As is our practice we've selected several random titles and frozen the films at utterly random moments without cheating (whatever comes up comes up!) for this quick preview. At the bottom of the page, check out full listings for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO for the first half of May 2019. Please do let us know if you're dying to discuss any of the films. Okay, let's go...
Was there a well here a long time ago? A well deep enough to fall into?
Burning (2018) on Netflix
So good. Still bummed it didn't make it to the Oscar nomination in best foreign language fi-- excuse me "best international film"
Please God, don't make me fall in love and want to do disgusting things.
Mermaids (1990) on Hulu
Winona Ryder is perfect in this movie. At the time I wanted her to be Oscar-nominated so badly in Supporting Actress (before I understood the oncoming ubiquitous dangers of category fraud). My favourite Mermaids related showbiz anecdote is that when Christina Ricci (who made her film debut as Winona's little sis) was going into her audition for Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family the next year her mom or manager (?) told her to channel Winona in Beetlejuice. She got the part.
I'm worn out. Is there anymore chocolate in that pot?
Gosford Park (2001) on Netflix
How convenient. No sooner did we announce 2001 as our 'year of the month' for the next Smackdown (Sunday, June 2nd) than two of the movies show up on streaming (this on Netflix and In the Bedroom on HBONow).
Show them mercy when they extend none. Forgiveness when they deserve none. And when they strike us down, we must reach up to them.
Humans (Season 3) on Amazon Prime
This show is undervalued. The actors playing the synthetic humans are all quite memorable. Bonus points: This is where we first met and fell for Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians) who is crazy good on this show as one of the kindest androids.
[a rare moment of silence]
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) on Netflix
It's very unusual for Netflix to offer a stone cold classic made before the 1980s so take advantage while they do! If you haven't seen it in years this is a perfect chance to watch and read our longform tag team retrospective which we had an amazing time doing.
She's crazy!
The Darkest Minds (2018) on HBOGo
This movie is terrible but in an interesting 'YA Dystopias are so messy conceptually and also all-the-same' kind of way. The young runaways with superpowers have just been rear-ended by Gwendolyn Christie (it happens) who seems to be the only actor therein who understands this movie's camp value. Alas she's only in it for like 5 minutes.
- That's our baby
- She's prettier than Elizabeth Taylor!
Hairspray (1988) on Netflix
John Waters Classic! I had totally forgotten about this moment when Edna Turnblad (the late great Divine) takes a flashbulb picture of her daughter Tracey (Ricki Lake) on the TV. Hee. (Netflix also has the 2007 musical version of Hairspray.)
[Crowd roaring.]
Rollerball (1975) on Hulu
Hulu also has the not well-loved remake of this dystopic sci-fi picture from 2002. It's so crazy how roller derbies have never quite been in fashion but have never disappeared from movies either. Remember Whip It (2009) and that roller derby sequence in Alita: Battle Angel (2019)?
[No dialogue]
Away From Her (2007) on HBOGo
Relive the Great Best Actress Debate of 2007. Yup, I still think Julie Christie should've won for her incandescendent work as "Fiona" in this Alzheimer's drama. If not her than The Lovely Laura Linney in The Savages.
