The 50 Best Movies on Netflix Canada Right Now (February 2022) (2023)

The biggest selling point of streaming services - an almost endless choice of entertainment instantly available to anyone, anywhere - is also their biggest downside: If you don't have a clear plan, you can spend an hour or more just browsing through the different channels. to go through the categories before giving up and going to bed. No judgment here, we've all done it... and if we're honest, some of us can't help but do it. So, as a public service (and to get around the algorithm), the authors of NOW have scoured the blocks to recommend some current favorites, forgotten classics, and important titles available now. And we will update this post regularly as title.Come and join usNetflix Canada. We are not monsters.

Update (Feb 1, 2022): This post was updated with The Sparks Brothers.

The 40 year old version

Radha Blank wrote, directed and starred in this strange comedy about an artist who reaches a point in life where the need to earn money collides with the desire for creative fulfillment. Blank plays a once-bubbly playwright who takes up rapping to reignite her creative spark while selling herself on Broadway. Filmed in intimate, romantic black and white, The 40 Years Version is full of catchphrases and great musical sequences. Although the main character is very cynical, the film takes a refreshingly non-cynical look at the generation gap.

Atlantic

Director Mati Diop's Cannes-winning debut film is a dystopian gothic romance filled with elegant, unforgettable imagery. Mama Sané plays a young, lower-class Senegalese woman whose lover drowns at sea while trying to emigrate to Spain, and her resulting emotional turmoil manifests itself in a series of strange events. A film about those left behind in the global humanitarian crisis, Atlantics deftly subverts a realistic aesthetic to draw viewers into a supernatural tale of class, pain and faith.

amazing Grace

The fact that you can watch Sydney Pollack's absolutely thrilling documentary about Aretha Franklin recording her eponymous gospel album at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles is a double miracle: first, because the recording is out of sync when Pollack and his crew filmed it. in 1972 and was thought never to be fixed. Digital editing tools finally made this possible, and Amazing Grace was completed by his friend and collaborator Alan Elliott years after Pollack's death... and it's a marvel to behold: Franklin's energy and the musicians and singers who support his constructions in waves, their performance reflected in the reaction of the public. When Franklin finally breaks into her incredible, moving and upbeat performance of the self-titled anthem, it's impossible not to get emotional.

The B-side: Elsa Dorfman's portrait photography

Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris (The Fog of War) spends time in Boston with his old friend Elsa, who specializes in vivid, intimate, large-format Polaroid portraits and now finds her expertise threatened by the death of traditional photography. The result is a film about mortality and impermanence and the desire to make your mark on the world while you still can... or, if you're Elsa Dorfman, a refusal to take everything too seriously and shoot to the end. film. he finished

bad trip

Hidden camera comedy is well-trodden territory, but director Kitao Sakurai and star/writer Eric Andre infuse the genre with a boost of energy by bringing the formulaic narratives of Hollywood rom-coms, road trip comedies and buddy comedies to life. the streets of most the working class. southern communities. There are plenty of ridiculously lewd digressions, but Bad Trip manages to give viewers an uplifting, optimistic view of America without glossing over issues of race and class. In fact, the film shows just how boring and indifferent idealized stories about "getting up" in life can be. More: Tiffany Haddish delivers her funniest performance since Girls Trip.

the big bet

Adam McKay's 2010 Oscar-winning adaptation of Michael Lewis's book about the 2008 financial crisis somehow elicits indignant laughs by exposing corporate wrongdoing and regulatory failures that see the world through the eyes of a group of hedge funds that led to managers and financial analysts to disaster. (Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, and others) who saw the crisis coming and banked on a catastrophe because they thought that if they couldn't warn the world of impending collapse, they could at least make sure their clients wouldn't. Be a part of it. McKay orchestrates it all so skillfully that you might not even realize how angry he is... at least not right away.

collective

Alexander Nanau's methodical and harrowing documentary begins with a team of Romanian journalists uncovering a terrible health scandal that is toppling the government, then expands to include the efforts of Vlad Voiculescu, the young patient advocate hired by the interim administration. to fix this system. . Given the sheer volume of information the film has to convey and the number of themes Nanau has to juggle with the stories, it's remarkable that Collective feels as clean and accurate as it does; The filmmaker and his team organize the complex, often unbelievable story into a vivid two-hour narrative, without fully hiding their own outrage at what they - and we - see.

