Sure-Fire Streaming: Saint Maud, Hitch, Jungleland, and more!
By Jordan Parker
Saint Maud – Available On Netflix (On Saturday)
I started seeing trailers for Saint Maud pre-pandemic, and it gave me chills up and down.
So imagine the angst of this critic having to wait nearly 18 months to see a movie that immediately caught and captured my attention.
Writer-director Rose Glass creates a thrilling, grotesque and terrifying slow-burn of a horror film that will fill you with a sense of dread.
When a religious hospice care nurse begins taking care of a patient, things take a dark, unexpected turn when she becomes obsessed with the woman she’s supposed to be helping.
Maud goes from a comfort to a burden – worse, a dangerous liability – when she can barely take care of herself, let alone patient Amanda.
Morfydd Clark is incredible as Maud, only slightly outmatched by the exceptional Jennifer Ehle as a rude, domineering patient.
It’s a masterwork, and one of my absolute masterwork in my eyes. It might be a bit too slow for people, but I adored it, and you will if you have patience as well.
Hitch – Available On Netflix
This romantic comedy is splendid and absolutely, totally hilarious.
In the heyday of Will Smith, this was a smash-hit flick that really leaned heavily on his appeal and charisma as an actor.
As a passionate, intelligent and emotionally-stunted love guru, he tries to help hapless men get the girls of their dreams.
But things get out of hand when he starts falling for a columnist looking for the scoop on him, the elusive matchmaker.
Will Smith is both charming and adorable here. Kevin James gives a pretty adorable performance as a bumbling accountant in love with his rich client, and Eva Mendes is a perfect foil to Smith.
This is one of my favourite romantic comedies made in the last 15 years or so, and it’s so timeless.
Jungleland – Available On Prime Video
It actually pains me to know this incredible boxing drama didn’t get a theatrical release because of the pandemic.
It follows two ragtag brothers in poverty who travel cross-country so the youngest can compete in a wild boxing tournament.
The two men spar and tensions boil over as their circumstances threaten to undo their bond.
Charlie Hunnam and Jack O’Connell are both fantastic, and Hunnam sheds his Sons Of Anarchy tough guy exterior to play this one with a certain desperation. They’re both known for playing gritty roles, so to see them down on their luck like this isn’t the norm.
It may follow some familiar plot beats, but Jungleland is the kind of acting showcase that these two – so often discounted or underrated – surely deserve.
The Town – Available On Netflix
I will champion The Town as the film of Ben Affleck’s entire career for the rest of his days.
He directs, acts in the leading role and also co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard.
The heist movie borrows heavily from Heat, but it more than lives up to the film it aspires to.
Set in the seedy underworld of bank robbers in Charlestown, a part of Boston, it follows Affleck’s Doug and his group of criminal friends as they try to rob a baseball stadium.
Doug falls in love with a bank employee from a previous robbery and tries to conceal his identity while he takes heat from cops all over town.
Affleck is, in a word, phenomenal. He’s joined by Jeremy Renner, nominated for an Oscar for playing James, the loose cannon of the gang.
With Rebecca Hall as the bank employee, Jon Hamm as an agent on their trail, Blake Lively in an unrecognizable turn, and Pete Postlehwaite in a swan song performance prior to his death, this cast doesn’t skip a beat.
It’s one of my top ten films of all time, and I return to it yearly.
Boss Level – Available On Prime Video
This bananas action movie plays out like a video game on adrenaline, in the absolute best way.
It follows a retired Special Forces officer who becomes trapped in a timeloop – as he relives the day he dies over and over.
As he pushes further and further into the day, learning moves, tricks and things he has to do to stay alive longer, he uncovers a conspiracy and tries to stay alive longer than 24 hours.
Co-writer and director Joe Carnahan – known for Smokin’ Aces and other action hits – creates a pretty awesome action flick here.
Frank Grillo was born for this grizzled main role, and with Mel Gibson as a main baddie and Naomi Watts, this is a great cast encased in a pretty cool flick.
Definitely worth a try for those looking for a fix of things blowing up.