Self-Isolation Media Recommendations #7

Posted by Explosion Network | May 10, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0

With cinemas closed and everyone (hopefully) practising social distancing, we are going to provide you with some suggestions to help you get by until things (hopefully) get back to normal. We’ll also provide some alternatives for films that were meant to come out in cinemas this week.

Let us know your own recommendations in the comments below or on Twitter.

Cinema Alternatives

The High Note

Directed by: Nisha Ganatra
Written by: Flora Greeson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Zoë Chao, Bill Pullman, Eddie Izzard and Ice Cube

Synopsis:
Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis, a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights. Maggie is Grace’s overworked personal assistant who’s stuck running errands, but still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.

The High Note is now scheduled to be released on the 29th of May through video on demand

Alternative:

Judy

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
IMDB: 6.9
Metacritic: 66

Year of Release: 2019
Directed by: Rupert Goold
Written by: Tom Edge (Screenplay by), Peter Quilter (Based on End of the Rainbow by)
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, and Michael Gambon

Synopsis:
Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.

Rationale:
Also featuring a performer in the later part of their career, Judy received much acclaim for Renée Zellweger role as Judy Garland which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Find out where you can watch Judy here.

Alternative:

A Star is Born (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
IMDB: 7.7
Metacritic: 88

Year of Release: 2018
Directed by: Bradley Cooper
Written by: Eric Roth (Screenplay by), Bradley Cooper (Screenplay by), Will Fetters (Screenplay by)
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay, and Sam Elliott

Synopsis:
After falling in love with struggling artist Ally, Jackson, a musician, coaxes her to follow her dreams, while he battles with alcoholism and his personal demons.

Rationale:
Easily one of the best films set in the music industry in recent years. With brilliant performances by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper who performed all their music live, it won as Academy Award for Best Original song with “Shallow”.

Find out where you can watch A Star is Born here.

Run

Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty
Written by: Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian
Starring: Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen

Synopsis:
They say you can never escape a mother’s love… but for Chloe, that’s not a comfort — it’s a threat. There’s something unnatural, even sinister about the relationship between Chloe and her mom, Diane. Diane has raised her daughter in total isolation, controlling every move she’s made since birth, and there are secrets that Chloe’s only beginning to grasp.

Aneesh Chaganty’s follow up to his computer screen film Searching was meant to be released in the lead up to Mother’s Day after initially being scheduled for release on the 24th of January. There is currently no new release date.

Alternative:

Carrie (1976)

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
IMDB: 7.4
Metacritic: 85

Year of Release: 1976
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Written by: Lawrence D. Cohen (Screenplay by), Stephen King (Based on Carrie by)
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt, P. J. Soles, Betty Buckley, and John Travolta

Synopsis:
Carrie White is a shy, diffident teenager who is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret, only causes her classmates’ vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher. Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers.

Rationale:
Widely regarded as one of the worst mothers in film, Piper Laurie’s performance as the fanatically religious and abusive mother, Margaret White earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Find out where you can watch Carrie here.

Alternative:

Precious

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
IMDB: 7.3
Metacritic: 78

Year of Release: 2009
Directed by: James DeMonaco
Written by: Diablo Cody
Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, and Mariah Carey.

Synopsis:
Pregnant by her own father for the second time, 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones can neither read nor write and suffers constant abuse at the hands of her vicious mother . Precious instinctively sees a chance to turn her life around when she is offered the opportunity to transfer to an alternative school. Under the patient, firm guidance of her new teacher, Ms. Rain, Precious begins the journey from oppression to self-determination.

Rationale:
Mo’Nique’s performance as Precious’ abusive mother Mary earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. One of the most evil mothers to ever grace the screen.

Find out where you can watch Precious here.

Movie of the Week

Whip It

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
IMDB: 6.9
Metacritic: 68

Year of Release: 2009
Directed by: Drew Barrymore
Written by: Shauna Cross, (Screenplay by, Based on Derby Girl by)
Starring: Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Alia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern, Carlo Alban, Landon Pigg, Jimmy Fallon, Kristen Wiig, Zoë Bell, Eve, Andrew Wilson, Juliette Lewis, and Ari Graynor

Synopsis:
A stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of the free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock… the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park… without a rope. Celebrated as one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind, Honnold’s climb set the ultimate standard: perfection or death. Succeeding in this challenge, Honnold enters his story in the annals of human achievement.

Rationale:
Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut (and sole directing feature to date) was a light-hearted, coming of age story based around the sport of roller derby. Starring Ellen Page and with a ensemble of funny and likable performers, Whip It is an enjoyable time.

Find out where you can watch Whip It here.

TV to Binge

Battlestar Galactica

Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
IMDB: 8.7
Metacritic: 89

Year of Release: 2004 – 2009
Developed by: Ronald D. Moore
Episodes: 76 x 44 minute episodes (+ 2 part Mini-series pilot)
Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, and Grace Park

Synopsis:
A group of humans aboard a battleship, Battlestar Galactica, are forced to abandon their planet after being attacked by Cylons. They try to evade the Cylons while searching for their true home, Earth.

Rationale:
This re-imagining of the 1978 created by Glen A. Larson, developed by Ronald D. Moore, is arguably the best sci-fi series of the 2000s. Over 4 seasons, the series told the story of the last humans alive as they tried to find a new world to live on. A perfect mixture of space opera, sci-fi action and political drama.

Find out where you can watch Battlestar Galactica here.

Self-Isolation Media Recommendations #7

Cinema Alternatives

The High Note

Alternative:

Judy

Alternative:

A Star is Born (2018)

Run

Alternative:

Carrie (1976)

Alternative:

Precious

Movie of the Week

Whip It

TV to Binge

Battlestar Galactica

About The Author

Explosion Network

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Self-Isolation Media Recommendations #7

Cinema Alternatives

The High Note

Alternative:

Judy

Alternative:

A Star is Born (2018)

Run

Alternative:

Carrie (1976)

Alternative:

Precious

Movie of the Week

Whip It

TV to Binge

Battlestar Galactica

About The Author

Related Posts

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

LATEST POSTS