What's New To Streaming In June
Plus, an excellent new HBO miniseries and a classic episode of the The Office
We’ve got a jam-packed Do You Like Apples for you today. First, we’re hitting you with some of our favorite titles that are new to streaming: Two classics from the year 1976, an instant classic from last year, and a smaller, more intimate movie from earlier this decade. Then, we’ve got a (relatively) new HBO show to recommend, as well as one of the great episodes of The Office that takes place outside the office. Read on, friends.
Drew recommends…
50/50 (streaming on Netflix)
50/50 is kind of a unicorn. It’s a cancer dramedy that is somehow able to expertly balance its tone between humor and heart. Based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s real-life experience with cancer, 50/50 features Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam, a 20-something whose life is overturned by a spinal cancer diagnosis. Seth Rogen plays Adam’s inappropriate best friend and Anna Kendrick is his therapist and love interest.
JGL and Rogen are so compatible in their shared scenes that I started wondering why they weren’t in more movies together. Adam is mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and shell-shocked by his situation, while Kyle (Rogen) is the tasteless, vulgar, and loyal best bud. Their male friendship is captured authentically, with the humorous moments existing alongside the awkward, emotional ones.
The love interest in these movies is often a thankless role, but 50/50 gives Anna Kendrick some key scenes for her character to develop. Likable as always, Kendrick is a big reason the rom-com element doesn’t feel tacked on at all. There’s real emotion in her relationship with Adam.
It would’ve been easy for 50/50 to become a grave melodrama and ignore its genuine comedic chops, and it also would’ve been easy for the film to betray its serious subject matter by slipping into a lighthearted comedy with no edge. Instead, I found it enjoyable and humorous, but also tender and moving. It’s an impressive (and rare) accomplishment.
Network (streaming on Netflix)
We should really recommend more movies from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Part of the reason we don’t is because there’s not as many available to stream. However, this month Netflix has a firecracker of a movie from 1976 that is just about as good as any of the other 70s classics you want to put it up against, like The Godfather, Jaws, and All the President’s Men.
Network is a wild and powerful satire of the corrupt television news industry. It is recognized as one of the great screenplays in movie history. Three-time Oscar-winning screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky packed a hundred different ideas into Network. Roger Ebert noted a few of them in his 1976 review: “Sexism and ageism and revolutionary ripoffs and upper-middle-class anomie and capitalist exploitation and Neilsen ratings and psychics and that perennial standby, the failure to communicate.” If that all sounds a bit much, well, it is. Network is hysterical, loquacious, and probably overstuffed, but that is what helped it stand apart back then (it won four Oscars) and stay so relevant today.
The film begins with news anchor Howard Beale being forced to retire because of his age and declining ratings, so he announces to his viewers that he will kill himself during his final appearance on air. As this dark proclamation boosts ratings, the network’s head of programming, played by the remarkable Faye Dunaway, sees an opportunity for profit. Soon, Beale’s new persona, “the mad prophet,” is turned into an entertainment news spectacle, to the disappointment of the news division president, played by William Holden.
Not only is Network’s writing extraordinary, but so are the performances. Dunaway and Holden submit some of the best work of their long and distinguished careers. Peter Finch plays Howard Beale, delivering the wild-eyed speeches of a man that’s gone off the deep end. His famous “mad as hell” scene has gone down in movie history. (I’ve seen it played during St. Louis Blues hockey games to get the crowd going.) Behind the camera, the great Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon) orchestrates it all beautifully.
Some of the acting may seem over-the-top today, but that just seems to be part of Network’s style and message. This movie gets in your face and tries to get you angry about the state of things. After all, Network incredibly predicted this was where our politics and media landscape was shifting. Outlandish TV news personalities are on almost every channel these days. When Beale meets with a shadowy corporate chairman, he asks him why they have chosen Beale to spread their message. The chairman’s response? “Because you’re on television, dummy.”
Billy recommends…
Rocky (streaming on Amazon Prime)
I was hesitant suggesting this one today because this isn’t necessarily a cool one to suggest. Most people have seen and everyone knows the movie Rocky. I like to flex my film knowledge from time to time, but there is something about a great rewatchable movie. (By the way, go check out the podcast The Cine-FIles. Hosted by John Rocha and Steve Morris. They profile Rocky here.)
