What's New To Streaming In February 2022
Plus, some news about the future of this here newsletter
Hello again, DYLAers! We took January off from the newsletter, but we are back and more excited than ever to talk about movies! This week we are recommending a couple of our favorite movies new to streaming in February, as well as sending back a dispatch on a couple films we saw at the (all-virtual) Sundance 2022 Film Festival.
First, however, we have some news regarding the future of Do You Like Apples. Starting next week, we are branching out into more than just streaming movie recommendations. Don’t worry, you can still expect an email every Friday from us with recommendations based around a theme like we always do. But, in order to open up our recommendations, the movies we write about won’t necessarily be on a streaming platform (although we will tell you where you can find it).
In addition to this, many weeks we will have another post (usually Wednesdays, but subject to change) with thoughts on the world of movies beyond a simple recommendation. What will this entail? Whatever we want, really, but you can expect the following: new movie reviews (theatrical and streaming), preview of upcoming attractions, rankings, Oscar season commentary, takes on news and trailers, and thoughts on some of our niche film interests.
We hope you enjoy what we’re doing and what we have to offer going forward. Our only goal with this newsletter and the DYLA brand is to share our love of film with anyone who cares to read, engage, and discuss. As always, we’d love your feedback on what you like or dislike about what DYLA is doing. Reply to any of our emails or shoot us a message on Twitter or Instagram. We appreciate our readers!
Billy recommends…
The Fly (streaming on Prime Video)
I wish I could have seen both of these actors in the lens of two up-and-comers teaming up with a master genre filmmaker who had not gained that status yet. Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and David Cronenberg were an unlikely trio. Goldblum and Davis were on their way to stardom and may have said no to a weird genre horror movie a couple of years later. Cronenberg had some success getting his name on the scene before The Fly, but this was his breakout commercial hit, allowing him to make weird genre horror movies for the rest of his career.
The Fly is a sci-fi/romance/comedy/horror movie. A combination that is so absurd that it should not work, but it combines these with flying (get it?) colors. A story this small needs the descent into another creature feels like a tragedy. Goldblum plays Seth Brundle who is a scientist who makes a breakthrough in teleportation. During the successful test a fly enters the starting location with Brundle. The teleportation combines them into one. Leading to superhero-like abilities and a massive hubris before the inevitable descent into madness.
The emotion of this movie is developed between the authentic and natural relationship between Brundle and Geena Davis’ character, Veronica Quaife. Without their relationship as the emotional crux, the body horror of a man turning into a fly would be too silly, inhibiting the audience from investing in this tragedy. Cronenberg knows the inherent fear of seeing your body breakdown is enhanced when someone is there to see you break down. The heartbreak that someone feels experiencing this is so wonderfully expressed.
While the imagery is disturbing and there are moments where you need to look away, you want to stay with this story because of how invested you are in the characters. There are other Cronenberg films that I enjoy more, but this one makes sense why it is his most popular. It showcases his talents through two massive movie stars. If the actors are captivating enough a director can get away with almost anything. The movie did have me wondering one thing, though. If the fly being in the machine causes Jeff Goldblum to turn into a human-sized fly. There is reason to believe there is a fly-sized Jeff Goldblum having his own adventure. I would greatly like to see that film.
Drew recommends…
3:10 to Yuma (streaming on HBO Max)
In the 21st century, great Westerns set in the Old West have not exactly been in abundance. And some of the best ones have been remakes of Westerns from the 1950s or 60s. Joel and Ethan Coen’s True Grit comes to mind, but another example of a sturdy and well-executed, if not exactly innovative, recent Western is 3:10 to Yuma. As the second adaptation of the Elmore Leonard short story – coming 50 years after the first 3:10 to Yuma starring Glenn Ford – this 2007 version could’ve been fairly forgettable with a less talented cast. Russell Crowe plays infamous outlaw Ben Wade and Christian Bale is a poor rancher that takes on the dangerous mission of escorting the arrested Wade to justice by getting him on a train to Yuma. But Wade’s men are in pursuit, led by his psychotic right hand man, played by Ben Foster in an electric and compelling performance.
To make the shootouts and chases as riveting as possible, you need a dependable director with action filmmaking chops. James Mangold (Logan, Ford v Ferrari) turned out to be the right fit because he strikes a good balance between exciting action and emotional character moments. Bale’s rancher is a financially desperate father and husband that gradually earns the respect of Crowe’s black-hatted outlaw, but you never forget the tension between law-abiding citizen and ruthless criminal that runs throughout the story. The crackerjack final scene at the train station drives this home perfectly. 3:10 to Yuma isn’t likely to be the best Western you’ve ever seen, but it is a perfectly entertaining and rewatchable entry that we could use more of these days.
New To Streaming in February 2022
Netflix
Anaconda
Batman Begins
The Book of Eli
The Bourne Ultimatum
Caddyshack
The Exorcist
The Hangover
The Other Guys
Watchmen
Amazon Prime
A Fistful of Dollars
Die Hard
Die Hard: With a Vengeance
Forrest Gump
Gone in Sixty Seconds
Lincoln
Little Miss Sunshine
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Walk the Line
Platoon
The Good, the Bad And the Ugly
Hulu
Airplane!
Almost Famous
Batman (1989)
Black Swan
Borat
Charlie’s Angels
Fight Club
The French Connection
Hitch
Man on Fire
Nightmare Alley
Rosemary’s Baby
Step Up
Terms of Endearment
That Thing You Do!
Tombstone
The Tree of Life
Whiplash
HBO and HBO Max
12 Years a Slave
Chinatown
Donnie Darko
Network
Nightmare Alley
Rango
The Searchers
West Side Story (1961)
Cry Macho
The Many Saints of Newark (February 16)
Free Guy (February 23)
The French Dispatch (February 25)
Sundance 2022
The Sundance Film Festival was entirely virtual this year, so we decided to buy tickets to a couple films playing at the fest. Here’s our mini-reviews of Danish horror-thriller Speak No Evil and megachurch satire Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Speak No Evil
Billy: Thoroughly freaked out all the way until the end. I will probably end up in a situation like this at some point in my life. The main parents are seriously the worst. The intro from the director set up a movie it was not, but his claim of not holding back made the slow, creepy, atmospheric build haunting. When director Christian Tafdrup finally “went for it” I was taken out a bit. What was an interesting look at people being too polite, getting them into sketchy situations, turned into the parents making outright dumb decisions. 3.5 / 5 Apples
Drew: If you like horror films where the dread seeps from every seemingly mundane interaction, then Speak No Evil is a chilling and effective Danish slice of slow burn social satire that is probably worth your time. But as depraved as things get by the end, I’m not sure the film’s message cuts much deeper than a surface observation, which would be fine if there were more genre thrills or smart character development. - 3 / 5 Apples
Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Drew: Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul has several interesting pieces that don’t necessarily make for a wholly successful end product. As a skewering of posh megachurches and prosperity gospel preachers, it’s often right on target even as the tone-juggling between light and serious is a little clumsy. While the mockumentary aspect is more distracting than it is effective, debut director Adamma Ebo clearly has a strong point of view. And the keyed-up cracked facade performances from Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown match wonderfully to the film’s frequency. As much as there is to recommend here, I did wish it had all come together more cohesively. - 3 / 5 Apples