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#Alive (2020)

#Alive is a particularly potent zombie thriller. It follows a streamer who’s trapped in his flat when the zombie apocalypse breaks out outside. He finds someone to communicate with across the road, and together, they try to make it out alive. In our time of social distancing and quarantine, it’s a nice reminder of the importance of forging connections with others even as society crumbles around us.

Cam screenwriter Isa Mazzei actually worked as a cam girl herself. She wanted to show what that world was like and considered making a documentary before deciding a horror film would be a better medium for showcasing this world. Having your image stolen and not feeling comfortable turning to the police are real issues in that world. And that reality is better expressed in a psychological horror than if it were presented as a documentary.

Best Films of All Time on Netflix

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

If there’s one thing Sleepy Hollow is noteworthy for, it’s the art direction. Everything from the costumes to the sets perfectly brings you into this haunting world. It’s often overlooked as a Tim Burton film, but it’s glorious to behold.

Adam Wingard’s previous effort, You’re Next, subverted expectations, becoming one of the most gruesomely delightful, and underrated, horror films in recent memory. He followed it up with The Guest, which also leaves you guessing as to what’s about to happen from one scene to the next. It’s best to go into the film knowing virtually nothing, so you can be completely struck with how insane the movie gets.

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Being John Malkovich (1999)

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I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a denser film than what may appear on the surface. The story of a woman wanting to break up with her boyfriend of six weeks is intercut with various scenes that don’t make a lot of sense at first. You have to be willing to roll with the absurdity and Charlie Kaufman’s patented disjointing. But the performances bolster this film to something that warrants Academy consideration.

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Midnight Special (2016)

Nightcrawler is a unique story in that its protagonist, Lou Bloom, has no character arc. He’s an unethical person at the beginning and remains that way throughout the film. He doesn’t learn any lessons by seeing the dark sides of capitalism and consumer demand. Instead, he embodies the worst components of those ideas. He shows what kind of person you have to become the make it in the world, and the answer is a sociopath.

On its surface, Spotlight shouldn’t be as engaging as it is. It’s largely devoid of conflict and instead follows the journalists as they gradually piece together pieces of the story concerning abuse in the Catholic church. In fact, many of the scenes that didn’t actually happen concern authority figures warning the journalists to stay away from this story (i.e. the scenes that add conflict). However, Spotlight appropriately shines a light on a story that needs to be remembered so that no one forgets the sins of the past.

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Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Breaking the fourth wall is typically done for comedic effect. However, Fiddler on the Roof does it for a much different reason. During those moments, Tevye discusses important concepts to the Jewish community. It gives the audience time to reflect on the musical’s themes before we get back into another number.

Classic Movies on Netflix Now

West Side Story (1961)

With Steven Spilberg directing a remake, now’s the perfect time to revisit an all-time classic musical. Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story follows two star-crossed lovers from rival New York street gangs. In particularly, it’s important to pay attention to the editing, which is fast-paced as ever and allows a movie that’s nearly 60 years old to still feel vibrant and energetic.

Atlantics is one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences of 2019. It almost feels as if the film created its own genre: Just when you think you know where its plot is headed, it changes direction on you.

That misdirection—that sense of gradual discovery with new narrative development—isn’t frustrating. It’s rewarding.

Many movies of late are obsessed with class warfare. From Parasite to Joker, many films explore the division between the upper and lower classes. The Platform follows in this tradition, serving as a political allegory. It takes place in a prison where food is lowered one level at a time until nothing is left for the prisoners at the bottom. Resources literally “trickle down,” so anyone who was a fan of Parasite will also find substance in this sci-fi flick.

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Roma (2018)

Holidays is a horror anthology consisting of various short films, each one centered around a different holiday. From Valentine’s Day to New Year’s, and of course Halloween, Holidays is a great watch for budding horror filmmakers. The reason being each segment is so unique in tone and style. Some are goofy. Others are downright disturbing. It may be a bit of a mixed bag in terms of quality, but it’s great viewing to see how you can freak people out in so many ways.

The Witches holds a special place in many people’s hearts considering it was the last film Jim Henson worked on before his death. The prosthetics and puppets in the costume have that patented Henson charm. It’s scary but whimsical at the same time. Turns out, it could have been a lot scarier, but the director cut out several scenes out of fear they would terrify a younger audience.

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The Girl With All the Gifts (2016)

The book and screenplay for The Girl With All the Gifts were written at the same time. This undoubtedly helped give the book more of a cinematic quality while helping keep the focus on the characters for the movie. In either case, the result is a thrilling post-apocalyptic adventure where a virus spreads throughout humanity, turning people into zombies.

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Taxi Driver (1976)

Dramatizing the death of Stalin is one thing, but making a comical farce out of the event and the ensuing power struggle must have been a monumental task. The movie was banned in Russia, but anyone who wants to give it a chance will find a hilarious piece of art with timely parallels to our current political state. It’s a superb example of a dark comedy that balances out its varying tones with such expert precision.

