Streaming Roulette, June: Always Be My Gentleman Jack, Maybe?
Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 6:10PM 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 for titles streaming in the first half of June 2019. Please do let us know if you're dying to discuss any of the films. Okay, let's go...
-Not in your traditional heteronormative sense. We're married spiritually... and sexually
-But not literally [awkward laugh] !
Always Be My Maybe (2019) on Netflix
Netflix is all about the romcoms though the quality tends to vary. We're so glad Crazy Rich Asians held out for a theatrical release last year since it was so deserving of being a big hit. We will definitely check this one out.
50 of us went to a children's home that became an orphanage for people like us. And when I got to the home I wanted to show how very grown up I was...
Ask Dr Ruth (2019) on Hulu
A documentary which charts Dr Ruth life from childhood, orphaned by the Holocaust, and her life's work as a sex therapist. Reviewed.
You're the writer.
The Ghost Writer (2010) on Prime
This movie made my top ten list in its year. Wonder if it holds up?
It's a genuine game urge. It's something your game character was born to do. Don't fight it.
Existenz (1999) on Hulu
Late 90s Jude Law is so perfect visually that even playing with grotesque bony food and pulling slimy objects out of his mouth with which to finish his gun sculpture of organic tissue isnt as revolting as it should be. But then this David Cronenberg body-horror-meets-virtual-reality flick doesn't come with smell-o-vision so many Jennifer Jason Leigh's reaction in the moment is apt? P.S. I dislike this movie even though I'm a Cronenberg fan for the most part... but I guess some critics love it?
What's the matter?
Gentleman Jack (S1) on HBO
Have you been watching this? It's quite good. It's about the first "modern" lesbian, Miss Anne Lister, who cavorts around early 19th century England dressing in men's clothing, seducing women, and being an all around formidable wit and businesswoman. But the show is fascinating because she's a hopelessly flawed character as well, selfish, conservative-minded politically, and a terrible snob. The two final episodes of the season air in June. Thankfully the show doesn't try to skew her politics or her lifestyle to be too contemporary. It's unclear whether or not she's trans, for example, from our modern perspectives, or just a "masculine" woman. The language was different back then.
David, calm down!
The Terror (2019) on Hulu
I kept hearing my flatmate freaking out in the living room while watching this historical fiction with supernatural elements series. "Are you okay out there?" He says it's really good but I can't vouch for it personally. Have you watched it?
This is Mike.
Magic Mike (2012) on Netflix
So proud that this made our Best Picture list here at the Film Bitch Awards. It holds up. Also, I know this is a *very* unpopular opinion but I think Cody Horn is really good in it as the reluctant uptight girlfriend. She doesn't feel like a 'movie character' but like a normal wary somewhat buzzkill kind of (familiar) person which is I think what threw people. But I bought her in it. Also bought that Mike would be in to her, as his kind of opposite/wish for normalcy/future/furniture building kind of deal. Shut up, I love this movie.
We all know Big Daddy's going to live to be 100
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Sometimes I'm willing to argue that this is Tennessee Williams's best play. Sometimes. But it's not the best Tennessee Williams movie despite fine work from Liz Taylor & Paul Newman in the sexually frustrated marriage of Maggie & Brick. (The best movie would be A Streetcar Named Desire full stop). Cat... was nominated for six Oscars in its year.
- 50/50
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence
- Always Be My Maybe
- Anoha: The Flower We Saw That Day
- Artha Chronicles
- Bad Blood (Season 2)
- Batman Begins
- Black Spot (Season 2)
- Cabaret
- Carrie
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- Charmed (Season 1)
- Chopsticks
- The Dark Knight
- Dynasty (Season 2)
- Good Night, and Good Luck.
- Gran Torino
- How to Sell Drugs Online Fast (Season 1)
- Killer Ratings
- The Last Kids of Earth (Season 1)
- Legends of Tomorrow (Season 4)
- Madagascar: Escape to Africa
- Magic Mike
- My Week with Marilyn
- Network
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
- Oh, Ramona!
- The One I Love
- Phantom of the Opera
- Platoon
- Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of...
