Streaming guide: What to watch on Binge, Netflix, Google this weekend
A thought-provoking comedy from Judd Apatow and a fascinating documentary about a mystery on Everest are just two of the diverse entertainment options on streaming platforms this weekend. Leigh Paatsch looks at the best movies on Binge, Netflix and more.
Leigh Paatsch
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THE ONE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO SOLVE A MSYTERY
LOST ON EVEREST (PG)
***1/2
DISNEY+
It is often overlooked that a lot of National Geographic’s recent documentary output now goes straight to the ever-expanding Disney+ platform. It is here you will find this fascinating new release, centering on a search near the peak of Everest for the long-lost body of one of the mountain’s most tragic figures. In 1924, less than 250 metres from the top of Everest, gifted climber Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine disappeared alongside his partner, the legendary British mountaineer George Mallory. While the latter’s remains were finally found in 1999, it is believed that the whereabouts of Irvine’s body could hold the key to Everest’s most enduring mystery did the pair actually make it to the highest spot on the planet almost three decades before Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing? A crack team of climbers and researchers were brought together by NatGeo for an expedition to finally find Irvine, largely in the hope that a camera he carried with him in his last days may settle the speculation once and for all.
THE ONE WHERE YOU SIMPLY CAN’T SEE THE POINT
THE INVISIBLE MAN (MA15+)
***1/2
NEW to BINGE, FOXTEL
The rental services are no longer charging over 20 bucks a throw to see this recent box-office hit, so it can now be recommended without reservation (don’t pay any more than $6, OK?). What we have here is a very pleasing unpleasant surprise. Against all odds, one of the oldest thriller concepts on Hollywood’s books gets a riveting modern refresh in the fear-inducing form of The Invisible Man. With the re-tooling into a sleek, efficient and deceptively intimidating thriller comes a contemporary relevance few would have seen coming. Especially in a movie with a villain you will never see coming. Elisabeth Moss convincingly anchors proceedings as Cecilia, a former architect whose life has been demolished and redesigned by a controlling, conniving husband. After escaping from his clammy clutches and establishing a new life, Cecilia gets word her tormentor is dead. However, the inkling he is not quite done with her yet never quite goes away. Though the movie can stretch credibility beyond breaking point, a fearless, up-for-anything performance by Moss prevents everything from snapping. Some commentary by stealth on toxic relationships raises the stakes and collects handsomely.
THE ONE HERE FOR A LONG TIME ... AND A GOOD TIME
THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND (MA15+)
***1/2
RENT VIA FOXTEL STORE, GOOGLE, APPLE TV
While there is a lot to like about filmmaker Judd Apatow’s latest comedy, there is also a lot to process. Quite a lot. As we have learned from Apatow’s days churning out hits like Knocked Up, Trainwreck and Funny People, he’s not interested in wrapping up anything inside the two-hour mark. Therefore The King of Staten Island’s 137-minute run time is an imposing challenge. Particularly for Australian viewers who may be unaware its lead actor Pete Davidson (a major star on US TV as a key member of the Saturday Night Love comedy team) is effectively playing himself here. In what turns out to be an unconventional, unreliable and utterly charming work of autobiography, Davidson channels his ‘lost years’ as a mentally ailing youth forever holding court (and inhaling weed) in the basement of his mother’s house. The movie should be a self-indulgent chore, but never comes close to that, thanks to Davidson’s charismatically awkward presence, and the colourfully committed performances of a great support cast led by Marisa Tomei and stand-up comedian Bill Burr.
THE ONE MAKING A WELCOME RETURN TO THE JIM
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (PG)
***
FOXTEL, AMAZON
A double shot of Nineties nostalgia, restoring two decrepit institutions from that faraway decade to something resembling their former glories. The first makeover candidate is Sonic the Hedgehog, the speedy star of a hit Sega video game that once ruled the world. The second is Jim Carrey, the fast-talking star of many a hit comedy that once dominated the box-office. While the collaboration of these decommissioned icons won’t be making any best-of-year lists, their work together gives off a surprisingly pleasant and engaging glow throughout. Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is an irrepressibly upbeat extra-terrestrial who enjoys nothing more than running around really, really quickly. After living undetected for several years in a small American town, Sonic’s cover is blown. The authorities want him brought in for examination, and hand the hunting job to Carrey’s villainous Dr Robotnik. This loopy, mad-scientist type brings out a manic best in Carrey not seen in a long, long time. Co-stars James Marsden.
THE ONE WHERE THE WALK DOESN’T QUITE MATCH THE TALK
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (MA15+)
**1/2
STREAM VIA NETFLIX; OR RENT VIA VARIOUS PLATFORMS
This passable period drama solemnly celebrates a deep and lasting love shared by two young soulmates. There is just one problem. The movie itself has no soul whatsoever. The self-conscious sense of style that writer-director Barry Jenkins (coming off a Best Picture Oscar win for Moonlight) applies to the James Baldwin novel of the same name all but smothers its substance. There is too much here that is smooth, polished and glowing. The film is set in Harlem in the early 1970s, one of the rougher ‘hoods of New York City, which at the time was not renowned for its good looks and mood lighting. What averts a complete slide into prestige-movie mediocrity is the on-point acting of a committed African-American ensemble led by Stephan James (a woodworker facing jail time for a crime he did not commit), KiKi Layne (the devoted girlfriend who believes in his innocence) and an Oscar-winning Regina King (determined to stop the looming injustice if it is the last thing she ever does).
THE ONE LACKING A LETTER OF LORE
H IS FOR HAPPINESS (PG)
**1/2
BINGE, FOXTEL, AMAZON
This hyper-whimsical Australian family film cannot be faulted for picking up a considerable number of ideas. However, the movie takes on too heavy a load, leaving it prone to erratic shifts in direction which can be difficult to follow. An attractively stylised (almost colour-coded) production is set in the WA town of Albany, where precocious 12-year-old Candice Phee (Daisy Axon) is doing all she can to repair a malfunctioning family unit. Some nice work does continually surface here, but so too do its niggling inconsistencies. A less-is-more approach by the filmmakers might have been the better way to go. Adapted from Barry Jonsberg’s award-winning book My Life as an Alphabet.
THE ONE WITH POWER ... AND PASSION
MIDNIGHT OIL 1984 (M)
****
STREAM VIA DOCPLAY, STAN; RENT VIA FOXTEL STORE, GOOGLE
For the seminal Australian rock band Midnight Oil, the year of 1984 was at once a turning point, a launch pad and a broadening of ambition. In this exciting new documentary, we are catapulted in a rough-and-ready time machine to the era in the Oils’ vibrant history where they were already at the height of their powers. While definitely one of the most electrifying and incendiary live acts on the planet, we here in Australia still had them all to ourselves. The world would later catch on to the band’s unique sound - a potent blend of dynamics and doctrines - and buy their records in the millions. For now, however, the Sydney-based five-piece were big fish in a small pond, fiercely determined to make a splash on their terms, by their own rules. The rabble-rousing ripple effect issued by the Oils in full flight is captured starkly by the doco, capturing that super-charged command only Midnight Oil could summon and hold over every crowd they played for in 1984.