Anna Daniels
(Welcome to Now Stream This, a column dedicated to the best movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and every other streaming service out there.)
Happy holidays, folks! This is a holiday week, which means many of us will finally have some much-needed time off. And while you could spend that time with your friends and family, why not blow them off and just watch stuff instead? If you need some ideas about what you should watch as we head into the holidays, I’m here to help. These are the best movies streaming right now.
The Best Movies Streaming Right Now
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5OhkFY1PQE?start=44&feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
The Two Popes
Now Streaming on Netflix
Release Date: 2019
Genre: Drama
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
The Two Popes is an excuse to watch two great actors – Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce – go head-to-head and sink their teeth into a juicy script. This is a fictionalized (probably very fictionalized) take on the true story of the transfer of power from Pope Benedict XVI (Hopkins) to Pope Francis (Pryce). Mired in scandal, the conservative Benedict has decided that the Catholic Church needs to head in a new direction under the leadership of a far more liberal holy man. That would be Cardinal Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis. But Bergoglio isn’t exactly jumping up and down for the gig. Director Fernando Meirelles stages what’s essentially a two-man show, giving Hopkins and Pryce scene after scene where they talk theology as one man tries to convince the other to become the head of the church. What could’ve backfired into a talky, boring costume drama is instead bursting with energy, thanks to both Hopkins and Pryce’s performances, and Anthony McCarten’s breezy script.
For fans of: The Young Pope, Sleuth, big hats.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0FnJDhY9-0?feature=oembed&w=740&h=555]
The Last Black Man In San Francisco
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Release Date: 2019
Genre: Drama
Director: Joe Talbot
Cast: Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold, Rob Morgan, Mike Epps, Finn Wittrock
Poetic, heartfelt, and wholly original, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is in a league of its own. This saga follows Jimmie Fails as he attempts to get back his family home in the shifting landscape that is San Francisco. Jimmie brings his best friend Mont Allen (Jonathan Majors) along for the ride in the struggle to gain control of a sprawling home in the Fillmore District. Director Joe Talbot fills the film with oddities and curiosities, creating a world that is both surreal and wholly real, all of it resulting in one of 2019’s best films.
For fans of: Moonlight, The Royal Tenenbaums, skateboarding.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYc8SJ5Olbg?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
Depraved
Now Streaming on Hulu
Release Date: 2019
Genre: Horror
Director: Larry Fessenden
Cast: David Call, Joshua Leonard, Alex Breaux, Ana Kayne, Chloe Levine, Addison Timlin
Frankenstein has been done to death, but leave it to indie horror auteur Larry Fessenden to find a way to make the story seem fresh and exciting. Fessenden’s modern-day tale concerns an army medic (David Call) working on a secret project to reanimate the dead. Sure enough, he succeeds (there wouldn’t be much of a story if he didn’t), and his creation Adam (Alex Breaux) has to slowly adapt and learn it what it means to be human, all while flashes of his past life haunt him. Fessenden eventually gets the story to a somewhat predictable horror climax, but for the bulk of its runtime, Depraved is a surprisingly emotional drama that makes us care for the resurrected Adam.
For fans of: Every other version of Frankenstein.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euz-682_mjo?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Now Streaming on Disney+
Release Date: 1992
Genre: Musical Holiday Comedy
Director: Brian Henson
Cast: Michael Caine and the Muppets
Potentially controversial statement: The Muppet Christmas Carol is the best movie adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic. I’m being dead serious here! The overall body of Dickens’ work remains intact, and it also benefits from the gleeful absurdity of the Muppets being involved. Throw in some delightful songs from Paul Williams, and you’ve got yourself a hit. The big Christmas bow on this package, though is, Michael Caine, who goes all-in on playing Ebenezer Scrooge. What makes Caine’s performance work so well is how serious he takes it. There’s never any winking going on here. You never get the sense that Caine is acting with a bunch of puppets. He’s just giving the best damn performance he can, acting as if all of this is perfectly natural.
For fans of: Every other version of A Christmas Carol.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sn53fKSn-0?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
The Shop Around the Corner
Now Streaming on the Criterion Channel
Release Date: 1940
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
Curmudgeon James Stewart falls head over heels for a woman he’s never met – his secret penpal. Little does he know, the secret penpal is a woman he’s already well-acquainted with, played by Margaret Sullavan. If this plot sounds familiar to you, it’s because it served as the inspiration for You’ve Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The Shop Around the Corner is a funny, romantic, and sometimes manic story, with the cranky Stewart oblivious to the fact that his potential love interest is his coworker, played by Sullavan. Shop doesn’t give the female character much to do, unfortunately – but Sullavan still makes an impression, throwing herself fully into the role. The black and white Christmastime setting makes this a perfect movie to watch this time of year.