- Satan & Adam
- Small Soldiers
- The Space Between Us
- Svaha: The Sixth Finger
- What a Girl Wants
- When They See Us (Limited Series)
June 3rd
- Documentary Now (S3)
- Madame Secretary (S3)
- Malibu Rescue (S1)
June 4th
- Miranda Sings Live: You're Welcome
June 5th
- Black Mirror (Season 5)
- Dr Seuss's The Grinch
- A Silent Voice
June 6th
- Alles Is Gut
- Todos Lo Saben
June 7th
- 3% (S3)
- Belmonte
- The Black Godfather
- The Chef Show
- Designated Survivor (S3)
- Elisa & Marcela
- I Am Mother
- Pachamama
- Rock My Heart
- Super Monsters Monster Pets
- Tales of the City
June 8th
- Berlin, I Love You
June 11th
- Ralph Breaks the Internet
June 12th
- Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story
June 13th
- The 3rd Eye 2
June 14th
- Aggretsuko (S2)
- The Alcasser Murders
- Awake: The Million Dollar Game
- Charité at War
- Cinderella Pop
- Girlfriends Guide to Divorce (S5)
- Jessica Jones (S3)
- Marlon (S2)
- Murder Mystery
- Unité 42
Also streaming right now
- 13th Warrior
- 100 Things to Do Before High School
- Along Came a Spider
- American Loser
- American Psycho
- And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird
- Ant Bully
- Angie Tribeca (Season 4)
- Anti-Trust
- Ask Dr Ruth
- Battle Ground
- Behind Enemy Lines
- Best Player
- Big Wedding
- Boy Who Cried Werewolf
- Blaze You Out
- Body of Evidence
- Brown Sugar
- A Brilliant Young Mind
- The Burbs
- Center Stage
- Cougars, Inc
- Crazies
- Dante's Peak
- Devil Wears Prada
- The Doors
- Dragonheart
- Dragonheart: A New Beginning
- Dysfunktional Family
- Emperor
- Eulogy
- Existenz
- F/X
- FX 2
- Flawless
- Fluke
- Free Money
- Friday the 13th (all films)
- Fun Size
- Ghost Writer
- The Gift
- Godsend
- Hamlet
- Harts War
- Hitman
- Independence Day
- Italian for Beginners
- Jennifer 8
- Jinxed
- Kindergarten Cop
- Kinky Boots
- Legends of the Hidden Temple
- Less than Zero
- Liar Liar Vampire
- The Letter
- Lost & Delirious
- Lonely Man
- The Mighty
- Mission: Impossible
- Next Day Air
- Night of the Living Dead 3D
- Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection
- NYC Underground
- One Crazy Cruise
- Patriot Games
- Planes Trains and Automobiles
- People vs George Lucas
- Point Break
- Poseidon
- Private Parts
- Puffy Chair
- Reindeer Games
- Reservoir Dogs
- Revenger of the Nerds 2
- Ride
- Rocky Horror Picture Show: Lets do the Time Warp Again
- Rounders
- Rufus
- Rufus 2
- Rugrats Tales from the Crib
- Secret of Nimh
- Semi-Pro
- Songland (Season 1)
- Still Waiting
- Straw Dogs
- Surrogate
- The Terror (Season 1)
- To Live and Die in LA
- Waiting...
- Wonderland
June 3rd
- Vox Lux
- The Weekly (S1)
Jun 4th
- District 9
- Jackass 3
June 5th
- The Handmaids Tale (S3)
June 6th
- Shakespeare in Love
June 7th
- Into the Dark: They Come Knocking
June 10th
- Celebrity Famiy Feud (S5)
- The $100,000 Pyramid (S4)
- To Tell the Truth (S4)
- Vice
June 11th
- So You Think You Can Dance (S16)
- I Still See You
June 13th
- Card Sharks (S1)
- First Responders Live (S1)
- Match Game (S5)
- Press Your Luck (S1)
June 14th
- No Strings Attached
Also streaming right now
- Antitrust
- Awaiting
- The Big Wedding
- Blaze You Out
- Body of Evidence
- The Burbs
- Chinese Hercules
- The Constant Gardener
- Cougars Inc
- Deadtime Stories
- The Doors
- Emperor
- Eulogy
- F/X (and its sequel)
- Flawless
- Fluke
- Forbidden Ground
- Free Money
- Friday Night Lights
- Friday the 13th (first 8 movies)
- Fun Size
- The Ghost Writer
- The Gift
- Good Omens (Season 1)
- Hart's War
- I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
- The Letter
- The Lonely Man
- Lost and Delirious
- Mission: Impossible
- NYC Underground
- Night of the Living Dead 3D
- Patriot Games
- The People vs George Lucas
- Planes Trains and Automobiles
- Private Parts
- The Puffy Chair
- Reservoir Dogs
- The Secret of Nimh
- Shaolin Drunk Fighter
- Shaolin vs Lama
- Super Dragon
- Woman Avenger
- X+Y
June 3rd
- District 9
- Jackass 3D
June 4th
- Chasing Happiness
- Creative Galaxy (S3)
June 7th
- Home Again
June 13th
- No Strings Attached
June 14th
- Absentia (S2)
- Law Abiding Citizen
Also streaming right now...
