Streaming guide: What to watch on Binge, Netflix and Google
Action, drama, romance and comedy — there are plenty of options on streaming platforms to get you through another weekend of lockdown. Leigh Paatsch looks at the best movies on Foxtel, Netflix and more.
Leigh Paatsch
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THE ONE WHERE DENZEL GETS EVEN AGAIN
THE EQUALIZER 2 (MA15+) ***
STREAM VIA FOXTEL; RENT VIA GOOGLE, APPLE, YOUTUBE.
With much whacking, whomping and egregious body harm to dish out here, Denzel Washington (in his first ever sequel) is disarmingly fighting fit for a man of 63 years of age. In an often brutal, bare-bones action thriller, Washington solemnly reprises the role of deep-cover freelance vigilante Robert ‘Bob’ McCall. While Old Bob now turns a buck as an indie ride-share driver, he is still open to certain offers should there be a wrong in need of righting. Once we’re across all that, the movie rather tactlessly, yet moderately effectively, plays the “this time it’s personal” card. Bob’s close friend and former CIA teammate Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) has been murdered in what appears to be a random hotel room robbery. Needless to say, a vast conspiracy is afoot, and only Robert McCall can slice, dice and thump his way through to the truth. Overall, this could a bit of grind for anyone bar action hardliners, who will definitely dig the climactic dispensation of rough justice (amidst a wild hurricane, of all things).
THE ONE (RE)PLAYING THE GAME
JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL (PG)
***
NEW TO STREAM ON FOXTEL, AMAZON; RENT VIA GOOGLE, APPLE, YOUTUBE
The core premise of this quality sequel has been refreshed just enough to keep Jumanji fans leaning forward and ready for anything. Naturally, there are a new set of player-to-avatar switcheroos to be executed, the standouts of which are Dwayne Johnson subbing for Danny DeVito (very amusing work from The Rock) and Kevin Hart channelling his inner Danny Glover circa Lethal Weapon (uncannily on the money). Co-stars Jack Black and Karen Gillan do not have as much to do as they did before - and the same goes for the younger cast of regulars - but it doesn’t really matter that much. The action-adventure sequences are given more emphasis to build some consistent momentum this time around, and it lends The Next Level a slight edge over its well-regarded predecessor.
THE ONE CHALLENGING YOU TO AN OLD-SCHOOL FIGHT
OUTLAW KING (MA15+)
***1/2
NETFLIX
Mel Gibson’s hit action picture of yesteryear, Braveheart, was all over the place when it came to nailing down a reliable line through a crucial phase in Scottish history. Outlaw King takes a rougher, tougher and downright more accurate lash at the same period, this time by focusing on another key figure in the turmoil of the era, Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine). It is the early 14th century, and William Wallace’s stirring rebellion against the English crown has come to nothing. However, Robert the Bruce is not about to let English King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) have an easy time of it as the new ruler of Scotland. After securing the grudging support of the Scottish church and his fellow noblemen, Robert hits the battlefield with a brutally efficient new tactical approach that soon has the English army quaking in their boots. While there are problems with pacing here, the authenticity of the battle scenes and a highly credible performance from the curiously cast Pine delivers when it counts. Directed by David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water).
THE ONE THAT GOES OFF THE RAILS, BUT STAYS ON TRACK
THE PAPERBOY (MA15+)
***
STAN
This gritty, grotty thriller is one seriously demented affair, with several big-name actors going all the way with the down-and-dirty flow of it all. Nicole Kidman plays a promiscuous waitress with a hot crush on a cold-blooded killer (John Cusack). Meanwhile, an intrepid reporter (Matthew McConaughey) with a strange agenda investigates the murder case that put the notorious prisoner behind bars. Set in the late 1960s, the movie is tactless, shameless and almost proudly seedy. Nevertheless, it is always highly watchable, prone to truly fascinate an audience as it also genuinely appalls them. Co-stars Zac Efron.
THE ONE WHERE TWO GREAT ACTORS ARE A GREAT DOUBLE ACT
THE NICE GUYS (MA15+)
***1/2
NETFLIX
A lurid, late-1970s Los Angeles choked down with smog and charged up with smut is the backdrop for a highly enjoyable crime caper. However, it is what is happening in the foreground that really elevates The Nice Guys to a cut above the rest. Here you find one of the most unlikely and effective comic pairings in years. Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a private investigator with great instinct for his craft, but little in the way of intellect. Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is a bargain-basement standover man, a dumpy desperado who’ll beat anyone up at a price that can’t be beaten. Together, these two are destined to bicker, bumble and blam-blam-blam their way towards possibly exposing a vast and seedy city-wide conspiracy that should be way out of their league. The subtly precise stylings of Gosling (an insanely gifted physical comic) and Crowe (as bent a straight man as you’ll ever see) are the perfect match for an impossibly busy screenplay keeping many plates spinning all at once.
THE ONE WITH A GREEN THUMB
A LITTLE CHAOS
***
SBS ON DEMAND
Any detectable chaos is indeed very small in this polished period drama. The year is 1692, and a minor horticultural revolution is about to take hold in the royal gardens of Versailles. A determined and skilled woman of the earth named Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) scores a job with King Louis XIV’s chief landscaper, Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts). After an uneasy start, the pair collaborate on a beautiful transformation of a prized corner of the palace gardens. As directed by respected British thesp Alan Rickman (who also plays the King), this is safe, yet pleasingly assured filmmaking of a strong pedigree. As always, Winslet, carries proceedings both meaningfully and effortlessly.
THE ONE THAT’S SIMPLY JOKING AROUND
JERRY SEINFELD: 23 HOURS TO KILL (M)
***
NETFLIX
At this late stage of his career, no-one would be advancing the theory that Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up comedy is continuing to evolve in new and surprising ways. He’s in strong enough form for his latest live special for Netflix to justify the look-see, even if there are periods where the big laughs are a little more spaced apart than we have come to expect. Though Seinfeld can get a bit too whiny about the perils of being rich, famous, married, white and in your sixties, his powers of observation regarding the absurdities of everyday living are undiminished. Running time wisely keeps everything tidily inside an hour.