These are 5 Best Movies You Can Stream This Weekend

Another weekend is here, and so it’s time to think about what movies you’ll be streaming in your spare time. There are many lists that will give you an overview of what’s available on various streaming services, the best movies, and the most popular. The problem with streaming is the sheer amount of choices. We’ve selected a handful of films to cut through the noise. Each film was carefully chosen.

Something to see Johnny Depp: Chocolat 

Lasse Hallstrom’s classic 2000 movie is chocoholic-themed. It has a lot of “cheese” in movies of those years. A pious priest (Alfred Molina) leads a small French village to scandalize a single, secular mother (Juliette Binoche), who opens a chocolate shop during Lent. (Just wait until they see her in High Life!) The rest you probably already know. Johnny Depp repairs doors and makes love under the moonlight in his sails.

Chocolat’s sincerity has made it the subject of many jokes. But, when it is re-examined today, this same quality is refreshing. The filmmaking is pure dedication to this epic, sad, and folkloric story. There are no frills or winking. It’s a broad romantic drama that has almost disappeared. The issues it is dealing with today are charming by modern standards. You don’t need to look far for a double dose nostalgia: there’s the film and its era.

Something to watch with friends: Us

It’s almost as if Jordan Peele’s evil doppelganger has appeared from under the boardwalk, screaming, “Don’t forget about me!” 2019’s original movie sensation can be streamed on HBO. ‘Us’ is not likely to be nominated for any major categories, unlike Peele’s Get Out. However, Us would be the clear frontrunner if there was an Oscar for rewatchability. You can find Easter eggs and understandable concepts that you can rewatch over and over. It’s the perfect movie to watch with friends, as it is both scary and funny. It’s also extremely quotable.

Something to get scared: The Parallax View/ Dark Waters

Todd Haynes, a filmmaker and actor, recently spoke out about why he decided to venture outside his usual circle (which is usually art and sexuality) in order to create his environmental drama Dark Waters. The movie is about Mark Ruffalo, a real-life lawyer who took on DuPont’s use of toxic chemicals. Haynes was, naturally, invested in the story from an political perspective. He captures the systemic flaws which allow greedy corporations to cause irreversible damage to the environment and human health with near-immunity.

Haynes wanted to tell the story, but he also liked the genre of whistleblowers. Haynes liked the movie’s linearity, which allows the audience to learn, change and then react with the protagonist. He was thinking about movies like All The President’s Men and The Insider.

Also, Alan J. Pakula’s 1974 classic, The Parallax View is available on HBO. The Parallax View, unlike other films, is not based upon a true story. The film instead follows Joe Frady, a determined reporter (a shaggy Warren Beatty), as he uncovers a conspiracy that specializes in assassinations.

Parallax, a clear product of Watergate, is filled with paranoid anxiety and distrust in power. It can be enjoyed on a stylistic level as well, due to its emphasis on man-made forms and stark contours. Few movies can be as creative in staging their scenes. Parallax’s conspiracy mystery is what you care about. But, this is the one you should care about: How did Pakula get to work with monkeys, children’s rides, and Seattle’s Space Needle.

Something with a killer: Gosford Park

A palatial estate is at the center. An ensemble of British aristocrats is there with their assistance. There is a crime happening. A pipe-smoking detective is involved. There’s also a twist.

Robert Altman’s gem from 2001 has all the hallmarks a classic Agatha Christie-style murder investigation. Altman’s film, however, is short on both the murderer and the mystery, which Rian Johnson will be releasing in whodunnit knives out.

Gosford, however, is in Altman style. It’s a lush, naturalistic tapestry that features gorgeous period costumes, near-rococo sets and plenty of eye-catching actors like Clive Owen, Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith. It is also a beautiful place to light up.

The story is set in Britain in 1932 and focuses on the class dynamics of a wealthy family, their equally wealthy guests, and their servants. Altman was most interested in how societal roles dictate performance (a few actors and a Hollywood director were among the guests). You can find suspense elsewhere. Gosford is super slow. Gosford is a great place to go if you want to disappear quietly and deeply into another place and time.

Something You Most Certainly Didn’t See: Blindspotting

Sometimes a movie slips through the cracks and is surprisingly overlooked. Blindspotting by Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs was one of those movies. It was hilarious (the gun purchase at the beginning is a bit absurd), intense (a gun in a child’s hand is scary enough), and current (with interesting points to make about being Black in America and White in a Black community). It was unique in its voice and place-specificity. Diggs, Casal and their real-life friends (both from the Bay and have been making music together), have a rhythmic chemistry that is infectious and a dynamic screen presence. Its reviews were mixed and coverage was sparse.