(Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.) The Movie: The Sound of Music Where You Can Stream It: Disney+ The Pitch: A trouble-making postulant (Julie Andrews) at an Austrian abbey becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain (Christopher Plummer) with […]
The Movie:
Where You Can Stream It: Amazon Prime
The Pitch: On February 25, 1964, the respected and heavily favorited Word Champion Sonny Liston stepped into the ring with a brash, charismatically obnoxious fighter named Cassius Clay. Kemp Powers’ 2013 award-winning play imagines an evening spent after the surprise victory by the future Muhammed Ali with three of his friends – Nation of Islam leader Malcom X, soul singer Sam Cooke and NFL record breaker Jim Brown. In her directorial debut, Regina King takes Powers’ sophisticated and nuance look at these iconic individuals and, thanks to some exceptional performances, weaves a story that feels as remarkable today as ever.
(Welcome to
The Quarantine Stream, a series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The Movie:
Where You Can Stream It: Disney+
The Pitch: Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo inexplicably play journalists in this movie. When they botch the reporting of a jewel heist, they must travel to London and interview the famous fashion designer whose jewels were ripped off in order to solve the case. Romance, mystery, and comedy ensue in pure Muppet fashion.
Why It’s Essential Quarantine Viewing: Because it’s joyous, ridiculous, raucous, and super fun. This movie is notable because it’s Jim Henson’s feature directorial debut, and he throws every trick he has at this thing, resulting in an ambitious, technically impressive, and hilarious film that makes its case for being among the top two Muppet films of all time. (This list on our own site disagrees with that assessment, but I beg to differ.)
(Welcome to
The Quarantine Stream, a series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The Series:
Where You Can Stream It: Netflix
The Pitch: Martin Scorsese directs a seven-part series about writer Fran Lebowitz and, by extension, New York City. There’s a
lot of laughing.
Why It’s Essential Quarantine Viewing: Look, we could all use a distraction right now, and
Pretend It’s a City is like a balm for the soul. I’m not saying this is a “feel-good” series because it’s not (there’s too much complaining on hand for it to earn such a label). But it
The Pitch: Remember
Alien? Remember
The Abyss? Remember reading a vague synopsis of an H.P. Lovecraft story? Well, put all those things in a blender, throw in Kristen Stewart with a really cool haircut, and you’ve got
Underwater.
Why It’s Essential Quarantine Viewing:
Underwater was released last January, and like many January movies, it was a box office disappointment. But a year later, this nifty little monster movie deserves to find an audience. Does it break the mold? Oh, hell no – it rips off many other films. But it’s also a swift, well-made fright flick that does exactly what it sets out to do, and sometimes that’s enough.