Newflix is our weekly look at notable new titles available on online streaming sites.
Groundhog Day (1993)
Directed by Harold Ramis
Netflix
The joke and the heart of Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day are the same: That despite its repetitive (and necessary, considering that the film is about a looped day and a funky timeline) structure and story, the film is never boring, and only gets better as it winds on. It’s not just that Bill Murray is so good and so funny—and, gosh, is he ever—and it’s not even that the film plays so happily with its format. It’s the combination of those things, along with genuine charm, big laughs, and a story that actually charts character evolution, thanks to a time/space screw-up and a groundhog who is phenomenally bad at his job. It’s a complete package. It’s also the kind of film ripe for examination (this What Culture piece on how many days Phil spends in his loop is still one of my favorite examinations of any modern feature), which only adds still more to its generally pleasing nature. Of course, there’s also the lingering question—what would you do if you were Phil?—that makes the film resonant and rich in ways that most comedies don’t even come close to. Also, it’s really great to watch Bill Murray make an ice sculpture, let’s just be clear on that.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
$3.99 to rent on Amazon, also Netflix
Streaming services are excellent venues for filling in holes in compulsory viewing—not that I am saying any of you are missing Taxi Driver from your “have seen” list, but it’s totally possible, and this is coming from someone who just managed to catch up with The French Connection last month, thanks to Netflix, so no judgment here—allowing cinephiles to observe movies they will surely love without having to leave the house. Taxi Driver is a good start. Everything you’ve heard about it is true: It’s excellent, it’s terrifying, Robert De Niro is startlingly good, it will haunt you. But what’s also so wonderful about Taxi Driver is how it’s consistently wormed its way into popular culture. You already know the film even if you haven’t ever seen it, but actually seeing it only crystalizes the cultural reference points that have probably lurked on the edges of your movie-watching for years now. And, hey, if you’ve already crossed this one off your list, I don’t need to sell it to you.
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Directed by Colin Trevorrow
Crackle
Director Colin Trevorrow is, admittedly, a strange pick for Jurassic World, and while his previous effort, the weirdly charming Safety Not Guaranteed, may not do much to deflect the Jurassic detractors, it will make them love Trevorrow’s more low-key outings. The film stars Mark Duplass and Aubrey Plaza as a pair of stone-cold weirdos—Duplass’ Kenneth needs someone to time travel with and has advertised as such, Plaza’s predictably sardonic Darius investigates the story with a pair of terrible coworkers, including a rankled Jake Johnson—who fall in love in what is, quite honestly, a very sweet and very strange way. Trevorrow’s film might be loosely based on real events, but he uses this “classified ad about time travel” conceit to emotionally delve into the nature of love itself. While Darius and Kenneth stumble into partnerhood, Johnson’s self-centered Jeff attempts to shake off his own delusions to reunite with a former love. It sounds sci-fi, but it’s not, it’s actually about as rooted in the real world as you can get.
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Directed by Sharon Maguire
Netflix
As a young teen, I was bizarrely and inappropriately obsessed with Bridget Jones. I didn’t smoke and I didn’t have a job and I didn’t live in London and I didn’t have man trouble like Bridget because, again, I was a young teen, but I adored author Helen Fielding’s frank and funny voice, and I thought that clumsy, lovable, ridiculous Bridget was just the tops. Of course, that means I was very excited and very afraid to see the first film version of Bridget’s exploits, even if they took a while to make their way to the big screen. Which is all a very long way of explaining that Bridget Jones’s Diary was the first adult movie I saw that was based on an adult book that I loved (barring, like, Sense And Sensibility and its ilk), and that’s scary. Sharon Maguire’s movie isn’t entirely beholden to Fielding’s novel and its plot points, but it holds so firmly to the book’s tone and feeling, that it’s more than satisfying to lovers of the book. Which is an even longer way of saying that, if you don’t think that Bridget Jones’s Diary is your cup of tea (or, more appropriately, cuppa), it’s actually a startlingly good exercise in looking at what a book-to-film adaptation can be, and what it can do. Also, Colin Firth.
Also new to streaming:
Patch Adams might be lesser Robin Williams, but even that does not seem so bad now (Netflix)... Johnny Depp goes mobster in Donnie Brasco ($3.99 to rent on Amazon)... Grease 2 is as bad as you remember (Netflix)... Go into the danger zone with Tom Cruise and Top Gun (Netflix)... America Ferrera wrestles with her 20s (and also her own husband and also Common) in the sexy X/Y ($12.99 to buy on iTunes)... Jason Schwartzman is wonderfully loathsome in Listen Up Philip ($0.99 to rent Amazon)... Stroker Ace is probably the worst Burt Reynolds movie ever (Hulu)... Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! desires you (free with membership or preview on Fandor)... Werner Herzog goes nuts in Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (Shout! Factory).