Sure-Fire Streaming: Blow, Ozark, Arbitrage, and more
By Jordan Parker
https://parkerandpictures.wordpress.com/
The best in TV and film from your living room.
Blow – Available On Netflix
This real-life crime tale is absolutely bonkers, but that’s the fun in watching it.
Blow follows George Jung, a cocaine trafficker who established a huge market for the drug in America in the 1970s.
It chronicles his relationship with Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel, and his elusive tricks on the law.
Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz are marvellous in the lead roles, with a script from Nick Cassavetes and David McKenna that absolutely crackles.
Helmer Ted Demme made this as the final picture in a storied career before his 2002 death, and it was a sure sign of things we could have expected from the young talent.
Franka Potente, Rachel Griffiths, Cliff Curtis and an incredible Paul Reubens make up the supporting cast of a crime saga you won’t soon forget.
Alexander – Available On Netflix
Writer-director Oliver Stone’s thrilling, polarizing epic is still one of my biggest guilty pleasures, and I think it gets far more flak than it should.
It follows the exploits of King of Macedonia Arthur, and his life both on the battlefield and off of it as he conquers territories.
Director Stone swings big and isn’t afraid to put his own interpretation out there, but I warn it’s not your typical straight-forward swords-and-sandals flick.
The cast is divine, from Colin Farrell in the lead to Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins and Rosario Dawson. Sure, it plays out like a bit of a big-budget B-movie, but that’s okay.
Bonus points for rounding out the cast with Val Kilmer, Brian Blessed, Christopher Plummer, and a very young Jared Leto in a surprising role.
I think Alexander was a bit ahead of its time, but I still dig it decades later. Maybe you will too.
Joe Bell – Available On Prime Video
This movie caught a lot of backlash due to the awkwardness of Mark Wahlberg playing the lead, because he has a real-life difficult past in his interactions with minorities and marginalized people.
Here he plays a father who goes on an awakening journey after his gay teen son commits suicide.
Based on a true story, Joe Bell is a rough-and-tumble working-class guy from a small town who walks across the U.S. to speak out against bullying.
But he must deal with the guilt of not doing enough for his own son – who had recently come out – before he killed himself after being ridiculed by school bullies.
In terms of acting, Wahlberg hits the right notes, even if the film lets his character off a bit too easily. Connie Britton isn’t given much to do in her role as a concerned wife and grieving mother.
But the film is worth seeing for the performance of young Reid Miller alone. He steals the show, and it’s guaranteed he’ll have tears rolling down your face.
Ozark: Season Four – Available On Netflix
Everyone's favourite twisty-turny Netflix drama is back and better than ever.
The Byrd family seem innocuous and normal enough, but patriarch Marty is hiding a huge secret – He and his business partner have been stealing money from the cartel for years.
So when they get caught, Marty and his family are forced to relocate to Missouri to launder money for his drug boss.
The Emmy-winning show pits the Byrd family against violent criminals as they attempt to work off Marty's debt.
Jason Bateman plays entirely against type in his best role ever, and he's joined by Oscar nominee Laura Linney. Skyla Gaertner, Sofia Hublitz, and the incredible Julia Garner.
The entire ensemble is perfect, and the show has left me awestruck more than once. With the fourth and final season coming, prepare for an exciting conclusion.
Arbitrage – Available On Prime Video
One of the most underrated films of the last decade, Arbitrage has been relegated to dollar-bin BluRay buys. But those who see this one will be surely surprised.
Richard Gere is Oscar-calibre here as a hedge fund manager with shady financial secrets. When tragedy strikes, his world threatens to unravel.
His attempted cover-up of events lands him in a precarious situation, and a detective is hot on his trail. He tries to keep his world from crumbling and his misdeeds from leaking out as he tries to complete the sale of his trading empire.
Along with the strong performance from Gere, Susan Sarandon, Britt Marling and Oscar nominee Tim Roth are all fantastic in a film you'll be sorry it took so long for you to see.