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The Founder (2016)

The Founder follows a person responsible for changing society as we know it. And in both cases, the person pulling the strings isn’t some kind-hearted, gentle soul. Ray Kroc takes advantage of the true founders of McDonald’s, never giving them the money they were owed. It’s fascinating watching a global behemoth emerge in front of your eyes on screen.

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Adrift (2018)

Survival stories have a primal quality to them. After all, one of the earliest types of stories ever told is “man vs. nature.” That’s precisely what Adrift presents with a young couple heading out to sail on the open sea. Of course, things don’t go as planned when they encounter harsh storms. It’s becomes a fight for survival with a twist to keep you hooked the entire time.

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13th (2016)

A great deal of social upheaval has taken place over the last year. And if you’re interested in learning more about the root of that unrest, just watch 13th from director Ava DuVernay. The film explores mass incarceration in the United States and how it disproportionately impacts Black Americans. It all can be traced back to the passage of the 13th Amendment, which most people learn in high school abolished slavery but actually just altered the definition. The 13th Amendment still allows for slavery except for punishment of a crime. It’s eye-opening, shocking, and will make you want to protest for a better tomorrow.

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Casino Royale (2006)

Rebooting a beloved character is not easy, especially when you plan on changing him so drastically. Casino Royale had the herculean task of making James Bond relevant in the 21st century, and it more than succeeded. It provided a different kind of Bond, one vastly unique from other iterations. And with Daniel Craig’s tenure as Bond coming to an end, it’s the perfect chance to see what some would argue is his best foray into the character.

Amazing New Movies on Netflix

Disclosure (2020)

Disclosure provides fascinating insight into the transgender experience in modern America. And a big part of that experience involves seeing (often not-so-flattering) portrayals in the media. Featuring interviews with filmmakers like Lilly Wachowski and Susan Stryker, as well as actors, musicians, and producers, Disclosure sheds knowledge everyone needs to know and understand.

How do you adapt one of the most famous English works of all time? For screenwriter Deborah Moggach, it consisted of being fairly faithful to the source material. The structure and dialogue from the novel remains largely intact, but when you have one of the greatest romances ever written at your disposal, you don’t exactly need to reinvent the wheel.

Great Movies on Netflix From the ‘90s

Donnie Brasco (1997)

There are numerous mafia movies out there. But what makes Donnie Brasco one of the best gangster movies of all time is how it divides time equally between the mob and the FBI. You get a more complete picture, and people on both sides appear as real people. Plus, the performances from Johnny Depp and Al Pacino are second-to-none and add real gravity to what could have been another forgettable mobster picture.

Salma Hayek had to fight vigorously to get Frida made. She even sought out the administrator to the rights of Frida Kahlo’s works to secure paintings for the film. You can see that passion in every scene Hayek is in, making this a biopic that stands apart from many in its class.

The Safdie Brothers are experts at craftins highly tense, anxiety-ridden films. Uncut Gems brought that aesthetic into the mainstream, but it all started with 2017’s Good Time, which has similar frenetic editing and fast-paced plot to put you in the protagonist’s shoes. Once the film’s over, you’ll finally feel like you can breathe.

Total Recall is based on the Philip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” However, the film takes many liberties from the source material, becoming more “Hollywood” in the process. Fortunately, with Paul Verhoeven at the helm, the film manages to maintain a unique aesthetic and tone that makes it stand out from being just another generic sci-fi action film.

Screenwriter Robert Mark actually got beat up by bullies and started practicing martial arts in order to protect himself. This served as the basis for what would ultimately become The Karate Kid. An old tenet of screenwriting is to “write what you know.” Even something mundane like getting beat up by bullies, which plenty of people can relate to, can serve as the inspiration for one of the greatest sports movies ever made.

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The Half of It (2020)

There are some films you watch and wonder why no one has ever made it before. The Half of It takes a cue from Cyrano de Bergerac when a friendless high school student writes love letters for a jock to the popular girl, whom she also has a crush on. It goes to show the true power in taking familiar premises and finding a way to tell them in a relevant way to modern audiences.

Referring to a movie as “slow” may seem like a bad thing (and in some cases it is). But Burning shows precisely how to do a slow burn (no pun intended) well. The characters are engaging, and it subverts your expectations at nearly every turn. It creeps up on you, and you remain at the edge of your seat until your patience is ultimately rewarded.

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, many movies dealt with themes related to capitalism and greed. Killing Them Softly is a great example and turns the focus into the realm of small-time organized crime. The movie isn’t subtle with what it’s trying to say, but it’s entertaining and since it’s removed several years past 2008, it can turn a critical eye onto the events that transpired that year.