Streaming guide: What to watch this weekend
Looking for some light relief? Try this consistently endearing comedy that’s a cross between Devil Wears Prada and 30 Rock. Or Hailee Steinfeld’s superb coming-of-age drama-comedy co-starring a sarcastic Woody Harrelson.
Weekly Guide
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THE ONE WORTH STAYING UP FOR
LATE NIGHT (M)
***
FOXTEL, AMAZON
A consistently endearing light comedy that plays effectively enough when viewed as the cross between the Meryl Streep hit The Devil Wears Prada and TV’s 30 Rock it unmistakably is. What keeps this engaging (though not always engaged) affair in an audience’s good graces are lively scriptwriting and a flawlessly dominating lead performance from the great Emma Thompson. She plays Katherine Newbury, an acerbic British talk-show host whose lengthy run on American TV will soon end unless she reverses a precipitous ratings slide. To do so means reconnecting with both an adoring public kept at arm’s length, and a team of writers she refers to by number (should she even deign to be in the same room). The accidental hiring of a vastly inexperienced joke generator named Molly (Mindy Kaling, who also penned the winning script here) proves to be the X-factor that just might save the imperious Katherine from small-screen oblivion. While Thompson is indeed wonderful here, so too is Kaling and a choice support cast.
THE ONE THAT’S LITERALLY A BIG SHOT
1917 (MA15+)
****1/2
rent via FOXTEL STORE, GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES
A truly exceptional cinema experience. Director Sam Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins have used a fascinating and highly effective technique with which to convey to 1917’s gripping story, and the nerve-shredding sensations it will undoubtedly provoke. So get your head around this: 1917 has been visually composed as one extended, seamless camera shot. You will be joining two young British soldiers on an overcast day in rural France during WW1. They are setting off on foot towards the front line to deliver a message that may save 1600 lives. The haunted, inhospitable terrain the young men must navigate to complete their mission is imposing enough in its own right. The personal fears, doubts, physical injuries and psychological impairments the young men must overcome to save themselves and so many others continue to broaden in scale and significance every step of the way. Incredible stuff. Starring George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch.
THE ONE ALL ABOUT WHAT A PLAYER CAN NET
HIGH FLYING BIRD (M)
***
NETFLIX
This intriguing, if erratic drama is sure to be prominent on the feeds of Netflix users who love their sports. Devotees of American basketball will probably press ‘play’ without a second thought. Hold it right there: High Flying Bird might be a movie about basketball, but you’re not going to see much basketball going on. This is more a deep-dig into the off-court machinations of the NBA, where players and team owners are always at loggerheads over who gets a bigger cut of the billions on offer for broadcast and endorsement rights. Director Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike, Ocean’s Eleven) frames the tale around a fictional lockout where an NBA game hasn’t been played in six months. Emerging stars not yet to cash in on their fame are beginning to panic. Established stars whose spending habits are out of control are also sweating bullets. Enter cocky manager and manipulator Ray Burke (Andre Holland), who just might have the tricks up his sleeve to defuse this explosive standoff. Co-stars Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2).
THE ONE WITH THE TRUTH ON YOUTH
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (M)
****
NETFLIX
The superb drama-comedy missed out on finding its rightful audience in cinemas last summer, but there’s no excuse for you now. In her best work since her Oscar-nominated debut in True Grit, Hailee Steinfeld plays Nadine, a precocious 16-year-old girl whose life goes into free fall after being dealt what she feels is a low blow by her longtime best friend. Without any sensible adults at home, Nadine begins acting out in a way that could end up putting her in danger. The only voice of reason that could put her back on track is her unconventional English teacher (Woody Harrelson, whose scenes with Steinfeld are a dynamically sarcastic delight).
THE ONE THE BOOK IS OPENED TO A NEW PAGE
LITTLE WOMEN (G)
****1/2
rent via FOXTEL STORE, GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES
A fastidiously realised and impeccably cast rendition of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. With their father taken away by the US Civil War, all the growing up the four young March sisters have to do will be completed under the watchful eye of their warmly supportive mother, Marmee (Laura Dern). The much-admired Saoirse Ronan has the plum role of Jo March, and delivers her usual shrewd read of a character. Rising star Florence Pugh (Midsommar) more than matches Ronan in the deceptively demanding part of Amy, the youngest and most high-spirited of the March women. Adding yet more power to an already strong ensemble are the incomparable Meryl Streep and the ever-consistent Timothee Chalamet (skilfully underplaying the male heart-throb role of Laurie). Written and directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird).
THE ONE THAT CAN’T KEEP STILL
GREEN ZONE (M)
***1/2
FOXTEL
This Iraq war movie is brought to you by the ill-fated hunt for weapons of mass destruction. Matt Damon stars as a whistleblowing soldier who knows there is something fishy about the Coalition of the Willing’s reasons for storming Baghdad in 2003. While the world waits for evidence of WMDs, Damon wages a one-man war to prove there is no evidence at all. The meaty subject matter and Damon’s sure-footed presence elevate this adrenalised action thriller above the expected average. The only sticking point is the herky-jerky, handheld camerawork blatantly overused by director Paul Greengrass. Seriously, there are minutes at a time where viewers will feel as if they are trapped inside a rolling car.
THE ONE HAPPY TO PAINT ITSELF, BUT NOT INTO A CORNER
LOVING VINCENT (PG)
****
SBS ON DEMAND
This ethereal hybrid of biopic, drama and investigative mystery pieces together the life of revered artist Vincent van Gogh, and is quite unlike anything seen on screen before. This is, in fact, the first-ever entirely handpainted movie. The end result is both captivatingly beautiful and slightly disarming. It’s like having fallen asleep in a gallery, you awake to find the oils from van Gogh’s paintings have slid off their canvasses and filled the air around you. Stars Saoirse Ronan, Aidan Turner.
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MOVIES TO WATCH FOR MOTHER’S DAY