Streaming Weekly December 2015 2.0
You may or may not be headed out to the theaters this weekend. However, you still might need something really good to stream after the kids go to bed or you finally call it quits on the work week. Whatever the reason, you are out of excuses to agonize over what to watch with a batch of weekly recommendations fresh from our contributors’ TV’s to yours. Binge or consume a steady diet, but don’t miss out.
via Josh Crabb
Tangerine (Netflix) – To quote a friend, “As a heterosexual cisgender white male from the Midwest, this was very educational.” Entering the world of Tangerine, the gorgeous and vivid film from indie director Sean Baker, is the same as entering the jungles of the Amazon. The streets of LA in this movie, canvassed by transgender prostitutes, drug dealers, and pimps, are so completely foreign to someone like me that half the journey of this movie is empathizing with the characters and connecting with modern people who are so very different. It is a different world, but an encased and lonely world for our main characters.
Shot completely on an iPhone 5, Baker’s movie is a revelation in empathy for those on the streets of LA, and also for his magnificent shots and finding, “visual beauty in unexpected places,” as Jeffrey Overstreet put it in his Letterboxd review. It is well worth your time this weekend to watch for the movie’s distinct POV and real characterization of a group of people often lampooned and stereotyped.
via Griffin Kale
Legends (Netflix) – I guess, because I’m not a government agent, aliases are also referred to as ‘legends’. Sean Bean, who is a really solid actor, plays an agent with tons of legends, and different aliases he can fall back on to help with investigations. Not really a procedural, in the traditional sense, with a character who’s memory and actions are very untrustworthy. I’m about 5 episodes deep, and I’d definitely suggest it if you like a slower paced show. Not The Killing slow, but slow.
via The Film Avenger
Batman: The Animated Series (Amazon Prime) – For people my age, this will forever be the definitive version of Batman. The art is gorgeous – from the animation to the art direction. It has a timelessness that never goes out of style. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill were perfect as the voices Batman and the Joker, respectively. The series is also famous for giving dramatic dimension to what were considered goofy, gimmicky villains like Two-Face and Mr. Freeze. The stories told are powerful – a huge departure from conventional “children’s television,” before or since. Episodes touch on heavy themes of good and evil, fighting the good fight, revenge, grief and guilt in a way that is understandable to children, but still engaging for adults.
