I have a lot of indie movies for you this weekend, some of which I hope you haven’t heard yet! So lets get right to it, starting with HULU.
Hulu
My first suggestion from Hulu is Step, the documentary that got rave reviews earlier this year. Its about a high school step team from inner-city Baltimore. It got a 95% rating on rottentomatoes. It’s inspiring, yet highly relevant, too. Next is a horror/mystery from Britain, The Limehouse Golem. It has a great cast, including Bill Nighy and Olivia Cooke. It got a 75% on rottentomatoes, but as a campy scare, it’s good. Hulu also added Bunheads, a comedy/drama from Amy Sherman-Paladino(Gilmore Girls). The tale of a Vegas showgirl who marries and ends up teaching ballet in So Cal. It’s funny and witty and rates a 7.6 on iMDb.
Netflix
The most exciting new addition on Netflix is Viceroy’s House, starring, another highly rated foreign film Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and Manish Dayal. About Lord Mountbatten and the transfer of power from Britain to India in 1947, it’s a great bet if you’re into historical dramas. It also offer some Indian perspectives as well as British and ideas on the subsequent partition of India. Netflix also has The Unknown Girl, another highly rated foreign film, this time from Belgium. It stars Adele Haenel, Oliver Bonnaud and Christelle Comil. It’s about a guilt-ridden doctor, trying to do the right thing by a girl she turned away from her practice one night. It gets a 70% on rottentomatoes and a 6.5 on iMDb. And, finally, Netflix has Wormwood, by the great director Errol Morris. It’s a docuseries , with reenactments by Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker and Christian Carmago. It’s definitely different, but dealing with the Cold War and a CIA conspiracy , it’s compelling and interesting.It gets a 6.8 on iMDb and is certainly worth a try. Give it a shot.
Amazon Prime
The biggest recent addition to Amazon prime is It Comes at Night, a psychological horror movie. It stars Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo and Christopher Abbott, in a world struck by a strange apocalypse few understand. It was too scary for me, but got good reviews at the NYTimes, and rottentomatoes gave it an 88%. So watch if you dare. Amazon also has Marjorie Prime, starring Lois Smith, Jon Hamm and Geena Davis. It’s set in the near-future, where an 86 year-old woman gets a new companion who looks just like her deceased husband. Critics love it so far, with David Edelstein(Vulture) calling it exquisite and Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com giving it 3 out of 4 stars. Also, Amazon has Crown Heights, with Lakeith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomugha and Natlaie Paul. Based on a true story, about a young man wrongfully convicted of murder, and his best friend’s quest to set him free, it’s very good and thought-provoking too. It got a 77% on rottentomatoes, 3 stars on RogerEbert.com and it’s well worth anyone’s time. Finally, Amazon offers Frantz, a french film about WWI and it’s costs. It is a remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s Broken Lullaby (1932). It is beautiful in black and white, starring Paula Beer,Pierre Niney and Ernst Stotzner. It also got wonderful reviews, from the NYTimes, Variety and gets a 90% on rottentomatoes.
All in all there’s a lot of good stuff to stream , so sit down and watch this weekend and escape the Holiday stress for a while.
Grownups Guide to Streaming 