Nothing beats dragging your heavily resistant friends to the movies, sliding into the semi-uncomfortable and questionably sticky seat, and dealing with the annoying texter three rows below you. For everything else, there’s MasterCard.
Or in this instance, there’s digital streaming. Whether it’s on Amazon, Netflix, iTunes, or Google Play, sometimes the best way to enjoy a movie is in the comfort of your own house. Especially if it’s January and you live in the North East quadrant of the country where the air outside feels like ice hacking away at your delicate cheeks and there’s simply no escape.
The only downside to picking a title when trekking down the streaming route is the overwhelming feeling of choice when presented with the enormous and seemingly never-ending selection of titles. With new movies and old favourites being added to the services each week, it’s often much easier to just settle in for a couple of 30 Rock re-runs than choose the wrong movie.
With that in mind, here are five new titles that hit streaming services this week that we’d recommend.
Lucy (2014)
Scarlett Johansson proved in The Avengers she was just as badass as any male action star, and looked better in boots while performing intense choreographed fight scenes. Last year, she and Luc Besson teamed up for a solid action film, Lucy. Following her kidnapping, Johansson is forced into being a drug mule, but learns just how toxic – and intoxicating – the drug can be when it accidentally flows into her bloodstream. The drug allows her to use more brain power than thought humanly possible, transforming her into a superhuman. It’s fast-paced, disturbing, and yet witty at times. Lucy is the movie we all thought Limitless should have been. Watch it on: iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play
The French Connection (1971)
William Friedkin’s celebrated cop film has an air of post-World War II film noir that captivates and invigorates from the opening scene. Based on Robin Moore’s book of the same name, The French Connection follows detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso after they accidentally stumble upon one of the biggest drug smuggling rings in New York City history. What follows is an intense investigation into one of the largest crime syndicates of Italian-American New York City, in an era reminiscent of The Godfather’s Corleone Empire. It’s a tale of immigration, salvation, ambition, and destruction in the age that directly followed the greatest period of American culture. Watch it on: Netflix
Mean Girls (2004)
Mean Girls wasn’t supposed to be a success. It barely registered in theaters and people were turned away by the concept of more teen girls in pink shirts and plaid skirts. Let’s face it: the ‘80s and Molly Ringwald made sure audiences would be tired of teen films by the mid-90s. But then Amy Heckerling’s Clueless came out and the idea of a satire on modern teen girl society didn’t seem like quite a bad idea. Mean Girls, mixed with Tina Fey’s brilliant but subtle writing and a strong performance from the entire cast, captures the time period and the demoralization of teenage America perfectly.
It’s also the movie that supplies the best quotes you can arm yourself with in heated coffee shop pop culture debates. You know, just to rid the atmosphere of the pretentious nature it can sometimes create. It’s so fetch. Watch it on: Netflix
Batman & Robin (1997)
Here’s the thing about Batman & Robin: You need to watch it. It’s deplorable and ludicrous and homoerotic in all the ways every Batman movie should be, but it needs to be seen at least once. The infamous Joel Schumacher vigilante movie starring George Clooney as the charming Bruce Wayne and sarcasm fueled Batman also features Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dr. Victor Fries, otherwise known as Mr. Freeze. While Clooney’s role was underacted, Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze was almost comically over acted. The best part of the movie, though, is Chris O’Donnell’s Dick Grayson, otherwise known as Robin. The chase sequences are brutal and the city is fluorescent in a way any Batman fan knows Gotham should never be, but there’s a cheesy element to it that makes you wish the guys at Mystery Science Theater 3000 took a jab at it for one of their episodes. If the highlight reel of George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell gearing up in their tight costumes doesn’t win you with its ridiculousness, well. Watch it on: Netflix
To Be Takei (2014)
George Takei has become a beloved person, not just actor, over the past few years. His online presence and love of internet memes has propelled him to the front page of Reddit more than once and his believable love for internet culture has made him a hero among many, unlike his co-star William Shatner. George Takei has also become an iconic role model in the LBGTQ community, after publically coming out 2005. To Be Takei examines his extraordinary life, from starring on Gene Roddenberry’s groundbreaking sci-fi show in 1966 to dealing with celebrity both within and out of nerd culture, to dealing with bigots after coming out and campaigning with both American Humanist Association and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance. At times heartbreaking, Takei’s life journey has become a miraculous story that documentary maker Jennifer M. Kroot captures stunningly. Watch it on: Netflix
