Inglourious Basterds
There are few directors with a style as immediately recognizable as Quentin Tarantino. Developed over the length of his career as he progressed from his breakout hit Reservoir Dogs and cultivated throughout his career in classics like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and Death Proof, if you flip on to a channel showing a Tarantino flick, you’ll feel a pull from the TV that will have you glued to the couch and watching until the final credits roll.
Inglourious Basterds might be Tarantino’s finest film to date—though it seems like every time he releases one, he redefines what his best work is. A fine piece of revisionist history, the film follows Jewish soldiers in World War II as they seek vengeance and retribution for crimes committed against their people by the Nazis. It’s the ideal setting for Tarantino, the gritty, bombed out cities during the thick of one of the bloodiest wars in history, and he makes the most of it by applying his trademark style to this gory, genre-blending flick.
Laggies
In Laggies, a 28-year-old Megan (played by Keira Knightley), finds herself having a midlife crisis way too early in her life. She feels like she’s always a couple steps behind her friends, who are gracefully entering into adulthood and all that it brings. Meanwhile, Megan has little chance to advance in her career and panics when her boyfriend proposes to her. She takes the breakdown as an opportunity and spends time with a 16-year-old who helps Megan figure out what she truly wants.
Jen Kirkman: I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine)
Jen Kirkman has made a name for herself as a comedy writer. She served on the staff of Chelsea Handler’s late night show and has a New York Times best seller to her name, so she has solid comedy credentials. Now she has returned to the stage she’s most comfortable on for a new standup special. I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine) will be a hilarious watch for anyone, and a reassuring one for those of us who live alone.
Girlhood
At its core, the story of Girlhood is a familiar one. It’s a tale of a character who wants to be free but is constantly shackled by the world around her. However, everything else about this French drama feels so fresh, it’s a must watch. Marieme, a high school girl who is sick of the obstructions in her life, decides to go out on her own, accompanied by three other rebellious young women. But the safe haven she finds isn’t what she wants either, and she struggles to achieve true independence.
The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir
The Grateful Dead have a cult-like following; Deadheads follow the band across the country to get a chance to see them play, and the group is closely associated with the free-loving culture of the ’60s and ’70s, the era in which the group came to prominence. Now late into his 60s, band founder Bob Weir looks back at his life and the band he built in the Netflix documentary The Other One: the Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir.
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