Not sure what to watch this weekend? To save you time scrolling through your subscription services, our film editor Mark is here to bring you the top 5 movies to watch this week!
Host
Desktop-based films are a rare breed, and Director Rob Savage has certainly taken inspiration from the quarantine and lockdown to come up with ‘Host’, which impressively was created and posted on Shudder within a 12-week timeframe. The Host takes place through a Zoom call, a program people have no doubt become rather acquainted with over the past few months, so the scares here are much more appreciated. Based around a group of friends that decide to host a séance over Zoom, you can no doubt already presume where the plot of this will go, but it’s still extremely enjoyable along the way, even if it isn’t exactly treading new ground in its execution.
Available on Shudder
The Meg, starring Jason Statham
Sharks. We all saw Jaws and had a natural aversion to water shortly after being exposed to that…but what if the shark was bigger….and also Jason Statham was also trying to stop it? The Meg occupies a strange area of trying to be serious, but also trying to exude monster movie vibes, like Godzilla. Throughout its runtime, it feels like a mismatch of ideas and scripting that makes for a fun watch, but also one you need to really take less seriously. It’s not at Sharknado levels of bizarreness either, but if you’re a fan of the old Kaiju movies of old, or “so bad its good” movies you’ll likely enjoy a swim with The Meg…and maybe bring a few friends who have that same mentality.
Available on Prime
Your Name
This is one of those “I can’t talk about it too much without ruining it.” Movies, but I will open with the most important info: Your Name is good. It might not be what you expect and going in blind is probably the best way to experience it. What I can say is that part “What is going on?” experience, part romance, and part coming of age tale make for a story that you can’t help getting invested in. When two complete strangers soon find they have a connection…but no idea who the other is or why they share this, they take on the mystery of trying to find out what’s happening whilst also trying to manage things as best they can. The animation is incredible and if you’ve any other anime classics, Your Name will immediately fit up there with the greats.
Available to stream on Netflix
Nightcrawler
Working in and doing a degree in Journalism, I found it impossible to go 3 years of study without hearing about constant references to Nightcrawler, that I eventually had to give in and watch it. About a titular “Nightcrawler”, a term given to freelance cameramen or photographers who get to scenes first to sell pictures and videos to media outlets. Nightcrawler tells an interesting story whilst also being extremely critical of our media system. “If it bleeds, it leads” is the term a lot of freelancers operate on, but Nightcrawler blurs the lines between ethics and getting the shots and content people want to see, and that will bring home the big bucks.
Available to stream on Netflix
John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves
Sometimes a film comes along that breaks all the pre-established rules we knew before and re-creates them to fit its image and aesthetic…and John Wick does that perfectly. Keanu Reeves is expertly cast in a role that takes full advantage of his sometimes critiqued lack of emotions or stone-faced performance as John Wick, the legendary assassin who is really mad about his dog. With incredible action sequences, a soundtrack that perfectly exemplifies the atmosphere, and the aforementioned attitude John Wick reassembles the movie it wants to be out of what you thought you knew and is incredible for doing it. In other movies, you might not like the slow intro or the exposition scenes but John Wick builds them perfectly and makes you care about every character and the world it creates around its titular character…Oh, and the sequels are all incredible at continuing this as well.