My first viewing of Rocky came about a year ago. My uncle Todd gave me the box set for Christmas knowing I have never seen them before. I rolled my eyes a bit because how can Sylvester Stallone be a believable dramatic actor and how can such a “classic” live up to the hype. Despite my speculation I gave it a shot because it was a gift. This viewing was extremely memorable. I was watching with my friend Dan and after the scene at the ice rink we both looked at each other and acknowledged that it was one of the best movie scenes we have ever seen. Not many scenes progress the story and build character development so effectively. You immediately connect to the love story Rocky is presenting and that makes the boxing moments much more effective.
Again, as I have made this point about other movies, Rocky is not memorable because it is inventive or experimental. It is memorable because the story is captivating, the acting is excellent, and it creates a high range of emotions. Do not be like me and be skeptical of this amazing movie if you have not seen it. This is an easy recommendation. Do not miss it.
A Star Is Born (streaming on HBO Now)
Give Bradley Cooper the damn Oscar! Also, why didn’t Sly Stallone win for Creed a few years back!? I’m sorry, seeing Cooper get snubbed this past year still has me going and it brought up memories of past Oscar disappointments. Bradley Cooper directed, co-wrote, and starred in A Star Is Born. A true cinematic achievement from a first-time director.
We follow Jackson Maine, a serious substance abuser, who is on the back end of his already illustrious career. After one of his shows he wanders into a bar for a drink and witnesses an incredible singing performance from a woman named Ally, played brilliantly by Lady Gaga. From that moment on we get rewatchable scene after rewatchable scene. The chemistry between the two leads is what carries this movie and is why we have such a memorable relationship on screen.
While the two have their own struggles, we definitely focus on the addiction of Jackson Maine and the negative. As the movie goes on we naturally progress from an upbeat romance to a much more realistic take on addiction and relationships. Plus, a commentary on fame and the positive and negative effects.
Through the realistic take on these subjects and the effectiveness of the story it went from a movie that could have been fun, but forgettable, to a move that is an instant classic. It is hard to get that “instant classic” title and I try not to give that out willy-nilly, but A Star Is Born deserves that title.
Streaming TV Corner
What we’re watching this week
Drew: Chernobyl (streaming on HBO Now)
A few friends raved about this to me, and I’m glad I gave HBO’s Chernobyl a chance. The five-episode miniseries is far from a light and breezy watch, but it does feel necessary. For those of us that aren’t as familiar with the details of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, it’s a dramatic and historical experience. (Although, it seems the show has taken artistic license in certain spots.) For those that enjoy expertly crafted prestige TV shows, it’s yet another example of why HBO remains a cut above. I’m only two episodes in, but I’m more than intrigued with what Chernobyl has to offer.
The Office Episode of the Week
Drew: “Booze Cruise” (Season 2, Episode 11)
“Booze Cruise” possesses that perfect balance of hilarity and emotion that The Office was so capable of delivering in its heyday. The cold open features one of the classic Jim pranks, with Dwight finding all of his belongings in the vending machine. Then the power struggle between Michael and the boat’s captain (played by Rob Riggle) is acted to perfection, with Michael interrupting him at every chance to attempt to segue into his “leadership training.” I’ll never get enough of Michael making an utter fool of himself on the dance floor while exclaiming, “Dancing! It is a primal art form used in ancient times to express yourself with the body!”
I forgot just how much happens in this episode. Jim almost tells Pam about his feelings for her, twice. Then Roy spontaneously (and drunkenly) proposes to Pam. Afterward, Jim cold-heartedly breaks up with Katy (Amy Adams), and then he regrettably reveals to Michael that he used to have a thing for Pam. Oh, and Michael sends half the boat into a panic when he announces the ship is sinking, causing a passenger to jump overboard. This is a stone-cold classic.
Links to get you hyped
Coming in September is Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt in what looks, from the trailer, to be a visually striking and thrilling space ride.
Bale. Damon. Fast cars. The first potential Oscar frontrunners are upon us now, as the Ford v. Ferrari trailer dropped online.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please pass it along to a friend, share it on social, or shout it from the nearest mountaintop. We’d appreciate it.
If you’d like to read past newsletters, hit up our archive.