3 Netflix movies you need to add to your watchlist this week (February 9

0 0 4 minutes read

https://www.profitableratecpm.com/f4ffsdxe?key=39b1ebce72f3758345b2155c98e6709c

Netflix’s new crop of films for February comes with a handful of must-see gems to make your work week a little smoother, so let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

We recently lost a giant of the comedy world with the passing of Catherine O’Hara, so in honor of the Canadian SCTV caption, I included one of my favorites that is currently streaming on Netflix. To keep things interesting, two other titles are available, including a chillingly realistic AI sci-fi thriller and a Wes Anderson classic.

3

Best of Show

Comedy legend Catherine O’Hara was in the midst of another renaissance during her 35-plus year career when she sadly passed away on January 30, with award-winning, scene-stealing roles such as Schitt’s Creek’s Moira Rose and more recently The Studio Patty Leigh, a quietly deadly executive. O’Hara’s brilliance will be greatly missed, but fortunately it lives on in his formidable body of work, among which several of Christopher Guest’s genre-defining mockumentaries stand out: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and for your consideration.

If I had to choose one this week, it would be Best of Showhands down. In it, Guest takes aim at the hilarious and serious world of competitive dog shows with one of the best ensemble casts ever assembled. In the film, five teams of owners and their dogs converge in Philadelphia to participate in the annual Mayflower dog show, including Eugene Levy’s awkwardly cute Gerry and Cookie Fleck and O’Hara and their Norwich terrier, Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock) and their depressed Great Dane, and Harlan Pepper (guest) and his “talking” Blood Hound, among others.

What makes the Guest films so brilliant is that much of the dialogue is improvised in the moment, making for some of the most offbeat and strangely funny moments in film. Take that and use it to skewer the seriousness with which the players in the dog show world operate – the cutthroat politics, the status disputes, the tasteless press commentary – and you have an uncomfortably real comedy that will have you rolling.

Best of Show

Release date: September 29, 2000
Runtime: 90 minutes
Director: Christophe Guest

2

Ex Machina

New on Netflix in February is that of Alex Garland (The beach, 28 days later) hauntingly silent AI sci-fi thriller Ex Machina. Still as relevant as it was in 2014, it was a groundbreaking exploration of artificial intelligence as we all began to question and wonder what human AI could be. When it came out, I remember thinking if the AI humanoids were heading that way, let’s put it back in the bottle and bury it.

Ex Machina follows Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a talented coder at search engine giant Blue Book. Young and enthusiastic, Caleb is thrilled when he wins a competition that sends him to the remote, isolated jungle facilities of the company’s brilliant CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). But Caleb quickly learns that he was chosen for a more specific purpose: to meet and evaluate Ava (Alicia Vikander), a highly evolved humanoid robot. Ava is beautiful, intelligent and terribly human, and Caleb feels attracted to her.

But what makes Ex Machina its claustrophobic environment inside the sealed compound that begins to feel more like a prison is so frightening. And we soon understand why, as Nathan’s (and Ava’s) true motivations are revealed in a tense and thrilling climax that makes this thriller a true gem. Ex Machina is a visually stunning winner of the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, beating Fury Road, The Martian, and even The Force Awakens. It also has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Ex Machina

Release date: April 24, 2015
Runtime: 108 minutes
Director: Alex Garland

1

Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson’s brilliantly sweet and quirky seventh film, Moonrise Kingdom, highlighted the auteur’s commitment to what became known as the “dollhouse aesthetic”, the hyper-stylized look of his films that made them feel like self-contained diorama-like sets. The film was a box office and critical success, earning Anderson his third Academy Award nomination, for the original screenplay.

But deep down, it’s a story of first love. Set on the fictional New England island of New Panzance in 1965, it follows young Khaki Scout Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) and rebellious bookworm Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward), who become pen pals, fall in love, and decide to run away together to the island’s hidden cove they call Moonrise Kingdom. Their disappearance plunges the entire island into a chaotic manhunt. Everyone is looking for them: local cop Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), khaki scout leader Ward (Edward Norton), and Suzy’s bickering parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand), who must find them before an impending hurricane arrives.

Moonrise Kingdom is infused with Anderson’s vibrant pastel color palette, making each image feel like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. And the music of legendary composers Alexandre Desplat and Benjamin Britten creates a well-adapted and timely soundtrack that works with the film’s themes of childhood fantasy and adult overcompensation. This is one of Anderson’s best.