Feel like you’re drowning…but are you off the couch? Welcome to the age of great content overload.To navigate choppy situations digital wavehere’s The Globe’s weekend picks streamingand this week’s special edition: The Most Underrated Holiday (or Holiday-ish) Movies.
What to see in 2023: The best movies (so far)
The Night Before (Netflix)
David Mamet’s copious amounts of booze, profanity and enough marijuana to kill all eight of Santa’s reindeer. before night falls When it was released in 2015, it aimed to cement itself in the established adult holiday comedy genre. You know, the cozy corner of the market where filmmakers freely mix vulgarity and sentimentality, vice and vixenism. Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, bad santa, next Friday etc. ). In that respect, director Jonathan Levine’s new comedy, timed for Hanukkah, succeeds admirably. The film is a near-perfect combination of sordid atmosphere and period honesty: a warm embrace with a drunken uncle. The result is a finely tuned comedy machine that not only works as a standalone contemporary project, but one that will be seen as a snapshot of industry insiders in five, 10, and 15 years. (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt), even a small role for Nathan Fielder) in his prime.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Crave)
Any Shane Black movie would fit right in here. All of his manly action comedies take place around Christmas time ( iron man 3, nice guys and his script the last boy scout and Lethal Weapon). But his 2005 noir comedy makes the perfect Christmas gift. Not only because this film revived Robert’s Downey Jr. career and paved the way for Tony’s Stark paycheck. A holiday detective story with as many twists as it does profanity. kiss kiss bang bang Sweet and sour fun will keep you guessing. Bonus: It also features one of Val Kilmer’s best performances.
Little Women (Netflix)
After reviewing barbie, Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel (the seventh to hit screens), gives us another shot at Christmas weekend. Originally praised for its unique chronology and rather meta ending, the film remains popular to this day. Especially when the family’s patriarch, Bob Odenkirk, returns home for the holidays and delivers the immortal line, “My Little Woman!” Merry Oden Christmas.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (on demand, including Apple TV, Amazon, and Cineplex Store)
Halfway between a Christmas and New Year’s Eve movie, the fully demented Joe Dante sequel moves from small-town America to a Trump-esque Manhattan skyscraper, with adorable Mogwai Gizmo Captured by mad scientists. As you know, Gizmo eventually gets wet and after midnight the spawn is fed and chaos ensues. An absurdist romp that amplifies the slapstick drama of the 1984 original. new batch It’s basically a live-action Looney Tunes feature. It’s loud enough to make you feel like you’re hosting your own holiday party, and stupid enough that if you pass out from drinking too much eggnog and wake up 45 minutes later, you still understand what’s going on.
Batman Returns (Clave)
Your Christmas includes Michelle Pfeiffer in a leather suit, Danny DeVito disgustingly devouring a live fish, or Michael Keaton glaring at Christopher Walken so much that he gets a triple sunburn. If not, I won’t be joining you for your turkey dinner. . But if you want all that fun under the tree this year, it’s time to revisit director Tim Burton’s most underrated movie, the creepy Batman sequel. Seasonal decorations accentuate the brazen and bizarre vision.