Crip Camp: a revolution for the disabled

Many stories of 1960s radicalism were told in the film, but the Oscar-nominated documentary finds an unknown story in the germs of the modern movement for the rights of people with disabilities. Crip Camp traces major civil rights struggles in the United States to Camp Jened, a 1970s summer camp for disabled teenagers fondly remembered as a utopia by those who felt a sense of normalcy there. Directors Nicole Newnham and Jened alumnus James LeBrecht use a wealth of incredible footage to show how the camp's upbeat attitude helped fuel a protest movement that led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

beauties

French director Maïmouna Doucouré's empathetic, unsentimental debut matches the fury of an 11-year-old girl who rebels against her polygamous father's impending marriage and secretly joins a hypersexual dance troupe. It's about a girl struggling to define her values ​​in the face of social media platforms that heavily promote one-dimensional notions of womanhood. The confidence the director places in her audience is like a rebellion in itself. A film about childhood that is not afraid to face the chaos of childhood.

The dead don't die

Two years agowe toldthis film would have a cult following within five years; We're almost halfway there. A sleepy riff on George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead with a dash of Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space, or whatever other no-budget ghoulapalooza writer/director Jim Jarmusch watched on TV one night when child, The Dead Don't Die is... very strange. Small-town Pennsylvania cops, played by Adam Driver and Bill Murray, face a growing army of the undead after "polar fracking" pulls the Earth off its axis. What follows is a deadpan, laconic deconstruction of the zombie genre and an allegory for the numbing effects of consumption.

dick johnson is dead

Cinematographer and occasional filmmaker Kirsten Johnson makes a companion piece to 2016's Cameraperson that focuses on her relationship with her father, Dick, who was recently diagnosed with dementia and who enthusiastically helps Kirsten cope with his own death (and beyond). ). of Therapy is a moving look at a father and daughter as they face the end of their lifelong bond, and a lighthearted documentary about impending loss. And Dick's dismal performance is its own wonderful reward.

the student

Chaitanya Tamhane's second feature glorifies a sublime art form without putting the artists on a pedestal. Sharad (Aditya Modak) is a dedicated student of classical Hindu music who is skeptical about performing and recording for profit. Through a series of beautifully composed and quietly blunt scenes, Tamhane teaches viewers the ins and outs of North Indian classical music and raises philosophical questions about art and commerce. It's a classic theme, but the understated approach allows the acting scenes to advance the story on an emotional level. The student becomes more receptive as he progresses.

a simple girl

Rebecca Zlotowski's charming coming-of-age drama follows a working-class teenager (Mina Farid) on her summer vacation in Cannes, when her hedonistic cousin (social media influencer Zahia Dehar) arrives in town and challenges her ideas of value and work. resist. . It achieves the levity of summer vacation, but it's also fast and philosophical, giving you visual appeal as you question everything. An Easy Girl is as light or as deep as you need it to be.

