Culture staff recommends: Netflix movies

Arts Staff

Did you forget to grab a free movie ticket this week? Don’t want to make the trek down the hill to the Roxy?

Culture staff writers have you covered with five Netflix movies you can watch from the comfort of your own bed. Check the culture section weekly for our staff’s picks.

 

“Marie Antoinette”

Hunter McKenzie’s pick

 

Director Sofia Coppola crafts not a dusty biopic, but a stylish coming-of-age story about one of history’s most iconic and controversial figures.

“Marie Antoinette” is an empathetic portrait of the doomed queen prior to the French Revolution. It’s crafted  with a punk-ish twist based around the destructive forces of luxury and privilege.

The film is bold, lavish, largely overlooked and it’s also made by one of the best filmmakers working today.

 

“Inglorious Bastrards”

Eleanor Webster’s pick

 

Stylistically parallel to the majority of Quentin Tarantino’s work, “Inglourious Basterds” is a wildly exciting film that can appeal to all.

This film delves into the world of alternative history when a group of Jewish-American soldiers plans to assasinate Nazi leaders.

Christopher Waltz delivers an Academy Award-winning performance alongside Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger.  

Multiple plot lines bring together action, adventure, love and sorrow in this iconic World War II flick.

 

“Hell or High Water”

Allie O’Connor’s pick

 

Tapping into the lawless style of the Wild West, director David Mackenzie delivers a refreshing heist thriller full of life and depth.

“Hell or High Water” follows two brothers as they commit several bank robberies to save their family ranch.

Lead actors Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster shine in their flawed human roles.

Instead of stuffing the script with cops vs. robbers-esque gunfights and chase scenes, the film explores the current crisis of post-industrial America through an old Hollywood lens.

 

“Donnie Darko”

Keely Lyons’ pick

 

Director Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal track a young man’s descent into madness with this cult classic.

After a teenager survives a strange accident, he is plagued by visions of a man in a rabbit costume who forces him to commit a series of crimes.

The circular plot line features themes of mortality, time travel and mental illness.  

The tone is dark, creepy and lingering. This film has to be watched twice, and maybe with the lights on.

 

“Even the Rain”

Sarah Robinson’s pick

 

This Spanish drama chronicles the journey of a movie crew as they work on a film about Christopher Columbus in Bolivia. Over the course of filming they are interrupted by Bolivians as they protest the privatization of water in their own country.

“Even the Rain” draws parallels between Columbus and his exploitation of the Native people with the modern government’s exploitation of the Bolivian people.

This film is great for anyone looking to dabble in a foreign-language film or anyone searching for an insightful political drama.