What to stream: Sit down with 2 standout docs, Josh O'Connor double feature
Published in Entertainment News
Once again, it’s a great week to be a cinephile at home, as some of the best films of the year land on streaming services this week.
Two of the year’s best documentaries are now available to stream. The first, “Predators,” streaming on Paramount+, is director David Osit’s searching investigation into the early 2000s media phenomenon “To Catch a Predator.” “Predators” will take you on a twisty intellectual and emotional journey through this reality TV time capsule, and current cultural obsession with true crime — and what that means about the way that we collectively think about crime and punishment and how the spectacle of humiliation and retribution has been packaged and monetized for viewers searching for some kind of catharsis. Prepare to have your mind changed again and again as Osit interviews participants, academics, law enforcement and even Chris Hansen himself. Stream “Predators” on Paramount+.
For music fans, one of the must-watch documentaries of the year is Amy Berg’s “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” about the elusive singer-songwriter who rocketed to fame in the ‘90s with his debut album, “Grace,” and tragically drowned before he was able to complete his sophomore effort. Using a wealth of materials from his archive, and with interviews with Buckley’s mother and girlfriends, Berg brings the singer-songwriter back to life on screen and illuminates his life, and death, in new ways. Absolutely devastating and beautiful. Stream it on HBO Max.
On Netflix, stream the new Noah Baumbach film “Jay Kelly,” starring massive movie star George Clooney playing massive movie star Jay Kelly. This meta exploration of stardom and legacy is entertaining and playful while also being deeper and more spiritual than expected. It’s a strange, interesting film that refers to Bergman and Fellini in its explorations of memory, family and the meaning of life. Clooney stars but is somewhat eclipsed by a supporting cast that includes Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, co-writer Emily Mortimer, Greta Gerwig and Adam Sandler, who just might be the best thing in the whole film. Stream it on Netflix now.
On Friday, it’s double the Josh O’Connor, double the fun. First up, in Rian Johnson’s third “Knives Out Mystery,” “Wake Up Dead Man,” O’Connor stars as a priest with a checkered past who gets transferred to a curious small-town parish run by a powerful monsignor (Josh Brolin). A closed-door murder soon happens during a service, and Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is dispatched to untangle the mess. O’Connor is delightful in one of the best installments of the series. Stream it on Netflix starting Friday, Dec. 12.
He also stars in Kelly Reichardt’s latest, “The Mastermind,” a low-key art heist film set in 1970s Massachusetts. O’Connor slips right into Reichardt’s rhythm and mode, playing a mysterious family man searching for something (and it’s not a purloined painting). The film becomes a portrait of a man, a time and a country. Stream “The Mastermind” on Mubi starting Friday, Dec. 12.
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