The Age of Tomorrow

Edge Of Tomorrow casts Tom Cruise as a hapless military broadcaster who becomes embroiled in a war against aliens in France, where he is instantly killed and forced to replay that day over and over again, always dying and always coming back to a new one. Start. When it premiered seven years ago, it was a nearly impossible sell, largely due to the studio's nonsensical title and a trailer that doesn't even begin to convey how much fun it is to watch Cruise and co-star Emily Blunt train. each other as she trains him to use their situation to his advantage and maybe save humanity too. Now that every other sci-fi movie has a temporal plot, Edge of Tomorrow is easy to pick up and fun to watch, a mix of existential comedy and inventive sci-fi action that never misses the mark.

first man

Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling follow La La Land with this sprawling, intimate drama that chronicles eight years in the life of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. The historical recreations are exhaustingly accurate, but what's even more impressive is how Gosling and Claire Foy combine each other's very specific energies as Neil and Janet Armstrong, two very different people who are a perfect match. The final sequence loses some of its impact outside of IMAX theaters, but focuses solely on Gosling's face. He will help you get over it.

half of it

Alice Wu's charming youthful riff on Cyrano de Bergerac comprises the true anguish of Edmond Rostand's romantic tragedy: Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), who turns her crush on the seductive Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire) into a ghost act, writing love for Aster from her passionate neighbor Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer). Wu's queer switch to Rostand works beautifully, bringing out the hidden aspects of Cyrano that have always been there: the queer protagonist yearning for a love that isn't considered possible or appropriate, and the woman he loves in an even more conventional way. . life... when he knows he deserves better. And casting Cyrano as a reclusive Chinese-American teenager who is sure of her sexuality but can't express her feelings fits perfectly.

Save Satan?

Penny Lane's latest wild ride through America's culture wars features the Satanic Temple, a secular religious organization that uses the First Amendment to combat attempts by Christian groups to erect theocratic monuments on public property. It's a hilarious, funny and insightful film that delves into the politicized history of Satanism and the desire to belong to a movement, activist or religion. The theatrical ritual scenes are amazing.

high life

French author Claire Denis's English-language sci-fi horror film, starring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche, made headlines at its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. It's not hard to see why: High Life is more a classic future camp rather than a futuristic one. Set on a prison ship in outer space, Binoche plays an evil sperm-stealing doctor trying to seduce Pattinson's convicted murderer as his ship plunges into a black hole. There are birth, death, and immaculately designed spatial modes.

at dele's house

Writer-director Remi Weekes' first feature film, about two South Sudanese refugees (Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, Wunmi Mosaku) trapped together in a decaying house in England, is a rare horror film in which the supernatural threat complicates the almost accidental misery. of the protagonists. they are already happening. Which doesn't mean it isn't scary; It's actually a nail breaker. It's also smart as hell, using dark rooms full of ghosts to amplify the very real PTSD of its main cast and contain a seriously shocking third-act twist.

bird flying high

A sports movie without sports, Steven Soderbergh's run-and-gun drama follows an agent (André Holland) racing through New York City during an NBA lockout, trying to catch a rookie (Melvin Gregg) and a hot pro (Justin Hurtt). ) - Dunkley) while potentially giving basketball back to the people. Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight) and directed, shot and edited by Soderbergh with his usual skill, it's a drama about what people will do for money and respect, and like Holland's character, he's very smart about what he does. and how do. It is. he does

Hotel Artemis

Then there's this movie where Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day, Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, and Jeff Goldblum visit a secret hospital for wealthy criminals in near-future Los Angeles. How come you never heard of this? Well, thanks to a less-than-perfect distribution deal in Canada, screenwriter Drew Pearce's witty and dark directorial debut has been hard to come by for a while. It's on Netflix now, which means you can watch Reservoir Dogs meets John Wick during The Purge with just one tap on a tile.

If Beale Street Could Talk

If Beale Street could talk about Barry Jenkins it lacks the intimate grandeur that led to the Moonlight supernova landing two years earlier; his style is more realistic, his dramatic sensibility more reserved. But a few years later, Jenkins' 2018 adaptation of James Baldwin's 1974 novel is starting to look more and more like a classic on its own terms: a complex portrait of Harlem lovers overcome by racism and violence, indifference and violence. by the shock waves that echo through them, their families are torn apart. . Stephan James and KiKi Layne are the lovers, starring Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Beach and Academy Award winner Regina King as an ensemble cast, down to the last character worthy of her own movie.

the irish people

No, digital aging doesn't work, but that's only a problem in the opening hour of Martin Scorsese's epic American crime story, which spans 60 years in the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), the mob hitman who claimed Jimmy Killing Hoffa (Al Pacino). According to GoodFellas and Casino, it's another one of Scorsese's inner epics, but with one key difference: It's not fun. Sheeran does what he wants and ends up fragile and alone, and neither Scorsese nor De Niro lets us off the hook. He was not a nice guy. He deserves.

