A great basketball docudrama and the late Michael Clarke Duncan’s crowning achievement: This week’s best and biggest on Netflix

Check out Jordan Parker's 'The week's best and biggest on Netflix' every Friday on HalifaxToday.ca.

Ma

It's not going to rock your world, but if you're looking to see star Octavia Spencer take on something entirely different, this is your chance.

Spencer — an Oscar winner and three-time nominee — is easily the best thing about this scary stalker flick.

She is astounding as Ma, an unhinged, lonely woman who tries her hardest to fit in with a group of teens. She buys them booze and lets them party in her home.

But when they begin to sense she's a bit suspicious and start to pull away, they realize how off-kilter Ma is.

Director Tate Taylor — who made hits like The Help and Get On Up — creates a visually stunning, atmospheric film here. But the screenplay does let things down a bit.

That said, it's worth a viewing for Spencer alone, who is an incredible performer.

3.5/5 Stars

The Negotiator

Perhaps one of the greatest thrillers of all time, The Negotiator is a taut exercise in tension.

It follows a hostage negotiator who is accused of murder and corruption. He takes hostages in a government building while he tries to figure out the truth.

It has an incredible director in F. Gary Gray, who also helmed Straight Outta Compton, Law Abiding Citizen and The Fate of the Furious. He makes an incredible blockbuster film here.

Samuel L. Jackson is joined by Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin and a very young Paul Giamatti here, and all give incredible turns.

It's one of my favourite thrillers ever, and it also hits all the right notes. I've seen it numerous times, and I always find myself happy to revisit it.

4/5 Stars

The Paper Tigers

This Kung Fu comedy is absolutely fantastic, and I had no idea I'd enjoy it this much.

Debut director Quoc Bao Tran takes on the material like a skilled pro, and also wrote a crackerjack script that holds together the entire runtime.

It's a story of brotherhood, honour and the pros and cons of aging. It follows three former Kung Fu prodigies who — after leaving their master years prior — have become washed-up, middle-aged, unpracticed men. They return to investigate their master's suspicious murder.

The trio of Ron Yuan, Alain Uy and Mykel Shannon Jenkins provides the film with interesting performances and some great chemistry.

However, as the men — embroiled in chaos and drama between them — realize how much they need each other and the bonds they share, they become sure they can conquer anything together.

This is a hilarious little film with a grounded tone and some really fantastic sequences of action and fighting. It's can't miss cinema, and it'll keep you thoroughly entertained.

4/5 Stars

The Green Mile

And the award for movie that makes me bawl every time goes to … The Green Mile.

One of my favourite Tom Hanks films of all time, it's a beautiful drama that makes me more emotional than I'd like to admit.

Based on the Stephen King novel and a screenplay by director Frank Darabont, it's a movie that hits all the right beats.

Darabont — a three-time Oscar nominee responsible for The Shawshank Redemption, The Majestic and The Walking Dead — creates a riveting film.

Hanks gives a fantastic performance, and it's the late Oscar nominee Michael Clarke Duncan's best turn ever.

It follows guards on Death Row in a prison who witness a man — who's accused of child murder and rape — display an incredible gift.

It's one of the best films of all time, and one I could watch again and again.

4.5/5 Stars

The Last Dance

Let me start by saying I don't like basketball. In fact, baseball notwithstanding, I find it intensely boring.

It's never been something I gravitate toward, and yet this docuseries left me absolutely floored.

This fantastic show about the rise of the 1990s' Chicago Bulls is absolutely, unequivocally some of the best entertainment I've seen all year.

With honest, in-depth interviews from stars like Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen and some amazing coaches like Phil Jackson, it's a thorough take.

It won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary Series in 2020, and it absolutely deserved it.

Following the game, the dynasty and the behind-the-scenes drama, it's one of the best things Netflix has ever produced.

4.5/5 Stars

Jordan Parker's weekly film reviews can be found on his blog, Parker & The Picture Shows.