For fans of: You’ve Got Mail, It’s a Wonderful Life, musical cigarette boxes.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1uP_8VJkDQ?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
Nightcrawler
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Release Date: 2014
Genre: Drama-Thriller
Director: Dan Gilroy
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton
Jake Gyllenhaal embraced his inner weirdo with Nightcrawler, marking the beginning of the actor’s career turn. Up until this point, Gyllenhaal had been slowly working his way up to generic blockbuster leading man roles. After the fiasco that was Prince of Persia, Gyllenhaal switched things up, and would soon be taking on more challenging, and altogether strange, parts. In Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a full-blown sociopath who discovers he has a knack for catching graphic crime scene footage. Lou is able to parlay this into a successful career, and he’s able to become the best in the biz because he has absolutely no morals. Riz Ahmed is great as Lou’s hapless assistant, but this is really Gyllenhaal’s show. The actor shed a ton of weight to give himself a hungry, feral appearance, and it’s a marvel to watch him work.
For fans of: Ace in the Hole, The Talented Mr. Ripley, watching Jake Gyllenhaal go nuts.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlJwxYmfSuo?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
Sweetheart
Streaming on Netflix December 25
Release Date: 2019
Genre: Horror
Director: J.D. Dillard
Cast: Kiersey Clemons
Sweetheart was virtually ignored when it opened this year. But now it’s headed to Netflix, giving a much bigger audience a chance to check it out. And they should, because J.D. Dillard‘s monster movie is lean and mean, and gets to the point rather quickly. Shipwrecked Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) washes up on a seemingly abandoned island and begins trying to take care of herself and hope for a rescue. But as really bad luck would have it, the island is also home to a giant, hungry monster, and Jenn is going to have to fight like hell to not become a late-night snack. Working with what was clearly a limited budget, Dillard is able to milk this premise for all its worth, and Clemons makes for an excellent, ass-kicking heroine.
For fans of: Cast Away, Predator, really cool monster reveals.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPEYpryMp2s?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Now Streaming on Netflix
Release Date: 2018
Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany
There’s a new Star Wars movie in theaters this week! It’s…not very good, at least in my humble opinion. Which brings me to Solo: A Star Wars Story. This prequel about everyone’s favorite smuggler has received a reputation as the worst of the Disney-era Star Wars films, but I don’t think that’s very fair. Is Solo ground-breaking? Absolutely not. In fact, I’d even say it’s not really about anything. But it’s such a whiz-bang, old fashioned adventure flick that I find it very hard to dislike. Alden Ehrenreich is sure as hell no Harrison Ford, but he does a good job playing his own version of Han. And while Ron Howard‘s direction is workmanlike, he’s aided by some gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Bradford Young (cinematography that got seriously short-changed due to lousy projection in theaters). Give Solo another chance – you might have fun.
For fans of: Indiana Jones movies (and Star Wars movies, too, I guess).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XenTM_C9fxM?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
Unfriended: Dark Web
Now Streaming on HBO Now
Release Date: 2018
Genre: Horror
Director: Stephen Susco
Cast: Colin Woodell, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, Connor Del Rio, Andrew Lees, Stephanie Nogueras, Savira Windyani
This sequel-in-name-only scraps the supernatural elements of Unfriended for a more grounded (sort of) horror movie set entirely on computer screens. I always come away impressed when a film like this works, because it really shouldn’t. But Unfriended: Dark Web is a creepy success, telling a tale of a group of extremely online youths who find themselves targeted by some evil freaks on the dark web. Things get very ugly, very fast.
For fans of: Searching, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, the horrors of the internet.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFsmtRWxKLE?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
The Head Hunter
Now Streaming on Shudder
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A gnarly, gory, stripped-down work of medieval horror, The Head Hunter shows how to do so much with so little. Utilizing essentially one cast member (Christopher Rygh), The Head Hunter concerns a monster hunter who makes his bones lopping off the heads of beasts terrorizing the kingdom. But he’s forever on the hunt for the creature that killed his daughter years ago – and he finally gets it. Unfortunately, the monster’s head doesn’t stay dead for very long. The Head Hunter works so well because of its production design, which really nails down the grimy, filthy atmosphere the character inhabits, lending at ouch of authenticity that goes a long way.
For fans of: The Evil Dead, Black Death, mud and blood.
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