With cinemas closed and everyone (hopefully) practising social distancing, we’re providing suggestions to help you get by until things (hopefully) get back to normal. We’ll also provide alternatives for films that were meant to be in cinemas this week.
Let us know your own recommendations in the comments below or on Twitter.
Cinema Alternatives
Antlers
Directed by: Scott Cooper
Written by: C. Henry Chaisson (screenplay), Nick Antosca (screenplay; based on “The Quiet Boy”), Scott Cooper (screenplay)
Starring: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan
Synopsis:
In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her enigmatic student whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature.
Searchlight Pictures has delayed this Guillermo del Toro–produced film with no set release date (expected 2020 at the time).
Alternative:
Let Me In
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
IMDb: 7.1
Metacritic: 79
Year of Release: 2010
Directed by: Matt Reeves
Written by: Matt Reeves (screenplay), John Ajvide Lindqvist (based on the film Let the Right One In and his novel)
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Elias Koteas, Richard Jenkins
Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Owen is viciously bullied and achingly lonely. His only friend is his new neighbour Abby, an eerily self-possessed young girl who lives with her silent “father.” As the two outcasts bond, Owen begins to suspect she’s hiding an unthinkable secret.
Rationale:
A rare remake that nearly matches the original. Like Antlers, it’s a tale of a boy entangled with a mythic being. Directed by Matt Reeves, who went on to Dawn/War for the Planet of the Apes.
Find out where you can watch Let Me In here.
Alternative:
Gremlins
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
IMDb: 7.3
Metacritic: 70
Year of Release: 1984
Directed by: Joe Dante
Written by: Chris Columbus
Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, Frances Lee McCain
Synopsis:
When Billy Peltzer is given a strange but adorable Mogwai named Gizmo, he breaks the three important rules—and unleashes a horde of mischievous gremlins on a small town.
Rationale:
Lighter than Antlers, but still about kids whose connection to “monsters” leads to chaos they must clean up.
Find out where you can watch Gremlins here.
Promising Young Woman
Directed by: Emerald Fennell
Written by: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Laverne Cox
Synopsis:
Everyone said Cassie was a promising young woman—until a mysterious event derailed her future. Living a double life by night, an unexpected encounter offers her a chance to right past wrongs.
Debuted at Sundance to strong reviews (RT 93%, Metacritic 74 at the time). No new release date set.
Alternative:
Hard Candy
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
IMDb: 7.1
Metacritic: 58
Year of Release: 2005
Directed by: David Slade
Written by: Brian Nelson
Starring: Elliot Page (credited as Ellen Page), Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh, Odessa Rae
Synopsis:
A 14-year-old meets an older man she suspects is a predator. After going back to his place, the evening takes a shocking turn as it’s revealed she had a plan of her own.
Rationale:
A tougher, darker thematic cousin to Promising Young Woman. Slade’s debut before 30 Days of Night.
Find out where you can watch Hard Candy here.
Alternative:
Jennifer’s Body
Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
IMDb: 5.2
Metacritic: 47
Year of Release: 2009
Directed by: Karyn Kusama
Written by: Diablo Cody
Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, J. K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Adam Brody
Synopsis:
When small-town student Jennifer is possessed by a hungry demon, she turns on the boys at school. Her best friend Needy must step up to stop the carnage.
Rationale:
Mis-marketed on release, now a cult favourite. A female-driven revenge horror that anticipates themes Promising Young Woman explores.
Find out where you can watch Jennifer’s Body here.
The Secret Garden (2020)
Directed by: Marc Munden
Written by: Jack Thorne (screenplay), Frances Hodgson Burnett (novel)
Starring: Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Dixie Egerickx, Edan Hayhurst, Amir Wilson
Synopsis:
An orphaned girl discovers a magical garden hidden at her strict uncle’s estate.
Delayed until 14 August 2020 (UK date at the time).
Alternative:
The Secret Garden (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
IMDb: 7.3
Metacritic: 74
Year of Release: 1993
Directed by: Agnieszka Holland
Written by: Caroline Thompson (screenplay), Frances Hodgson Burnett (novel)
Starring: Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Maggie Smith
Synopsis:
Recently orphaned Mary is sent from India to England, where she discovers a hidden, transformative garden.
Rationale:
Still the benchmark adaptation; watch now to compare when the new version arrives.
Find out where you can watch The Secret Garden here.
Alternative:
Matilda
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
IMDb: 6.9
Metacritic: 72
Year of Release: 1996
Directed by: Danny DeVito
Written by: Nicholas Kazan & Robin Swicord (screenplay), Roald Dahl (novel)
Starring: Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris, Mara Wilson
Synopsis:
Brilliant, neglected Matilda discovers she has telekinetic powers and, with the help of a kind teacher, stands up to the bullies in her life.
Rationale:
A beloved classic with a little-girl protagonist that still charms.
Find out where you can watch Matilda here.
Movie of the Week
Free Solo
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
IMDb: 8.2
Metacritic: 83
Year of Release: 2018
Directed by: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin
Starring: Alex Honnold, Sanni McCandless, Jimmy Chin, Tommy Caldwell
Synopsis:
An intimate portrait of climber Alex Honnold as he prepares to free-solo El Capitan’s 3,000-foot vertical face—without a rope.
Rationale:
Oscar-winning, gorgeously shot, and jaw-dropping. It might make you miss the outdoors—but you won’t forget it.
Find out where you can watch Free Solo here.
TV to Binge
Killing Eve
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
IMDb: 8.3
Metacritic: 79
Year of Release: 2018–
Created by: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Episodes: 17 × ~55 minutes (to date at time of writing)
Starring: Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw, Darren Boyd, Owen McDonnell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Sean Delaney, Kim Bodnia, Nina Sosanya, Edward Bluemel, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Harriet Walter
Synopsis:
Eve is a whip-smart security operative bored by her desk job; Villanelle is a gifted assassin who loves the luxe life her work affords. Their mutual obsession ignites a stylish, twisty cat-and-mouse.
Rationale:
With a new season beginning, there’s no better time to jump in. Two of TV’s best performances from Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer. Originated by Phoebe Waller-Bridge; each season has a new female head writer (S2: Emerald Fennell, S3: Suzanne Heathcote).
Find out where you can watch Killing Eve here.
