Sure-Fire Streaming: Ted, Flee, Shameless, and more
By Jordan Parker
The best in TV and film from your living room.
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas – Available On Netflix
It’s definitely one of the most oddball, off-the-wall movies I’ve ever seen, but it’s stuck with me for two decades because of it.
Fear and Loathing follows two loopy men – a journalist and a lawyer – who experience a number of psychedelic times while in Las Vegas.
Based on Hunter S. Thompson’s cult classic novel of the same name, it’s as weird as they come, but also huge fun.
Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro and Tobey Maguire are all fantastic in it, but it really is a two-man show with the formers.
If you look your movies incredibly weird, this one is definitely for you.
Ted – Available On Netflix
From the man who brought you Family Guy comes this raucous, outrageous comedy flick.
It follows John, a man-child who just can’t seem to get it together. His childhood wish for his teddy bear to come to life came true decades ago.
Now he sits with his live bear, watches movies and smokes pot, completely neglecting his doting girlfriend Lori.
But she gives him an ultimatum: Her or the bear, and John must make the biggest decision of his life.
Writer-director Seth MacFarlane creates a hilarious little picture, and also voices the bear Ted.
Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, and Patrick Warburton are all hilarious.
It’s better than it has any right to be, and it’s a silly, raunchy good time.
Flee – Available On Prime Video
This incredible documentary is – far and away – my pick for both Best Documentary Feature and Best Animated Feature for this year’s Oscars.
Yes, this film manages to transcend to styles of film and put them together in one of the most gut-wrenching experiences of the year.
Nominated for three Oscars, Flee follows the true life of Amin, an immigrant now about to marry his long-time male partner.
But as his wedding draws near, he tells his story – the lack of acceptance from family, growing up queer in the Middle East, war, and everything else he’s endured to get where he is.
It’s harrowing and heartbreaking, and this is one of the absolutely best movies of 2021, bar none.
Shameless – Available On Netflix
Finally, all of Shameless is available for you to view on Netflix, and it’s the best comedy to come out of the 2000s.
During its 10-year run, Showtime’s TV remake of the British classic of the same name appalled and surprised viewers.
The epitome of laugh-or-you’ll-cry humour, it follows a Chicago family who live in poverty, and the disturbing lengths they go to in order to make ends meet.
Matriarch Monica took off years ago and patriarch Frank is a fall-down drunk who barely makes it home most nights, let alone spends time taking care of his children.
Oldest sister Fiona is the parental figure to her siblings Carl, Lip, Debbie, Ian, and Liam. She does what she can, and has put her entire life on hold for her family.
Joined by her best friend Veronica (and V’s dopey, well-meaning husband Kev), they make a go of it, often at the expense of others.
This is a very, very raunchy show, and it isn’t for the light of heart. But it deftly mixes comedy and drama, and does it incredibly.
Spencer - Available On Prime Video
Anyone who continues to judge Kristen Stewart’s acting solely from her Twilight days is, quite simply, wrong.
Nominated for an Oscar here, she is absolutely incredibly as Princess Diana, and my personal choice to win Best Actress this year.
The embattled woman met a tragic end, and this chronicles her Christmas holiday at the Sandiringham estate in England as she struggles with her mental health.
It also marks the point – in 1991 – when she chooses to end her decade-long marriage to Prince Charles, despite the wishes of the monarchy.
Stewart is joined by Timothy Spall, Jack Farthing and Sally Hawkins, all of whom also give rousing performances.
It’s a difficult meditation on mental health, but an absolutely necessary watch for cinephiles and lovers of fantastic acting.