Instant Picks of the Week 3/17/17
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.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (Netflix)
Recently made available on Netflix, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is not only one of my favorite romantic comedies, but happens to be one of Woody Allen’s most successful films. Allen’s directing demonstrates the beauty of Paris to its full potential. An unconventional romantic comedy, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is a deeply satisfying tale that follows Owen Wilson, a successful screenwriter and aspiring novelist, as he lives out his fantasies and comes to a great realization. Rachel McAdams plays a lovely supportive but distracted fiance to Wilson, adding a quirky romantic element to the film. Michael Sheen plays a perfectly annoying but hilarious character who adds to the conflict between McAdams and Wilson. Experience the delightful beauty, culture, and history of the alluring city of Paris through Woody Allen’s enchanting story. [Lynnzee Highland]
PI (STARZ)
Darren Aronofsky’s 1998 debut film PI currently lingers within the galaxy of STARZ. The film follows Maximillian Cohen, a stupendously brilliant, albeit incessantly paranoid—on par with the paranoia levels reached by Pynchon’s creations—mathematical savant, whose quest for a single number, which will supposedly unlock the patterns of nature and the stock market incites deluded insanity. Cohen also must conciliate with a Jewish organization and a Wall Street firm, both of whom desire the abovementioned number; a scintillating, and quite disturbing, narrative ensues. I’ve encountered several Aronofsky fans this semester alone, and none of them had seen PI: if you enjoyed REQUIEM FOR A DREAM or THE WRESTLER or BLACK SWAN, check out this film—a cinematic rendition of RADIOHEAD’S “Paranoid Android.” [John Loftus]
