Instant Picks of the Week 9/1/17
Gone are the days of scrolling mindlessly through your queue! No longer will you have to sift through the vastness of what’s coming to the instant viewing wastelands this month! Whether you’re looking for a stellar film or an exciting new show to binge, Instant Picks of the Week brings you the hottest releases in film and television on instant viewing platforms that we know you’ll love, or at the very least not despise.
CHEWING GUM (Netflix)
Another one I had always been told to watch, when the news broke that CHEWING GUM had officially been put to bed, I deemed it the perfect time to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out, it was about quite a bit! Written by and starring Michaela Coel, with direction from Tom Marshall and Simon Neal, CHEWING GUM tells the story of Tracey Gordon, a religiously restricted virgin who attempts to navigate her upbringing, identity, and sexuality all at once in her working class suburb of London. Right off the bat it’s immeasurably more confident and assured than many of its peers (except for perhaps FLEABAG), figuratively and literally giving off an astonishingly bright personality and color. CHEWING GUM treats all of its elements with equal respect and care, earning brownie points for not entirely blasting Torey’s family and the God they’ve dedicated their lives to. The situational comedy is on point, regularly building to delightfully cringe-worthy peaks as Tracey’s lack of knowledge about the birds and the bees lands her in progressively hotter water. Finished off with a subtle incorporation of racial politics and themes that are organically implemented and always augment the story, CHEWING GUM is a surefire hit and it’s a shame there’s only 12 episodes of it out there. [Thomas Seraydarian]
SULLY (HBO GO)
Clint Eastwood is a filmmaker I have taken for granted for far too long. I have always been a long-time fan, but my interests in him began to wain right around the time when he started talking to empty stools at NRA conferences. But with SULLY I realized that politics was clouding my better judgement of one of cinema’s last classical practitioners. SULLY is a deconstructive film, and one that showcases Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart at the best of their abilities. It is morally complex, and plays with our understanding of America’s fascination with heroes more than it does with any external conflicts. This isn’t a film about immediate danger, but rather man’s role in society after communities have dubbed him a nationwide hero. It’s about lone wolves, quiet heroes, and the camaraderie of the American people. It is Eastwood’s most patriotic anti-American film to date. In that sense, SULLY is quite literally a film that exudes the spirit of the Wild West. A film directed by a former cowboy, and one that acts to critique the culture that worships icons. This blurb originally appeared here. [Sergio Zaciu]
