Looking for your next binge-worthy series or film to add to your streaming queue? Check back with Village Life every Friday for Jordan Parker's comprehensive insights on the week's most buzz-worthy programs from top streaming services like Netflix, Crave, Amazon Prime, and beyond.
On Netflix – The Deliverance
There are few other movies that will divide audiences more this year than this horror picture.
The pedigree involved is undeniable – from Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels (Precious) to a cast chalk full of Oscar nominees Glenn Close, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Andra Day. Former winner Mo’Nique also gives her best performance in 15 years.
The film follows an African-American family in Indiana who realize a demon is living in their new home. Day plays single mother Ebony, a recovering addict trying to create a new life for her three children.
Her white mother Alberta – undergoing chemotherapy treatment – has moved in with them despite her complicated past with her daughter. Mo’Nique plays Cynthia, the social worker tasked with checking in on the kids.
When all the children begin acting strangely, it’s first attributed to the less-than-stellar and erratic parenting of Ebony, but soon it’s discovered something sinister is possessing the house-dwellers.
It’s a B-movie that knows its place and has some of the most go-for-broke, insane performances of the year. It’s a schlock-fest genre movie that will shock you, and not always in a good way.
The Deliverance is trash – but it still manages to be transfixing in a way I didn’t quite expect. Even if you hate everything else, see it for Mo’Nique and Glenn Close’s inspired turns.
On Amazon Prime Video – Mothers’ Instinct
The script for Mothers’ Instinct is a cut beneath the best fare of both co-leads here, but it’s so much pulpy fun I wasn’t bothered by it.
Oscar winners Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain have a heck of a time together in this Hitcock-esque psychological thriller. It follows two best friends whose children have a close bond.
But when a tragedy occurs, the relationship between the women falters and suspicion and mistrust take over.
Director Benoit Delhomme – Director of Photography on At Eternity’s Gate – has his debut in the big chair here and showcases a signature, gorgeous style and vision.
The script – written by three – lets down Chastain and Hathaway, but they still manage to pull some tension out of it.
It likely won’t require a re-watch, but it’s a pulpy little thriller that’ll entertain well enough.
On Crave – Horizon: An American Saga -- Chapter One
It’s with a cautious optimism that I recommend this Kevin Costner vehicle – a film he placed huge bets on by using millions of his own money to bring it to fruition.
It’s directed by, co-written by, and starring Costner and is a high-stakes western meant to be told in four separate chapters. This first one is a whopping three hours long, and I wish I could tell you it was necessary.
Horizon is over-padded, overlong, and at times confusing. But it’s also a vast storytelling landscape that promises a fantastic film journey. There is too much potential in Costner’s film not to recommend it.
It covers 15 years in the pre and post-Civil War expansion, as well as settlement disputes and violence between Americans searching for new land and the Native Americans already hunting there.
Costner is joined by an ensemble including Sienna Miller, Luke Wilson, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, Danny Huston, Tom Payne, Will Patton, and more.
There are so many characters and plot developments, and it’s heartbreaking to me that this film was such a financial failure this summer that we’re waiting to see when the already-shot Chapter Two will come out.
If (when) the second instalment comes, Costner will get my money. I simply need to see where this thing goes.
On Disney+ -- Waitress
For whatever reason, I avoided watching this little gem for years.
I just assumed it wouldn’t appeal to me – And I was dead wrong. Waitress is a hilarious, whimsical fill about breaking free from convention.
Jenna works at a pie diner and makes her own creations for customers. When she becomes pregnant with her brute of a husband, she fears her dream of leaving him is over.
She has been squirrelling away money to get out of her home in the deep south, but now she has to think about the baby. However, when an out-of-towner swoops in and becomes her doctor, the two married adults start a love affair.
Writer-director Adrienne Shelly manages to delve into complicated topics like infidelity, abuse, and unplanned pregnancy with poignant honesty while managing to give us character who somehow soften the blow.
Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion are delightful in the leads and bring a depth I didn’t expect. Jeremy Sisto – who normally plays adorable roles – is a brute as Jenna’s husband Earl. Cheryl Hines, Andy Griffith, and the director Shelly round out the cast.
I really loved this movie, and it was sweet as, well, pie. Give it a try for sure.
On Paramount+ -- I Love You, Man
I rarely revisit films that came out in my teens because I fear they just won’t appeal to me at an adult age.
I Love You, Man defied every expectation, and I think I appreciate it more now than I did at 17.
It’s the story of Peter, a man in his 30s who asks his fiancé to marry him. Their bliss is dampened when his bride-to-be Zooey realizes he has no real male friends, let alone a best friend.
She encourages him to find male companionship and find folks to stand at the altar with him, which soon leads to him going on a number of terrible “friend-dates”.
But when he meets aloof Sydney, the two hit it off immediately. The one problem is as he becomes closer with his new friend, it begins to strain his relationship.
Jason Segel and Paul Rudd have immediate chemistry here and are the highlight for sure. The supporting cast includes Andy Samberg, Rashida Jones, Jaime Pressly, Jon Favreau, and Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons.
It’s laugh-out-loud hilarious and matches its cruder moments with genuine heartfelt ones. It ends up a winning combination and a comedy that stands the test of time,
About The Author:
Jordan Parker is a freelance journalist and runs entertainment firm Parker PR. A huge lover and supporter of the local arts scene, he’s an avid filmgoer and lover of all genres.
A 2SLGBTQIA+ professional, he also works doing Events & Fundraising for the AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia and has a passion for giving a platform to queer events and artists.
His writing often skews toward local businesses, productions, events, and covering arts & entertainment. He’s also an avid sports fan and spends every May getting let down by the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs.
Jordan believes in an open-door policy and welcomes story pitches and questions from readers.
Email: [email protected]
