What to watch on Netflix, Foxtel Now and Stan this week

A SERIOUSLY demented grotty thriller, a glitzy, spritzy good time and a choice for lovers of the so-bad-it’s-good flick are among Leigh Paatsch’s picks for the best things to stream this week.

what to stream this week

NEED some ideas for what to stream this weekend?

Depends what you’re in the mood to watch: A demented grotty thriller; a glitzy, spritzy good time or a choice for lovers of the so-bad-it’s-good flick?

These are Leigh Paatsch’s picks for Foxtel Now, Netflix, Stan and iTunes right now.

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WONDER (PG)

The one that the whole family will love

**** (four out of five stars)

Foxtel Now, Stan

A well-rounded adaptation of the 2012 bestseller by R.J. Palacio. Though a can’t-miss crowd-pleaser, Wonder doesn’t settle for leaving us with a lot to like. Instead, it pushes for something more: insights on how we treat each other that can be lingered upon, learned from.

Jacob Tremblay and Julia Roberts in a scene from film Wonder.

Until age 10, Auggie (Jacob Tremblay) has been home-educated by his mother Isabel (Julia Roberts), a result of being in and out of hospitals since birth. Auggie suffers from a congenital disorder that has disfigured his appearance and plays havoc with his health. However, the time has now come for Auggie to get his first extended exposure to the real world by attending a regular school. Needless to say, the other children do not make it easy for this sensitive and intelligent boy. Though Auggie’s journey is a seemingly predictable one from exclusion to acceptance, the thoughtful, gently questing route taken along the way backs away from convenient cliches. Co-stars Owen Wilson.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (PG)

And yet another one that the whole family will love

***

Foxtel Now

Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman.

Hugh Jackman is the exuberant face of a weapons-grade musical of the old school, loaded to its high-spirited hilt with sunny smiles and wilful warbling. If you are not ready to enter a world where conversations can suddenly become rousing singalongs, and pleasant strolls can suddenly become spectacular production numbers, consider yourself warned. Those prepared to accept the open invitation to “step right up” will be rewarded with the glitzy, spritzy good time they were hoping for. In a true-ish tale of the formative days of the American circus, Jackman embraces the lead role of famous 1800s showbiz impresario P.T. Barnum with such an enthusiastic bear hug that resistance is pretty much not an option. Co-stars Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Zendaya.

PRIVATE LIFE (MA15+)

The one that is all baby talk for adults

***1/2

Netflix

A shrewd drama-comedy about infertility, surrogacy and keeping a marriage going while dealing with all of the above will not be everyone’s idea of a satisfying night in on the couch. Stop right there: Private Life has two gun actors in the form of Paul Giamatti (currently killing it in the Stan series Billions) and Kathryn Hahn (the baddest behaved of the Bad Moms set) to blast away any misgivings you may hold.

They play a couple in their mid-forties making one last desperate push to make a baby before they are finally considered too old and too wrapped up in their respective careers (he’s a theatre director, she’s a writer).

Beautifully scripted and acted under the sublime direction of Tamara Jenkins (her first film since 2007’s Oscar-nominated The Savages).

INGRID GOES WEST (MA15+)

The one that walks the walk … and stalks the stalk

***1/2

Foxtel Now, iTunes

A stinging little dose of social (media) commentary. Ingrid (played by Aubrey Plaza of TV’s Parks and Recreation) is a disturbed young woman deeply distracted by anything and everything that passes through her Instagram feed.

Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza in Ingrid Goes West.

Upon the death of her mother, Ingrid channels a small inheritance into a big mistake, moving to California to infiltrate the life of her latest online obsession. Social media celeb Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen) is blissfully unaware that the shy follower she has just befriended will soon become a shameless stalker. What follows is a cautionary tale of what can happen when adding virtual windows into your world: leave one open too wide for too long, and someone may misinterpret it as an invitation to climb on through.

THE PAPERBOY (MA15+)

The one that goes off the rails, but stays on track

***

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 appals them. Co-stars Zac Efron.

GET THE GRINGO (MA15+)

The one where Mel Gibson redeems himself

***

Foxtel Now, Stan

Mel Gibson in Get the Gringo.

Those viewers open-minded enough to have not banished Mel Gibson to hell will be rewarded with a lively, unconventional and endearingly erratic action thriller. Gibson plays the only American prisoner in a Mexican jail.

Not just any jail, mind you. This is Tijuana’s infamous El Pueblito prison, home to the meanest, mustachioed banditos south of the border. Inside this anarchic hive of activity, Gibson is free to provoke the mayhem demanded by Get the Gringo’s oddball story.

All action scenes are conducted quite impressively, with a wild shootout inside the confines of El Pueblito ranking as the absolute standout.

THE VOW (M)

The one that is hopelessly romantic … and haplessly fun

***

Foxtel Now, iTunes

This kooky romantic drama has a happy knack of wrong-footing viewers the right way, time and time again. Supposedly based on a true story, the premise pitches Rachel McAdams as a funky sculptor who contracts amnesia in a car accident, and no longer recognises hunky record-producer hubby Channing Tatum.

While she reverts to a past life as a straitlaced law student, he frets and frowns upon how to rewrite a marriage that could already be history.

There are some scenes where it is miraculous that Tatum and McAdams were able to remain upright, what with the huge nuggets of guilty-pleasure gold unceremoniously plonked in their way.

Definitely one for both avid chick-flickers and the so-bad-it’s-good crowd.