Hulu - Streaming Recs

[dookeyXXX]

PIG
Cage is solid and decidedly understated in this muted thrilller.
The film is an interesting mix of genres and tropes yet the story is never what you expect it to be and delivers many nice surprises..
Quiet, brooding, and always engaging.

RIYL
Leave No Trace; The Card Counter

[Buzzworthy]

Just stumbled across this last night…..Instantly hooked. Awesome.

Same, good stuff.

[dookeyXXX]

MONOS
Straddling the line between visual tone poem and quasi-non narrative storytelling, this Spanish language film revels in vivid, semi-hallucinatory imagery and a plot saturated in abstruse elements, all of it taking place in an unnamed South American country. Drawing heavily from Golding’s Lord of the Flies, but also tossing in guerrilla ambiguity and what can only be described as “jungle noir”, it unravels as a languid commentary on lost innocence, corrosion of conformity, and the primal human nature surrounding survival of the individual. The strength of the film lies in slow building dread, a feeling that something catastrophic is just waiting to happen in the next frame. The downfall of the film, however, is that nothing really does. But damn if it all doesn’t look like an idyllically off-kilter travelogue as rendered in lush green hues, teeming with fog, mud, and rain forest audio ephemera. Speaking of sounds, the score is a bristling and immersive offering that paints much of the imagery with fairy tale-styled ambiance, but also slips in nuances of nightmarish menace. The ending of the film leaves many questions unanswered as well as requiring the audience to fill in any lingering blanks on their own. On the one hand it feels unfinished, on the other it creates a ripe atmosphere for post-viewing discussion.

RIYL
Apocalypse Now (specifically the third act); The Thin Red Line (and pretty much any other Terrence Malick film); The Mission; Apocalypto; Quest For Fire

[buttahflake]

Pistol is a fun romp, really enjoyed the kid that plays Malcom. It’s based on Steve Jones and his memoir of the Sex Pistols.

https://youtu.be/9KhxwG0eCiE

[El Chupacabra]

Pistol is a fun romp, really enjoyed the kid that plays Malcom. It’s based on Steve Jones and his memoir of the Sex Pistols.

https://youtu.be/9KhxwG0eCiE

And the Malcolm actor is the little kid (who plays the son of Liam Neeson's) character in Love Actually.

[dookeyXXX]

THE KING’S MAN
The prequel/origin story to the Kingsman franchise is an entertaining romp fueled by a suberb cast, snappy action sequences, and rather restrained (which is nice) humor (compared to the over-the-top absurdity of the previous two films).
Filled with a few twists, plenty of ribald antics, a bit of ballet, and some wonderful callbacks, it's engaging from start to finish. One of its major triumphs is that it deftly manages to take itself seriously and take the piss in equal measure, resulting in a well balanced blast of historical fiction.

[buttahflake]

Woof, no way dude, that movie sucks!

[dookeyXXX]

BORGMAN

Dutch director/screenwriter Alex van Warmerdam has spent much of his cinematic career deconstructing societal mores and class distinction, largely with a wry, absurdist sense of humor.
With this effort he darkens things up considerably, delivering a very strange neo-thriller.
He severely tweaks the "mysterious stranger" trope, incorporating drugs, surgery, death, violent dreams, sex, gardening, and a pack of dogs, amongst other nefarious plot developments.
At on point there is a parable told about the “White Child," though it's true meaning is rather obscure.
The whole film is bizarre, brooding, and weird, but is always engaging and entertaining in a twisted, surreal manner.

[PB]

The Bear.
Thought this was mentioned up-thread, but couldn't find it, so ....

Normally not a fan of the east coast family dust up shows, but WOW! This is special.

[Mike Pow]

The Bear.
Thought this was mentioned up-thread, but couldn't find it, so ....

Normally not a fan of the east coast family dust up shows, but WOW! This is special.

Yep

[Flounder]

Pistol is a fun romp, really enjoyed the kid that plays Malcom. It’s based on Steve Jones and his memoir of the Sex Pistols.

https://youtu.be/9KhxwG0eCiE

I was pleasantly surprised with Pistol. Been a fan since 1981, freshman year in HS when a friend gave me a cassette of Never Mind the Bullocks because he didn’t like it. Changed my life. I thought they did a good job of showing was an asshole Malcom was. I knew Chrissie Hyndes was part of the scene but didn’t realize how close she was.

The Bear.
Thought this was mentioned up-thread, but couldn't find it, so ....

Normally not a fan of the east coast family dust up shows, but WOW! This is special.