- American Honey
- Angels & Demons
- Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
- Casper
- Chasing Liberty
- Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion Part 1 & 2
- Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat
- The Da Vinci Code
- The Dark Crystal
- Dumb and Dumber
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- Gremlins
- Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
- Her Only Choice
- Hoosiers
- The Imitation Game
- Insides the Mind of a Serial Killer: Season 2
- John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky
- Knock Down the House
- Just Friends
- The Matrix (all three movies)
- Munafik 2
- Revolutionary Road
- Roswell, New Mexico (Season 1)
- Scarface
- Scream
- Snowpiercer
- Taking Lives
- To Rome With Love
- Wedding Crashers
- Zombieland
May 2nd
- Colony (Season 3)
- Olympus Has Fallen
May 3rd
- All in the Family
- Alles Ist Gut
- Dead to Me
- Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile
- Flinch
- Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage
- The Last Summer
- Mr Mom
- Supernatural (Season 14)
- Tuca & Bertie
- Undercover
May 4th
- Like Arrows
May 6th
- Abyss
May 7th
- Queen of the South (Season 3)
May 8th
- Lucifer (Season 4)
May 9th
- Bathtubs Over Broadway
- Insidious
May 10th
- Dry Martini
- Easy (Season 3)
- Gente que viene y bah
- Jailbirds
- Pose (Season 1)
- Shéhérazade
- The Society
- Wine Country
Also streaming right now
- Anger Management
- Bait Shop
- Billboard Dad
- The Big Kahuna
- The Birdcage
- Black Rain
- Borat: Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation Kazakhstan
- Border
- Breakdown
- Bully
- The Burrowers
- Catacombs
- Cecil B. Demented
- Center Stage
- Chocolat
- Chuck & Buck
- Clerks
- Dazed and Confused
- Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
- El Pantra
- The English Patient
- Fair Game
- Fatal Attraction
- Flashdance
- The Green Mile
- Ground Control
- Happy Endings
- Happy-Go-Lucky
- Hardware
- Harsh Times
- Hoodlum
- Hunt for the Skinwalker
- Hunting Evil
- Imagine Me and You
- Julie & Julia
- Kazaam
- The Krays
- Kygo: Stole the Show
- Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
- Larger than Life
- The Landing
- The Last Animals
- Le Divorce
- The Lucky Ones
- Made
- Major League
- Man of the House
- My Five Wives
- New Guy
- Nick of Time
- The Night We Never Met
- Passport to Paris
- Possums
- The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper
- Repo! The Genetic Opera
- Shaolin Soccer
- Show of Force
- The Sicilian
- Slow Burn
- Spirit
- Star Kid
- Steak this Movie
- Switching Goals
- The Time Machine
- The Toybox
- Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her
- Thirteen
- Twelve Monkeys
- Twice Upon a Yesterday
- Under Siege
- Waiting for Superman
- Wargames
- Welcome to Mercy
- Welcome to the Rileys
- Zombieland
May 2nd
- Dies Irae (Season 1)
May 3rd
- The Yellow Handkerchief
May 4th
- Drunk History (season 6)
- Painkillers
- The Clovehitch Killer
May 6th
- Crash
- Unicorn
May 7th
- My Hero Academia (Season 3)
May 8th
- Hillbill
May 9th
- Action Point
May 10th
- Dinosaur 13
May 11th
- Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (Season 6)
- Above Majestic
- Driver X
- Funny Cow
- One Million American Dreams
- Swimming with Men
Also streaming right now
- Shanghai
- Waiting for Superman
- Welcome to the Rileys
- Vikings (Season 5)
May 2nd
- The Yellow Handkerchief
May 3rd
- Suspiria (2018)
May 5th
- Crash
May 8th
- Action Point
May 9th
- Dinosaur 13
May 10th
- Sneaky Pete (Season 3)
- Wishenpoof (Season 2c)
Also streaming right now...
- The Adventures of the Panda Warrior
- Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina
- Alpha and Omega: Dino Digs
- Amelie
- Arachnophobia
- BlacKkKlansman
- Bruno
- Captivity
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- Conan the Barbarian
- The Danish Girl
- Deadpool 2 (Once Upon a Deadpool Extended Version)
- Honey
- In the Bedroom
- Insidious: The Last Key
- The Jackal
- The Little Penguin Pororo’s Racing Adventure
- Meet the Fockers
- My Dog Skip
- Phantoms
- Predators
- Puss in Boots
- The Shipping News
- Skinwalkers
- Spymate
- The Stepford Wives
- Tupac: Resurrection
May 3rd
- At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnasticas Scandal
May 4th
- Predator
- The Shop
May 6th
- Halwa
- Moonwalk with Me
- Signs
- Zoetic
May 7th
- Foster
May 11th
- My Dad Wrote a Porno
- Night School