Streaming Roulette, July: Reese doesn't live under the silver lake anymore
Monday, July 1, 2019 at 9:30AM
NATHANIEL R in 20th Century Women, Amazon Prime, Diane, HBO, Hulu, Into the Spider-Verse, Netflix, Reese Witherspoon, TV, Under the Silver Lake, streaming

As is our practice we've selected 8-10 titles and frozen the films at utterly random moments without cheating (whatever comes up comes up!). It's our way of previewing new titles streaming in the first half of JULY 2019. (★ means we recommend catching them.) Please do let us know if you're dying to discuss any of the films and maybe we'll write about them.  

Ready? Let's go...

Why did I get stuck with the janky old broke hobo Spider-Man? 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) on Netflix ★
Watched this again on a whim with a friend who was curious because it won the Oscar. He's not into animated movies or superhero movies and he totally enjoyed it. Thus are its many inventive delights. It really holds up to viewing number two. Jam-packed with details you can easily miss on the first round.

[no dialogue]

Man in the Moon (1991) on Hulu ★
Reese Witherspoon's debut at 15! She wasn't quite an instant movie star, this being a tiny coming-of-age film but had people seen it at the time they would have loved it. Critics definitely did. Young me did, too on Siskel & Ebert's recommendation. I liked her so much in it that I went to her next movie, the Disney film A Far Off Place (1993) just because of her though that didn't prove to be half as satisfying.  This is a a great screen debut so if you've never seen it, here's your chance.

 

We're gonna have a full house for Chrismas again.

Diane (2018/2019) on Hulu ★
Bless writer/director Kent Jones for giving so many mature women good roles in a movie for a change. Mary Kay Place leads as the titular character but there are also supporting roles for Phyllis Sommerville, Glynnis O'Connor, Andrea Martin, and Estelle Parsons. Seeing all their faces in one movie would have justified the ticket price even if the movie weren't as good as it is. The cast also includes Jake Lacy (as Diane's wayward son) and Celia Keenan-Bolger (who just won the Featured Actress Tony last month!) 

 

-You live some kind of life, Dalton

-Too ugly for you.

Road House (1989) on Netflix
A beloved 'bad movie we love'... can you believe I've never seen it?

Chicken, I want you to meet Alice.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) on Netflix ★
Best Actress winner Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese's only true "women's picture". Netflix has three early Scorsese's at the moment (see also Taxi Driver and Who's That Knocking At My Door). Perhaps they're trying to keep in his favor since they're working with him but don't usually offer up pre '90s classics.

 

Crazy makes for good sex. You remember that.

Under the Silver Lake (2018/2019) on Amazon Prime
It's a pity that this bizarre and sometimes offensive noir is such a mess because David Robert Mitchell (of It Follows fame) is so obviously talented and the movie has plenty of memorable moments. But the running time (140 minutes!) and the sheer indulgence and lack of discipline obscure its better qualities. Also Andrew Garfield is quite good as the rather loathsome lead. It's also grossly violent so you have been warned. (The owl woman scared the bejeezus out of me!) 

[Reading] 'Sex is a commitment. Once you're there you can't go back to holding hands.'

20th Century Women (2016) on Netflix  ★
Our gold medalist Best Picture for 2016 and we hope you've read Michael's beautiful piece on this movie in his column "The New Classics". This movie received no acting nominations at the Oscars but fully deserved three of them: Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, and Elle Fanning. 

 

What else ya got?

Robin Hood (2018) on HBOGo
Taron Egerton's nipples and Taron Egerton's tongue are both getting sassy in this "training" sequence (he's just hit a bullseye without even looking at the target). We've heard this is terrible and we believe it based solely on the promotional material. Please let us know if those reports are true/untrue should you have seen it. Taron Egerton (and all his parts) recovered quickly with Rocketman though.

 

- Out of curiousity, if we still had the drive what would have happened?

- Hypothetically? 

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) on Prime and Hulu 
Was all eager to watch this until the reviews were... not good. Did any of you catch this comedy in theaters? Perhaps the hilarious Paul Feig/Melissa McCarthy comedy Spy (2015) was way too tough an act to follow?

 

ALSO STREAMING RIGHT NOW...

 

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We've found from months of doing this that the Amazon Prime listings provided are the least accurate in terms of what's actually available for free with a membership so take some of the titles with a grain of salt. 

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Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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