Streamer’s Log, Stardate 4420: Today Frank brings the FIELD OF STREAMS readers along on his latest streaming voyage
Welcome to Field of Streams, Cinapse’s weekly guide of what’s playing on your favorite streaming services. What’s new on Netflix and Amazon Prime? What do we recommend on Kanopy, Fandor, and Shudder? We’ve got it all. From monthly roundups, to curated top 5 lists, to reviews of our favorites available now… it’s here. We built it for you, so come and join us in the Field of Streams.
Well, it’s been two and a half weeks since I’ve been stuck working from home and while I’m thankful to have work I can actually do from home and still collect a paycheck, I, like the rest of the world, would love nothing more than for all of us to have our lives back. Until then, the bulk of my free time has of course been spent in the land of streaming. While past editions of this column have always tried to link our streaming picks with a common theme or trend, I’m afraid I’ve failed this time in that regard. My streaming choices as of late have not been as carefully curated as before, but rather like my own spiraling grip on normalcy, the majority of what I’ve watched has been decidedly random with no real link to speak of. My selections have been a mix of old favorites I hadn’t seen in years, to newly discovered treasures and titles I have finally decided to take a chance on. While I suspect this has been the case for the majority of streaming users out there, hopefully my list will only add to the enjoyment of your streaming randomness.
THE FABULOUS ALLEN CARR (Prime)
One of the most outrageous personalities ever to don the movie producer’s hat is profiled in this hugely entertaining documentary. The story of the man behind Grease proves to be the kind of juicy and satisfying biography fans of Hollywood history love to savor. Known for his lavish parties, far-reaching visions, celebrity status and “let’s make it bigger” approach to his projects, Carr’s life and career as one of the most influential producers of his generation is thoroughly explored. Commentary from friends and colleagues such as Bruce Villanch, Valerie Perinne and Lorna Luft, among others do their part to give insight, though none beats the miles of archival footage featuring Carr himself. The film shows how Carr’s approach to his work was greatly influenced by Hollywood nostalgia of the 30s and 40s and how his attempts to blend the glamour of the past with the current times led to the most unpredictable of results. From innovations (such as pioneering the first late in the year “for your consideration” release strategy) to flops (including actually believing a movie starring The Village People would make for a winning follow-up to Grease), Carr’s mark on the entertainment world is brilliantly chronicled here in all its fabulous glory.
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (Netflix)
No movie is better at representing the late 60s in American society than Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Directed by Stanley Kramer, the movie took a trio of stars (Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepbrun and Sidney Poitier) and cast them in this bold, stirring drama about a husband and wife (Tracy and Hepburn), whose daughter (Katharine Haughton) has brought home her new fiance (Poitier) who, much to her parents’ surprise, is black. Conversational/controversial for the times, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner took on perhaps the most hot-button issue of the day (apart from the Vietnam war) and made it as beautiful and cinematic as can be. The film does comment on the day’s legal and social risks of interracial marriage, but is primarily concerned with the personal. Witnessing the initial and subsequent reactions Hepburn and Tracy’s characters is revelatory as it takes two liberal-minded people and makes them examine who they truly are in poignant and surprisingly humorous ways. An Oscar-winning triumph that never fails with both laughter and tears remains one of the most important films ever made.
https://www.netflix.com/title/564122
THE ‘BURBS (Hulu)
You don’t have to look further for 80s cult glory than The ‘Burbs. Tom Hanks stars as an average suburbanite who begins to suspect there’s something up with his next door neighbors who only come out at night to dig grave-shaped holes in their backyard. While the movie proved a hit when released in early 1989 thanks to Hanks’ popularity, studio executives and critics were anything but embracing of the movie. Indeed in the era of Police Academy and Beverly Hills Cop, this dark comedy/thriller was an exercise in genre blending that was totally anything but the norm. A cast of familiar faces including Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern and Corey Feldman all tore into the weirdness of the Joe Dante movie with gusto as laughs were mixed with tidbits of suspense, particularly when the audience gets to meet the new neighbors. As fun and delightfully oddball as the movie is now, it’s easy to see how my 9-year-old self was instantly creeped out by The ‘Burbs when I first saw it upon initial release. The idea that on your very street, so close to the sanctuary of your own home, an unknown horror could exist, was a notion which instantly made me shiver. It’s undoubtedly just what the makers of The ‘Burbs intended.
https://www.netflix.com/title/564122
DETOUR (Criterion Channel)
It has been suggested by some that the film noir genre has always been the perfect metaphor for hell on earth where the majority of characters whose pasts are stained with darkness must battle the fates in an effort to avoid having to pay for their former transgressions. Nowhere was this theory more dynamically proven than in the incredibly rich B-movie, Detour. The movie tells the story of a man on the run named Al (Tom Neill) who accepts a ride from a stranger on his way to meet his girlfriend in Los Angeles. When the stranger suddenly dies, Al ditches the body and assumes the dead man’s identity in the hopes of avoiding potential trouble. Any hope of that is soon thwarted with the arrival of Vera (Ann Savage) a hitchhiking tough girl with a secret of her own. Little more than an hour long, Detour is a testament to the boundless storytelling powers of film noir. The film is packed with one twist and turn after another, taking the simple premise and allowing it to flourish with the kind of tension and suspense that made the genre so compelling. Savage’s femme fatale may be the most ruthless the world of film noir ever saw, but it’s the characters’ slow downward spiral into hell which makes Detour one of the most quintessential titles in the entire genre.
https://www.netflix.com/title/564122
There are countless services to explore and great things to watch on all of them. Which ones did we miss that you would suggest to us? And, as always, if you’ve got thoughts on titles we’re missing out on or new services to check out, leave a comment below.
Till next week, stream on, stream away.