May 18
What currently streaming film are you recommending these days? (Go ahead and tell us why, if you’d like!)
Here’s how your Scholarly Writing Retreat colleagues answered today’s question!
The Platform (Netflix)
interesting because of the linkage of space, bodies, violence, foods, and hunger
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I absolutely LOVED Crip Camp. It's about the ADA, and the people that fought for it. It was produced by the Obamas.
— Anya Plutynski
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Succession (TV series)
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My attention span these days isn't long enough to watch a movie at home. BUT my household has gotten into some of the TV series! And I didn't realize until writing this that they are all on Netflix:
1) Ozarks (Netfilx) -- My hubby and I binge watched the first seasons! It's sooo good & dark. Go, Ruthie!
2) Outer Banks (Netflix) -- Since my kids are too young for the darkness of Ozarks, we started watching Outer Banks as a family. It's basically a teen version of Ozarks -- sex, drugs, lies, scandal, water, and class divides among white people.
3) Black AF (Netflix) -- Since the above two are an intense look at the summer lives of white conflicts, to get a connection with Black folx, we started watching Black AF (or, as f*uck, as my kids told me when I asked what AF meant). It's not great but it's nice to see the characters and familiarity.
— Shanti Parikh
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I really enjoyed the dark comedy Bad Education on HBO. It's directed by Cory Finley and stars Hugh Jackman and Allison Janey. It's based on a real-life incident in which a New Jersey school superintendent and an accountant are discovered stealing millions of dollars from the school district. Well-paced and very funny.
— Claire Class
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I'm a musical fan but it's hard to go to theaters during this time. The shows must go on youtube channel live streams some classical musicals for 48 hours for free. I watched Cats (1998) last weekend. So good! We don't what's next yet but I recommend subscribe to the channel and stay tuned.
— Summer
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Professor T on PBS, a crime drama series from Belgium. Professor T is professor of criminology at the University of Antwerp. The show has a good balance between humor, seriousness of crime, and human nature. I also very much enjoy hearing Flemish, and seeing architecture and interior design in the scenes. (Professor T's office is mid-century modern!!)
For a lighter gig, we watch Corner Gas on Prime, a quintessential Canadian comedy set in Saskatchewan. (Go Canada!!)
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While not a film, I recommend the series Killing Eve. It is dark, dramatic, beautiful, comedic, and horrific. It has it all!
— Emily
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Jerry Maguire
— Merriah
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Volcano (1997)
— Grace Ward
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The Last Waltz
— Nancy Reynolds
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It’s a few years old, but I finally saw The Phantom Thread. I can’t say too much about the unexpected twists of the story without spoiling but i highly recommend it.
— Paige McGinley
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Knives Out - This 2019 Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated film featuring Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, and others, is an amazing mysterious journey of a film. Love it. We paid to rent it twice, baby woke up the first time but we really wanted to finish watching!
Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Taika Waititi's 2016 New Zealand-based film about youth, adventure, and finding your family in whatever form they take. It's beautiful and funny. Recommend closed-captioning to catch all of the great dialogue.
— Katharina Rynkiewich
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Mary, Queen of Scots (HBO) - I love historical fiction and found this version slightly more humanizing than most depictions of Mary Stuart.
— Kathleen
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Recently I rewatched an amazing movie called What We Do in the Shadows, which is a "mockumentary" about vampires in New Zealand. I recently learned it has been developed into a TV show (same name) which is in its second season on FX (and Hulu). The show is just as great as the movie! I highly recommend both.
— Molly McLay
Headline image: Lili Kovac on Unsplash