Kubo and the Two Strings

Looking for something delicate and fantastic? Watch this 2016 adventure from the stop-motion experts at Laika, the animation house behind challenging and well-crafted works like Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. Directed by studio founder Travis Knight, this exquisitely staged film tells the story of a young hero (voiced by Art Parkinson) who must flee the enemy King of the Moon (Ralph Fiennes) with the help of a talking monkey (Charlize Theron). and a samurai bug (Matthew McConaughey). The mythology is a hybrid of a few different legends, and the animators evoke a living reality with an exquisite crumpled-paper aesthetic and a sense of endless possibilities. Just let it flow over you.

euopera

Before making mainstream entertainment like The Last Jedi and the Knives Out movies, writer and director Rian Johnson played with the genre in a more intimate way. His 2012 time travel thrillers show Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis as younger and older versions of the same killer hunting each other around 2044, when Old Joe returns in Young's presence. Joe on a mission to rewrite the future. — and send young Joe on the run from his own people, hiding out on a farm with a woman (Emily Blunt) and her very special son. It's breathtaking, top-notch entertainment, with exceptional performances from Gordon-Levitt, Blunt and Willis, and equally compelling work from Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels, Noah Segan and Garrett Dillahunt in supporting roles.

marriage story

Noah Baumbach's harrowing study of a couple's breakup may not be as powerful when you can stop and take a walk to shake off the emotional weight; If you're stuck in a theater with that, it's absolutely devastating. But Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson's fully engaged performances will draw you in just the same; and the broadcast format allows us to instantly revisit key scenes and marvel at the incredible work that Julie Hagerty, Merritt Wever, Ray Liotta, Alan Alda and Academy Award-winning actress Laura Dern of Never Better do behind the scenes.

The Mitchells vs. The machines

Can a rival nuclear family (and their strange pug) put aside their conflicts and save the world from a mechanical apocalypse? What if it's their conflicts that give them a chance? This is the engine of genius, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, about a family traveling across the country during a machinery riot. Director Michael Rianda and co-director/co-writer Jeff Rowe have created wacky entertainment where comedy and drama fly in perfect harmony, with every joke providing an emotional payoff and vice versa.

¡Madre!

Darren Aronofsky's fast-paced, deviously clever allegorical film is the director's most ambitious since The Source. Jennifer Lawrence plays a woman trying to keep her house in order, while her poet husband (Javier Bardem) experiences increasing chaos at home during writer's block. Some have argued that this movie was just a handshake about how hard it is to be partnered with a selfish creator... and that's actually a valid opinion. But it's also about everything else.

Where the weak have no place

Cormac McCarthy's novel about three men in 1980s Texas whose fates are tied to big purses seems almost tailor-made for the Coen brothers, whose filmography, regardless of genre, represents a decades-long meditation on the futility of seeking meaning. in a chaotic universe. . But the Coens' love of character detail and cinematic texture resulted in an adaptation even better than the original, with a frantic Josh Brolin, a weary Tommy Lee Jones and an empty Javier Bardem navigating this desolate world and falling on a collision course. common . other. It won four Oscars, including film and director, which doesn't seem like enough.

