After a weekend of binge-watching a series or two, I like to slow things down for the week with a good movie or two. Netflix offers the deepest well out there, but who wants to spend 30 minutes hunting for something to watch?
For the week of January 19 to 25, I’ve put together this little four-movie sampler—a harrowing free climbing documentary to whet your appetite for Netflix’s upcoming live broadcasting of Alex Honnold’s climb of Taipei’s 101 skyscraper, a fun and furry animated adventure, a Viking revenge saga, and a hilarious music mockumentary.
4
Free Solo
The mind of a free solo climber is something very few people can understand. How can they be so drawn to something so dangerous and so seemingly reckless, yet still knowingly participate when all it takes is one slip, one sweaty fingertip, one mistake, and it’s all over? The 2018 Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo explores all this and much more, as it follows one of the sport’s poster boys, Alex Honnold, and the journey—physical, psychological, and emotional—he takes as he prepares to climb the gobsmacking, 3,000-foot vertical face of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, without ropes or harnesses. Free solo.
It’s a harrowing watch, which shows the toll Honnold’s obsession takes on his relationships, including with his girlfriend, Sanni, whose unconditional support is painfully mixed with the fear of losing him. And we haven’t even talked about the record-breaking climb, but you’ll have to see that to believe it. Now is the perfect time to catch this epic documentary, as Honnold prepares his latest spectacle: a free solo ascent of Taipei’s 101 skyscraper, one of the tallest buildings in the world, which Netflix will broadcast live on January 23.
Free Solo
Release Date
September 28, 2018
Runtime
100 minutes
Director
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
3
The Bad Guys
If you’re looking for something both fun for the kids and the adults this week, DreamWorks’ The Bad Guys is a fast-paced animated romp that’s like Ocean’s Eleven with animals, and with some great voice casting that grown-ups will love. The gang of “bad guys” in question is led by the cunning and suave Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), whose crew consists of sarcastic safecracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), sharp-tongued hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) who also goes by her alias “Webs,” sweet-but-massive master of disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), and the gang’s enforcer, Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos).
When the gang gets nabbed after a job goes wrong, they’re offered the chance to “go good” to stay out of prison, which the gang plans to use as a ruse to pull off another heist. But when Wolf starts liking the idea of being good, things get complicated. The Bad Guys is just plain fun, action, car chases, and quick one-liners that adults will get. Its 87% Rotten Tomatoes score speaks to this cartoon’s instant likability.
The Bad Guys
Release Date
April 22, 2022
Runtime
100 minutes
Director
Pierre Perifel
2
The Northman
Making it all the way to the end of Robert Eggers’ (The Lighthouse, Nosferatu) guttural Viking epic The Northman feels like survival. It not only features an absolutely ripped Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth, a young prince whose dad (Ethan Hawke) was murdered in front of him by his uncle, who also takes Amleth’s mother (Nicole Kidman) as his own. Amleth manages to get away and spends his life brooding, plotting, and preparing for his revenge.
Like a lot of Viking series and movies (Vikings and the anime Vinland Saga come to mind), The Northman is also steeped in myth and magic (Björk appears as the otherworldly Seeress). But in true Eggers fashion, it’s on a level of brutality that’s palpable, with Skarsgård’s performance at its center, forcing you to grip something tight until it’s all over.
The Northman
Release Date
April 22, 2022
Runtime
137 minutes
Director
Robert Eggers
1
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
I love music mockumentaries like Walk Hard and This is Spinal Tap because they’re dumb, hilarious, and strike the perfect balance between making fun of the musicians they’re based on and the often-too-serious documentaries made about them. It’s a win-win. In the case of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, we get Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island writing partners’ take on surreal stars like Bieber, Timberlake, and Kanye, and the whole pop industry machine.
Samberg is Connor4Real, a former boy-band megastar—with hysterical bangers like Things In My Jeep (Feat. Linkin Park) and his brag-rap anthem I’m So Humble—whose solo career is starting to crumble while the leeches and yes-people around him are sucking him dry. To get his groove back, Connor must convince his former Style Boyz bandmates (played by The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer) to reform. It’s ridiculous, features prime performances from the likes of Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, and many more in cameo, and just skewers the over-the-top pretentiousness of the music industry.
Netflix can sometimes be all over the place from week to week, but hopefully, this lineup of movies will latch on to something you’re craving this week, whether you add them all to your watchlist or just one.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.