- Beerfest (2006)
- Breakin all the Rules (2004)
- Conspiracy Theory (1997)
- Darkman (1990)
- Darkman 2 (1996)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2011)
- Down to You (2000)
- Deadwood (2019)
- Funny Games (2008)
- Halloween II (1981)
- Halloween III (1982)
- High Crimes (2002)
- The Invasion (2007)
- Joe Somebody (2001)
- Legend (2010)
- MacGruber (2010)
- Only the Lonely (1991)
- Rescue Dawn (2007)
- Robin Hood (2010)
- Snow Angels (2008)
- Sprung (1997)
- Steve Jobs (2015)
- The Siege (1998)
- The Station Agent (2003)
- We Are Your Friends (2015)
- Young Adam (2004)
June 2nd
- Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
- Axios (S2)
June 3rd
- Chernobyl (Miniseries)
June 4th
- The 15:17 to Paris
June 6th
- The Cold Blue
June 7th
- Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas (S2 Finale)
June 8th
- A Star is Born (2018)
June 9th
- El Jardin de Bronce (S2)
- Big Little Lies (S2)
June 10th
- Gentleman Jack (Finale)
June 11th
- Ice on Fire
June 14th
- Jerry Garcia: It's Not My Weekend
- Los Espookys (S1)
June 15th
- The Hate U Give
Reader Comments (20)
You had me at Cabaret
Gaaahh, I love Ali Wong. I hope that show takes full advantage of her sense of humour
Elizabeth Taylor was so freaking good in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof!
What if I say the best TW movie is Baby Doll?
My gay gaggle got together last night and we were planning on watching ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE. Unfortunately, we chose to watch her comedy special Hard Knock Wife first (was a rewatch for me, but not the rest). The special is *so funny* that the movie's flatness only stood out further. It just struck us as the sort of movie Ali Wong the stand-up comedian would make fun of. I happened to watch MARRIED TO THE MOB the night before (for the first time!) and the stark difference in how comedies were once filmed and how they're filmed now was so incredibly apparent. The flat sheen, the static camera. It is fun, however, to watch Netflix movies and see how few extras there are in scenes.
We ended up turning it off after about 30 minutes and watched WINE COUNTRY instead (we were drinking wine so it fit). It wasn't much better - not so much directed as assembled - but we at least laughed, which was more than we could saw for Always Be My Maybe, sadly.
I saw EXISTENX for the first time a few weeks back and liked it a lot, but a lot of that was probably because it was so practical and imaginative without CGI and ugly flat digital filmmaking.
I’ve been wondering if The Ghost Writer holds up as well. I do think of that amazing production design often, but I barely remember the plot.
Here for ExistenZ and Ghost Writer -- two fine films for two different reasons.
Olivia Munn is also quite great in an even smaller supporting role in Magic Mike.
I’m really enjoying Gentleman Jack, and it’s a nice showcase for what a good comedic actor Suranne Jones is after so many ‘serious’ roles. It’s not quite up there with Sally Wainwright’s best work (I think that will always be Happy Valley), but I can see why she laboured for so many years to get this particular project off the ground.
Anybody else caught Good Omens on Amazon Prime. It's great! Michael Sheen and Miranda Richardson for all of the Emmys please.
