HOOPLA Recommendations

[dookeyXXX]

Hoopla is like Kanopy’s younger sibling.

Most folks I know use it for free audiobooks, but it can have a decent selection of films, too.

Like Kanopy, it’s free via most libraries.

Also like Kanopy, it tends to have quite a lot of cool foreign and “obscure” films which usually aren’t readily available via other streamers.

And it’s free.

https://www.hoopladigital.com/

[dookeyXXX]

KENSUKE’S KINGDOM
Stumbled upon this little animated film the other night.

It’s got more heart than most of the stuff Hollywood churns out.
The film feels natural as opposed to manufactured in terms of its emotional content, plus the animation style is cool and refreshing when put up against the usual suspects in the medium (i.e. Pixar, Dreamworkd, Illumination, etc.).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOCxYnFAUNo

[dookeyXXX]

MARONA’S FANTASTIC TALE
This Romanian animated film is a wondrous gem, both in terms of its unique storytelling devices and its kaleidoscopic art styles.
Watch the French version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCyHMy-H8c

[dookeyXXX]

RED PEONY GAMBLER
This is a yakuza samurai revenge tale which owes small debts to the works of Kurosawa, Leone, Suzuki, and King Hu.
It’s highly stylized and can be a bit melodramatic and slightly confusing at times, but it is a gorgeously rendered set piece that’s worth the watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSaYPeboRZI

[dookeyXXX]

HYENA
This is a slick bad cop neon noir set in London.
While it succumbs to all of the major tropes of the crooked cop genre, it embraces them with verve and aplomb, tweaking them just enough to keep things fresh and vibrant.
Crazy bursts of ultra-violence, some decent twists, and a corker of an ending make it a taut watch.
And the score by Matt Johnson (aka The The) brilliantly enhances the whole affair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4lUnJnwFL0