The best new titles on Netflix for this bank holiday weekend
The best new titles on Netflix for this bank holiday weekend
Let’s face it, if you had the choice you’d spend most of your free time sitting on the sofa feeding yourself peanut M&M’s like a Roman Emperor.
That being the case you’re going to need something to watch and you definitely won’t want to trawl through endless Ice Cube movies to find something you actually like.
Luckily for you we’ve done the hard work and fished out the very best Netflix has to offer this month.
Don’t get up.
Narcos
We’re excited. You’re excited. Everyone's excited by the prospect of Netflix’s exclusive new show Narcos, chronicling the rise of Pablo Escobar, his Medellín Cartel and the rapid expansion of the cocaine trade across glamour soaked shores of eighties Miami and South America. Sure to make us all feel a bit cultured - the show is half in Spanish (Escobar’s story, portrayed by newcomer Wagner Moura) and half in English (the DEA agents who come hurtling after him) - it's also set to be one of the most addictive shows in years.
12 ANGRY MEN
12 men. One Room. 5,278 reasons why this could well be one of the finest dramas ever committed to celluloid. Sidney Lumet’s powerhouse production, starring Henry Fonda as the recalcitrant juror who slowly manages to persuade his peers that an 18-year-old boy just might not have killed his father, fizzles just as much as it did back in 1957. Taking place almost exclusively in one cramped room, it’s testament to the explosive acting that you won't even notice. Sublime.
Colours
As Straight Outta Compton reminds us all of the tinderbox that was gang-infested East Los Angeles in the late eighties/early nineties, here’s one of the first films which covered those uneasy days of tension between Bloods, Crips and cops. Directed by none other than Dennis Hopper, marking his return to the director’s seat some 18 years after Easy Rider, it sees Robert Duvall’s veteran join forces with Sean Penn’s rookie to simmer down relations between the warring community, where Penn’s hothead style soon makes him trouble for all involved.
ROBOCOP 3
Admit it. We had you at Robocop. No lazy Sunday on the sofa could be complete without some throwaway vintage sci-fi action movie. Particularly one which sees the metal law enforcer finally earning his wings. Literally - as while waging a one-man war against a corrupt corporation who use brutal mercenaries to push destitute Detroit residents out of their homes, our hero even gets some airtime.
Horns
One bleary-eyed glance at this image and you might be forgiven for thinking it an outtake from Harry Potter when Daniel Radcliffe’s wizard accidentally turned himself into a goat. When this is actually much, much darker than that. Based on the cult novel by Joe Hill (spawn of Stephen King), Radcliffe plays a man who wakes up in the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death to find strange horns sprouting from his temples. Is he a demon? You’ll have to watch to find out.
Hyena
An entertaining throwback to the tough British gangster films of the 1970s, Hyena is the antidote to the soft Guy Ritchie copies that have been clogging up the genre for years. The film follows a drugs squad police officer who has his fingers, and £100,000, in places he really shouldn’t. It does not end well.
Starman
Before Jeff Bridges was the dude, he was an alien. In Starman he crashes to earth and, to avoid detection, ends up assuming the form of a woman’s recently deceased husband. It starts as a straight sci-fi movie but quickly becomes a touching drama. Unusual but very good.
Gotham (series)
Set when Batman was still just a weird kid with a vague interest in flying mammals, Gotham is the story of rookie cop James (Commissioner) Gordon as he attempts to rid the city of corruption and avenge the deaths of Mr and Mrs Wayne. Very entertaining stuff and Ryan from The O.C is in it.
The Babadook
You won’t find many horror movies with a rating of 98 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes but The Babadook is no ordinary horror movie. It tells the story of a mother struggling to control her young son who is plagued by visions of a monster he thinks is coming to kill them. He may be right. Genuinely terrifying.
How to sell a Banksy
If you’re not off to Dismaland this weekend you can watch this interesting Banksy themed documentary instead. Filmmaker Christopher Thompson explores just what a piece of Banksy street art is really worth by removing and then attempting to sell a work ‘lifted’ from London Bridge.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The third and final instalment of Peter Jackson’s epic adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien’s beloved book. It has everything you expect from a Jackson movie involving hobbits, breath taking visuals, kindly wizards and incredible battles. It’s long but you don’t want it to end.
The Kill Team
A terrifying documentary about a US platoon that intentionally murdered innocent Afghani civilians and then planted guns on them to claim their victims were terrorists. The subject of the film is Private Adam Winfield who attempted to alert the authorities to the crimes but was persecuted, ignored and threatened for his efforts. Disturbing.
It’s all gone Pete Tong
The brilliant Paul Kaye plays washed-up and hard of hearing DJ Frankie Wilde as he attempts to overcome his demons and put his life back together. It’s a funny, poignant and ultimately heart-warming movie that showcases the talents of a very underrated actor.
Blackadder: series 1 and 2
The first series of the classic comedy was, as writer Richard Curtis has admitted, a bit rubbish but it’s interesting to watch nonetheless, particularly for Brian Blessed as the king. Luckily, by series two everything had fallen into place and one of the best comedy shows of all time emerged. Brilliant.
The November Man
Watching Pierce Brosnan run around with a gun is a sight we know and love. In November Man he’s a highly trained secret agent (how did they come up with that?) lured out of retirement for one last mission to protect a valuable witness. It’s races along and is entertaining, if formulaic, stuff.
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