The Disney Double Attack (Disney Plus/Hulu) was late to the Netflix/Amazon Party, and has fallen behind its chief competitors with its original movies. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any winners on the platforms. Especially because Pixar and 2022 Hulu really came for the streaming title (I left out movies that went to theaters from this list)!
The strangest silent movie that totally works. Ever underappreciated Kaitlyn Dever goes toe to toe with an invading alien, inside her house in the dead of night. The results are hella tense, and will have you under your own covers as much as Dever is under hers, afraid to see what’s in the darkness.
Bold choice for Andy Samberg to try to make a modern Who Framed Roger Rabbit? But he succeeds more than he doesn’t with this inspired gem. It’s a wonderful canvas of animation and Disney characters, with silly ideas like bad Sonic and CGI vs. Hand Drawn animation, as well as a fun detective story with just enough emotion to give fun to the whole family.
A sneaky good critique of influencers. Also underappreciated Zoey Deutch plays a wanna be internet celebrity, faking till she makes it, except she makes it by pretending to be in Paris when a terror attack happens. Deutch does great work making us not totally abhor her character, while also pointing out how toxic her desire for fame leads to these poor choices.
Fresh will make you just stop dating, especially if you’re a woman. Daisy Edgar Jones has a meet cute with Sebastian Stan in a super market, which leads to a whirlwind romance. However, the more Jones learns about Stan, the less she likes, until it might be too late. Mimi Cave shows us a worst case scenario metaphor for modern dating, and all the incredible subtle maneuvers women have been forced to learn to prevent men from using the toxic masculine system against them.
I was never a big fan of the Predator movies. Until this one. Amber Midthunder gives a starmaking performance as a woman in a Native American tribe in the Great Plains in the mid 1800s. And then…a Predator shows up. What follows is the stripped down version of those over the top 80s Macho thrillers, finding a more interesting story in the 2020s, but still kicking a lot of butt.
Yes, I like Dan Trachtenberg’s sequel more than his first. This anthology movie continues what Prey did, but animated, and more ambitious. Using the Predator as a plot device, Trachtenberg gives us 3 human tales of inner strength, revenge, and resolve, with beautifully animated ballets of violence.
Fresh off exploring the mind, Pete Docter takes Pixar into a person’s heart. Soul takes Jamie Foxx’s stuck in life music teacher and has him enter the after life, and realize he doesn’t want to go yet. Taking Tina Fey’s lost soul under his wing, Foxx, Docter and Pixar take the audience through the soul of a person, how it gets formed and grows into a real life person as you could explain it to an 8 year old. Impressive stuff, as always from the animated giant.
Ah, the Jane Austen update she always imagined: at a gay beach vacay destination. You might not think it would work, but Joel Kim Booster’s toes the line magnificently, updating Austen’s manners to the rules of the gay community. Plus, too few movies make you feel like you were at an awesome party; Fire Island delivers the goods and then some. It made me want to plan my own kickass Hamptons getaway!
Sex. When we all hear that word, it conjures up something in our bodies, minds, and loins. But not all of us are rearing ready to go; we need some warming up. Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack are sensational here, showing through brilliant exquisite dialogue how barriers get broken down and word expression transforms into body expression. It’s complicated, messy, awkward, but ultimately satisfying, as I set myself up there I just realized…
Much of new Pixar is mired in sequel hell. Not this Domee Shi film though, maybe Pixar’s most daring. Shi takes the potentially traumatizing for children event of female puberty and makes it understandable without being gross, a near impossible feat. On top of that is an emotional story filled with lots to say about moms and daughters and their relationships. And 4 Town. Never met nobody…like U!
