So, what’s everyone doing with their January 6, a totally normal day that has no other implications whatsoever now?
Maybe you’re at the gym more frequently … in which case, you might want to revisit my piece on what makes a good workout movie (if you’re the type to watch some screen while on a cardio machine):
Anyways, the great reshuffling of the streaming platforms has taken place, with countless contracts and licensing deals going into and out of effect for the new year. So what to watch now that the dust has settled? I’ve found 10 worth your time this month.
Blue Velvet, Max
David Lynch’s movies have a not entirely undeserved rap for being impenetrable. “This show is going to be long,” joked Whoopi Goldberg in her 2002 Oscars monologue, “but not as long as it took to explain Mulholland Dr.” Way to catch a stray. Anyways, if you want to ease your way into the surrealistic stylings of Lynch before getting to what many consider his magnum opus, start with 1986’s Blue Velvet. This eerie peek behind the curtain of the dark impulses underlining American suburbia teaches you how to watch it in a way that’s a bit more user-friendly without sacrificing any integrity. The film will get under your skin and stay there.
The Childhood of a Leader, Criterion Channel
Brutal(ist) Boys present and forthcoming, time to do some homework. It should not come as a surprise that the kid from Thunderbirds (sorry to Brady Corbet, but as a younger millennial, you’re never getting out from behind this to me) could make an American masterpiece of such epic scale. This ground-up tale of how fascist leaders are built, not born, is an early indicator of how Corbet marries audacious ambition with austere ambiguity. The chilling formalism was there from the beginning.
The Good Girl, Hulu
🚨 RARE STREAMING ALERT 🚨
When I was putting together my 2021 career walkthrough of The White Lotus creator Mike White, his 2002 film The Good Girl was completely unavailable online. Now, without warning, I noticed it on Hulu! Needless to say, take the opportunity to watch Jennifer Aniston’s Babygirl — except she’s just a regular employee at a big-box retail store and the unexpected object of her affection is a new cashier played by a very young Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s got that typical blend of Mike White’s pathos and patheticness, all grounded in unbelievable yet all-too-real scenarios. Don’t miss this one because who knows when you’ll get another chance.
Mrs. Doubtfire, Max
This family classic ranks high on the list of movies I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen. Robin Williams’ incredible knack for humor is at its fullest display here as the world-record holder for the title of Most Divorced Man, a dad so desperate to spend time with his children that he’ll don the guise of an overweight old British housekeeper to be in their presence. That first cooking scene is among the rare class of comedic movie moments that still makes me laugh every time I see it without fail.
A Quiet Place: Day One, Amazon Prime Video
It’s pretty impressive that Paramount hasn’t burned the budding Quiet Place franchise to the ground after three outings. Creator John Krasinski hands the reins over to a new director in A Quiet Place: Day One, a prequel that narrows its focus on two loners trying to make their way to safety when the mysterious aliens invade Manhattan. Lupita Nyong’o solidifies her contemporary scream queen bona fides here, while that Joseph Quinn sure seems like a nice boy. (Guess Doja Cat was onto something.)
Schindler’s List, Netflix
I get that this is not exactly one of those movies you are eager to cue up, but Schindler’s List is among those canonical movies you need to buck up to watch at least once. As I wrote when ranking Steven Spielberg’s epic of the Shoah at #14 among all-time Best Picture winners, “Janusz Kaminski's camera must show the vastness of the Krakow ghetto evacuation, yet it's equally important that the scene culminates with a collection of tiny details from their confiscated possessions to drive home the inhumanity of trying to eradicate anyone. The two modes must work together to produce the film's cumulative impact, a staggering recognition of the value of human life.”
