Sure-Fire Streaming: Black and Blue, L.A. Confidential, Yellowstone, and more
The best in TV and film from your living room.
By Jordan Parker
https://parkerandpictures.wordpress.com/
Black and Blue – Available On Netflix
This is a surprising portrayal of race, police brutality and an unsettling climate.
Writer-director Deon Taylor is largely known for thrillers like Traffik and The Intruder, but with Black and Blue, he goes deeper than he ever has.
It follows a rookie female New Orleans police officer who is forced to choose between toeing the line and being honest about a murder she sees, committed by two corrupt cops.
Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson give great performance and elevate the material, and Frank Grillo is always a lot of fun as a baddie.
Black and Blue explores difficult themes, and it's a crowd-pleaser that's timely and tackles difficult subject matter sensitively.
L.A. Confidential – Available On Netflix
Told like a violent, noir version of Sunset Boulevard, this incredible dark drama about Hollywood is a classic film.
It follows three cops in 1950s L.A. As they investigate murders and each go through their own methods to try and crack the case.
Director Curtis Hanson creates a nostalgic movie – one that nabbed Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Director – and it's one of the best throwbacks to old tinseltown I've ever seen. This dark drama is a spellbinding watch.
Featuring a Best Actress Oscar-winning performance from Kim Basinger, she gives an amazing performance, and is joined by pros Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito, and David Straithairn.
It's one of the absolute best movies I've ever sat through, and you'll love it too. Guaranteed.
Minari – Available On Prime Video
Writer-director Lee Isaac Chung creates a stunning, resonant film with Minari.
He found himself with a nomination for Best Directing and Best Original Screenplay for this sensitive portrayal of a Korean family who start over in Arkansas in 1980.
The patriarch toils on the land trying to start a farm while the mother attempts – often unsuccessfully – to make friends and create a new life and home in a place she's unfamiliar with.
It's a sensitive look at the family dynamic and the way immigrants were treated upon their arrival to the U.S.
Steven Yeun – of The Walking Dead fame – showed another side of himself here, and nabbed an Oscar nomination for his efforts as a man who wants the best for his family.
But the best performance in the film, bar none, goes to Yuh-Jung Youn, who won an Oscar for her portrayal as feisty grandmother Soonja.
It's hilarious and a beautiful film at the same time, and hits all the right notes. One of my favourite foreign-language films of the last decade, you simply have to see it.
Richard Jewell – Available On Netflix
This true story is based on the real-life 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing plot.
It follows ambitious-but-haphazard security guard Richard Jewell, who foils the bombing plot at the Olympics.
His fortune quickly turns – and turns again – as he goes from hero to suspect in the bombing, and his entire family is put at risk because of it.
The FBI harasses him and the media turns him into a villain as he tries to prove his innocence.
Director Clint Eastwood creates this riveting drama that will absolutely floor you from start-to-finish.
Paul Walter Hauser truly arrives with this starring role, and he's joined by Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Jon Hamm, and Kathy Bates, who was nominated for an Oscar for this one.
It underperformed at the box-office and was largely ignored, but people will soon realize the intensity and grit of this one.
Yellowstone – Available On Prime Video
As we ready for the fourth season on Sunday, it's time to get ready for more of your favourite Dynasty-style soap.
If you've not seen Yellowstone yet, I urge you to stop sleeping on it, because it's one of the best shows on television.
It follows a ranching family – leading an absolute empire – in Montana, and the fight they face against others pushing for their land or fortune.
That said, it's the fighting within the tumultuous family that creates most of the tension and intrigue.
Oscar-winner Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, the incredible Kelly Reilly, West Bentley, scene-stealer Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille are all part of a wonderful ensemble cast.
They've built a huge show on the back of writer Taylor Sheridan's (Wind River, Hell Or High Water) intense script.
I cannot wait for the new season, and this show just continually keeps getting better.