasion to get together and say their last goodbyes by stealth. To sweet’n’bossy old Nai Nai (an amazing Zhao Shuzhen), this is the reunion she’d always wished for. To everyone else, this is the wake they never wanted. This exquisite experience is not depressing in the slightest. Conversely, you will leave in a state of hope and happiness most movies could never hope to inspire.

THE ONE TAKING SOMETHING TO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES

TOUR DE PHARMACY (MA15+)

***1/2

exclusive to BINGE

Professional cycling ain’t what it used to be. A plain fact which opened the door for this short, sharp, shonky and very funny mockumentary taking the entire two-wheeled sport to task. The action takes place at an imagined version of the 1982 Tour de France where all 170 riders are taking anything and everything to get a competitive edge on their rivals. You don’t have to be a cycling buff to get where head writer and star Andy Samberg (TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and his collaborators (many of whom worked on his 2015 tennis spoof 7 Days in Hell) are coming from here. However, if you are peeved by the role illicit substances have played in ruining modern sport, you will find this silly satire hits many satisfactory targets. Samberg’s fellow dopers are played by Orlando Bloom, John Cena, Freddie Highmore and Daveed Diggs, who are all on the same wacked-out wavelength needed. The only sticking point for some viewers will be the willing (and not so amusing) participation of disgraced Tour champ Lance Armstrong.

Jessica Chastain in It Chapter Two.

THE ONE THAT REPEATS A CLOWNING ACHIEVEMENT

IT CHAPTER TWO (MA15+)

***

FOXTEL, NETFLIX

Look at that 168-minute running time! Not much change left out of three hours, is there? The team behind the It saga know they are playing to (and preying upon) a captive audience. The first It in 2017 – which only covered half of the mammoth book by Stephen King – was a global sensation that became the highest-grossing horror movie ever. Don’t worry, clownophobes: there is still plenty of the dreaded circus freak Pennywise (played by the exponentially icky Bill Skarsgard) to ruin your day in the best way. However, in the generous gaps between sightings of his trademark blood-red balloons, the fear factor drops from wild to mild. The story is all about finding closure for The Losers’ Club, that Stranger Things-ish group of teens who took on the creepy carnivorous clown in the previous instalment. They’re 27 years older now, and have returned to their home town to put a stop to the recurring and relentless evil of Pennywise forever. Co-stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader.

THE ONE WHERE IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BATTLE

MIDWAY (M)

**1/2

rent via GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES

Military buffs with an eye for value will appreciate the bonus loading affixed to this big-budget war movie. Not only is there a stupendously detailed reconstruction of the 1942 Battle of Midway, that famous four-day skirmish which turned the tide of World War 2 in the Pacific. You also get two more authentic-ish action replays drawn from earlier America-versus-Japan fixtures in the same season of conflict: the brazen attack upon Pearl Harbor, and the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo months later. This old-fashioned movie will almost certainly never be mentioned in the same breath as 1917 or Dunkirk. The acting is too wooden, and the storytelling too splintery. However, when it comes to thrilling, chilling spectacle and a desire to put some simple context on a complicated aspect of WWII, Midway holds its own most efficiently. Whether filmed from the perspective of American or Japanese pilots, the vertigo-inducing dive-bombing sequences are almost worth the price of admission in their own right. Stars Woody Harrelson.

Zoe Colletti and Michael Garza in Guillermo Del Toro produced film Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark.

THE ONE PUTTING A FAINT FRIGHT

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (M)

***

rent via GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES

A teen-friendly horror movie, with added emphasis on the ‘friendly’. This is a highly amiable, not that frightening adaptation of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books, compendiums of urban legends and freaky folklore that sold like hot cakes in the 1980s and 90s. Producer and co-writer Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) is out to revive interest in the series with this appealing affair, which sits about halfway between a Goosebumps and an It on the horror-flick spectrum. The plot has been backdated to 1968, where a bunch of nerdy high-schoolers have happened upon a supernatural book that cannot only write itself, but also accurately predicts the grisly fate awaiting certain readers. Being a del Toro production, the grisly effects and monster design are well above average, and provoke a lasting chill at odds with the lightweight tone of the picture. A sequel would be pushing it, but this remains a nice entry-level outing for younger fans of the macabre. Stars Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza.

THE ONE REVEALING THE UGLY SIDE OF A BEAUTY QUEEN

TABLOID (M)

****1/2

DOCPLAY; or rent via GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES

This riveting doco tells the staggering tale of Miss Joyce McKinney. In 1977, the former American beauty became the talk of Britain for kidnapping a former fiancee, chaining him to a bed in a remote rural hideaway, and then having her kinky way with him. While the UK legal system had no precedent for dealing with McKinney’s extraordinary actions, the Fleet Street papers just could not get enough of her bizarre escapades. Over three decades later, McKinney (a willing, even overenthusiastic participant in this film) turns out to have lost none of her uncanny knack for leading the media on a merry dance. The doco fascinates on a considerable number of levels, largely thanks to McKinney’s duplicitous skills before the camera. Those who believe the truth should never get in the way of a great story will find compelling, conclusive proof here. Another classic from director Errol Morris (The Fog of War).

Aubrey Plaza and Gabriel Bateman star in Child’s Play.

THE ONE TELLING A TERRIFYING TOY STORY

CHILD’S PLAY (MA15+)

***

FOXTEL, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Firstly, some (haunted) housekeeping – this is not a remake, reboot nor reimagining of the classic 1989 horror thriller. No, this is a reincarnation: the summoning of an evil little figure many of us were secretly hoping to never see again. So say hello once more to the one and only Chucky, the toy doll with a temperament that makes Pennywise the clown of It infamy look like a reasonable, well-balanced kinda dude. In a production most horror fans will find eminently disposable, yet undeniably enjoyable, the Chuckster is still as old-fashioned a demented doll as ever, but for a thoroughly modern reason. He’s now a ‘smart toy’, an internet-connected plaything designed to befriend and babysit kids at the same time. What could possibly go wrong with that kind of arrangement? Well, once a disgruntled programmer removes a few lines of Chucky’s code, just about everything. Be aware the body count is moderate, but the methods used to rack up those numbers are enough to make a butcher turn vegan.

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Originally published as What to watch: The Farewell a gem that offers up the most perfect movie ending