Showing Up, Max
If you didn’t have Showtime to watch Showing Up when I ranked it among my favorite movies of 2023, now you have less of an excuse to avoid this quietly profound tale of the artistic life. “We wanted to focus on what if there’s not a built-in audience for what you make, but you still have the compulsion,” Kelly Reichardt told me in an interview about the film. “How do you balance making stuff with your life and all the things that can distract you from doing [art]? Even when there’s not a pending show, what’s the reason to get to the table every day when it’s hard?” There’s no answer, in this film or reality. But that doesn’t mean those of us with creative instincts shouldn't keep asking ourselves the impossible questions.
Take Out, Criterion Channel
Here’s a fun story involving this film and its director, Sean Baker (now making headlines for Anora). Back in 2017, I tried streaming his early feature Take Out about New York’s gritty underworld of an undocumented Chinese delivery man. The version on Amazon Prime Video had no subtitles, which I thought might have been an artistic choice by Baker and co-director Shih-Ching Tsou. But since I wasn’t sure, I took to Twitter and asked. Baker unpromptedly reached out via DM to confirm it wasn’t, and he offered to send me the film on DVD as he intended it to be seen on his own dime. He followed through, which ensures he will always have my goodwill.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Hulu
Tommy Lee Jones directs like he acts: with a taciturn, unvarnished strength. His debut feature, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, unfurls Guillermo Arriaga’s screenplay with such an unobtrusive sense of style that you might feel the movie is just directing itself. Jones’ steadfast sensibilities are also on display in front of the camera as Pete Perkins, a noble ranch hand who goes to whatever means necessary to ensure that his friend Melquiades Estrada gets a proper burial. It takes him across the border, crosses his paths with various interesting people, and entangles complicated alliances. But he will keep his word to Melquiades at all costs.
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Netflix
I haven’t always responded to Wallace and Gromit, Aardman Animation’s claymation dynamic duo. However, I was won over by their latest feature-length adventure. The slapstick storyline of Vengeance Most Fowl basically functions as a trojan horse for a broadside against the dangers of AI and related technologies delivered to millions of homes via Netflix. Brilliant, no notes.
My streaming guides for Decider all got a nice refresh for the new year. These are good to bookmark when you have very targeted streaming recommendation needs:
You can keep track of all the freelance writing I’ve done this year through this list on Letterboxd.
You can always keep up with my film-watching in real-time on the app Letterboxd. I’ve also compiled every movie I’ve ever recommended through this newsletter via a list on the platform as well.
A 25th anniversary special for my beloved Galaxy Quest featuring two of its supporting cast all-stars, Sam Rockwell and Justin Long? This benefits me in ways you can’t imagine.
It’s unfortunate that Nightbitch seemed to come and go — Searchlight didn’t even bother reporting its theatrical grosses in the brief window before it hit Hulu. This longitudinal look in The New Yorker at the great Marielle Heller’s process of bringing the film to the screen is worth your time.
Two good reads on the emergence of new masculine archetypes on screen: Jason Gallagher of The New York Times (gift article) breaks down the “noodle boys” like Anora’s Mark Eydelshteyn, while Miriam Bale in The Cut hypes up the sensitive bravado behind rising stars like Babygirl’s Harris Dickinson.
If you, like me, could not keep up with Nicole Kidman’s insanely prolific 2024, here’s a great taxonomy of her many roles by Alison Wilmore at Vulture.
I’ve woven in some feelings about A Complete Unknown in recent newsletters, if you’ve been paying attention. While Timothée Chalamet is the story of the film — a great Rolling Stone cover story seems to be the only major piece of non-influencer media the star is doing — I’d much rather talk about my boy Scoot McNairy, who plays Woody Guthrie in the film and got a nice little profile in Vanity Fair. I’ve been rooting for him ever since 2012’s Killing Them Softly, and I’m glad he got quite the spotlight from the sidelines in 2024.
Some other 2024 post-mortems worth your time: the rise of elevated trash in Vulture, the evolution of bisexuality beyond a punchline for The Cut, and the Letterboxd-fueled boom of repertory programming for The Guardian.
Back to paid subscribers this weekend!
Yours in service and cinema,
Marshall