drama

Stream On Vol. 15

Posted on July 3, 2021 by Charlotte_Sometimes

Hope you’re having a fab week and enjoying the beautiful weather! Welcome to volume fourteen of Stream On, where I recommend 5 things you could watch on some of your favourite streaming sites. Not enough for you here? Try the previous volumes – volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

The Red Turtle (2016 – Sky/NOW – 77 mins)

Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year in 2017, a man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and encounters a red turtle, which changes his life. But, like how Jaws isn’t just about a shark, this isn’t just about about a turtle. Instead it’s a powerful reflection of life, it’s extraordinary ordinariness and the beauty that can be found within it all.

120 BPM (2017 – ALL4 – 143 mins)

Members of the advocacy group ACT UP Paris demand action by the government and pharmaceutical companies to combat the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s. Perfection.

Gods of Egypt (2016 – Amazon Prime – 127 mins)

It’s not often I recommend a ‘bad movie’ here. I hate the term guilty pleasure, as I think it’s wrong to ever feel like you should feel guilty over a think that gives you pleasure. If a film sparks joy, there should be no reason to repent for it. Gods of Egypt is a bad movie. A very bad movie. It’s so bad it lead to this Kermodian rant. It’s for all of those reasons, combined with how much joy I had on the particular day I watched it at the cinema, that I’m spending one of my weekly allowance on recommending it to you. Mainly so I can find my fellow fans who will team up with me to demand Prince Charles Cinema show it and let me play the drinking game bingo card I came up with for it. You can thank me later.

Rosie (2018 – BBC iPlayer – 80 mins)

The story of a mother (Sarah Greene) trying to protect her family after their landlord sells their rented home and they become homeless. Devastating and utterly heart-breaking, Roddy Doyle‘s first original screenplay in 18 years echoes the realism of Ken Loach in this depiction of a horrifically increasing issue.

<a href="http://<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F5pI2UPaT8g" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen>Anita and Me (2002 – BBC iPlayer – 89 mins)

Based on Meera Syal‘s 1996 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, Meena Kumar (Chandeep Uppal), a 11-year-old Sikh girl, lives with her family in the predominantly white, working-class, fictional mining village of Tollington in the Black Country in 1972. Meena meets Anita, a white, 14-year-old girl whom Meena comes to idolise. However, Meena finds it harder and harder to fit in as her Indian heritage keeps on resurfacing, and Anita’s new boyfriend proves to hold strong racist attitudes towards those he views as different. A sweet coming-of-age tale about finding your identity and your voice.

Something-To-Watch Saturday #

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Charlotte_Sometimes

Welcome back for another edition of STW-S. Here’s this week’s 7 movie recommendations of unseen gems. Not enough for you? Check out the past editions here: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6.

The Farewell (2019 – 100 mins – Amazon Prime)

To start with, a joyful happy-sad story about Chinese family discovering their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies. The fact it’s based on writer-director Lulu Wang‘s real life experiences only adds the poignancy.

Crazy Stupid Love (2011 – 118 mins – Amazon Prime)

This week’s underrated romcom slot goes to a film I find myself rewatching regularly for two reasons. The first is the cast Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei. The second is just how well the story is told, with every plot point weaved in and playing out so perfectly. A middle-aged husband’s (Carell) life changes dramatically when his wife (Moore) asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob (Gosling), learning to pick up girls at bars.

Only You (2018 – 119 mins – Netflix)

Elena (Laia Costa) and Jake (Josh O’Connor) meet by chance on New Years Eve, arguing for the same taxi. However, instead of going their separate ways after sharing a taxi ,they start a passionate relationship. The end result is a film that is quietly profound and full of intimacy, just beautiful.

Fish Tank (2009 – 123 mins – Netflix)

This film, by writer-director Andrea Arnold, is one of the finest British movies of the 21st Century. Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis) when her mum brings home a new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender). With his breakthrough performance here, there was no doubt that Fassbender was going to be a star. But if you come for his performance, you’ll stay for Jarvis. A nonprofessional actor who got the role after being scouted during an argument with her then-boyfriend, she’s extraordinary as an older-than-her-years teen who has little reason to hope for more than she has.

Game Night (2018 – 100 mins – Netflix)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, comedy is the hardest genre for cinema to get right – a fact that was truly clear when this film came out as it truly stood out and continues to stand out. An action-comedy about a group of friends (Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Sharon Horgan, Billy Magnussen, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury) who meet regularly for game nights find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery when the shady brother (Kyle Chandler) of one of them is seemingly kidnapped by dangerous gangsters.

20 Feet From Stardom (2013 – 91 mins – Netflix)

The winner of the Oscar for best documentary, this is another total must-watch. Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now. If you’re a fan of any songs from 1950s onwards, you’re going to want to watch this. (My favourite anecdote is the one about The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter, which is one of my all-time favourite songs.)

Apostasy (2017 – 95 mins – BBC iplayer)

Screening as part of the British Film Premiere season from BBC Film and the BFI, Apostasy follows Ivanna (Siobhan Finneran), a faithful Jehovah’s Witness who lives with her two grown-up daughters Alex (Molly Wright) and Luisa (Sacha Parkinson). A religious transgression means that Luisa is shunned by her community and her family. As the separation draws out, Alex starts to question the meaning of God’s love.