Hey everyone! I missed getting this week's Pix up yesterday
due to a hectic schedule but make no mistake, I am back today with this week's
round of Netflix Pix. While scrolling through the genres this morning I found
myself attracted to the drama section. Currently streaming are countless
wonderful dramatic films that you definitely should check out. I managed to
whittle it down to only a handful of films, as hard as it was, but I believe
these are five flicks everyone should see. Good drama has the power to pull all
sorts of emotion from it audience and make them feel ways they maybe haven't
felt before. These films are the perfect vessel for allowing us to experience
life events, both good and bad, that we wouldn't otherwise experience. Each of
these movies succeed in enlightening it's viewers to the realities of their
world and help us to understand why and how the people living these lives do
it. So sit back and allow one, or all of these films to show you a corner of
the world you maybe didn't know existed, I am confident at least one of these
films will hit home for you.
1. Dear White People (2014) Directed By: Justin Simien
Some of you may have seen me tweeting about this movie the
other day. It had just come onto the streaming service a week or two ago and I
immediately gave it a watch. My short answer is for all of you to go and watch
this right now as it is an important film with some serious balls.
Writer/director Justin Simien used this film to make a statement, a highly
relevant and socially enraging statement that rings as true today as it did
fifty years ago. We all know that racism is hardly dead in this country and Dear White People looks at that racism
in the Ivy League school system. The movie looks at racism from all angles
despite what the title may suggest, this movie doesn't stand to bash white
people into the ground for being inherently racist (though it doesn't shy away
from calling this out).
The movie follows the lives of four particular black
students doing whatever they can to survive their Ivy League experience and
make something of themselves in the world. Sam (Tessa White) runs the
"Dear White People" radio program where she preaches black
empowerment while calling out the white dominant school for its racist
tendencies. Troy (Brandon P Bell) is the son of the dean and will do whatever
it takes to leave this college a success and he isn't afraid of befriending
some unfavorable people to do so either. Coco (Teyonah Parris) has her sights
set on becoming famous, using YouTube to try and make it happen fast and is
willing to use the current system to her advantage to do so.
Where the film really finds its heart and purpose though is
with Lionel (Tyler James Williams), a young gay black student who can't seem to
find his place anywhere on campus. The white kids he lives with now are
ruthless but as he lets you know, his experience with the black crowd has been
even worse. Through his eyes we see the true struggle of so many different real
personalities and through is journey to find his place this movie finds its purpose.
This is an important film with everything going on in this country right now
and I strongly urge you to go and check this one out.
2. City of God (2001) Directed By: Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund
As I have mentioned often times before, Netflix is an
amazing place to find incredible foreign cinema. Such is the case with the
incredible Brazilian film City of God.
Based on a true story this film follows the lives of two childhood friends in
Rio de Janeiro as they grow up to take wildly different paths. One tries to
avoid the life of violence and crime by becoming a photographer while the other
embraces his surroundings and becomes a major drug dealer. Through the eyes of
Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) we see how the slums of Brazil can turn a genuine
child into a monster and what life in the third world is truly like. I believe
this to be one of the greatest films of the modern century and if you haven't
seen it before I consider it a must watch for all film fans.
3. Short Term 12 (2013) Directed By: Deston Daniel Cretton
Brie Larson is currently blowing up, and for good reason as
she is an incredibly talented actor and typically chooses great projects.
2013's Short Term 12 is a huge
testament to all of that and more as her performance in this incredible film
makes it quite obvious why she is now so talked about. The film centers on her
character Grace who works full-time at a residential treatment facility for
troubled youths. She has dedicated every ounce of her life to helping these
kids find a way and it is beginning to take its toll. Written and directed by
Deston Daniel Cretton, his story gives us a small glimpse into a life some
didn't know existed ( I didn't) and shows us that there are truly incredible
people in this world who sacrifice everything they have for the sake of making
someone else's life better. We see this as Brie Larson's character struggles to
keep her personal and work life separate and stable, a near impossible task.
This is a wonderful film that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster from
start to finish and is one of the most underappreciated of 2013.
4. The Station Agent (2003) Directed By: Tom McCarthy
This a great little drama comedy that has been streaming for
quite a while now and that I simply adore. Starring Peter Dinklage in one of
the few roles that is absolutely perfect for him this film is a wonderful piece
of human drama that shows how even the most different of people can become the
best of friends. When Finbar's (Peter Dinklage) only friend passes away he
leaves him and abandoned train station. Considering his only friend in the
world is now gone he decides the best thing he can do is to move out to that
station and try to live a life of solitude, away from the world.
This proves much more difficult as he thought though when a
loud mouthed hot dog vendor (Bobby Canavale) won't leave him alone on a daily
basis. He finds he is able to avoid him when necessary but when a mysterious
woman (Patricia Clarkson) begins spending her days outside the abandoned
station he finds himself much more involved with these people than he ever
thought he would. As they begin to get to know each other a little more they
begin to realize they all have their own problems they are working through and
before long these issues bring their worlds crashing down on each other. Peter
Dinklage is as good as he has ever been in this film and it is because of him that
it all works. Working off of great performances from Cannavale and Clarkson
this film succeeds at showing us the strange intricacies of human interaction.
5. Hardball (2001) Directed By: Brian Robbins
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't over the moon when I saw
this pop up on streaming just the other day. This Keanu Reeves driven true
story film was one of my favorites growing up, I even saw it in theaters. Hardball tells the story of a down on
his luck gambling addict who agrees to coach a little league baseball team in
the Chicago projects in exchange for a loan. The film more or less works as an
adult version of The Mighty Ducks, he
gets assigned to a team of misfits who can't even afford the proper gear to
play and turns them into an incredible success story. These kids are from the streets
though and no matter how straight they live their lives tragedy is bound to
strike at some point. Through his experience with this team, an ignorant sleaze
ball finds true meaning in his life for the first time. If anything, watch this film to see a very
young Michael B. Jordan as Jamal. I think a lot of you will find a lot to enjoy
in this film though as it is a whole different kind of baseball movie you
probably haven't seen before.
That's it for another installment of Netflix Pix! I hope you
found some good films to check out that you haven't seen before. Thanks for
reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter
@ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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