Almost through The Bear and it’s really good. Sorta seems like the Italian Gallaghers at times but still good.

[dookeyXXX]

OVER THE GARDEN WALL
This is an engaging modern fairy tale riffing on Nilsson’s The Point, the Brothers Grimm, and Michigan J. Frog, amongst other influences (Spirited Away and The Wizard of Oz, too).
And while I couldn’t find any info to support or contrary to this theory of mine, I like to think that the title is inspired by Genesis’s “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe).”

RIYL
Adventure Time; The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack

[dookeyXXX]

LA LA LAND
Sure, it’s not as instantly classic as either Singin’ in the Rain or The Band Wagon, there’s an excruciatingly bad “break up” dinner scene in Act IV, and the musical numbers aren’t immediately catchy, but in spite of these quibbles it’s virtually impossible not to like this film.
There’s chemistry between leads Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the production design is teeming with vibrant color schemes, the pacing is great, the callbacks are neatly placed, and the bittersweet ending is, well, bittersweet and perfectly so.
Kinda kicking myself for not having seen it on the Big screen.

[mcski]

Plus it won the Oscar

[Danno]

Plus Emma Stone is super hot.

[dookeyXXX]

THE ASSISTANT
This richly textured little drama is the antithesis of Working Girl.
Quietly following a day in the life of the titular assistant, this film is a scathing, slow-burn indictment of the systemic bullying and harassment that simmers underneath the glamorous exterior of the entertainment world; it also seems all the more prescient given the recent step-down of notorious Broadway producer Scott Rudin.
It’s deliberate pacing might put some folks off, but I found that it created this oppressive and futile atmosphere which only heightened the understated drama and created this simmering thriller aspect where you never knew what was going to happen next.
Heck, you could call it all a detached office noir .

[dookeyXXX]

Plus it won the Oscar

It was actually nominated for 14 and won 6, but who's counting?

[dookeyXXX]

BENEDETTA
Dutch auteur Paul Verhoeven's latest effort carries all of his hallmarks, specifically generous bouts of sex and violence (it did not receive an MPAA rating, btw) tempered with lavish production design. It definitly hearkens back to his early days; think Business Is Business, Katie Tippel, Turkish Delight.
Chronicling the life and times of controversial 17th century nun Benedetta Carlini, the film developes a delicate balance between being lurid and provocative.
While the third act devolves somewhat into soap operatic melodrama, there's still enough visual opulence and strong thespian turns to keep you enthralled.

RIYL
The Last Temptation of Christ
Black Narcissus (1947)

[PB]

Charlotte Rampling looks like a delightful old hag-nun.

[dookeyXXX]

FRESH
This psychological horror thriller may not reinvent the wheel, but it tweaks familiar tropes just enough to live up to its name.
While the set-up is a tad bit rushed and a little twee, once things get cooking it moves at a nice pace and features a gleefully demented turn from Sebastian Stan.
While relatively low on the gore scale, the way things are filmed imply a lot, triggering your imagination to see more ew and goo than there really is and to illicit some serious cringe.
Deliciously depraved.
Bonus points for the Last House on the Left (1972) homage.

RIYL
Hard Candy; Raw

[dookeyXXX]

SPRING
This is a nice, surprising little indie horror outing filmed in Italy and of a sub-genre I'm calling "strange romance.”
Here’s the short version: Cali kid falls into a rut so he takes off to Italy and meets a hot chick. Things get weird from there.
Teeming with cool effects, nice pacing, and a slow-burn creepy vibe which rolls underneath it all.

[PB]

Wait ...... we've reviewed Spring before, or at least talked about it, haven't we??
Definitely worth watching.

[bagtagley]

Bob's Burgers Movie is up. It was good, but I need another watch cause there were a lot of household distractions. The show is also on Hulu. Highly recommended. One of my favorite shows on TV.

[dookeyXXX]

Wait ...... we've reviewed Spring before, or at least talked about it, haven't we??
Definitely worth watching.

Yeah, I posted about it on the Horror Films thread a few years back. May have mentioned it on the Amazon thread, as well (it seems to keep bouncing around streaming services).
It just popped up in my “recommended for you” section on Hulu.
Also, the other films by the writing/directing duo of Justin Benson/Aaron Moorhead have gotten some mentions around here (The Endless and
Synchronic).
Personally, I didn’t much care for either of those.
Spring is their best film, IMHO.

[PB]

I would agree; The Endless was mildly intriguing but Synchronic ....... no. Just no.