Noah

After doing The Wrestler and Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky was able to do whatever he wanted. So he bumped into a biblical epic that tells the story of Noah and the Ark from the perspective of its hero, a family man tormented by God's demands on him. Russell Crowe is Noah, with Beautiful Mind co-star Jennifer Connelly as his wife; Emma Watson appears as a young woman who is taken in by her family. And though it's packed with refined visual effects, including a rock monster voiced by Liam Neeson, the film's true power lies in Crowe's compelling portrayal of a man living with the knowledge that his world is ending.

okja

Some people had never heard of Bong Joon-ho before the release of Parasite in 2019. But that movie was just the latest in a long line of notable genre hybrids, one of which was briefly Netflix's crown jewel: Okja , the 2016 sci-fi satire about a Korean peasant woman (Ahn Seo Hyun) and her best film. Eponymous girlfriend, a super pig created by an obscure global corporation. This synopsis doesn't even come close to capturing the complexity of the film's narration, written by Bong and Jon Ronson, or the skill with which that narration is executed, from its incredibly expressive CGI superpig to the range of emotions it contains. she. Okja's human co-stars, including Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton. As with all bong features, the tone changes in an instant from idyllic to crazy or the ear twitch of a giant super pig. If you wanted to follow along but found the premise too weird... well, it's weird. Very rare. But it is also remarkable.

Paddington

Everyone needs a little joy in life, and that's where Paddington's films come in. In two films, only one of which is currently available on Netflix, director Paul King has turned Michael Bond's beloved children's books into thoughtful, enchanting fantasies that work just as well. Good for adults and children. The first film works as a surprisingly powerful metaphor for the immigrant experience, while also giving Nicole Kidman the chance to be really, really goofy as the villain... though she doesn't have as much fun as Hugh Grant did in Paddington 2. .

matrix platform

Galder Gaztelu-Urritia's incredible high-concept horror film, which ruthlessly translates Cube's premise into a vertical structure, was overshadowed by Parasite on the festival circuits at the time, although it won the Midnight Madness People's Choice Award at TIFF and still contains one. quite a blow, especially now that we're all spending so much time in isolation. Check and know as little as possible. And get ready.

Prinzessin Mononoke

Japanese writer-director Hayao Miyazaki's animated fantasy about environmental protection was a worldwide hit in the late '90s and remains a classic to this day thanks to its iconic forest animals and morally ambiguous characters whose motivations don't fall short of heroes and villains. It's the perfect film for younger viewers ready for a more complex subject, but this film transcends age and genre to claim its champion title.

Pulp Fiction

With Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino showed the world a new approach to crime drama; Pulp Fiction proved it was more than a one-trick pony, turning the B-movies it grew up with into a complex, cross-cutting narrative about talkative gang members, vengeful crime bosses, drunken boxers, and some rearranged realistic marvels. You can revel in the way it all fits together, or simply revel in the exuberant dialogue: John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson chat over hamburgers, Travolta and Uma Thurman flirt at a themed restaurant, Bruce Willis and Maria chat on a pillowcase. Medeiros, Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer's charming lecture. Pretty much everything Ving Rhames says is gold too.

Psycho

The shocking black-and-white film about murders in an abandoned hotel may not be Alfred Hitchcock's best film (it's called "Rear Window" or "Vertigo" depending on the day of the week), but it has the most shocking cultural impact. . audiences in 1960 with a shower scene so brutal and gruesome it changed movies forever. (seriously, there isa whole documentarydedicated to its meaning.) But Psycho is more than just this scene; is a tight, artfully constructed thriller, with complex performances from Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins and lively supporting roles from Vera Miles and Martin Balsam. It's also a master class in storytelling, forcing the viewer's sympathy to shift from scene to scene as motivations become hazy and new information is revealed. You probably haven't visited Psycho in a long time. He still has a bite.