The Ghost Writer holds up fine. Agree with Evan - the production design is amazing (all the more so for not being attention-grabbing amazing - it's always story-appropriate). And the structure and the tension and the trademark Polanski precision and the car in the rear-view mirror and... Fun from first frame to last.
Nathaniel, thank you for your comments about Cody Horn in Magic Mike. I saw the film twice in cinemas when it came out as I enjoyed it a lot but I always found her performance off-putting. But your comments have changed the way I think of it now. You're right! As is BVR - Olivia Munn is very good in her supporting role, and I'd have liked to have seen her Oscar-nominated that year. (And, quick shout-out for the music numbers and - personal indulgence - for Alex Pettyfer, whose character is pretty disreputable but who is super hot in an if-I-could-tame-him kind of way. Typing for a friend...)
Is anyone else watching Tuca & Bertie on Netflix? It's so good. Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish are great voicing the titular characters, the writing is really perceptive about women's friendships, and the animation is so creative. Plus, Richard E. Grant has a recurring role!
Suzanne - Tuca & Bertie is a MASTERPIECE.
Always Be My Maybe - Ali Wong is so talented, Randall Park is adorable and him rapping dorkily in this movie may be my new sexual orientation, and Keanu Reeves shows up AS KEANU - but it's not a very good movie. It's taken me three days and I haven't even got through it all.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Newman and Taylor are perfection in this.
Magic Mike - such a great movie, and yes, agree that Cody Horn is very good in it - especially her face during the scene where Channing strips to "Pony".
Ask Dr. Ruth - This is on the same level as "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", in terms of filmmaking - i.e. it's not doing anything very interesting; but Dr. Ruth is a fascinating and charming person so it's a pleasurable watch.
Rebecca -
Ditto you with Always Be My Maybe. It's a shame because I can see this movie being so good since Ali Wong has so much charisma. I think what bothers me about the movie is that the characters are so one dimensional and the world seems so sanitized of personality or grunge. It tries so hard to be authentic, but it really feels quite overhanded and artificial.
It's also weird that the parents are so Americanized and everyone speaks English. I think Randall Park definitely does not feel like he's playing an Asian-American character. Not to be a gatekeeper of Asianness, but the same problems that littered Crazy Rich Asians are here, too. It feels like a script made for white people.
@beyaccount - agree. All the changes in character's feelings and motivations feel like they come out of nowhere; even just a 30 second scene earlier would have made many things feel like they didn't come out of left field. I still will finish the last 20 minutes though, b/c I want Ali Wong and Randall Park in more things.
I've only seen 1 episode of Gentleman Jack and I love it. Interesting question about is she gay or trans. Even today, butch identity is complex in the queer women's community. Many transmen pass through butch on their way to ultimately identifying as male. Other butch women identify firmly as women. Still others see butch as a third gender; as a well-loved book puts it, Butch Is a Noun.
I see Ann Lister as firmly butch. She's not living in disguise and she could. She's living as Ann, with a woman's long hair, and wears a skirt under. She's a "manly woman" -- a butch. It could be she's too much of a social climber to give up the money and position of Ann Lister in order to start over, more anonymously, as a male. Or it could be that this is who she truly is. For now, that's how I see her.
"the Terror" is very creepy, and will keep you from wanting to visit the Arctic Circle with an All Male Crew, (although there is some homosexuality points in the story.)
Based on a true-ish story...? I mean, they did disappear.....
HBONow offerings for this month are quite sparse. I'm only interested in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Netflix as usual comes up with some gems - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Magic Mike, My Week with Marilyn and I nervously await Tales of the City. This is the extended movie with only Laura Linney of the originals in the cast, right?
Hulu has Ask Dr Ruth and Hamlet - not sure which version. Btw, anyone interested in sitcoms, Mom and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are both enjoyable. Mom really gets 12 step recovery right, and is really funny. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is so on point, with every episode.
Oh - I loved Cody Horn and was so taken by her natural charm that she ended up on my personal list of "sins of omission" for supporting 2012 ( ... I probably would have replaced her with Amy Adams "The Master" as that performance had no core for me, as much as I like her & liked the movie - and would be as well *very* unpopular)