The Queen

Frank Simon's 1968 documentary, restored a few years back when the mainstream media was just beginning to embrace and recognize drag-and-ball culture in a big way, takes viewers behind the scenes at the Miss All -America Camp beauty pageant in New York City. It's a fascinating time capsule capturing the queer subculture that was the birth of much of what seems ubiquitous today. It's also a cult favorite thanks to the presence of House of LaBeija founder Crystal LaBeija, who offers a mic-drop moment at the end.

in search of the lost ark

One of the funniest adventure films of all time, Salute to the Shows They Saw the Kids (1981), by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, is a masterpiece of cinema: although the pacing, energy and visual effects keep it beautiful 40 years later, John Williams' performances, production design and soulful score feel so comfortably vintage. (The only thing that's outdated—very wrong—is the implication that Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood was underage when she fell in love with Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones, huh, ick.)

Residue

Merawi Gerima's haunting and lyrical debut is about a filmmaker (Obinna Nwachukwu) who returns to his former home in an upscale Washington DC neighborhood. He desperately searches for old friends in a black community whose scars, history and kinship are being severed by the newly resident yuppies. The emotional memories of the community wash over him like a tide, as do the influences of Spike Lee, Charles Burnett and the young filmmaker's own father, Sankofa director Haile Gerima.

stone

Sarah Gavron's coming-of-age drama about a neglected teenager caring for her little brother avoids the pitfall of traumatic pornography, focusing instead on the hopes, strength and sisterhood between the various characters. Starring Bukky Bakray and Kosar Ali, they are incredibly charming and infectious. In a just world, these rock stars would become household names.

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón's autobiographical study of a young woman (Yalitza Aparicio) who works as a domestic servant for a wealthy family in Mexico City in the early 1970s is perhaps his best film that actually says something about the director of Children. Of Men (also on Netflix Canada). ). Filmed in large 65mm format and mixed in multichannel Dolby Atmos for an immersive experience that reveals the emotional intensity of the waves, Rome is like an ocean tide slowly lapping at the sands of a beach. Of course you can watch it on your cell phone. But please don't.

Santa Claus

Rose Glass's debut film turns a certain kind of horror film into an intense character study in devotion and faith, propelled by a superb performance by Morfydd Clark as Maud, a young English nurse who is convinced that her newest patient , dying American choreographer Amanda Koehl (Jennifer Ehle), is a lost soul in need of redemption. Which doesn't mean that Ehle's work is lacking; It's just that the movie starts out as a two-hander but soon turns into a captivating one-woman show, in which writer-director Glass pushes us deeper and deeper into Maud's mind as the pressure builds so much from outside as much as inside. Stunning and brutal in its depiction of what its protagonist is going through, Saint Maud creates a kind of ecstatic tension and sustains it to the end.

There Private James Ryan

The first 20 minutes of Steven Spielberg's 1998 war movie rank among the best films of the director's career, recreating the D-Day attack on Omaha Beach with a sustained, visceral intensity he has rarely attempted. The rest of the film, while not quite as intense, is just as well done, taking characters straight from the main cast: Tom Hanks's weary captain, Jeremy Davies' edgy intellectual, Barry Pepper's steely shooter, Vin Diesel's Loudmouth New York. , Adam Goldberg's furious Jewish recruit, and takes the time to develop them. Yes, the resolution is a bit much. You can work with it.

lazy

Sandy Tan takes the influences of her formative years as a film and pop culture obsessed teenager growing up in Singapore in the late 80's and early 90's and distills them into a highly entertaining mystery memoir. Ostensibly the story of the discovery of a lost classic of Singaporean cinema (a stunning document of a long-vanished cityscape), Shirkers gradually evolves into a subtle exploration of teenage friendships and how artistic endeavors often depend on highly charged chemistry, especially between partners. .

Sorry to bother you

Boots Riley's late capitalist comedy about an Oakland telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) who exploits white privilege to get what he wants in life is a sharp satire on the nexus of class, race and work. Comedy gets weirder (and understated) by the day, but politics wouldn't work if the jokes didn't land. Standing out in the memorable supporting cast are Tessa Thompson, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun and Kate Berlant.

The Sparks Brothers

Embodied by the unquantifiable voice of Russell Mael singing his keyboardist brother Ron's complex and repetitive lyrics about relationships, nature, commerce and existence itself, Sparks released 25 studio albums in half a century without success, never mainstream success, although they influenced generations of musicians. Of course, Edgar Wright loves her, and with this documentary the filmmaker creates a rhapsody for her, taking us through Mael's career album by album and allowing fans of celebrities like Flea, Patton Oswalt and Weird Al Yankovic to tell us how much Sparks loved her. means to them. . At two hours and 20 minutes, it risks being as grueling as it is exhausting, but there's really nothing wrong with Wright packing in as much as possible; He also tells us how much Sparks means to him.

strong island

Yance Ford's first feature film combines several documentary storytelling techniques to explore a well-known theme of institutionalized racism in the US justice system in a new way. Ford tells the story of how his middle-class Long Island family was devastated by his brother's 1992 murder and how a grand jury failed to indict the killer. Using only minimal archival footage, Strong Island weaves a complex narrative, often from still images, to show the deep and lasting emotional impact of events. It's personal and stylistically risky cinema.

unpolished gems

Adam Sandler plays a desperate man running through New York City, making one terrible decision after another in Uncut Gems. Josh and Benny Safdie re-released this film two years ago as Good Time, also on Netflix Canada, but with Uncut Gems they make up for the giddy fear and its cast: it's actually shocking to see Sandler running sweaty through Manhattan's Diamond District, full of adrenaline panic. It's like the Safdies found him new equipment and stepped on the gas.

werewolves inside

Josh Ruben dropped his scarily low-budget Scare Me with this equally offbeat horror-comedy, loosely based on the Ubisoft video game, about a handful of lunatics trapped in a B&B during a snowstorm trying to figure out if there's a werewolf among them. – and if so, who is it? Sam Richardson of Veep and Milana Vayntrub of Other Space are charming as would-be authority figures, a shy but warm-hearted park ranger, and a free-spirited postman who serves as a beacon for the community. Michaela Watkins, Sarah Burns, Cheyenne Jackson, Harvey Guillen and Catherine Curtin are among the picturesque locals. Fusing the '70s classic The Beast Must Die with the goofy spirit of Clue and Knives Out, Mishna Wolff's screenplay explores the absurd conflicts that arise when giant personalities start pointing fingers (and guns) at each other, and Ruben dies. with several orchestrated discoveries and betrayals. with genuine admiration for the clichés of this particular subgenre.

yes good yes

Karen Maine's debut feature is a deadpan comedy about a Catholic teenager named Alice (Natalia Dyer), whose growing curiosity about the pleasures of the flesh leads her terrified parents to send her to a retreat in the woods, where she learns to embrace her sexuality as a woman. African Americans crack down on Braves girls. At least that's the theory. It's a little trickier in practice, as Alice finds that her impulses are pretty basic compared to the things everyone else likes. If you only see Dyer running from monsters in Stranger Things, you have no idea what a good actress she actually is; Yep, dammit, it reveals her as an incredible comedic talent, bringing big laughs with little squints, frowns and hesitations, and Maine makes sure we get every opportunity to appreciate her.

zodiac

Zodiac might not be David Fincher's best film - I'll mention Fight Club, The Social Network and Gone Girl - but it best sums up his intentions as a filmmaker. Zodiac is a sweeping study of obsession and mortality focused on the search for the mysterious serial killer who terrorized San Francisco and its surrounding areas in the 1970s. Zodiac turns years of investigation into a gripping two-and-a-half-hour tale starring Robert Downey Jr. to solve the case, as he is frustrated that he cannot understand the truth. James Vanderbilt's script unravels all the threads to build a very convincing theory about the killer's identity, but Fincher's directorial choices continue to propose alternatives, leaving us in the same precarious situation as the film's heroes, who see the form of a true crime but fail to understand. . It's a big deal.

@ahoratoronto